Steve

Can you give some more details on the PID control. Temp control between batches is a thorn in my side currently. What hardware did you use for this?

Chuck; Yep, consistency is key between batches and even a PID won't entirely solve this but it sure helps. FYI; I didn't use a hardware PID. Artisan has a built-in software PID where you use your stepper controlled gas slider as the hardware. Have a look at that link to learn how to enable and use it.

Here's a shot of my PID control panel to get you started, but my knowledge of PID is still pretty basic.
-- I set my target to the Power slider controlling my stepper motor.
-- Set Mode to Ramp/Soak and then use the Ramp/Soak tab to put in your desired warm-up/between-batch protocol settings.
-- FYI; my min/max Duty settings are set to prevent the PID from turning gas off or going higher than my max gas setting (5kPa).

Steve

I looked at the article. Still not sure on the initial setup. Under Config>>Device , I did not see how the Artisan PID is selected?

By selected the PID here i saw the Control button appear in the main screen but the type selection does not reference Artisan PID but that seems incorrect.

You need to tick the Control box in the upper part of the Device Assignment dialog to get the Control button which allows you to configure and operate the PID

Chuck;

All you need to do in Config/Devices is check the control box as Marko said to enable the PID. (No other changes are needed in Devices because you aren't using a hardware PID) Then go to the Control dialog and configure as in my earlier post, and when you turn on the PID the software logic in Artisan will start controlling your gas valve stepper motor via its slider. It's that easy.

Steve

OK, I had a lot of help from my programmer son. The stepper motor and PWM fan are responding.

He did indicate that the "pipes" setup was a bit twitchy and tended to get locked up? Any comments? He was testing in powershell. He thinks this was partly due to Arduino being open as well. He was not real familiar with pipes

Still have to do a physical setup. Btw when the motor is unlocked it rotates but with a slight resistance/burr sound. We tested it locked and it did not move at all.

For the gas valve for me to go from just on(zero) to 5.0 kpa is about 540 deg ( 1.5 rotations). Based on the program you posted yours looked to be 3.25 rotations

Did you change out the stock Huky blue gas valve? Just trying to understand this difference.

"// Physical 360 degree rotations of Huky needle valve from off to max desired gas output (5.5 kPa)
#define MAX_VALVE_360 3.25"
Also do you have a needle valve to dial in incoming pressure from the regulator?

Once this is working I will setup the PID control. Thanks for posting all these details. This is great

If I recall your son used sockets and not named pipes to communicate. No need to switch to pipes. Just insert your sockets code into mine and remove the pipes code. That said, named pipes worked fine for me.

My stepper has very slight resistance if any and no sound when unlocked. Yes, when locked it's hard to move. Make sure you setup the TB6600 per the recommendations in my post (32 micro-steps and 1.5A)

Our gas valves must be different. Mine is stock with a blue knob and is 3.25 turns from off to 5.5 kPa. Just go with what yours is by counting the rev's as you manually turn the knob from off to full power. It doesn't have to be exact. That #define is more of a safety guardrail so you don't over rotate the valve and/or blow your gauge by too much pressure.

No, I don't have a separate needle valve to dial in the incoming pressure. I just use the variable regulator for that.

Sounds like you're making progress!

Well looks like the winter roasting season has started


Ok, did one roast with the new setup. I am impressed. The direct drive solves 2 issues that occurred with the belt drive
- slack in the belt, including when changing direction
- variation in pressure depending on how you tensioned the gas valve

On top of this did a test with the PID. Pretty amazing. Set the temp set value and the software keeps adjusting the gas to keep at that value. Very cool. Still trying to figure it out. I was running it in manual. Looks as well I can set a ramp and soak settings on the 2nd tab for startup. One thing I saw as I had a longer pre-soak was that my roast went from 9 min to 6.5 min. So I have some home work to adjust my programming, LOL

Anyways,
- Marko nice job on the software
- Steve, thanks for sharing all the details on the application

*Still need to resolve the pipes conflict

Glad you got it working. Not sure why the pipes code isn't reliable for you though. You might have your son take the sockets code from your files on GitHub and replace the pipes code with it.

Part of the reason is that still doing some tweaks on the Arduino program like adjusting the motor speed. Seems to lock things up.

When you have a chance can you post the Artisan config in devices for the RTD's and T/C (first 2 tabs)I want to compare with mine.