Get a behind-the-scenes look at the artisan-crafted, small-batch production of the PURE Juicer from PURE’s founder, David Feinberg.
The Search for Superior Quality
Next time you’re shopping or in your home, look around: how many custom, bespoke products do you see? Chances are, they are few and far between.
Yet, artisanal products are my favorite kind. Crafted with precision and care. Bench built. Handmade. Designed to last.
This is why the team at PURE Juicer is committed to utilizing small-batch production when building our superior quality juicers. While most everything we own these days is mass produced (a process that saves both companies and consumers money), our team understands the value of the time and energy it takes to craft a quality product.
We Live in a Culture of Poor Quality Goods
We live in a consumer culture. This has brought many benefits; it has made the greatest number of products affordably and available to the most people. There are downsides, however: mass production produces enormous waste, at a huge cost to the environment. Consumers get good prices, but then expect things to always be cheap. We do get what we pay for.
PURE is Built on the Core Value of Quality
People often ask why we don’t offer our hydraulic press juicer at a lower price. The truth is, producing PURE Juicers is a labor of love, intention, and time. Key parts of the juicer–made to our precise specifications–take three to six months to complete.
PURE’s production quantities are small when compared to mass production. We make thousands, wheras larger companies make a hundred thousand or millions at a time.
A Juicer that Pays for Itself
For perspective, one all-plastic juicer costs $550, and weighs 12 lbs. This equals $46 per pound. The 70lb PURE Juicer with its all-metal construction comes out to be $30 per pound. The PURE may seem expensive at face value, but relatively speaking, our all-metal PURE is 50% less expensive than an all plastic juicer. Ask yourself, who’s making bank, us or them?
The best part is that once the initial cost for the PURE is covered, the savings begin. The PURE Juicer will save a consumer money in the long run: higher juice yields, less wasted produce, and longer life. Honestly, the PURE Juice pays for itself over time.
Plus, no other juicer can be re-sold for as high a percent of the as-new price.
Behind the Scenes at PURE Juicer
Each Part Has a Story
PURE Juicer parts are made to our exacting specifications and require us to purchase custom tools to produce them economically.
- We specify six custom lost wax cast parts made by pouring molten stainless steel into a ceramic coated and wax mold.
- Our motor is custom made to PURE’s torque specification and is fitted with a 316 stainless steel drive shaft.
- To save weight, the frame (chassis) is diecast from alloy aluminum.
Every part has a story and PURE has a personal relationship with every vendor who makes parts for us.
The Die Process
Many specialized tools, called dies, are required to make just one PURE Juicer. Once out of the die, the parts always have secondary processes like machining or polishing, or both.
The PURE juice tray is bent from a flat sheet that progresses through a series of forming dies that press the flat sheet (top) into a three dimensional part (middle left), a second die trims the excess (middle right), the tray is then is polished and laser etched (bottom).
The Lost Wax Casting Process
PURE Juicer’s cutter, press plate, and feed chute are made using a process called lost wax casting. This starts with a wax positive that is identical to the finished stainless steel part.
The wax is dipped three times into a ceramic slurry and allowed to dry for 30 days. The ceramic is strong enough to hold molten metal, so when we pour in the liquid steel, the wax melts and is replaced with stainless steel. This is how the as-cast part is formed.
This replacing of the wax with steel is why the process is named, “lost wax casting.” In modern terms we also call this investment casting or ceramic shell casting.
Below, we can see the three stages of the lost wax casting process for a press plate.
The only exception to this part of the process is the sprue, which is like the branch of the tree; the cutters are like the leaves. This set up allows many parts to be cast at the same time (see below). The molten metal is poured into a funnel at the top and flows through to create many parts at once.
Raw Casting
To complete one cutter from raw casting to finished part, we must complete approximately 30 steps, including machining, drilling and tapping, boring, polishing and sharpening. Below is a raw cutter casting (left), and a finished and fully polished part (middle and right).
