This is a custom coffee filter basket machined from stainless steel, used in an espresso machine portafilter. It has a smooth cylindrical wall with a lip that seats into the portafilter, and a bottom covered in a dense array of precision micro holes. It was CNC machined from solid stainless steel.

The body was machined on the CNC first, turning the cylindrical wall, the rim lip, and the base to their final shape and thickness. The hole pattern in the base was then laser cut, not drilled. At this hole size and density, laser cutting is the practical choice: a drill that small would be fragile and slow, and keeping hundreds of holes consistent across a thin base is easier to control with a laser than with a mechanical bit. The laser has to hold the same hole size and even spacing across the entire pattern, since any variation changes how water flows through the coffee. With holes packed closely together, the process also has to avoid leaving burrs or distorting the thin webs of material between adjacent holes.

Part type: Custom Coffee Filter Basket (portafilter)

Material: Stainless Steel

Machining Process: CNC Turning + Laser Cutting

Surface Finish: As-machined, slit edges smooth and burr-free

The hole size and spacing across the base were the critical features. Since the holes are laser cut, we also checked that the edges came out clean and burr-free, since any roughness there would affect flow and could trap coffee grounds. Holes that vary in size or spacing change how water flows through the coffee, which affects extraction, so consistency across the whole pattern mattered more than any single hole. The rim lip also had to be sized accurately so the basket seats and locks into the portafilter properly.

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