We've launched an exciting new project of our own! Introducing the Kickstarter app for iPhone!

Funded! This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 20, 2012.

The Colors are In!

Update #44 · Jun 1, 2013 · 15 comments

Hi all,

We’ve got two things to talk about this time: colors and boards.

UL Redesign has been Completed

It’s been a long and painful month of being assured that the UL-required changes would be made, being told they wouldn’t be made (yes, even though they’re in the contract), and searching for someone who could make them.

But, rather than focusing on the negative, we’re going to look to the positive: The board redesign for UL has been completed! We’re awaiting their delivery, and the next step is getting them into all of the machines we have and re-submitting to UL, and then waiting out the completion of certification (which should go faster than last time as we’re already in their system).

In the meantime, we’ll be shooting video of the fully functional machines we have, outlining various features and the initial GUI functionality, and continuing to test the units we have here.

Colors, colors, everywhere.

In brighter news (ha!), we have pretty pictures of shells in all the final colors.

The last picture is teal, and it’s been added as an option in the web app for anyone who wants to make the switch!

We’re making slow but steady progress in the right direction, and hope to have good news for you soon!

Love & Coffee,

Team Nocturn

info@zpmespresso.com | Google+ | Facebook | Twitter | Site | Forum

15 Comments

Shell Inspection

Update #43 · May 2, 2013 · 14 comments

Hi All,

Last Friday we paid our sheet metal manufacturer (located about 3 hours south of Atlanta) a visit to check up on the quality issues we mentioned last update, and to pick up shells in all the final colors.

Headin’ down south to the land of the pines

As mentioned last update, we’ve been working with the factory to solve some of the QC issues. We’re seeing some problems with consistency as they move to larger volume runs. The quality is great when they carefully work through small runs of 2-3, but as we’re moving up to 50-unit run sizes, we’re seeing issues that afflict some - but not all - shells in a run.

For your viewing pleasure, here’s a photographic walk through of the shell-making process, with our problem areas.

Beyond showcasing Gleb's nascent constructivist leanings, this scene shows the finishing step of the raw shell. After the sheet metal is bent and welded, the weld spots and seams are ground down to smooth out the edges. One problem we’re seeing is that the amount of weld and amount of grinding on the corners of the shells varies from machine-to-machine. While we’ll always see some weld on the inside areas of the machine, we’re looking for a consistent amount and placement.

A pile of shells waiting for pre-powder-coating inspection.

After welding/grinding/inspection, shells are loaded onto a conveyor that draws them through the powder coating and curing process.

Powder coating in progress. A trained painter sprays colored powder onto the shells, which clings statically to the metal before being cured at high heat. Ensuring that the powder is applied evenly is an art and essential to getting an even finish. Once we’re up-and-running at full scale, we’ll switch to machine powder coating, which automates 90% of the coating process (leaving just touch-ups to be done manually).

Red, green, yellow and black shells hot off the line and ready for inspection of the powder coat. One area of inconsistency is in the seams - sometimes the powder successfully masks off the seams between surfaces, but in other instances it leaves gaps between the surfaces.

Closeup of green and yellow. We’re seeing a problem with the yellow, which is the lightest color and consequently requires the most TLC. Basically, to get a nice glossy finish without a lot of orange peeling, there’s an optimal coat thickness, but at that thickness (or thinness) the metal still shows through in areas on the yellow shells (it doesn’t show up in photos, but when you look at it you sort of see the shadow of the raw steel in some, but not all, areas). They’re going to switch to a different powder (same hue, different polymer) and see if they get better results.

When the powder coat comes out wrong, they try to burn it off to recoat the shells. It works some of the time. When it doesn’t, rejected shells end up in the graveyard.

Some insight into QC. Each piece that comes off the line is compared to an ideal, approved piece and must be within designated tolerances of that piece to be deemed ‘acceptable.’ Here we are with the target pieces, working out ways to eliminate some of the things that keep causing problems during manufacture.

We do have one piece of good news: we have all the colors! Without further ado:

The whole family together.

