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Restoring An Espresso Machine To The 21st Century
advanced coffee machine, arduino hacks, cooking hacks, custom PCB, espresso machine, PID coffee machine, PID espresso Comments Off on Restoring An Espresso Machine To The 21st Century
[Rhys Goodwin] has a wonderful Italian espresso machine, a Brasilia ‘Lady’. But the electronics in it are a bit outdated. So he decided to give the entire thing an overhaul, while keeping it as original as possible!
As far as espresso machines go, this model is pretty simple. It uses a 300mL brass boiler with a 3-position solenoid valve. The thermostat is one of those simple bimetallic button thermostats which sadly, aren’t even that accurate — you couldn’t build a simpler machine, there’s not even a microcontroller in it. [Rhys] had his work cut out for him.
Arduino. PID controller. LCD display. New custom machined components, including a polished aluminum face plate for the LCD! He didn’t skimp out on this restoration. He even designed his own custom PCB to house the Arduino and provide the outputs for his new electronics, impressive!
His build log is more of a gallery then a real log, but is a pleasure to scroll through — he put some serious thought and time into this project.
It’s quite similar to this custom espresso machine build we saw a few years ago.
Filed under: Arduino Hacks, cooking hacks