We offer free software for your espresso machine. It turns ordinary portafilter machines into sophisticated shot brewers with precise control over temperature, pressure and dispensed weight.

 
Our software is for espresso machines which have been equipped with a microcontroller. It is compatible with portafilter machines with 1 or 2 boilers, vibe pump and 120-240V supply voltage (EU/USA), such as Rancilio Silvia, ECM Casa IV, Lelit PL, Bezzera BZ09, Vibiemme Domobar etc.

Such machines do not always reach their full potential because a fine mechanical basis is combined with limited pressure control, antiquated thermostats or entry-level PID controllers. 

Our software controls heating (PID with feed-forward control), brew pressure (with feedback from pressure sensor), flow rate, valves, lights, switches. It can read flow meters, tank sensors and Bluetooth LE scales. Pump power control adds cool features, for example pressure profiling (programmable brew pressure profiles), preinfusion1, volumetric and gravimetric dosing and effective warm-up programs.

We support various Atmel ATMega1284-based microcontroller modules, for example ito, arturo and AVR NET IO. A display is recommended but not necessary. The microcontroller can be installed internally and remain invisible, preserving the original look of your espresso machine: Our firmware can be configured by software on computers (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X) and Android devices, connected by WLAN, USB or Bluetooth2.

caffè!, leva! and ristretto!

Three variants of our firmware are available:
  • caffè! and leva! control heat, pump(s) and valve(s). leva! is for typical home espresso machines with one valve, one pump and one or two boilers. It requires only a small microcontroller module (ito). caffè! is for machines with more pumps and/or more valves. It requires a more powerful microcontroller.
  • ristretto! is a minimal version, only for temperature control. It turns a microcontroller (for example AVR NET IO) into a PID but does not deal with pumps or valves.

1: Pre-wetting of coffee at electronically regulated low pressure
2: Depending on selected hardware

 
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