Breville Hopper

 The Breville espresso machine comes with a rather small hopper to store coffee beans before they are fed to the grinder. I built an extension to the existing coffee bean hopper that would increase its capacity while also fitting in current location, below the cabinet. As my first printing project, I went through multiple design iterations to better serve the constraints and commonly used accessories for this machine. In addition, this project served as a canvas to explore and test the capabilities of software such as Fusion 360 and Ultimaker slicer.

Mk1

Mark 1

 For my first design I measured the distance between the top of the existing coffee bean hopper and the bottom of the cabinet door to be around 60 mm. For this I designed a simple cylinder to extend the existing hopper cylinder with as small lip to secure it in place. This print was successful and fit well on top of the machine, however the lip was not long enough to keep it secure and with the lid attach, it blocked the cabinet door from opening.

Hopper on kitchen placemant.Hopper extending existing coffee bean hopper.Hopper with lid.Top view of hopper with lid.Hopper with lid blocking cabinet door.
Cylindrical extension placed on top of existing hopper. (Mark 1)

Mark 2

 The second iteration of this design aimed to use more of the available horizontal space but also embed the lid portion into the print in order to allow the cabinet door to close. This print did not use any support for its overhangs and thus ran into issues towards the end where the lip was printed.

Top view of neck printing errors.Side View of neck printing errors.Another Side View of neck printing errors.Top view of hopper.Another top view of hopper.
Errors in printing due to abrupt step in neck area. (Mark 2)

 The results of this print did proved useful as it showed that the lid would fit in the inset portion of the hopper. Along with a correctly printed lip, would also fit well on the machine and no longer prevent the cabinet door from opening.

Top view of hopper with lid.Bottom view of hopper with lid.Front view of hopper placed on existing hopper.Top view of hopper placed on existing hopper.Hopper with lid no longer blocking cabinet door.
Hopper with lid in intended spot just below cabinet. (Mark 2)
Hopper with lid no longer prevents cabinet door from opening. (Mark 2)

 Since this print could not be used with the Breville espresso machine, I decided to use it to resolve another issue I had with my cat, Vale. Vale like to play with his water bowl and tip it over from time to time making a big mess. This print utilized similar dimensions just larger than the water bowl its self and due to the slope, Vale now has a harder time flipping the bowl over.

Print used for anti-flip around cat water bowl.
This print coincedently has appropriate dimesion to be repurposed as anti-flip barrier for my cat's water bowl. (Mark 2)

Mark 3

 This version of the print was updated to use a larger 200 mm cylindrical diameter to further increase the amount beans it can store. This was printed right side up but ran into issues towards the end where the lid inset portion had significant overhang. Some of the filament around this area was not able to adhere correctly to its intended area and were left as stringy residue.

Stringy filament encountered during printing process.Timestamp when defect was encountered.End result of printing process on printer with defects.Top view of printed hopper defects.Another top view of printed hopper defects.Bottom view of printed hopper defects.
Successfully printed hopper with several defects. (Mark 3)

 The existing lid fits well in the provided inset and a small notch was placed in the side to make removing the lid easier. This print was the first iteration to successfully attach to the existing hopper and extend the space to store coffee beans.

Top view of hopper with lid on Breville machine.Side view of hopper with lid on Breville machine.Hopper with lid on Breville machine.Top view of hopper with lid on Breville machine with coffee beans.
Hopper fits well on Breville machine and functions as intended. (Mark 3)

Mark 4 Version 1

 This iteration of the print aimed to improve the extension's placement on the hopper with rubber O-rings while also utilizing a larger 220 mm diameter. For this I followed this tutorial to remove some of the factory restraints on the slicer software.

Tutorial for removing keep out areas on Ultimaker.

 The print encountered some defects early while printing the sloped portions of the funnel but successfully finished printing utilizing the maximum print area.

Some stringy filament still encountered during printing process.Wider view of printer during printing process.Print completed successfully.
Print utilizing maximum 220 mm x 220 mm area with some defects. (Mark 4 Version 1)

 The finished print however did not fit on the hopper area as the rubber O-rings placed in the printed neck grooves was too large. This was noted and in future prints would be accounted for with greater tolerance.

