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Precius is an Open Source Hardware and Software project designed for Precision Cooking and Kitchen Automation for home cooks. The project is funded and managed by WEkigai. The first product in the series is Precius Station, a commercially available precision cooktop.
Cooking is a physical and chemical change we impart on food to make it tastier, more nutritious or convenient. As with many chemical reactions, the way the food cooks depends on its temperature and time. Traditional cooking methods like stovetops can not control the temperature of the food directly, but rely on the user to control the power. This is error prone, inconsistent and makes hard to learn cooking. Precision cooking is a way to cook food by controlling the temperature and time instead of power of the heat source. Sous vide is possibly the well known way to do it, but the same principle can be used for a much wider variety of cooking methods like deep frying, pan frying, sauteeing, searing, air roasting, just to name a few. With precision cooking, the recipes are easier to cook with, consistent across kithens and climates.
The project aims to create an eco-system of open software and hardware designs for food preparation and automation for home cooks, funded by revenues generated by hardware sales and support. The guiding principles of the project are:
- Open : The hardware and software designs shall be available openly for modifications and customizations by end users.
- Unrestricted : Commercially sold hardware shall be unencumbered with lock-ins, subscriptions or other financial or usability restrictions within the limits of product safety and liability.
- Extendable, Repairable and Upgradable: Within the constraints of design and supply chain, the products will maximize the ability for the user to extend, repair or upgrade their products.
- Proof of concept using Aurdino and ESP32. See here
- First PCB design for proto. See here
- Industrial design for the product. See here
- Mechanical design for the prototype. See here
- Create rendered images (using Blender). See here
- Identify a suitable manufacturing partner. Done.
- Establish business and logistics support structure. Done, WEkigai has been in business since 2018 with established logistics network.
- Manufacture of first samples of the product (Prototypes)
- Creation and testing of PCB version 2, including all functionality except AC power.
- Create project pages, website, mailing list
- First version of code with UI and Menu using actual hardware
- Create mass manufacturing mechanical design for production processes like molding.
- Create mass manufacturing PCB design and test (including AC/power components)
- Create crowdfunding campaign for the tooling costs and first order minimum quantities
- Place order for tooling and first manufacturing run
- Sample production and testing
- Certification
- Fulfill crowdfunding orders
- Make product available for retail purchase
- Continue improving software and work on hardware improvements
- Work on accessories and extensions (sous-vide, proofing cabinet, dehydrator...)
We will share our development progress on the announcement page here. Please check out the latest post to know the status.
Precius Station works primarily as a control loop connecting the temperature sensor(s) and the heater output. The center of the heater has a temperature sensor that directly measures the temperature of the cookware. The additional probe sensor can be used to measure temperature of the food (e.g. steak) or liquids like water, oil or other mixtures. The user selects one of the modes to set a target temperature (and optional time). The control unit (in this case based on ESP32 hardware) processes the input temperatures, uses a control algorithm (currently a PID controller) to adjust the power of the heater to ensure that the target temperature is reached as soon as possible without overshooting. The controller then keeps the temperature at the target for the desired duration (or indefinitely). You can find more details on the hardware specifications as well as design details for hardware and software.
Bottom temperature sensor measures the pan temperature directly. Removable probe sensor for measuring food temperature (e.g. steak) or liquid temperature (water, milk, oils)
No greasy touch screens. Easy navigation with 5-way navigation buttons and rotary knob (with press).
Side load your own firmware, monitor everything on Serial. Works with Arduino IDE.
The maximum power we could pull from a 110 V US wall socket. Theoretical time to heat 2 kg of water from room temperature (20 C) to boiling (100 C) = 8 minutes.
- Size : 30 x 25 x 10 cm or 12 x 10 x 4 inches. Exact dimensions to be finalized before productization.
- Weight : Approx 2kg or 4.5 lbs
- Body Poweder coated steel. Corrossion resistent. Front and back covers high temperature plastic.
- Heater : 20 cm / 8 inch diamter resistive heter with aluminum alloy body. Compatiable with all metallic cookware including copper, aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, carbon steel and multi-layer cookware.
