Decent Espresso Machines (DE1) - Any thoughts?

[>decentespresso]

Today's video shows you the insides of the "manufacturing prototype, v2". At this point we're finalizing the sheet metal brackets, insulation of the heaters, temperature probe mountings, and the spacial arrangement of all the components inside the box.

If there's anything in this video you have a question about, please post a screen capture of the inside of the machine, pointing to what you'd like more info on.

[>decentespresso]

Parts coming in

The water pumps and safety valves to build 300 Decent Espresso Machines (110V and 220V), arrived today. There are two pumps per machine, in case you're wondering about the quantities. These are made for us by the Italian company ODE (Officine di Esino Lario) whose products are found all over professional Italian espresso machines. http://www.ode.it/en/

[steve7]

So how do I convince my wife I need one of these as well as the ECM Technika I bought last year?

[gc]

For our mixing chamber, which is a very parts-dense area of the machine, we designed an L shaped PC Board that fits over all the valve connectors, and which also brings 5 temperature and pressure sensors into once place, with a locking connector sending the data back to the low voltage PC Board.

This board just got manufactured (by us) today and we'll be putting it in place on monday.

For a humorous comparison to where we've come from, I've included a photo of the last "R&D prototype" we made, before redesigning everything for proper manufacturing.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16566[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]16564[/ATTACH]

I don't have a question about the last video - bit too quick for me, but am wondering, are you just going to solder that L shaped PCB to the lugs on the valve connectors? If anything faults out on the board [or a valve solenoid], it will be a dickens of a job to replace - well, certainly not easy anyway.

[>decentespresso]

A new testing tool for your espresso machine.

We're developing a competitor to the Scace 2 https://www.espressoparts.com/scace-...ressure-device because we ourselves need a number of features that the Scace does not provide.

We have several Scaces here at Decent Espresso, and they are the standard. However, there are some missing capabilities that we really need. Three other espresso manufacturers I've visited had each created their own hacked-together devices for the same reason.

We want to be able to measure pressure and water flow digitally, so that we calibrate the internals of our decent espresso machine to match with real measurements. Espresso repairmen use the Scace frequently for this very reason.

We want to be able change the exit hole size so that we can simulate different flow rates, more closely approximating real espresso flow rates. We're enabling this by using calibrated orifices from Lee Lee IMH -- Calibrated Orifices an American company that we currently use inside our DE1 machines. You can swap the orifice size. This also means that if the hole gets jammed (say, with calcification or a bit of coffee) you can just swap this part out, and not throw the whole thing out. We could supply you with several different hole sizes.

Our product will be built entirely into a 58mm compatible portafilter basket, so you can use it with your existing bottomless portafilter on any 58mm espresso machine. We won't have to make different models for different types of portafilters.

For digital output, our plan is to have a battery-powered box included, with an Arduino computer in it, and a two-line LCD showing you pressure and temperature. A USB plug would send data out and which can be stored on a computer via any number of data logging apps. Analysis of pressure and temperature in Excel then becomes possible.

We're considering having an optional flow rate sensor be able to plug into the output "barb" at the bottom. It would have its own cable that connects to our Arduino box.

Our interns have been building Arduino-based test devices all summer, so we already have much of this already developed. The new bit to create is the hardware, which Ben has done an initial design of.

For a few months, this testing tool will only be used by us internally, to ship the 300 espresso machines already ordered, and to work out the bugs in the testing tool. Later in 2017 we could start making this for the public, if there is interest in it.

Below you'll find photos of our proposed design. I'm very much looking for feedback on these ideas. Please opine!

[>decentespresso]

Kinky Tubing Rubbing People the Wrong Way

Several people emailed me to point out that the silicone tubing near the water intake didn't look so happy. We saw that too, and had a meeting later the day I recorded the video, where we moved things around to fix that.

The problem was that we were asking that tubing to be very short, and to bend sharply. To fix this, the flow meter was moved left a bit, and the intake tubing is now longer, and comes in from the other side of the flow meter. This gives it plenty of length in which to comfortably move.

We also weren't happy with the water level sensor tube touching and rubbing the side wall, so we've covered that tube with a tough fabric outer sleeve.

The photo below shows the new parts layout, which we think solves these issues.

[>decentespresso]

Temperature Probes in Group Head

The new group head came in yesterday, which now uses "screw in" thermometer probes. We've been using these probes in our mixing chambers and really like how accurate, non leaking, and easily replaced they are.

One probe dives into the middle of the group to obtain a temperature reading about 5mm above the coffee surface.

Another probe measures the metal temperature to ensure the group head is accurately preheated.

All that messy glue from previous prototypes is now banished for good.

Our "coffee puck" temperature readings will now be more accurate too. Also, if any probe stops working, it's now straightforward to remove and replace it.

[MrJack]

We're developing a competitor to the Scace 2 https://www.espressoparts.com/scace-...ressure-device because we ourselves need a number of features that the Scace does not provide.

We have several Scaces here at Decent Espresso, and they are the standard. However, there are some missing capabilities that we really need. Three other espresso manufacturers I've visited had each created their own hacked-together devices for the same reason.

We want to be able to measure pressure and water flow digitally, so that we calibrate the internals of our decent espresso machine to match with real measurements. Espresso repairmen use the Scace frequently for this very reason.

