StoveTop Coffee Percolator
Areas of Focus: Finite Element Analysis, Manufacturing / Fabrication, Product Design
Project Length: 3 months
Participants: Matthew Derry
Design Intention
The product aims to produce “moka-pot” style coffee at a higher pressure, producing roughly two shots of espresso. In standard coffee percolators, this process occurs at pressures of 1-2 bar, true espresso is produced at 8-9 bar of pressure. By CNC milling instead of casting these pieces along with reworking the fundamental geometry the design aims to achieve a higher pressure (4-5 bar) and thus, a stronger, richer cup of coffee.
HOW PERCOLATION WORKS
In order to achieve the necessary pressure in the lower reservoir, the product is heated on a stovetop. As the pressure increases the water is forced through the coffee grounds.
FORM IDEATION
PRODUCTION IDEATION
Continued ideation revolved around solving the technical and manufacturing challenges that this project presented.
FInAL DESIGN
HOW TO USE - STEP BY STEP
FABRICATION - CNC MILLING
The final model was built using Solidworks then the toolpaths were designed using a HSMworks plugin. Everything was machined from a 3” x 5” and a 2” x 2” block of 3003 Aluminum.
DESIGN DETAILS
