FZ-94 (1) – Bumping up MODBUS

In this first post on an improved FZ-94 setup for Artisan v1.0 we are focusing on the communication between the machine and the software. MODBUS RTU speed in Artisan prior to v1.0 was limited by an issue in an underlying library. That resulted in each request/replay pair to take at least the amount specified by the serial timeout parameter, which defaults to one second.

FZ-94 (0) – Playing with the CTE Lab Roaster

Some new features in Artisan v1.0 open up advanced possibilities to log and control the Coffee Tech Engineering's Lab Roaster  FZ-94. This series of posts describe an improved setup that supersedes the one documented in an earlier post.

First successful curve controlled FZ-94 roast with Artisan

(See also: my previous blog)

Roastmasters working with a PID like the Fuji PXG4 could in the past already enjoy the "autopilot" feature of Artisan, making sure the roast profile neatly coasted along the curve saved from a previous roast.

Now, Artisan has its own internal software PID and if you can link it to a device that influences your Bean Temperature (BT), you could use this option to automatically correct the live roast curve to develop along the curve you have as your current ideal.

Coffee-Tech FZ-94 working seamlessly with Artisan

Artisan 1.0 screen with sliders for FZ-94 on the left

Recently, we received the opportunity to get an FZ-94 lab roaster and see how this roasting machine could work seamlessly with Artisan. An inspired back-and-forth between Marko Luther on the Artisan side in Germany and the R&D team of Coffee-Tech in Israël ensued and soon, the first machine was communicating fully with a newly expanded and freshly compiled version of Artisan.

Artisan v0.9.9

A number of productivity features have been added on request to this version. The ones that might be of interest for a wider audience are described below. For other more specific addition and bug fixing see the change log.

Roast Calculus

This post is going to review the subject of roast calculus. This calculus is about change and motion. Everything is dynamic. Measurements of changes are vehicles for understanding a wide spectrum of physical processes. Knowledge of the universe comes from observations of changes and not from static measurements. We use calculi in real life every day. In a car for example, the speedometer measures a rate, the speed. The odometer integrates the speed over time, the distance, and the foot pedals control the acceleration, rate of speed.  

by Rafael Cobo

LCDs

Alternatives for displaying the roast time, bean temperature (BT) and environmental temperature (ET) have been added for those, fighting with small screen sizes on their main roasting computer, but having a secondary screen available.