Hello All,
Shipping Updates
We’ve currently shipped 60 units, have 24 more ready to be boxed, and 3 that need additional attention. Now that all of our previously built machines have been updated several times and QC’d, we’re excited to start building new stock from the ground up with all of the lessons learned over the past few months of assembly. This process should continue to get smoother and no longer require multiple rounds of disassembly and checks on top of the standard QC process.
Staffing:
We’ve hired our 6th employee 2 weeks ago who’s been following the project for quite a while and has a passion for coffee and working with his hands. Trevor has spooled up extremely quickly helping perform our final round of checks and updates on the previously built units before entering final QC. Now that he and Anthony, our QC specialist, have developed a basic understanding fixing what has previously given us issues, we are currently training them up on new builds.
I anticipate a slight slowdown while Anthony and Trevor come up to speed on the full build process but I think we will be saving time on the back end QC process by requiring less rework and checks.
Time to continue growing! We’re looking for a full time hire to specialize in sub assembly builds, QC, R&D, and packaging. This is a dynamic role that will require attention to detail, time management, and creativity. We continue to design, 3D print, and build new assembly jigs while improving our processes for more efficient assembly. This person would need to be able to grasp technical concepts of how each sub assembly works and why we use particular materials and configurations, be able to diagnose issues on assembled machines, and be able to consistently package orders and accessories to meet production goals.
Hardware Updates:
Our biggest issue continues to be LED consistency. I’ve done way more research than I ever thought I would need to on LEDs, worked with our supplier, and performed internal testing to come to the conclusion that our current supplier uses lower quality semiconductor chips than is acceptable for our production. I’ve reached out to 3 new suppliers all with great reputations, ordered samples from each, performed endurance testing on 50 - 100 LEDs from each, and placed a new production order with the lights that we liked the best. While these LEDs are still 2 weeks out, we will continue building complete machines with everything except the LEDs and add those in for final testing when those arrive. This way we won’t slow down production testing and fixing bad lights, but we also will continue making progress on assembly. We will be reaching out to anyone with a bad LED regarding next steps for fixing.
Overall, customer feedback has been very positive! We recognize there is a bit of a learning curve with levers as a whole, but more specifically, bleeding air out of our piston bleed valve can take time to get right. Improper air bleeding on the Argos results in lower extraction pressures. We’ve spent the past month prototyping our restrictor orifice as mentioned in previous email updates. We’ve landed on a custom integrated pressure compensated flow control valve. This valve not only restricts flow into the grouphead to automatically bleed air out at the correct rate but also maintains consistent flow regardless of boiler pressure.
We’ve also been working on a few other small changes such as improved fill funnel to make it easier to determine fill level and an anti-vacuum valve overflow reservoir. It’s normal for all anti-vacuum valves to drip a tiny bit of water out when closing. We’ve found that overfilling the boiler causes the valve to prematurely close leading to false pressure and excess water to drip out of the valve. Adding a reservoir will be a simple added level of security to prevent damage in the event of accidental overfilling. This reservoir will include a filter to allow any accumulated water to evaporate during normal use or in the event of continued accumulation will overflow out of one of the vent slots in the back cover of the machine.
Replacement transducer batteries will very soon be offered on our website. It is disappointing that the batteries used in the transducers we use are not a common, off the shelf part. The batteries can be found, but only with a different connector. I’ve sourced the correct connectors and ordered some batteries for testing but we aim to offer a replacement for lower cost $25USD + shipping and will also create a video to show any DIY customers how to get off the shelf battery parts to work for ~$10 USD + shipping.
Sincerely,
Ross & William