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I can't bring myself to liking the R2D2 styling of the Niche and the white Argos looks a bit tacky to my eye.
Perfect for Noosa folks though.
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Before you judge me so harshly for my bling bias, please wait until I put tinsel over them both and throw red rose petals at their feet, softly illuminated by blue display lights and with the faint sounds of an André Rieu quartet playing in the background. Guaranteed to have you mooing like a rutting bull :-)
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I am thinking of preordering the Argos but not sure what pressure version to go with? Don’t have experience with lever machines so appreciate any advice…Comment
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Update from RossOdyssey Espresso
Argos Update: August 9, 2022Hello all! William has been doing an amazing job at catching up on the MANY unread emails. If you have not heard back, you will. He’s doing small chunks each day and we’re working our way down the list.
Still no update on the mis-delivered package but I’m letting UPS handle that for now.
We are implementing a new policy to our Terms and Conditions. We will now only be allowing ONE free order cancellation per customer/ address. If you decide to place any additional Argos order, you willbe subject to a 10% restocking fee if cancelled, even if the product has not yet shipped. It costs us a non-trivial amount to process and refund all orders. There will also be a 10% restocking fee on all orders returned after they’ve been shipped. Return PolicyHardware We’re still working on getting our Molex auto crimper dialed in with the correct settings for feed and punch height. I’ve found some documentation which will hopefully significantly help.
Several people have asked if the steam wands were cool touch wands which are basically double walled wands that don’t get as hot. I was recently pulling shots with Josiah of Little Light Coffee in Takasaki, Japan, and he enlightened me that our production steam wands are in fact cool touch wands! Since switching around steam tips and not knowing what I had, I believe I accidentally messed with the sealing of the inner tube which was causing my wand to get a little hotter than it should, but production Argos models will all come with cool touch wands.
Our Motta Metallurgica 350mL milk pitchers have arrived from Italy. We’re now offering the pitchers in black, white, and bare metal to match your machines if desired. If you already placed an order for the original black one that was for sale and wish to change colors, just send an email. If you’d like to add a milk pitcher to your order go ahead and place a new order with the same name and email and we’ll group orders during build.
The show units are back together *finally* after returning from Milan. Those will finally get photographed this and next week and we’ll have the color change option up on the site next week with instructions on how to change.
More drawing have been updated and we’re getting those parts quoted this week with the intent of getting those orders placed by end of week.
Final packaging samples arrived from two different suppliers so we will now be able to down select to the one we like best.
User manual is still in works with text in place and currently adding the graphics.
You can check out the updated checklist here.Comment
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Thanks all makes sense to get both and any other accessories at the start…
What do we think about the steam wand placement? Right side seems to be standard so thinking will go with what I am used to.Comment
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Right side, me too.
Ross has a pretty good system set up. Provided you place a subsequent order (e.g. and extra spring) using the same email address and name, the shopping cart (shopify?) automatically zeroes the freight, which is charged at $220 for the actual machine. What this means is that freight is capped at $220 regardless of accessories being added at the time of purchasing the Argos or later.
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Looks like shipping may happen this month. Those who have ordered should have received (today) an order confirmation email listing all items ordered, color preferences. wand location and address confirmation. Changes are to be made by October 7th.
Yippee, another toy to play with.Comment
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I was happily surprised how promising the latest update was to production getting closer. I really appreciate the changes and improvements being made that cause delays instead of rushing it out the door.
However, one thing that I am disappointed in that I think could be done better is more media of updated video's of it being used and some prototype sample reviews/experience. It would be nice to keep us satisfied, excited and keep the anticipation going or fed. Maybe some of this is on the discord platform that I'm not signed up to.
I went metal, walnut, RHS steam, double spout, 8bar & 6bar springs & analog gauge. I'm thinking down the track I'll possibly get the BT transducer. Also, seems easy to convert to direct lever so haven't opted for the second piston assembly (to start with...). -
The email read more along the lines of 'confirm your order so that we can order the right amount and colour of parts.'. rereading the email it says "We're getting ready to place our orders for the remaining parts needed for assembly".
Hope I'm wrong but suspect we're still a way off with things like "Finalize part drawings after all revisions" on the to-do list. Assembly and QA is going to burn time.
Money is still on Christmas if we're lucky
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Email update from Ross this morning included this:
"I expect to start shipping first thing next year once certification has passed."
So his original estimate of "shipping in April" was pretty close after all. I mean, to be fair, we forgot to ask him which year ? ? ?
Still, it's getting closer.Comment
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Tompo said prev......"Tx Yochi I must confess to habitually failing to read emails thoroughly. Even though I've done this for decades I'm going to blame covid this time. Why not? I've got it so I may as well make it useful for something."
So pls Forgive my asking Tompo ....did you read the latest email...... thoroughly ?
And hope the covid has passed.
Cheers and
GL,
EA.
