버튼 한번으로 완성하는 바리스타의 품질

Customer-specific adjustment even with a small batch

In 2015, at the beginning of the development of the fully automated CAMEO coffee machine, Eversys was looking for a suitable solution for generating a pneumatic circuit capable of producing high-quality milk foam. A specific regulation of the air volume flowing into the system was crucial in to determining the milk foam’s texture. The solution also had to meet the stringent requirements of food certification as well as the demand for a long service life.

With KNF, the Swiss coffee machine manufacturer found a reliable expert. “KNF is a competent and responsive partner who quickly understood our specific requirements”, Jonathan Besse, head of mechanical engineering at Eversys, summarizes the cooperation. Within a few weeks, Eversys was provided a first prototype. Since the coffee machine manufacturer was still in the concept phase, they profited from the fact that KNF could already produce very small batches according to the customer requirements. “So, we had the opportunity to define the pump according to our developments and to continuously adjust it.”

Valuable time savings and the simultaneous increase of the pumping performance

Today, Eversys uses two different pump types to regulate the air volume flowing through the system. KNF diaphragm pump NMP 830 is used in the smaller single-consumer E’Line series. The larger commercial CAMEO series relies on the KNF NPK 03 swing piston gas pump.

In the development of the optimum pump, Eversys focused on a long service life, required pump performance, and quiet operation. “On the one hand, the continuous operation of the pump had to be unnoticeable inside the cafeteria; on the other hand, dense milk foam had to be generated often and quickly despite the high pressure required to do so." To meet these requirements, KNF not only focused on the individual pump but on its impact to the overall system. This way, possible optimizations could be identified in the overall context, and respective KNF components could be developed and implemented.

For example, vibrations have been reduced by using a damper plate, and the integration of a filter ensured quiet operation. “Previously, we had to independently integrate individual components into our pumps for optimization. KNF gave us the opportunity to set the focus on what is essential – the complete machine – while the KNF experts were responsible for the pump system. This approach saved us valuable time during the development process. Increasing the pumping performance for our application also allowed us to finally use only one pump per machine, where for some configurations we would have had to use two instead”, Besse describes the main advantages of the cooperation with KNF.