We’re still working on fancy-schmancy product photography, but we wanted to show you guys the whole lineup. That little guy in the upper left is teal, which will be replacing green/yellow/blue (our least popular - or most special - colors) as we go forward. (Anyone who has already ordered green, yellow or blue will still get that color - we just won't be taking new orders in those colors.)

In terms of timeline, we’re still backed up on board revision and will hopefully know more next week about what to expect moving forward.

We finally got word that working revised boards are in-hand with the board designer, and we’ll pick them up tomorrow morning. If all goes well, we’ll be able to start publishing video of how the GUI works, now that it is fully functional and displaying correctly on the screens, and restart the UL process with new boards.

Until next time,

the Team

info@zpmespresso.com | Google+ | Facebook | Twitter | Site | Forum

14 Comments

QC and UL

Update #42 - For backers only · Apr 8, 2013 · 35 comments

For backers only. If you're a backer of this project, please log in to read this post.

App is Out: Important Info About Your Reward

Update #41 - For backers only · Mar 4, 2013 · 8 comments

For backers only. If you're a backer of this project, please log in to read this post.

“Incredible for a home machine - honestly amazed!” and other great soundbites from our demo with Jason Dominy

Update #40 · Feb 26, 2013 · 5 comments

Hi Everybody,

We know what you must be thinking: another update so soon? It must be my birthday! Or at least Arbor Day or something!

Well, we have a bit of good news to share with you fine folks...

Check out more pictures in the FB and G+ albums.

This past week we took our pre-production Nocturn to Batdorf & Bronson’s Atlanta roastery for a meeting with Batdorf’s Jason Dominy and Mike Ferguson. For those of you who don’t remember, Jason is former Chair of the Barista Guild of America Executive Council, SCAA Espresso Subject Matter Expert, and current outreach maven for Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters. Early in the project, he reached out to us to see what a few engineering-minded kids thought they knew about good espresso. (It turns out he knows way more.)

We spent much of the afternoon with Jason pulling shots of B&B Guatemala Finca El Valle, and steaming milk. As always, the B&B folks were happy to drop some knowledge on us and give us their opinions.

We’re proud to say that it went swimmingly. “The Best Home Machine Under $1K,” says Jason Dominy. You, too, can quote him on that.

We were consistently getting great complexity and repeatability out of the shots, and the feedback we got was that they were better than those from a Nuovo Simonelli Oscar and even comparable to shots pulled from their PID’d La Marzocco Linea! Wowza!

Hearing such high praise from people who know their stuff and don’t dole out compliments willy-nilly was definitely exciting, encouraging, and humbling for us (and, you know, I guess you guys helped).

Some numbers from the demo:

  • Heat-up time from room temperature to 95˚C: 80 sec
  • Steam time for 8oz milk: ~40 sec
  • Heat-up time from brew temperature to steam temperature: ~40 sec
  • Cool-down time from steam temperature to brew temperature (by purging the group head): ~20 sec

The steam could still use a little refinement, but we’re close to what we expect the final performance to be. While not as powerful as commercial machines with huge boilers, the steam was outperforming common home machines, and totally sufficient to make several tasty cappuccinos.

We pulled all shots using a naked portafilter, which spritzes a bit but definitely lets you know what’s going on with your pull! During the demo Jason posted a flurry of photos and Vines (crazy kids), which we collected here. Be sure to check out the Facebook/G+ albums as well for more salacious eye-candy!

We’re putting the final touches on the app, and will update you on that in a day or two!

Until then, rejoice and be merry, for the golden hour is upon us!

With love from ZPM

info@zpmespresso.com | Google+ | Facebook | Twitter | Site | Forum

5 Comments
1,546
Backers
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Funding period
Dec 11, 2011 - Jan 20, 2012 (40 days)

  • Pledge $1 or more

    88 backers

    And they say you can’t get good coffee for $1 anymore! But your $1 is getting us that much closer to great at-home espresso - we couldn’t do it without you! A hearty thanks, and we’ll put your name on our website. Every dollar counts!

    Estimated delivery: Jan 2012
  • Pledge $10 or more

    70 backers

    Shot glasses are more than just cute miniature versions of regular glasses - they’re great for your espresso, for your liquor, for growing tiny plants in...With a $10 pledge you get shot glasses with our logo! Just use responsibly.