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Update from Ross for those not on the email list. Bottom line is that he says that he is still on track to start shipping in January.
Odyssey Espresso
Argos Update: December 9, 2022
Hello All, it’s been far too long since the last update. I took a small vacation to Australia and was pleasantly surprised with how strong the coffee scene was. Needless to say I loaded up on beans to bring back to the states.
We’ve had parts arriving just about every week over the past month. As expected there are delays. All parts from Italy have shown up but some suppliers in China had to shut down for a week due to Covid restrictions. This won’t add too much of a delay but combined with slightly longer shipping times than estimated each day adds up. Regardless, we’re still on track to start shipping this coming January!
We’ve made significant progress on the auto refill add on. The main solenoid valve is still being selected which should happen over the next week but the software has been validated and the circuit board works as expected.
You’ve got to admire the packaging on these pressure stats!
Boiler heat wraps. Sorry, no cork like on the original prototype!
Lots of organization needed before the next few pallets arrive!
Hardware
As noted above, we’re finalizing the details of the auto refill components. I’m aiming to test the hardware out in 2 weeks and we’ll get that added to the online store as an add-on item.
The rest is mostly just a waiting game at this point. The communication has been very strong with my suppliers. They’ve all been very good about making an initial part, inspecting, and in the case that a critical dimension is not within tolerance, they inform me that they’re re-working the tool path and update when it’s resolved. I’m mostly just playing the part of shipping and receiving at this point to make sure I get all of the import taxes paid when parts arrive in the country.
Next week I’ll have photos of all the wood parts being bonded.
Software
William made some great progress improving the software on the machine. He’s gotten Over the Air (OTA) updates working which means any small features or improvements added in the future can be pushed to all machines if desired by the end user.
We’re currently testing out some new intra-shot temperature stability improvement methods to take full advantage of our unique setup. More to come on this after we validate any new solutions
The software for auto refill has been tested and validated. The way it works is that when low fluid level is detected, the heating element shuts off until the boiler reaches 95C. The machine’s computer then tells a solenoid valve to open for 30s to fill, then closes. Once fluid is confirmed by the level sensor, the heating element starts back up for the next shot.
Sincerely,
Ross Ainsworth
www.odysseyespresso.com
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Latest update for those not receiving the emails. My guess is they might start shipping to Australia in May. This year. Maybe?
Odyssey Espresso Argos Update: March 10, 2023
Long overdue for another update! These weeks just fly by so darn fast. A lot to cover here including assembly, CE Cert, SCA Expo, Patent, and more.
Before I get into that, I’d like to thank everyone for their continued support with the Argos. Some of you may remember that we had 70 units go live for sale on February 10. We always planned on ordering spares for the original batch and as expected had some cancellations over the past year. We were very pleased to see that all 70 machines sold out in 25 minutes after going live. I would like to sincerely apologize to anyone who did not get a machine. Due to the limited quantities in each configuration we didn’t have a great way to add that inventory to our online site which resulted in some people getting to checkout only to find that their configuration had just sold out. Good news is that once we start shipping we plan to open batch 2 orders with no currently planned limit. We’d like to get this going once batch one is out in the world to lessen the delay between shipping batches 1 and 2.
As you all know, the top and bottom plates were delayed a bit more than anticipated. The first set of 45 plates ship out tonight and are expected to arrive next week. We’ve already got over 50 sub assemblies of both 120V and 240V boilers, steam valves + wand, steam manifolds, etc. Once these plates arrive, we’ll go straight into cleaning and full assembly which will have it’s own learning curve and ramp up for our techs. 70 more sets of plates are expected to ship next week with all of the remaining parts estimated to be completed before the end of March. This differs from our previous quote of 50 plates per week
A quick deep dive into the plate delays. After the first 2 were received before CNY to kick off production testing, I found a few small features that I wanted to change. They integrated the changes quickly but needed to go through the process of verifying that the new parts were up to spec after manufacture. I also didn’t love the powder coating samples that were sent before CNY. The original pre-production powder coated parts were done by Leading Edge Manufacturing down in Louisiana. They were awesome and gave us the exact look and finish that we were going for. For production it made more sense to have out manufacturers do the powder coating in house to keep cost and lead time down. This meant a little more back and forth on getting the correct finish.
My supplier also made tools used to cover off portions of the parts that we don’t want coated. These are primarily the sealing surfaces and those that would directly contact potable water. You can see some images of the tools below!
CE Cert. This has been a huge process of working with the labs to narrow down the actual certifications required for each country we are shipping to. Some countries have overlap and can get by with a conformance report to show that prior testing directly relates to local regulations. Because we were told different things from different labs it took significant work and research to sift through this info and figure out exactly what we need. The other reason for delays has been waiting for lab space to open up. Due to the number of products needing testing at all these certified labs, we’ve had to wait for space in a lab that met our budget. We’re currently slated for a testing date of 3/30 which is likely to move forward as it seems common for many companies to cancel their testing if they’re not fully ready in time.
