Top box for PID, Dimmer and Pressure Gauge

This box was designed to fit both in the front or in the back of your Rancilio Silvia, and in the back it will serve as the cover for the water reservoir.

If you want to see a video with the box in use and how I installed the PID, Dimmer and Pressure Gauge, check here (video soon available): https://www.youtube.com/@EspressoHackers

There are four models of enclosure: first you need to decide if you want to print with the dial for the dimmer. In this case, you will need a lot of support for the dial to be in the upper face and use the “change filament” command and print the numbers with different colors. Or maybe a Bambulab with AMS will handle that but with several filament changes.

Second choise is between nuts hidden in the enclosure or not: in the first case, you will have to pause the print, insert the nuts, and finish the printing.

If you decide to print the dial separately, there are two options: in one of the models, I added a tab, because the print, especially in PETG, can be difficult to remove. After removing, it's easy to cut the tab with a pair of scissors. A second reason is that when you change the filament, the first movement of the nozzle is on the tab, cleaning it before printing the numbers. I also used the change filament on layer 3 here to print the numbers:

The lid is the same for all models.

I also developed a hex tool to hold the nut when you install the pressure gauge. The space is very tight and if you don't have a specific tool, this will do the job. Just put a nut and it will hold, when you can insert it in one if the ends and use a screwdriver on the other to fix your pressure gauge.

Except for the hext tool, I printed everything in PETG, with 0.2 mm layer height, 15% infill, 2 perimeters, using Orca Slicer. I used the Tree Auto support for the box (version without the dial, printing with the front of the box downwards), it was minimal and easy to remove right after printing. 

The Hex Tool I printed with 4 perimeters, 100% infill.

You will need 4 nuts and 4 screws M3 to close the lid, and 3 nuts and 3 screws to fix the pressure gauge to the box.

Notice that I added some supports for the dimmer not to rotate when you tighthen the nut to fix it in the box, but you can easily cut if your dimmer has different dimensions.