Variegate your machine,
elevate your espresso

For Enginistas who believe the best espresso machine is the one you already own – upgraded. Instead of replacing your machine when electronics fail or when you want advanced features, our open-source hardware modules let you transform it into a precision instrument that rivals any commercial offering.

Our APEC SoM and related projects aren't commercial products – they're community-developed modules that require technical knowledge, patience, and a love of both engineering and espresso. For those willing to take the journey, the reward is a deeply customizable machine that reduces e-waste while delivering uncompromising performance.

Important: Our projects are open-source hardware modules designed for engineers and technically-minded coffee enthusiasts. They require PCB fabrication, component sourcing, assembly, and electrical safety knowledge. Installation can involve working around mains voltage and pressurized systems. No warranties or formal support – just a passionate community ready to help you learn.

Latest from the Project Log

Follow our engineering journey as we explore, experiment, and share discoveries. This is where we document challenges, celebrate breakthroughs, and learn together as a community of passionate Enginistas.

2025-10-04: Sentiero


Why do I do this? When working on a project, any project, that’s a fair question to ask. I’ve been working on espresso related hardware for years now, but I don’t think I’ve ever written about why. Looking at the time and money I’ve put into it, wouldn’t it be better to just buy a Slayer or a Strada and be done with it? The La Marzocco Strada was named for the ’Street team’ – a team of professional baristas that helped design the machine.…
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2025-09-14: Findings on load cells


So I designed a GS3 drip tray grate with mounting points for load cells, and earlier this week I received it. It looks great (no pun intended), but it did became the proximal cause of me learning a thing or two about load cells. I used to have a similar grate for the Bianca, and it worked pretty good. One of the main issues though was load cell cable routing, and on the Bianca, there are no good places to route them without making major modifications to they tray.…
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2025-08-23: LM GS3 Carrier


Last entry I discussed the roadmap change happening due to me buying a La Marzocco GS3, and I gave a brief description of my ideas for a carrier board. This past week (and before even posting the last post), I’ve been busy designing the new carrier, and I’d like to give a little more information on it! Let’s get started with a picture - it does say more than a thousand words after all.…
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2025-08-14: Progress report and direction update


It’s been a while since the last update, but it’s not for lack of progress. I’m at a stage (with the Dev Rig) where the basics work pretty nicely, so it’s been time to tackle the harder tasks. I want to bring up a few of them specifically. UI A stock Silvia has four buttons and a light. That’s fine for the stock hardware, but the Dev Rig is a lot more configurable, and as such, I’ve added a rotary encoder and a display.…
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2025-05-23: Course correction on the ESP32


As I’ve mentioned in other channels (Discord, Instagram) there’s been a lot of progress with the Dev Rig these past weeks. I can now actually pull shots on it, and they taste good. While the direction forward is clear - get the dev rig to where I can use it as a daily driver so that I can work on the Bianca - I’ve been considering next steps. My thinking is to get started on the ESP32-C6 firmware.…
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