Parametric espresso tools

After switching to a bottomless portafilter, I ran into two small but persistent workflow problems that did not have good off-the-shelf answers for my setup.

The first problem was cleanup. The spent espresso puck would not always come out cleanly, even with a knock box. I designed a flexible TPU ejector that seals against the bottom of the portafilter basket. A quick smack creates enough air pressure to push the grounds out cleanly into the compost.

The second problem was fit. I wanted a tamping station that actually matched my portafilter, but many printable holders online describe compatibility by brand or general size without exposing the dimensions that matter. In practice, the fit depends on details like basket diameter, ear geometry, handle angle, saddle height, and counter clearance.

To make the design more adaptable, I created a parametric OpenSCAD tamper station. Instead of remodelling the holder for every variation, the key dimensions can be measured, entered, and regenerated for a specific portafilter setup.

This is a small project, but it captures a useful design pattern: solve the immediate problem, identify which dimensions actually control fit and function, and turn the solution into something adjustable enough to be reused instead of rebuilt from scratch.

Fridge door closing magnet

My fridge door would sometimes stop just short of closing fully. It was a small problem, but the result was annoying: the door could look almost closed while the seal had not fully taken over.

I considered a few possible fixes, including tipping the fridge back slightly, adding an alarm, or designing a retracting magnet mechanism. Those options would have added complexity or solved the problem after it happened rather than helping the door close properly in the first place.

The simpler answer came from looking more carefully at the fridge itself. I noticed an unused feature from the reversible-door design: a spot where the door hardware could have been mounted if the hinge direction were changed. That gave me a clean place to attach a small helper without modifying the main door or cabinet.

I designed and 3D printed a small holder for rare earth magnets. The magnets provide just enough pull to bring the door through the last bit of travel so the edge gasket can take over and seal the door normally.

It is a small project, but it captures a useful design pattern: look at the actual object, notice the features that are already available, and choose the simplest physical intervention that solves the real failure mode.