The quality of espresso is not only related to the taste of coffee but also to other physical parameters, including the overall liquid amount and temperature The amount of coffee dispensed from a capsule depends on various process parameters involved in its production.
Therefore, it is essential to monitor the production process. In recent years, the quality of the process has been verified by dispensing capsules using actual coffee machines. However, these machines inherently have variations. The Customer needed to test coffee capsules using a repeatable and industrial system.
We developed a testing bench that simulates the operation of a coffee machine.
Periodically, a collaborative robot takes a coffee capsule from a storage drawer, weighs it using a precision scale, inserts it into the Brewing Unit of a coffee machine, checks with a 3D camera that the capsule is correctly positioned in the housing, closes the Brewing Unit, and initiates the dispensing process.
A pump pressurizes the hydraulic circuit, while resistors heat the water. At each instant, the bench measures the pressure in the circuit and, based on a pressure/flow curve defined during the study phase, sets the water flow passing through the coffee capsule using a high-precision regulation valve.
The coffee is weighed from the first drop that falls into a collection cup using a scale. When the target weight of the espresso is reached, the bench records the dispensing time. During dispensing, a real-time camera reads the flow and color of the coffee to derive additional quality parameters.
All data is saved in the client's management system, providing a large amount of qualitative and quantitative information about the process.