    Estimated delivery: Feb 2012
  • Pledge $25 or more

    33 backers

    Coffee is great for warming you up on a chilly day, but sometimes you need to take it to the next level and put on some clothes. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered (literally! - you like that?). Enjoy one of our cozy, and stylish, ZPM T-shirts. And the shot glasses are all yours, too.

    Estimated delivery: Feb 2012
  • Pledge $50 or more

    13 backers

    Our machines do a lot of the work of making perfect espresso, but you’ve got to help out too. To show our gratitude, we’re making it as easy as possible by giving you the tools you require - namely, a fancy-schmancy tamper for all your tamping needs (probably just espresso, but who knows?). Add that to the t-shirt and shot glasses, and you’ll be sitting pretty.

    Estimated delivery: Feb 2012
  • Pledge $75 or more

    6 backers

    There’s no better feeling than unwrapping a box of presents - except maybe the feeling of playing with a bunch of presents. Forgive us for spoiling the surprise, but here’s what you’ll be getting from us: a shot glass, a t-shirt, a tamper, and your very own bag of artisan coffee beans. With our box of gifts, it’ll feel like Christmas in...whatever month you get your box of gifts!

    Estimated delivery: Feb 2012
  • Pledge $200 or more

    450 backers All gone!

    For a $200 pledge, you’re pre-ordering one of our very first machines, a $400 retail value! It can be hard to be one of the first to brave new frontiers, but don’t worry - there’s no river-crossings or dysentery in store for you, just awesome home-brewed espresso.

    Estimated delivery: Mar 2012
  • Pledge $250 or more

    450 backers All gone!

    If you want to boldly brew as you’ve never brewed before, this is your level. For $250, you’ll receive everything you need to craft the perfect espresso - one of our first machines, a bag of artisan coffee beans, shot glasses, and a tamper. And you can savor it while wearing one of our t-shirts. A $470 value!

    Estimated delivery: Mar 2012
  • Pledge $300 or more

    244 backers Limited (6 of 250 left)

    So you didn't manage to snag one of our $200 reward level machines and now you're sitting around all bummed out. Well, buck up, my friend, because we're not going to abandon you. For $300, you can still pre-order a machine. And our later machines will incorporate any user feedback we get from the early birds - so sometimes it pays to wait.

    Estimated delivery: Dec 2012
  • Pledge $350 or more

    114 backers Limited (136 of 250 left)

    We know you were just dying to pledge at our $250 reward level, but, you know, a lot of stuff came up, what with the holidays and TV being so good lately, and you never got around to it...and now it's sold out! Fear not, dear backer. You can still pledge to get our machine and box of goodies that includes shot glasses, t-shirt, espresso tamper, and a bag of artisan roasted coffee beans; a $470 dollar retail value! They'll arrive a little later, but the anticipation is half the fun.

    Estimated delivery: Dec 2012
  • Pledge $675 or more

    16 backers

    So you know you want our espresso machine - great! But you also know you'll have a hard time tamping whole beans. We're in the business of solving problems, so let us help you out. For $675, you get our machine AND a Baratza Vario grinder (a $869 value)! Grind away! (This is a 120V/US-shipping only reward level.)

    Estimated delivery: Dec 2012
  • Pledge $725 or more

    24 backers

    You're clearly in it to win it at this point, so you may as well spring for the deluxe edition. Our machine, a Baratza Vario grinder, a t-shirt, a tamper, shot glasses, and a bag of Batdorf & Bronson Dancing Goats coffee (a $939 retail value). That's right, we will meet all your fashion and beverage needs. You never need to leave the house again. (This is a 120V/US shipping-only reward level.)

    Estimated delivery: Dec 2012
  • Pledge $1,000 or more

    10 backers All gone!

    If you’ve always dreamed of being a self-sufficient one-man (or -lady) coffee shop, this is where you need to be. For $1000, we’ll custom build a machine to your specifications (!), send you all of our ZPM logo products, shot glasses, a tamper, a bag of artisanal coffee, and your very own grinder. Now all you need is a patch of good bean-growin’ land in Colombia, and you’ll be set for life.

    Estimated delivery: Mar 2012

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