AEROPRESS COFFEE MACHINE
This project was part of a final year module in Loughborough Design School. The project brief was to design a functioning AeroPress Coffee Machine. This combined all the mechanics and electronics content that I had been taught throughout my degree.
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The Coffee machine is automatic with minimal user interaction. Electrical components had to be sourced, coded, and combined together to make the final functioning circuit.
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Manufactured in-house at Loughborough University, the machine utilised a scissor mechanism manufactured from mild steel to operate as the plunging mechanism for the AeroPress.
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A mobile hopper and water pump would move over the AeroPress by using a stepper motor then a DC motor would operate a grinder to grind the beans directly into the AeroPress.
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Other features included a hot plate to heat the mug throughout the plunging process, a custom inverted filling method, a simple user interface and an emergency stop button.
INVERTED FILLING MECHANISM
Our team decided to push ourselves in trying to achieve a water-tight inverted filling mechanism. The inspiration for this mechanism was taken from the BottomUp beer company (https://www.bottomsupbeeruk.com/).
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The mechanism consisted of a custom end cap that would be placed on top of the AeroPress and a custom beaker that would go on top of the end cap and be filled with coffee (as seen in the video below)
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The seal utilised magnets and steel plates to create the connection between the two parts. As the beaker was introduced to the end cap the seal would lift up and create a gap inside the beaker to allow the coffee to flow through.
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Once the beaker was full of coffee it could be lifted off the end cap. The steel plates would then drop down to the bottom of the beaker and create the seal to keep the coffee in the beaker. The coffee could then be poured into a mug and enjoyed.
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This whole mechanism was designed on SolidWorks and manufactured using a Prusa i3Mks 3D printer for the body and a waterjet cutter and milling machine for the metal seal.
FUNCTIONING PROTOTYPE
Prototype Working
Final Demonstration