Versalab M4

#1: Post by **versalab** » March 14th, 2019, 6:56 pm

We are very pleased to announce the Versalab M4. It is not a brand new design, but the latest and in some ways the biggest upgrade ever made to the M3. It looks identical except for the belts.

We have completely upgraded the burr drive system. The increasing desire for light roast espresso has finally obsoleted the original system. The same DC motor is now driven with a very smart speed control board that has demonstrated its ability to prevent belt slippage while driving harder than the previous motor board. The drive belts have also undergone an upgrade. Now using two 3/8" wide belts, rather than the original 1/2" wide, the torque capacity is 150% of the previous design. Soon to publish a video of the M4 grinding 30 grams of Black Cat classic dumped into the top funnel.

There are no new pictures showing the drive belt arrangement, but it is simply a taller small pulley to handle the two belts which equate to a 3/4" wide belt (made dual to simplify installation). The same big front pulley is used. It is already 3/4" wide. Pictures on the website in a few weeks.

We are now having burrs made by SSP in Korea. They are not coated but made from D2 tool steel hardened to Rockwell 58. All M4 grinders will ship standard with SSP burrs. The burr design is unchanged but the quality and tolerances are vastly improved, as is the life expectancy.

The price of the M4 is $2,970.

In addition, we have finally created an optional lid for the top funnel. Clear acrylic with three black plastic acorn nuts to keep it centered. $18

There will be the ability to field upgrade an M3.

#2: Post by **Bunkmil** » March 14th, 2019, 7:26 pm

New belt design : yeah!
SSP burrs : can't go wrong!
Top lid : no more popcorning! (18$ on a 3000$ grinder, why not offer it by default?)

Overall : this new version looks promising!

March 16th, 2019, 2:13 pm

Shot an interesting video that shows the M4 burr drive in action grinding a ridiculous near 60 grams of Black Cat Classic. The grinder is one of our development machines so not very pretty.

#4: Post by **ira** » March 16th, 2019, 3:59 pm

I'm confused, what is the point of the video? It's a grinder, I expect it to grind beans, I'd expect it would grind a pound if I kept adding it 30 grams at a time.

#5: Post by **mammamia** » March 16th, 2019, 6:24 pm

versalab wrote:Shot an interesting video that shows the M4 burr drive in action grinding a ridiculous near 60 grams of Black Cat Classic. The grinder is one of our development machines so not very pretty.

<video>

Uh hm.... thank you for posting video M4 grinder in action. Could, however, we see upgraded new double belt system and top lid instead of grinding 60g of beans? Personally I would be more convinced with 150% more increased torque if I see the 'cold' start(pour bean first and start motor later as I do with my Macap M4). Like ira said, we would like to see better or best grinder from you not just a working grinder. Anyway description upon new M4 looks good to me.

#6: Post by **andreugv1** » March 19th, 2019, 8:12 am

versalab wrote:Shot an interesting video that shows the M4 burr drive in action grinding a ridiculous near 60 grams of Black Cat Classic. The grinder is one of our development machines so not very pretty.

<video>

Are there plans to do something about this popcorning? It seems like several beans went out or almost out during the process.

#7: Post by **thirdshifter** » March 19th, 2019, 8:50 am

See the original post:

versalab wrote:In addition, we have finally created an optional lid for the top funnel. Clear acrylic with three black plastic acorn nuts to keep it centered. $18

#8: Post by **Spitz.me** » March 19th, 2019, 9:42 am

thirdshifter wrote:See the original post:

I think the real question here is "Why is the lid optional?" This is a premium-priced grinder that shouldn't be delivered lacking a piece that's treated as an accessory instead of a mandatory piece to the functioning of the grinder. This isn't a knock on any individual manufacturer as much as it is a knock on the practice of serving customer's needs by selling required items as accessories on premium-priced items. People almost invariably find a way to cover the beans and at almost $3000 USD, why not just throw it in?

It's obvious how important this is just from the simple observation that within the first four posts there are comments about the "popcorning" of the beans.

#9: Post by **johnny4lsu** » March 19th, 2019, 9:46 am

Spitz.me wrote: comments about the "popcorning" of the beans.

and a video of popcorning by the manufacturer

March 19th, 2019, 12:23 pm

We seem to have upset people without meaning to.

We announced the lid and its price for those many customers with older grinders. The optional wording is simply whether a new customer wants one. Most of our sales go to coffee shops who wouldn't be bothered using the lid and it would then end up in the trash.