What our fermenter is made of and why every material is important? Here’s a word on each choice we have made and how this contributes to making it a holistic device.

Valchromat

We chose Valchromat wood fiber panel as the material for the cabinet. It’s a stable, moisture resistant, easy-to-work material that offers a smooth, ready-to-treat finish. This FSC wood fiber board is impregnated with organic dyes and bonded together with a special resin. This gives it an aesthetic appearance thanks to its uniform colour and, above all, a composition that is environmentally friendly and non-toxic for humans. Let say that it is the new generation of MDF. We truly love it!

PLA

Some parts of the fermenter are 3D printed, such as the control knob or the door closing system. The 3D printing of these elements allows us to have an aesthetic design that is appropriate for the function we wanted. Plus, it allows us to use an alternative to plastic. We print these elements in PLA (polylactic acid). This is a type of filament commonly used in 3D printing that is derived from renewable resources such as corn starch and sugar cane, making it biodegradable.

Aluminium

We use a 0,5mm aluminium plate for the bottom panel, which serves to disperse the heat produced by the heating pads taped directly underneath. It also acts as a protective surface that’s easy to clean.
The same aluminium plate is used to protect the PCB (circuit board). Plus, aluminum a sustainable choice due to its high recyclability, energy efficiency in production and recycling, longevity, lightweight properties, and low toxicity.

Bolts & nuts

Even using steel nuts and bolts as the fastening system is a sustainable choice. This allows the fermenter to be easily dismantled and reassembled for maintenance, renewal or recycling. This contributes to a more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing process.

Electronics

We have also paid particular attention to the choice of electronic components, to ensure that they consume little energy, are available and affordable, and are reusable. We have limited the components to the minimum necessary for the functions required for fermentation to minimise the problems of recycling electronics.

We’re using python as our code language because it’s accessible and easy-to-understand. This way, everyone can appropriate the fermenter.