Perfect water delivery for excellent coffee
The initial situation
Fully automatic coffee machines must guarantee the optimum mixture, brewing time, water flow and temperature in order to ensure consistently good cups of coffee. During the development of the Salvador 3.0 and Venezuela 3.0 models, it was found the water flow was too high. The water pumps delivered too much water to achieve the high standard of quality that Aequator was aiming for.
The project requirements
- Developing a water flow limiter for exactly 11 ml/s
- Integrated orifice plate
- Compatibility with pump outlet (size G1/4")
- Food-safe materials (FDA)
The Bachofen solution
The experts at Bachofen intensively studied the problem and pursued various approaches. In the end, they suggested installing a fixed stainless steel restrictor in a TEAcoated brass connector. The FDA-compliant component is installed directly on the pump with a G1/4″ connection. An additional pressed-in orifice plate ensures that
the water flow rate achieves the required 11 ml/s with tolerances in the thousandths range. This tailor-made solution was the result of the Bachofen specialists’ customer orientation and a good deal of creativity. Despite supply bottlenecks, the required initial run of 500 units was produced within five months. The aim is to produce 3000 each year, guaranteeing the accustomed quality of Aequator coffee.