Don't think this can be solved here...

Perhaps, but in the spirit of troubleshooting, I am able to press one side of my basket against the portafilter and can get it to tilt. The top rim of my basket is flat. I can tell when I turn the basket upside down and slide it on my granite countertop, where it slides smoothly and does not wobble.

Perhaps Paul and Jeff can communicate via PM through this thread to resolve the issue, knowing they'll reach each other. Jeff is trying to get an answer and Paul is aware there's a user concern and is trying to respond via email. I'll put the thread on Cooldown so they can communicate with each other and try to resolve it.

Hi Jeff,

Thankfully the Robot is a simple enough machine that you can probably troubleshoot visually.

Just flip the Robot over and you can inspect if there's anything odd. When the PF is locked in, there's about a few millimeter (just a bit) of upward/downward play for me. Try locking the PF in with the Robot inverted so you could see exactly what's preventing it from locking. Anyway, here's how mine looks.



I also placed a piece of folded paper underneath the basket, trying to simulate your case. I am not sure if the dimension has been changed in the later model, my basket can still be locked in with this much vertical offset (a lot more than what you shown in the first picture). Just to be sure, I would also check the underneath of your basket to see if there's any dirt/coffee built up.



My basket could also tilt slightly when I pressed on the basket on one side (like you did in the first picture) so it might be normal for the basket to tilt and it is not a sign of bent basket. Does the basket stay tilted without any downward force?

I used Cooldown to pause this and realized overnight that we can do effective troubleshooting with more photos that address the issues Paul suggested. I am removing Cooldown. To repeat what Paul would look for:

Paul_Pratt wrote:... lock in depends on the position of the piston, it must be as high as it can go. To get it as high as it can go the arms must be up fully. I mentioned check that the pin for the piston is screwed in properly, check the silicone piston is seated correctly and yes good point about the pressure gauge bracket. When the arms are as high as they can be they should just press up against the bracket, but not so much you think they are being stopped by the bracket.

Photos would help of:
- the pin for the piston
- the piston seal
- the pressure gauge bracket position when the arms are completely raised

drgary wrote:I used Cooldown to pause this and realized overnight that we can do effective troubleshooting with more photos that address the issues Paul suggested. I am removing Cooldown. To repeat what Paul would look for:



Photos would help of:
- the pin for the piston
- the piston seal
- the pressure gauge bracket position when the arms are completely raised

I will take photos tomorrow. I have become proficient at using my Robot, I have pulled amazing shots for months. Nothing regarding my technique has changed, whatsoever, the grind from my Kinu M47 varies by less than one number for every new roast I use. My Robot technique is dialed, my grind is dialed to a 10 second preinfusion followed by a 20-30 second pull at 8 bars ramping down to 7 for the last 5 seconds.

If the basket is fine, so be it. I never claimed to have known 100% if that was the issue, hence the help troubleshooting, and also still having an issue. If I knew the answer already I wouldn't seek any help.

Dismissing technique issues, as well as trouble inserting the PF (of which I have none) there is some other issue that I cannot seem to discover after using the Robot fine for many months. Based on all of this, I can only imagine it is something related to the machinery.

Photos of the desired subjects will be uploaded tomorrow.

Edit : never mind, a bit tired of dealing with it. Images following. Number 3 is an additional issue, the paint/metal flakes persisting after months of wiping them away weekly, any suggestions?

The difference between images 1 and 2 is negligible relative to the movement of the piston. Number 7 shows that even upside down with the arms as far as they can go, both slots completely in place, and the portafilter pressed as firmly as it can be onto the seal, the PF does not want to insert.

I can't see anything wrong. I believe you that it's become much harder. But the still pictures show a perfect Robot and an installed PF.

If the basket were somehow squashed slightly that might do it, I don't know. How about measuring the diameter of the basket very carefully at multiple spots? A view-from-above photo of the basket installed in the PF wouldn't hurt.

Otherwise, if it were me I'd try to divide and conquer. Find someone who has a Robot and swap parts to isolate the issue. If that's not possible you could buy another basket, although that may not be the problem.

Assuming the piston, seal and arms are still as they always were, I would then insert the basket into the portafilter and press it firmly down. Use a book on top and then give it a thump. See if it seats properly and makes insertion easier.

jpender wrote: If the basket were somehow squashed slightly that might do it, I don't know. How about measuring the diameter of the basket very carefully at multiple spots? A view-from-above photo of the basket installed in the PF wouldn't hurt.

I was wondering about that myself. If the lip of the basket is visibly bent, what other dimensional anomalies are there? A good caliper gauge would help answer the question. It's just so exceedingly strange that the portafilter ears will not seat properly on the grouphead.

jpender wrote:I can't see anything wrong. I believe you that it's become much harder. But the still pictures show a perfect Robot and an installed PF.

If the basket were somehow squashed slightly that might do it, I don't know. How about measuring the diameter of the basket very carefully at multiple spots? A view-from-above photo of the basket installed in the PF wouldn't hurt.

Otherwise, if it were me I'd try to divide and conquer. Find someone who has a Robot and swap parts to isolate the issue. If that's not possible you could buy another basket, although that may not be the problem.

I keep all the things I purchase as immaculate as I can, sure there's some coffee splotches but other than that it is, to my knowledge, just like when I received it. The only factor I cannot discern is the basket's lip/placement, I just don't know. It's the absolute only thing that I can think of that could be causing this insertion issue. Nothing else makes sense unless the metal on the Robot where the PF locks in has become deformed from... being taken care of?

I tried pressing down the basket into the PF (with soft cloths in place) to no avail. The basket is as the basket is regarding how it sits on the PF. If correctly or incorrectly, I don't know. Hitting the basket down did not do anything.

My PF has two lines on it that have become worse over time. Perhaps that is a clue that can point in the right direction. Unfortunately I barely use it right now because it's a bit of a drag, and I'm not particularly adamant to get it fixed because there's seemingly next to nothing I can do.

Yours on the left, mine on the right. They look pretty much the same except it looks like your scratches are deeper (and that I usually only clean the basket, screen, and the bottom of the piston).




Did you measure the roundness? Try what Paul suggested? How about a top down picture of the basket+PF? Or could you just see how easily the basket by itself fits onto a lowered piston?

I doubt that it can't be fixed. We don't even know what the problem is.