Argos Update: July 12, 2022

Hello all! I have done a horrible job with updates over the past month but I assure you that significant progress is still being made. We have finished hiring all of our Assembly Technicians/ Manager for this initial run of parts and plan to hire more in the future to keep up with demand.

We decided to do a quick last minute trip to World of Coffee Milan. This was a fun experience where we had a small booth with the powdercoated units on display. It was a great opportunity to connect with other lever machine manufacturers as well as suppliers for Italian made products.

While hardware is being finalized and procured, I am working on figuring out the best way to keep track of assembly and quality control tracking for when we start assembly. This will allow us to track which technician has performed each assembly task for each machine in the event of any defects or malfunctions.

Hardware

When sourcing on/ off switches we made a significant change from 2 toggle switches to a single on/off rocker switch next to the plug and a custom temperature knob with an integrated push switch into the knob. We like this design as it cleans up the back of the machine while integrating all temperature related control on a single knob. Users will be able to set the brew temperature from 85C-95C then push the knob in to turn up steam temp which will be indicated by a 3rd LED on the top.

Previously exposed screws on the top of the machine have now been moved to mount the boiler to the top plate from the underside. This will clean up the overall look.

Powdercoated parts have arrived and were on display at World of Coffee Milan. We are working on getting product photos for those options to add to the site. Anyone interested in changing from a stainless steel finish to the black or while color will be able to purchase the “Machine Color Add-On” from the site. This will go live when the photos are released and on the site as well, ideally by next week.

An additional person has been brought on temporarily to help finish up drawings for production.

You can check out the updated checklist here.

Original mockup of the black color with Walnut accents and LHS steam wand at WOC Milan.

Original the white color with Ash wood accents and RHS steam wand.

Software

Fluid level sensor and new steam switch integration testing is currently happening.

Working on getting plotting with Scace measurement devices.

Sincerely,

Ross Ainsworth