The arduino is really starting to become prevalent for hardware hacking. [Nash] used one to take control of his Gaggia espresso machine. (They’re really decent little machines) He popped in a LCD display, some solid state relays to control the pump and the heating element, and an AD595 to interface a K type thermocouple. It looks like an excellent hack, but for the love of god man – get a better grinder!
He describes the original mod here, and added a small gallery of internal shots here. From the latest comments, it looks like the guys are RepRap project are even interested in the thermocouple PID control that [Nash] implemented.
It’s been done to death, but….
I, for one, welcome our new caffienated overlords.
Microcontrollers are becoming popular, I’m thinking about replacing the broken electronics of a washing machine with one.
I want some coffee now.
sweet mod, but what idiot uses a blade grinder for espresso? If he’s using a gaggia machine, you know he can afford better. but other than that, nice job.
Love espresso.
i love reading about coffee hacks, even though I’ll probably never do one.
How many people know why the clock on a coffee pot stops working after awhile. Because heat and magnets don’t get along. Heat de-magnetizes the magnets. Everything in this machine has magnets, the motors the switches goto, and the LCD screens. And you can’t have coffee without the heat. I’m not sure I would buy it unless I knew it could be made safe from faulty motors.