We want to be able change the exit hole size so that we can simulate different flow rates, more closely approximating real espresso flow rates. We're enabling this by using calibrated orifices from Lee Lee IMH -- Calibrated Orifices an American company that we currently use inside our DE1 machines. You can swap the orifice size. This also means that if the hole gets jammed (say, with calcification or a bit of coffee) you can just swap this part out, and not throw the whole thing out. We could supply you with several different hole sizes.

Our product will be built entirely into a 58mm compatible portafilter basket, so you can use it with your existing bottomless portafilter on any 58mm espresso machine. We won't have to make different models for different types of portafilters.

For digital output, our plan is to have a battery-powered box included, with an Arduino computer in it, and a two-line LCD showing you pressure and temperature. A USB plug would send data out and which can be stored on a computer via any number of data logging apps. Analysis of pressure and temperature in Excel then becomes possible.

We're considering having an optional flow rate sensor be able to plug into the output "barb" at the bottom. It would have its own cable that connects to our Arduino box.

Our interns have been building Arduino-based test devices all summer, so we already have much of this already developed. The new bit to create is the hardware, which Ben has done an initial design of.

For a few months, this testing tool will only be used by us internally, to ship the 300 espresso machines already ordered, and to work out the bugs in the testing tool. Later in 2017 we could start making this for the public, if there is interest in it.

Below you'll find photos of our proposed design. I'm very much looking for feedback on these ideas. Please opine!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16632[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]16633[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]16634[/ATTACH]

Very cool!

Whilst probably more expensive than using calibrated orifices, a needle valve would allow more flexibility and allow dynamics to be explored (such as temperature response to changing flowrate). Hell, you could even actuate it with a servo motor to simulate changing puck conditions .

[>decentespresso]

Whilst probably more expensive than using calibrated orifices, a needle valve would allow more flexibility and allow dynamics to be explored (such as temperature response to changing flowrate). Hell, you could even actuate it with a servo motor to simulate changing puck conditions .

What we're doing is putting a threaded G1/8 outlet below the calibrated orifice, so that in the future, we could remove the orifice (enabling fast flow), and then screw in a needle valve below it to instead provide variable constriction.

It's hard to see this, but the grey colored exit barb is screwing into a female G1/8 plug, in the drawing above.

I suggested the variable constrictor idea in a meeting a few days ago, but for now we're not going to do it because we like being able to remove the constrictor when it invariably clogs with calcification or coffee material.

But, absolutely, we've designed with your suggestion in mind, so that in the future a needle valve, or a gas valve (see portafilter below, that we built and use here) could replace the calibrated orifice. Also, if it screws in, it also screws off, which is handy when the needle valve clogs and you need to clean or replace it.

[>decentespresso]

Basic lesson on steaming milk on the DE1

A number of people have asked "how do you steam milk with your decent espresso machine?" This video gives a short lesson. There are (of course) other ways to steam milk, and if you are a barista, you already know how, so this video is likely of interest to beginners.

[>decentespresso]

105 different parts inside a DE1

I decided to count the total number of different parts inside our DE1 espresso machine, and found that there are 105 different parts. If you're wondering why it takes a long time to go from design to manufacturing, this is part of the reason.

This screenshot is from the inhouse-created Lotus Notes database we have for keeping track of all parts, vendors and purchases.

[>decentespresso]

Getting the angle right

We borrowed a great idea Slayer Espresso had of using mirror to see your espresso as it comes out. We built an angled mirror directly into our DE1 to do this.

This week, the new mirror design came in: we've enlarged the mirror 50% and angled it much more, so that now you can (1) see much more of the espresso coming out and (2) don't have to bend down to get to the right angle.

You can see the difference in these before vs after photos.

Depending on your height, you move yourself forward or back from the DE1, and can remain standing while inspecting your espresso's extraction.

[level3ninja]

That looks like a significant improvement!

[>decentespresso]

Knockbox manufacturing progress

Two weeks ago I posted about some difficulties we're having forming aluminium sheets into our knockbox design.
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/brewing-eq...tml#post612126

We've made some progress, and the form is looking closer to something acceptable.

We've tried stainless steel, and aluminum at different thicknesses. We've polished and sandblasted the form.

Here's what it looks like now:

Next step is to black powder coat a sample, and anodize another, to get a feel for what the finished product could look like. I'll report back when I have those in hand.

[>decentespresso]

Tidying up

Last week, we received the parts for our "manufacturing prototype #2". We changed 22 things with that prototype in a week, all relating to the physical placement of things in space. Today we are ordering parts to make "manufacturing prototype #3", which we hope will be our last one, and in 10 days we'll be building that.

The biggest change is the removal of the left panel, onto which we were mounting a safety valve, and one of the mixing chambers. Because the panel was removable, long tubes were needed. I didn't like the long tubes for a number of reasons. It made that space very crammed, and meant that when you opened/closed the panel, you changed how things fit, and thus could cause (or fix) an unseen problem.

Below are before vs after photos of this area. The safety valve is now directly mounted to the exit hole, and the "auxiliary" mixing chamber is now stacked directly onto the "main" mixing chamber (you can just barely see it peeking out from the top middle of the photo).

We also changed how the wires come together in the PC Board area (left hand side of the photo), so that things are much less crowded. All connectors now congregate at the top, so that you can slide a new PC Board in, screw it in from the back of the DE1, and then connect everything from the top. Better airflow, visibility and easier repair.