O-ring on hopper is too large to fit on machine.Side view with o-ring on hopper.2.00mm o-ring caliper measurement with cat
Tolerance for o-ring groove was not sufficient enough to fit. (Mark 4 Version 1)

Mark 4 Version 2

 This version attempts to see what would occur if a 240 mm diameter was used on a 220 mm x 220 mm maximum print bed. As seen below, the printer is physically not be able to extend further than what is available and for some of those curved portions would result in a straight line. The print was stopped mid way as the funnel portion did not end up printing properly either.

240mm x 240mm area print failed.
Print utilizing 240 mm x 240 mm area was not successful. (Mark 4 Version 2)

Mark 5 Version 1

 This version reverts back to a design similar to that of Mark 3 with a greater emphasis on updating the sloped interior and exterior portions to print with less defects. Unfortunately the adjustments to the exterior funnel portion of the print was not enough to prevent defects but the interior slope towards the top printed correctly.

Funnel portion of neck still has stringy defects.Later view of stringy defects.Later view of printing process.Top view of printing process.Top view of completed print.Side view of completed print.Side view of defects after completed print.Bottom view of defects after completed print.Bottom view after defects have been trimmed.Total elapsed print time.
Views of print and defects during and after print process. (Mark 5 Version 1)

Mark 5 Version 2

 This version aims to fix the defects issue on the exterior portion of the funnel by increasing the angle of the funnel. Along with this debossed content was added around the side of the print to displaying the following recipes.


 /+\     |FF|-|                /__\              \FFFFFFFF/-/    \FFFFFFFF/-/   \MMMMMMMM/-/   \HHHHHHHH/-/  \CCCCCCCC/-/ 
 |C|     /FF\-|      /_\       |MM|     |EE|]     \MMMMMM/-/      \FFFFFF/-/     \MMMMMM/-/     \HHHHHH/-/    \CCCCCC/-/
 |C|    /FFFF\       |H|       |MM|   __|EE|__   __\EEEE/__      __\EEEE/__     __\EEEE/__     __\EEEE/__    __\EEEE/__
Cream    Foam    Half & Half   Milk   Espresso   Cappuccino    Dry Cappuccino   Flat White     Cafe Breve     Con Pana
Fewer defects encountered during neck printing.Top view of interior neck defects.Front view of debossing.Left corner view of debossing.Right corner view of debossing.Front view of debossing in completed print.Top view of completed print.Bottom view of completed print.Elapsed time for print.
Views of printing process and completed print with elapsed time. (Mark 5 Version 2)

 The print was successful and the increased tolerance for the O-rings allowed the extension to fit in the machine, albet very tightly. In the next print the tolerance around the O-ring will be further increased.

View of o-ring placed in recessed neck area.View of hopper attached to machine.Closer view or o-ring on hopper when attached to machine.View of cabinet door opened when hopper is attached to machine.
Hopper placed on machine. (Mark 5 Version 2)
Views of debossed recipes.

Mark 6

 This iteration aims to utilize the full printable area of the 220 mm x 220 mm print bed with square dimensions. The circular neck portion of the print was kept the same and used the loft tool to generate the funnel portion. Along with this insets were created for other accessories such as the brush and grounds comb.

Defects encountered during neck printing process.Closer view of defects encountered during neck printing process.Top view of printing of funnel portion of neck.Top view of later portion of print.Top view of completed print.Total elapsed time for print.
Views during print process and elapsed time. (Mark 6)

 The print finished in just over a day and with minimal defects which occurred during the neck portion. The brush accessory was a little too long to fit in place and the inset for the handle portion will need extended. The space for the O-ring was just enough and was able to fit snuggly in the machine when twisted in place.

Interior view of top portion of hopper.Top view of hopper with accessories in place.Brush accessory is a bit too large for created slot.Hopper placed on machine.Top view of hopper placed on machine.Side view of hopper placed on machine with o-rings visible.
Print with accessories in place and secured on the machine. (Mark 6)
Cabinet closing with hopper in place.

