Bentopiccola

2020

Inspired by an enthusiasm for espresso and Italian design, this home espresso maker is based on the mechanism of a mid 1980s La Pavoni Europiccola.

I have redesigned the base to integrate several new features.

1. Brew pressure can be back calculated from load cells positioned within the base, avoiding the need for an expensive external pressure gauge
2. All interaction points unified with handcrafted timber components to clarify the user worfklow
3. Integrated scale for espresso pulled, enabled by a load cell in the brew platform assembly
4. Reflective brew platform, allowing the user to view the underside of the portafilter
5. Analogue instrumentation is embedded in the reflective brew platform, allowing the user to simultaneously reference brew pressure and progress

Analogue gauges minimize distraction from the tactile experience of brewing

Analogue gauges embedded in the brew platform were selected to minimize distraction from the tactile experience of brewing, and are enabled by a pair of Arduino Nanos. These parallelize the sensing duties to reduce measurement/display latency, keeping the response time low enough that it feels intuitive and mechanical.

Each gesture is an intuitive rotation about the central body; spherical touch points rotate, while cylinders act as levers. This offers experiential consistency with the core brewing mechanism, and is a commitment to this differentiating aspect versus typical pump-based machines.