The general timeline we’ve been given is 1 week to get FCC and ISED for US and Canada. CE and rest of world will then take 2-3 weeks after. After talking to the lab all parties seem confident that the Argos will pass due to it’s simple nature and use of pre-certified components. Majority of what is tested in EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility Testing) of the board, radio and antenna testing of the Bluetooth emittance, general safety including RoHS compliant materials, and user manual documentation.
We have just reserved our booth 1057 for the SCA Expo in Portland April 21-23! While we don’t plan on pulling shots during the event due to the high commercial demand that our machine is not designed to operate for but we will have final production machines on display and may consider pulling shots at the end of each day for those who are interested.
Our Non-Provisional design patent was just filed today which is an exciting milestone for protecting our intellectual property with the many unique features on this machine!
A few more random notes! We do have steam wand block off plates available for those that do not a steam wand. Still figuring out the best way to offer these but will have that option and instructions on how to get that soon along with product photos of no steam wand! I’ve also slacked on the auto refill. It is still in the plan to offer this option before we start shipping so stay tuned!
Sincerely,
Ross Ainsworth
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I emailed Ross/William regarding certification for Australia and potential delays. Here is William's response so you don't die wondering:
Hi Tom,
We appreciate your feedback. You are correct that shipping to Australia will likely be delayed due to the certifications required to legally sell in Australia, but rest assured that we are working on getting those. When we start shipping is dependent upon the certification process which has a pretty wide band based on lead times at the testing labs and anything that may come up during testing. The goal is to start shipping in April, if everything goes as planned.
We deeply appreciate your continued patience as we work through the details of small batch manufacturing, it's a first for both Ross and I. It's hard but extremely rewarding.
Thanks,
William
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Amberale your comments and Williams email made me think of this post by Decent in May 2018, when they thought they would ship Aus certified units in late 2018. Decent haven't shipped an Aus certified unit yet..... - https://coffeesnobs.com.au/forum/equ...e81#post670354 -
I genuinely am looking forward to you and Tom getting your units. It will be impressive if Odssey manage this promptlyLast edited by 338; 14 March 2023, 02:51 PM. -
Ross is expecting to get the paperwork for Australian CE certification done by mid-April.
So Tom, who is a couple of hundred behind me in the queue, could end up getting his around the same time as me. I'm machine number 44.
Shit happens, I can understand Ross prioritising home US market. -
I am probably even further behind than both of you at number 749.
However, as you have said Amberale it could either mean I will be waiting a bit longer or it could be the same dispatch once the Aus certification is completed. Anyway, once the deliveries start and the cert is done it shouldn't take much longer after that to wait as they seem like they are going to be regularly getting builds done and getting them sent out in decent quantity batches.
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OK - I have held off on the Argos b/c of the various bring to production issues - however, there is alot that I like about it, in particular its efficiency. Something that drew me to the meticulous. Perhaps the Argos will get me where I want to - and at a better pricing even - than the Meticulous. HmmComment
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I expect the Argos to start being delivered to the North American market this month.
I believe Ross's team are assembling units while they wait for final CE certification.
Australian CE will take a bit longer.
There are something like 700-900 units already ordered and he hopes to build 50 per week.
I believe Ross will open for new orders once the first batch begin to ship.
I expect there to be a lot of interest/competition for batch 3 orders and the prices to rise, especially prices of accessories.
I'm keen and have number 44 on order.
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Yes mate, Ross has said that he will build the units in the order they were purchased and put the Aussie/Euro ones on the shelf waiting for certification.
I can't remember the exact price and there was a bit of a mix up about freight costs.
IIRC it was a bit under $2000aud for everything except the BT transducer, no powder coating.
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In case it helps, my costs in US$...
Argos 850 Transducer 250
Spare piston 85 (seemed like a good idea at the time!)
Pressure gauge 35
Extra spring (6 bar) 15
Shipping 220
Jug x2 70 (why? I dunno.)
Powder coat 65
Total US$1,590
AU$ 2355
Add gst at import $236
Total around AU$2591
Funny thing is I was lured in by the "$850" price tag. Being a sucker for upsells, ended up a tad more.
Still good value though.
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I agree Tom.
Ross's original aim was that the basic machine was under $1k usd.
That is still the case in America and the basic machine should perform better than a LP or a Cremina.
As an early adopter I got some extra goodies(I hope) but I was trying to throw money at him for one a long before the kick starter program.
My lever fever mag purchases from him are single figure order numbers.
Most of my add-ons were a lot cheaper than yours as he was still working out prices.
The only thing I didn't get is the BT transducer as I don't really want it and I think that this iteration is ugly as sin and there will be a sexier version come on line in a year or two.
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