- Heating power : 1500 W
- Sensors:
- Spring loaded pan bottom sensor. 100 k NTC type
- Probe sensor with 3.5mm jack connection. 100 k NTC type
- Controller: ESP32 S3 module with custom PCB and buttons
- Display: 2.8 inch 320x240 color LCD display
- Connectivity:
- USB
- WiFi
- Other widely supported short range wireless protocol which we are not allowed to mention by name without paying licensing fees.
- Input Voltage: 230 V AC (EU/UK version) or 110 V AC (US version)
- Auxiliary power out : 9 V, max 5 A. 5.5mm Audio Jack connection. Intended to power future accessories like sous-vide water circulator, dehydrator fan, stirring attachment etc.
- Mainly because we believe it is the right thing to do. Cooking food is fundamental to our human nature and we believe improvements in cooking methods should not stay behind patents or lock-ins.
- We also believe that the purpose we want to achieve is beyond a single product, company or us as individual. It is a collective vision that can be realized to its fullest only by our collective efforts.
- We are not the Silicon Valley type. We are a small employee-owned company with no external investors or shareholders (by choice!). We will remain employee owned and user driven rather than being driven by short term profit and maximizing shareholder value.
- We got a lot from Open Source and this is our way to say thank you. For example, all the rendered images on this page were made with Blender, an open source tool.
We aim to generate revenue selling hardware based on this project and additional accessories (e.g. cookware, kitchen tools). In the future we may offer optional services (e.g. online downloadable recipes) to generate further revenue. One of our inspirations is Nabu Casa, the company behind HomeAssistant. You can support us by purchasing our existing products if they meet your kitchen needs. Go to our website.
We would be lying if we say we can do this without your help. Yes, you in particular! We know a lot about making products and running a business. But we do not know everything and do not have the resources to do everything on our own. No matter who you are, we are sure you can help us get further together. Some of the things you can help with:
- First, please signup on our mailing list
- Think along with us (food, science, engineering, usability.....). You can use the Discussions section
- Share your ideas use issues or just shoot an email to info@wekigai.eu.
- Contribute to software development through pull requests
- Contribute to mechanical and electronics design through pull requests or through email info@wekigai.eu
- Help us spread this story via blogs, social media posts or email
- Copywriting
- Recipe ideas and testing
- Image assets
- 3D modelling (Blender and FreeCAD)
- ... Have other ideas to help? Just get in touch.
The next big step for the project is to start manufacturing of the Precius Station. Creating and selling the hardware is the only way for us to sustain as a business, earn our livelihoods and continue open source development of this project. We expect following costs before/during the manufacturing stage.
- Tooling cost: estimated 30,000 USD These are the tools needed to form the metal body, custom heater, and injection molded plastic parts
- Certification cost : estimated at 20,000 USD for relevant certifications in EU, USA and UK
- First order capital : estimated at 50,000 USD to meet the minimum order quantity requirements of the manufacturer
This is before counting all the design and development effort. While we will do our best to bring these costs down, they will never be low enough to fit within the risk capacity of a small company like ours. So, we believe the next big step for us is to crowdfund Precius Station and generate revenue to cover a significant portion of these costs. We do count on your support to make that happen. Please signup on our mailing list to stay tuned and support us.
WEkigai is a small company based in the Netherlands. The company is run by an engineer-scientist combo who apply their knowledge to make cooking easier and better. The company makes niche products at the intersection of food, science and engineering in the context of home cooking More. The company was formed with the first product LoafNest which was commercialized through a Kickstarter campaign in 2018.
The project contains multiple types of content, that is (unless otherwise specified) covered by one or more of these licenses:
- All software code : GPLv3 license. Some code modules and libraries might be covered by additional licenses as mentioned in their code.
- All hardware design information : CERN-OHL-S license
- All non-code files and creative assets (e.g. images) : CC BY-SA 4.0
Additional protections may apply for copyrights and trademarks from respective owners.
This is not a legal advice, please see license texts for legally binding license. In general, all information on this project can be modified or improved for personal use. If you wish to distribute this work or its derivatives (either non-commercially or commercially) you are obliged to disclose those modifications and where applicable, provide attribution. For commercial use, you may be additionally restricted by trademarks. In any case, no warranty or liability claims can be made against this project.