Feed chute and electric motor production. Machining motor shafts (left), machined and sanded, but not polished feed chute (middle), finished motors (right) ready for inspection.
Spoilers ahead, the PURE hydraulic actuator cut in half (left and middle and valve (right). The vendor was problem solving and there was a problem they could not locate in the CAD. So they decided to just cut one actuator in half!
Partnering with Problem-Solvers
Thankfully, there are people and companies willing to support our vision. When I asked our manufacturing partner why they chose to support this project, I was told they want people to have the opportunity to lead the healthiest lives possible. This support, and our community’s desire for the very best, has been crucial to PURE’s success.
A Commitment to Lowering Environmental Impact
PURE’s philosophy is to make products that last, ultimately reducing waste and protecting the earth’s resources. Much of the PURE Juicer is made from recyclable materials, and our long-term goal is to reach full recyclability. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer.
A Commitment to Compliance
Each PURE Juicer is inspected multiple times during the manufacturing process for compliance to all specifications. Once the parts are delivered, they are inspected, measured, and confirmed. We inspect every juicer for electrical safety, pressure, cosmetics, fit, and finish.
There’s a tool for everything. Below is a jig to correctly set the drive belt tension (top), a tool for measuring the cutter bore (middle), and the hydraulic pressure setting station (bottom).
Quality Assurance
To assure quality at PURE Juicer Seattle World Headquarters, we re-inspect a percent of all juicers prior to shipment to guarantee our quality standards are being properly maintained.
We have been building PURE Juicers since 2016 when we made our first production run. The below photos show some of the many steps as the parts are cast, machined, or formed. To make the PURE is not easy. We had to find manufacturers that were willing to work with us and accept small orders. Our first order was for only 200 juicers. To Apple, Tesla or GM, that’s barely a sample run. Our current runs would be the size of a test batch for a multinational company.
A Commitment to Innovation
We have never stopped innovating the design. Below are the prototypes for current juicing grid plates (left), and early production grids (right). Both have safe, smooth sides, but I wanted to increase the open-area for the coolest pulp and greatest pulp flow through the grids. I also saw a design opportunity to make the part more beautiful. Note how the 6mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm holes have been individually modified to fit each grid plate.
Designed to Last
We designed the PURE Juicer to last a long time. Built from food-grade stainless steel and alloy aluminum, every PURE Juicer will give many years of good service. We back this with our 12 year warranty.
Our design ethos is to build to the highest quality. The same core team has been assembling PURE juicers since we launched, committed to building the best juicers they possibly can. The goal is the longest lasting machine possible, requiring the least service that is supported by parts so your PURE can last indefinitely.
PURE Juicer inspection tools: feed chute and feed chute mounting hub fit testers. These tools were made before even one part was cast.
Superior quality doesn’t happen by accident; the PURE Juicer production process is one of continuous attention and refinement. Each and every part has to be carefully made and inspected before it goes into the juicer. I can confidently say that each and every PURE Juicer doesn’t just meet my standards or yours, it is qualified by PURE’s dedicated team who has been with us from the start and who know and maintain our standards.
When most people look at a finished product on a web page or store shelf, it’s impossible to see behind the curtain. Everything we own was touched by human hands during its production, and there are far more steps than most of us realize.
I’m proud to say that behind the scenes at PURE, there are people just like you and me: hard working, wonderful people with a commitment to quality craftsmanship and service.
Making the PURE Juicer has been one of my life’s great joys and great accomplishments. It has been a huge gift to make this machine available all over the world, to all of you.
Yet the greatest gift has not been making this amazing juicer. The greatest gift is witnessing how loving and caring humanity is. I have been privileged to meet so many of you on your health journey, and I have been supported by countless friends, family, vendors, companies and the incredible team at PURE Juicer, who every day, make PURE possible.
Thank you,
DavidF
Founder | CEO
