Hello All,
WE’RE FINALLY SHIPPING!!!
Assembly Line Trials and Tribulations
We’ve been focused on assembling the first 9 units and things have not gone as smoothly as planned.
After wrapping up assembly on these units we started the final Quality Control inspection last week. The QC inspection includes pulling shots with the Scace 2 puck simulator and thermometer to verify brew temps and it was during this phase of testing we learned 5 of the 9 units were leaking from various fittings.
We learned that the hydrostatic testing done on the boilers in phase 1 was not completed as it should have been. Another testing apparatus was made to ensure we could pressurize the boiler sub assembly with water and were able to reproduce the leaks.
There were some boiler sub assemblies that did not leak according to this new test. Some leaks were very simple fixes and resulted from a lack of formal assembly procedures. We’ve come up with new procedures to test all of the pre-assembled units and use only the fully sealed machines before continuing to the final stages of assembly.
The bad news is that we have to rebuild those leaking boiler sub assemblies.
Moving forward we’ll be making changes to our assembly process to avoid this rework.
Instead of building units in batched phases, we’re going to focus on building each Argos completely from start to finish including QC and shipping. This is to avoid us finding issues that are affecting multiple units from a batch due to the assembly process.
We’re going to conduct multiple leak tests throughout the assembly of each unit to catch any potential issues as early as possible.
Both of these changes will mean less rework during assembly. As we continue assembling and testing units we’ll continue to learn about what checks and process changes we need to make to ensure units are functioning properly.
Shipping Updates
We’ve finished assembly on 5 units and have shipped them out! When accepting and signing for your package, if there are any signs of significant damage please tell the delivery person to note that your package was damaged upon receiving. You may still accept the package and contact us but the receiver must explicitly tell the driver to list the damage when signing for your machine in order for us to file a claim with the shipping company.
Once you receive your Argos please take a look at the user manual located on our website: USER MANUAL We will continue adding to the manual over the next week to cover pulling shots in both configurations as well as other general safety and tips.
For a video on unboxing, setting up, and using your Argos with tips and tricks to get the most out of your machine, watch here: Odyssey Argos Unboxing and Set Up
I’ll continue to upload videos of swapping from Spring to Direct and vice versa, direct pull use, using the Odyssey Espresso App, cleaning and maintenance, and more.
Hiring
We’ve hired 2 new assembly techs over the past few weeks and they’re both awesome! It’s going to take time to build these machines with the quality that we expect before our technicians become comfortable with the process, so expect shipments to start off slow and build up over the next few weeks. We will likely bring one one or two more people over the next month.
CE Certification Updates
The lab conducting our safety test required for CE certification has made a lot of progress. We just passed our final safety test for glow wire flammability which ensures that a loose wire will not ignite the wooden side panels. One of the final steps was reaching out to our various suppliers to provide the lab with the necessary paperwork showing material compliance. The lab is now drafting up the necessary documentation for a CE certification as well as conformance reports for the other countries that we ship to.
Next Batch Pre-Orders
Many people have been asking about when we will open pre-orders back up. We closed them off last fall to allow us to lock in numbers and really focus on procurement and production of our first batch of machines. While we’re constantly learning about how we can improve our processes and become more efficient at assembly without compromising quality, we wanted to wait until we started shipping and were in a comfortable flow of assembly before opening orders back up.
I expect to open pre-orders back up around the end of next week. With the current goal of getting all of our first batch shipped out in 3 to 4 months, opening orders now will allow us to start the next cycle of procurement which can take up to 2 months of manufacturing time and over 1 month of shipping before it ends up in our hands. The goal is to line this up so that as we finish shipping the final units from batch one, our technicians can transition right into prepping and starting to build batch 2.
While there is no plan to close off orders for batch 2 we may need to do so if the number of orders exceeds our capability. Unfortunately the price of the Argos will be increased moving forward. We will always keep this machine under $1000 USD but we must keep up with the rise in prices including material cost that has happened over the past few years.
Thank you all for the continued patience and support as we bring these awesome machines to market!
William, Ross, and Atlas with the first machine packaged and ready to ship!
Packaging and Argos.
Make it stand out
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Sincerely,
Ross & William