icantroast wrote:Weird question, but how much does a shipping simulator cost? Never even knew there was something like that out there. It has been very interesting reading about the process from prototype to ready product; thank you for being so open and honest!

They're between $2000 and $5000 on alibaba.com. Until this week, I didn't know such a thing existed. Now I've learned that there's even an EU standard for the "throw distance" (25.4mm) that appliances should be tested under.

As I recall, for FedX and UPS you should assume it needs to survive a six foot drop, though I might be wrong.

Ira

6ft drop. If a courier goes that, they should be shot!

decent_espresso wrote:They're between $2000 and $5000 on alibaba.com. Until this week, I didn't know such a thing existed. Now I've learned that there's even an EU standard for the "throw distance" (25.4mm) that appliances should be tested under.

I'm sure you can find a lab in HK that does standardized ship testing. It's an ASTM or ISTA ship testing with what the package is put through determined by transportation and handling methods.
It would be much more cost efficient than buying your own machine, which would only subject the package to vibration, and not drop or crush.

We do a fair bit of ship testing where i work. Let me know if you need help.

ira wrote:As I recall, for FedX and UPS you should assume it needs to survive a six foot drop, though I might be wrong.

Ira

Just wondering, but how will you, as the recipient, {/victim] be able to determine what the height of the drop was?

You won't, but if the packaging will survive a 6' drop, and you insure the package, UPS will pay if it's damaged, or that's been my experience. I't probably very rare that a 6 foot drop happens, something falling off a loading dock or off a toppled pile in the back of a truck when the door is opened is likely about the worst that will happen.

Ira

ira wrote: I't probably very rare that a 6 foot drop happens, something falling off a loading dock or off a toppled pile in the back of a truck when the door is opened is likely about the worst that will happen.Ira

Sadly that isn't the worst. I've had UPS back or drive the truck over two of my shipments. One was an old reel to reel player & the other contained aluminum hydraulic pistons which were crushed. My wife worked for UPS years ago while in college & has some interesting stories to tell about what happens to those packages at the distribution centers.

Hello John (decent espresso), I was wondering if you are going to visit the midwest, say Chicago in the near future? Do you know how long it would take to make 4 x 12oz (18g in, 36g out) lattes with the de1+ pro with your grinder? I understand that it would be faster with multiple machines. I'm interested for a cafe perspective. Thanks

Hi Linh,
Sadly, no, I'm back to my regular job of running the engineering team here in Hong Kong, and I'm no longer playing salesperson. So, no chance any time soon of a Chicago visit.
As to your café question, you're looking at about 2 minutes a drink, is my guestimate, when you take grinding, tamping, making, steaming and cleaning into account. If you have someone prep pucks and then clean out portafilters, this speeds up considerably, and that's what I had most of the time when demoing these past two months.

decent_espresso wrote: The short answer is that while the espresso machine is functioning well, I was not happy with its ability to handle "shipping trauma", especially airplane baggage handlers. All 3 of the DE1s failed at some point during my two month sales tour and needed repairs. That's not good enough to ship to customers, and so:


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keep up the good work John!