I just received my Cimbali Max in March and have noticed there is some play on the grind adjustment knob before the worm gear is actually moving the burr.
I have submitted a photo showing how much I have to turn the adjustment knob before I feel the worm gear turning the burr.
I have inspected the worm gear assembly and the black nylon gear that is screwed into the burr and I do not see any wear or damage etc.
Would this play in the worm gear affect the ability of the grinder to maintain a grind setting?
I was wondering if any Max owners have noticed this?

Thanks
Doug

doug_m wrote:I just received my Cimbali Max in March and have noticed there is some play on the grind adjustment knob before the worm gear is actually moving the burr.

How's the coffee?

Marshall wrote:How's the coffee?

Is that the only answer worth giving to a "this seems broken, is yours the same question"?

The coffee could be astonishing but maybe the grinder really is wrong and he'd like to know while it's still under warranty.

I don't understand why so many people seem to have so little concern for the question, why is it this way or I got this, is this how it's supposed to be.

I bought new Mazzer burrs for a Robur and I thought they looked bad so I took pictures and asked lots of people with no one knowing the answer. I sent the pictures to Mazzer in Italy and they said, "we're so sorry, we'll send you 2 new sets and by the way, what's your S/N". When told I just bought the burrs they said, oh, you're not important, that's the way they are. Same with Chris who everyone raves about, Bought something on his recommendation and when I said it has this problem, he said, we know so we're not going to carry it any more, but you waited too long to complain, tough luck.

Personally, I want to know how it works, how it could be made better, why this is better than that, why this tastes different than that.

Sorry for the rant.

Ira

ira wrote:Is that the only answer worth giving to a "this seems broken, is yours the same question"?

The coffee could be astonishing but maybe the grinder really is wrong and he'd like to know while it's still under warranty.

I don't understand why so many people seem to have so little concern for the question, why is it this way or I got this, is this how it's supposed to be.

This is how it's supposed to be.

Ever since I started reading and posting on alt.coffee six or seven years ago (and I'm sure long before that), there has been an epicure vs. engineer gap. Sometimes the engineers make valuable advances that help all of us. But, DougM's post was a classic of the engineer's view.

He has just had the good fortune to become the owner of an amazing machine that we know produces astonishingly good and consistent espresso, but has not one word to say about that. It's all about worm gears and taking the machine apart with no observations about how the knob play affects the coffee, if at all.

Sorry, couldn't resist the dig.

Marshall wrote:This is how it's supposed to be.

Now I'm all upset.
I'm gonna have to go home early and work on a mod to tighten that sucker.

A complete rotation of the burr carrier takes what, ~100 turns?
The burr carrier thread pitch is what, ~1mm?
The play is what, ~1/10 of a turn?
Duin' da 'ritmatik : 1mm/100turns x 1/10 rotation = 1/1000mm or 1µm !!!!
Sheesh!

Please don't tell the missus.
I've just got her convinced her lattes are now much better with Max!

ira wrote:Is that the only answer worth giving to a "this seems broken, is yours the same question"?

The coffee could be astonishing but maybe the grinder really is wrong and he'd like to know while it's still under warranty.

I don't understand why so many people seem to have so little concern for the question, why is it this way or I got this, is this how it's supposed to be.

I bought new Mazzer burrs for a Robur and I thought they looked bad so I took pictures and asked lots of people with no one knowing the answer. I sent the pictures to Mazzer in Italy and they said, "we're so sorry, we'll send you 2 new sets and by the way, what's your S/N". When told I just bought the burrs they said, oh, you're not important, that's the way they are. Same with Chris who everyone raves about, Bought something on his recommendation and when I said it has this problem, he said, we know so we're not going to carry it any more, but you waited too long to complain, tough luck.

Personally, I want to know how it works, how it could be made better, why this is better than that, why this tastes different than that.

Sorry for the rant.

Ira

Ira...You are REALLY in the minority as regards Chris (not to say you didn't have less than positive experience)..for example, my friend Jonathan just sold a 5 month old Silvia. Chris told my friend to inform the purchaser that he (Chris) would transfer the warranty...can't ask for more than that from a company...Sorry your experience was less than you desired.
Back on topic, while I understand "Ike's" questions regarding his grinder, Marshall basically ask a question that needed to be answered..."HOW'S THE COFFEE?"
I don't think there was any hidden agenda there....
Interestingly, Ike took Marshall's response with great good humor. I interpret Marshall's further response as a comment on how frequently the "engineer" in many here (not ME...not qualified...lol) can supersede the pleasure derived from these machines. However, I am interested to find out if Ike's question regarding some apparent "play" in the wheel may be a significant issue...or just a design from the manufacturer. I'm considering this grinder myself.

IMAWriter wrote:However, I am interested to find out if doug_m's question regarding some apparent "play" in the wheel may be a significant issue...or just a design from the manufacturer. I'm considering this grinder myself.

You could have any tolerance you want IF you are willing to pay it. Plastic parts are not precision, so a bit of slack keeps the cost in line.

There would be an issue if the adjuster moved, but it remains where set.

Oh, and the coffee ain't bad either.

There is nothing wrong with the grinder. It's not broken, it's designed that way. If you take the
bean hopper off and the upper, stamped metal facade (it just lifts up), you'll see that the
worm arm has a couple of flats on opposite sides that click into a stop.

So the grinder is not stepless, but as Ian pointed out the movement is very small.

If you slowly turn the knob, you'll feel it click into place. If you set it in between clicks,
you'll see it move during grinding until it clicks into place.

None of this affects the final result, from my use of the grinder.

Bob

BobS wrote:There is nothing wrong with the grinder. It's not broken, it's designed that way. If you take the
bean hopper off and the upper, stamped metal facade (it just lifts up), you'll see that the
worm arm has a couple of flats on opposite sides that click into a stop.

So the grinder is not stepless, but as Ian pointed out the movement is very small.

If you slowly turn the knob, you'll feel it click into place. If you set it in between clicks,
you'll see it move during grinding until it clicks into place.

None of this affects the final result, from my use of the grinder.

Bob

Yup, exactly right! Works great for me!

doug_m wrote:I just received my Cimbali Max in March and have noticed there is some play on the grind adjustment knob before the worm gear is actually moving the burr.

IMAWriter wrote:However, I am interested to find out if Ike's question regarding some apparent "play" in the wheel may be a significant issue...or just a design from the manufacturer. I'm considering this grinder myself.

Sorry for responding late to this thread. I wondered the same thing the first time I tried out the Junior, i.e., the movement seemed a bit squishy. But given the regularity of the stops, I concluded they were simply soft detents. The burr movement between each detent is very small and I don't consider it a performance or usability issue.