I totally get that WDT helps with even distribution of coffee grounds. But needles can be a bit scary, right? So, I came up with a planetary WDT with a needle safety mechanism. You won’t usually see or touch the poking needles. And the needle length buried in the coffee grounds can be adjusted to fit your basket, so we don’t have to cut the needles.

The cylinder of the tool is retractable. When the cylinder retracts, the needles will be exposed for use. When the WDT lifts off, the cylinder will drop down to cover the needles until the unlocking mechanism is triggered again.

The spacer ring of the WDT has different sizes to make sure the needles drop down to the height that suits your portafilter. Just print the size that works best for you.

Please print the gears with TPU 95A. It helps the insertion of the needles and also reduce the noise. You only need one finger to make it rotate and the only noise you hear is from the bearing.

This design should fit most 58mm portafilters with two or three ears.

You only need to print one spacer suitable for your basket. If the basket is deeper than 29mm, no spacer needed.

Tools

The long Allen key (comes with X1C)

Long nose pliers

Assemble

1. Peel off the support from the main cylinder. Push the bearing into the top of the main cylinder.

   

2. Press the cap onto the top of the main cylinder. The cap will clip on the main cylinder that you won’t pull it off easily but it should rotate smooth like a butter.

   

3. Put the selected spacer ring on the main cylinder.

4. Align the bottom disc with the main cylinder and push it onto it. This may require some force.

   

5. Use long-nose pliers to insert all 10 needles into the gears. For the small planetary gear, ensure that the bottom of the needles aligns with the flat side of the gear. For the other gears, insert 10mm of the needle handle into the needle holes.

   

6. Use the big set screws from the kit to fasten the gears on to the kit. Make sure the screws are JUST tight.

How to use it

1. When you rest the WDT on the portafilter, twist the middle sector anti-clockwise to unlock the cylinder. Then the needles and the whole upper body will drop down.
2. Rotate the cap clockwise or anticlockwise for a few cycles.
3. Take off the WDT and rest it at anywhere you like.
4. Done!