Circuit Lake

Do you want to modify your Espresso machine for low cost and more control? well, you can try what Nash Lincoln did. Modding the Gaggia Espresso with Adding a PID temperature controller and computer interface.

The goal of this project is to create a computer interface for my Gaggia Espresso machine replacing the factory thermal switches with a PID controller and the “steam” and “pump” toggle switches with a LCD/button menu system. This project use Arduino Decimillia micro-controller which utilizes the AVR AtMega168

After seeing the various instructions and kits geared toward modding a home espresso machine with a PID, and their costs and features compared to something like the PID PIC MOD, I decided I would start from scratch and build my own PID. Then I could easily extend it to control the rest of the espresso machine, such as adding a timer to monitor or control the shot time and adding temperature presets. [link]