Streamlining espresso coffee machine design to reduce prototyping efforts by 50 percent

Combining tradition and innovation

With a rich history of over 95 years, Olympia Express has a reputation for developing expertly crafted espresso machines known for their robustness and durability and are considered among the best in the world.

For a company like Olympia Express, it is not just a matter of designing and manufacturing these world-renowned machines with Swiss precision, but using cutting edge technology to digitally transform the design and production process.

By implementing several digital transformation strategies, Olympia Express not only develops new products but also assists with service and maintenance of legacy products.

To achieve this goal, Olympia Express adopted Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Solid Edge® software, which enabled them to not only design innovative products but to ensure its loyal customer base could still expect its products to perform well for multiple machine lifetimes. They also deployed Teamcenter® software to manage design and engineering data
and NX™ CAM software to prepare its high-accuracy components for manufacture. All three products are part of the Siemens Xcelerator business platform of software, hardware and services.

"Making a great cup of coffee goes beyond just using high quality beans,” says Thomas
Schätti, chief executive officer (CEO) of Olympia Express. “It’s about how those beans are transformed into espresso. At Olympia Express, we believe it starts with craftsmanship and a deep understanding of the extraction of coffee and of the mechanics behind espresso machines. We combine the finest Swiss engineering with a passion for coffee that dates to 1928. It takes a blend of tradition, a commitment to precision in manufacturing and innova-
tion to make the perfect cup.

“While retaining the classic look our customers love, we’ve modernized materials and processes to ensure each machine not only lasts but remains at the peak of quality.”

Olympia Express uses Solid Edge to not only design innovative products, but to assist its loyal customers in using its products for multiple machine lifetimes. (image credit: Olympia Express)

Care, quality and design in every machine

In 2011, Schätti AG acquired the Olympia Express brand and continued to build on the company’s legacy, finding new avenues for innovation and market development. In the case of an Olympia Express machine, innovative does not necessarily mean faster. In fact, the company places itself in the “slow foods” revolution.

“Our products make coffee to the quality of an Italian coffee bar with a machine that is just a fraction of the size and cost of a professional machine,” Schätti explains. “The key is they are built like a professional machine, with the same care, quality materials and careful design.”

Olympia Express prides itself on designing and building machines that last multiple machine lifetimes and whose users appreciate the art of making outstanding coffee. To accomplish this, Olympia Express consistently explores how it can bring innovative and sustainable products to market using the latest digital technologies.

The Olympia Express brand and its Cremina espresso machines have achieved legendary status within the coffee-loving community. (image credit: Olympia Express)

Maintaining sustainability and product heritage

When Schätti AG bought Olympia Express, they found the previous owners had designed in 2D, so the data was useful to the new team. The decision to switch to Siemens Xcelerator was driven by the need for precision and efficiency.

Using Solid Edge meant they could not only design new innovative products but also make sure its loyal customer base could still expect its products to maintain their performance for multiple machine lifetimes.

“Solid Edge allows us to create highly accurate 3D models that streamline our production process from design to manufacturing, saving time and resources so we can be on top of our game,” says Schätti.

“We remodeled all the parts of the machine in Solid Edge and made new models as well as spare parts. We started fresh and built a complete data engineering set. Since then, we have made various design iterations and improvements to the machines.”

Olympia Express has adopted Siemens Xcelerator software to help create innovations such as the newly launched Mina portable coffee press. (image credit: Olympia Express)

Leveraging Solid Edge 3D modeling

One way Olympia Express reduces costs and ensures the integrity of their products during the design phase is the ability to easily model and quickly 3D print a prototype to get a better feel for how the components perform when made of various materials. By using Solid Edge, Olympia Express’ engineering teams can prototype faster and more cost-effectively while also examining the sheet metal design and manufacturing capabilities, which are critical to the development process.

“Using Solid Edge streamlines our coffee machine design process, reducing prototyping efforts by 50 percent and freeing up time to develop new and creative ideas,” explains Sascha Matiz, product designer at Olympia Express.

The primary benefit of 3D modeling with Solid Edge is to speed up the design process and reduce the number of physical prototypes. Olympia Express reduced their development efforts by 50 percent, thus freeing up resources to pursue innovative projects.

Olympia Express also uses the visualization capabilities of Solid Edge for internal communications and to enhance their ability to gain a better view on Cremina machines, a
50-year-old machine that users still need serviced.

“Solid Edge helps us service our older machines by clearly showing how parts fit together, making maintenance straightforward and effective,” Matiz says. This also allows the engineering team to provide documentation for assembly and service, which enables them to identify the needed spare parts.

Olympia Express uses Solid Edge to not only design new innovative products, but to assist its loyal customers use its products for multiple lifetimes. (image credit: Olympia Express)

From legendary to new product innovations

Although the Olympia Express brand and its Cremina espresso machines have achieved legendary status, the company continues to expand its product line and reinforce its reputation in the coffee-loving community. Olympia Express has used Solid Edge to help develop a new portable espresso machine called Mina.

Mina only requires boiling water and fresh grounds to produce a high-quality beverage. Leveraging Solid Edge 3D modeling tools enabled Olympia Express’ engineering team to efficiently reuse its knowledge and 3D data and create a new product category.

“The decision to switch to Siemens Xcelerator was driven by our need for precision and efficiency,” says Schätti.

Olympia Express uses Solid Edge, Teamcenter and NX CAM to reduce prototyping efforts by
50 percent and boost productivity by up to 30 percent, freeing resources to deliver its
innovative and legendary products. (image credit: Olympia Express)

Digital transformation from design to production

In addition to using Solid Edge to enhance efficiency and inspire innovation, Olympia Express uses Teamcenter to manage design and engineering data for product lifecycle management (PLM). This enables secure control for revising engineering data and an efficient and managed design review.

“We rely on Teamcenter to manage our product data and enhance collaboration across our teams, keeping all design data in one place,” Matiz says. “This includes data for our vintage Olympia Express machines, which can still be serviced 50 years after introduction.”

The company also uses NX CAM software on the shop floor to prepare its high accuracy components for manufacture.

Schätti explains how these two digital technologies help boost their capabilities from the shop floor to the top floor.

“To be on top of our game, we use NX CAM on the shop floor to guarantee the highest
standards of production, allowing us to produce excellent quality components for the coffee machine,” Schätti says. “We rely on Teamcenter to manage our product data and enhance collaboration across our teams, keeping all design data in one place, including data on our vintage Olympia Express machines.”

Thomas Schätti, CEO of Olympia Express. (image credit: Olympia Express)

Sascha Matiz, product designer, Olympia Express. (image credit: Olympia Express)