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.

2026-08-13: Wi-Fi, scales, and shots you can share


It’s been a while since the last entry. The project hasn’t been entirely stale, I made a fair bit of progress in November, but after that I had a lot of other things on my radar. It wasn’t fully quiet - I’ve been using the GS3 pretty much daily, and I’m becoming increasingly confident that the hardware is good. I recently picked up working on the project these past few weeks, and there’s been a lot of progress in that time.…
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2025-10-29: State of the union


It’s been about a month since my last entry, and quite a bit has happened in that time. I’ve successfully validated gear pump operation (with some caveats), the TFT display is now functional, and - last but not least - just received my order of the EV2 revision of the GS3 carrier board. Time for a comprehensive status update on where things stand and where they’re heading. Gear Pump Testing I’ve successfully tested a Fluid-o-tech FG304 gear pump with the GS3, and I’m happy to report that it works.…
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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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