Mark 7 Version 1a

 This iteration sets aside the insets for the brush and grounds trimmer for a later version and focuses on providing a space to store the filter basket. The print ran into issues early on where adhesion to the print bed started failing on the right side early, probably due to improper leveling. Along with this, this design produced a lot more stringy defects probably due to some of the abrupt offsets. This time around the grooves of the O-rings were made a little too large as the print seems to slide in and out of place too easily.

Initial adhesion layers for printing along with leftovers from previous prints.Defects already present during lower portion of print.Additional layers seems have less defects.Lower portion of the print seems to exhibit uneven printing.Right side of adhesion layer has lifted from the print bed.Top view of completed print.Top view of defects within completed print.Bottom view of hopper removed from print bed.Close up of hopper bottom with printing defects.Total elapsed time for print.
Completed print with close ups on defects. (Mark 7 Version 1a)

 The space for the filter basket was adequate enough to secure them in place but were a little too tight as removing them for use also ends up lifting the print. In the next iteration of this print the slots for the filter basket will have greater tolerances and less unneccessary material surrounding it.

Side view of hopper with filter holder placed in slot.Close up view of o-rings placed in grooves.Side view of the back of machine where hopper blocks water removal.View of hopper with filter holders placed in slots.Top view of hopper with lid attached.
Hopper placed on machine. (Mark 7 Version 1a)
Cabinet is able to close with print in place. (Mark 7 Version 1a)

Mark 7 Version 1b

 This version of the print takes the same model but prints it upside down to see if this would create less defects. Unfortunately, changing the way it was printed did not resolve some of the issues that were inherit in the design.

Later stage of print with support for inset for lid area.Close up of seperation between support and lid area.Later stage of print during funnel section.Small adhesion failure with visible seam of defect.Printing defects during circular portion of funnel.Finished printing result.Interal view of defects during circular funnel portion.Close up on partial removal of lid support.Top view of lid inset with fully removed support.Elasped time of print.
Close up views of defects in finished print and elapsed time. (Mark 7 Version 1b)

Mark 7 Version 2

 This iteration removes the extra two filter basket slots on the right side of the print since we only have a total of two. Along with this the dimensions of this prints were reduced to 180 mm in width to look better on the espresso machine. This print ended up unused as the funnel portion were not thick enough to allow the individual layers to adhere to on another.

Print during early stage.Finished printing result.Top view of finished printing result.Finished print with support on lid inset.View of print with support cleanly removed.Close up view of neck defects during printView of defects in funnel portion of print.View of light passing through defects in funnel.Elasped time of print.
View of defects in finished print. (Mark 7 Version 2)

Mark 7 Version 3

 The removal of the finished print from the included print bed was often time consuming as it needs to be done carefully in order to not damage the print when scraping away from the rigid print bed. To address this I purchased a flexible magnetic print bed which made it easy to remove from the printer and the final print.

Magnetic print bed for Ender 3 listing on Amazon.com
Amazon.com listing for Ender 3 magnetic print bed. (Mark 7 Version 3)

 Unfortunately this print encountered the first thermal runaway error which at the time I attributed to an improper installation of the new print bed. During this issue, the printer would emit a continuous tone loud as a fire alarm in order to alert the user to turn off the machine. After further research, this error is encountered when the printer is unable to accurately control the temperature of either the print bed or extruder nozzle. The main cause of this error is possibly due to the thermoresistor is improperly attached to the heat source. For this I believed that the new magnetic print bed and the adhesive attachment might have contributed to this issue and thus removed and reattached the new print bed.

Print beginning on magnetic bed.Early stage of print.Later stage of print resumed after thermal runaway.Thermal runaway error.
Print encountered a thermal runaway error and was resumed after restarting printer. (Mark 7 Version 3)

 The print however was sufficiently completed enough for me to test out how the filter baskets would fit.

View of filter holders on partially completed print.Side view of partially completed print.Close up on filter holder.
View of accessories on partially completed print. (Mark 7 Version 3)

Mark 7 Version 4a

 Unfortunately the magnetic print bed on this print was not securely attached to the print bed and shifted during the printing process. I did not know at the time but this was caused due to my attempt to readjust the magnetic adhesion layer on the print bed.

Print failure due to shift in print bed.
Magnetic print bed has shifted causing print failure. (Mark 7 Version 4a)

Mark 7 Version 4b

 This iteration updates the angle of the funnel portion in order to print properly and removes the section of the filter basket holder. The magnetic print bed was secured with paper clips used on previous prints. This proved adqueate enough to keep the print bed from moving away but was not able to prevent the issue of print bowing out on the edges.

Magnetic print bed attached with clips.Small adhesion failure on sides of print.Middle portion of magnetic bed has lifted away from printing platform.Bits of excess support exposed later in print.Funnel portion of print has printed successfully.Neck portion of print has printed successfully.Top view of completed print.View of elapsed time.
Completed print and elapsed time. (Mark 7 Version 4b)

 The print used the same O-rings and ended up fitting well onto the espresso machine along with providing slots for hanging up the filter baskets.

O-Rings fit well on inset in neck.Hopper fits well on machine along with filter holder.Top view of hopper on machineSide view of hopper on machine along with filter holder.O-Rings on neck do not slip when secured to machine.Hopper leaves enough space to allow for water reservoir is removed.Hopper is slightly lifted from machine when filter holder is removed.
Additional notes on finished print. (Mark 7 Version 4b)
Cabinet close with hopper attached. (Mark 7 Version 4b)

Mark 7 Version 5

 At this point I was confident that the magnetic print caused the bowing issue so I reverted back to using the rigid non-magnetic print bed. I attached this in the same way with paper clips but forget to level the print bed. As a result, the extruder nozzle was far too close to the print bed and ended up fusing the print to the print bed. This made the removal process of the final print difficult and ended up damaging the print.

Beginning stage of print with embossing for bush area.Finished print.Top view of finished print.Elapsed time of print.View of print bed after print removal.Top view of print with damages from print bed removal.Front view of finished print with accessories attached.
Views of print and damage during removal from print bed. (Mark 7 Version 5)

Mark 7 Version 6

 At this pointer I had no other option but to give the magnetic print bed another chance as I had ruined the included one in the previous print. While doing this I figured out that I had attaching the adhesive portion of the print bed improperly by rotating 90°. As such to the magnetic print bed also had to be rotated 90° and the lift portion cut off in order to be secured properly. This encountered a strange issue where the filament for the spool got stuck and ended up preventing the filament from flowing to the extruder; The printer did not know this and continued printing without the filament. The print was completed enough to show that the brush inset was just a bit too large and should be made a bit smaller.

Correct placement of magnetic printing bed.Removed extra overhang on magnetic print bed to fit properly.Beginning stage of print on magnetic print bed.Print continues however filament doesn't flow.Filament spool got stuck and caused print to fail.Brush inset was a little too large and adjusted to be slightly smaller
Failed print showed that space around brush inset was a adequate enough to fit but still little bit too large. (Mark 7 Version 6)

Mark 7 Version 7

 This version of the print adds in the slot for rectangular grounds scraper to the front of the print and debossing indicators for filter basket and grounds scraper.

View of finished printTop view of finished printUnderside of finished print with support attachedElapsed time for print
Finished print and elapsed time. (Mark 7 Version 7)

The print completed with minimal defects as the loft in the funnel portion was updated well enough to accomodate the subsequent layers. The slots for the accessories and lid were printed with enough tolerance to allow easy placement and removal. The space for the filter basket holder was increased so that the slot can be used with the filter basket in place.

Top view of finished print with accessories attached.Front view of finished print with accessories attached.Front view of hopper attached to machine.Top view of hopper attached to machine.Corner view hopper attached to machine.Side view of filter baskets on hopper while attached to machine.Space available for water reservoir removal.
Views of hopper with accessories attached while on machine. (Mark 7 Version 7)
Cabinet door is able to close with print in place. (Mark 7 Version 7)

 As a first project I used a lot of filament to create multiple iterations of the print with small changes and in hindsight a smaller project may have suited better. Through this process I refined the way I developed models in Fusion 360 to from re-inputing the same measurements to using the included tools such as history to save time by iterating on the existing designs. I am satisfied with the outcome of this project and impressed by the accuracy and tolerances that can be achieved with the 3D printer. I am interested in further exploring this tool and other solutions I can build with this technology.