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Permalink Reply by Chad Kimm on June 18, 2013 at 8:45am

Thanks for the update on the update Marko. 

We are just about to get Artisan going on our Diedrich IR-12.  I have all of our hardware sitting ready to install.  

Thanks also for the suggestion on donating to Coffee Kids.  They are a great organization. 

Chad

Marko Luther said:

The version 0.6 of Artisan, an open-source software that helps coffee roasters to record, analyze, and control roast profiles, is now available for Windows, OS X and Linux.

https://code.google.com/p/artisan/downloads/list

The most important changes and additions w.r.t. v0.5.x are as follows.

• Monitoring-only mode reporting readings on LCDs without recording
• Event sliders e.g. to control the Hottop heater and fan via the HT Roaster Interface
• Extended alarms triggered by time and temperature on any curve
• Flexible Modbus RTU support allowing temperature reading and device control
• Curve smoothing and spike filtering
• New localizations: Arabic, German, Greek, Spanish, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Turkish, Dutch, Chinese and Hungarian
• Windows installer, and icons on Windows and Linux

See https://code.google.com/p/artisan/wiki/ReleaseHistory for a detailed list of changes and the Artisan blog http://artisan-roasterscope.blogspot.de for details on some of the new features.

We are deeply grateful for the extensive support we received from many of you, especially in translating Artisan's more than 1200 phrases into several languages (more under preparation). We want to thank Frans Goddijn, Brad Collins, Claudia Raddatz, Marcio Carneiro, Ostnes Runar, Yoshida Minoru, David Lahoz, Savvas Kiretsis, Wa'il, Lukas Kolbe, Oliver Schirmer, Kristoffer Johansson, Çetin Barut, Rubens Gardelli, Kyle Iseminger, Kalle Deligeorgakis, Matthew Sewell, Carlito Smith, Rich Helms, Carlos Pascual, Ingo, David Trebilcock, Matt Fischler, Jim Gallt, Gunnar Troll, Alex Fan, Piet Dijk, Bertrand Souville, Zoltán Kis and many others.

We do not take donations. But if you are using Artisan in a commercial setting, it would make us (and some others) happy if you would donate to Coffee Kids http://www.coffeekids.org/, a non-profit organization devoted to improving the quality of life for children and families in coffee growing regions around the world.

The Artisan team

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Pellizzer on June 18, 2013 at 7:03pm

Hello Chad,
Good luck with your install. Please keep me posted on the results.

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Permalink Reply by David Myers on June 19, 2013 at 12:49pm

If you already have the Diedrich IR-12 with automation, can you tap into the existing probe to send data to both the Diedrich panel and Artisan software? Seems a little redundant to use both, but it would be interesting to have the capability to log directly to the laptop.

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Permalink Reply by Chad Kimm on June 19, 2013 at 4:23pm

Thanks for the suggestion David.  

Our IR-12 is full manual and is the reason we wanted to add some type of data logging.

The factory probe and PID shows temp obviously, but also triggers the over heat shut off feature so I decided to leave that one in place.

I added an additional bean temp thermocouple and while I had the drill warmed up, decided to add an environmental temp probe as well.  Our meter has dual temperature capacity so I figured a little extra info couldn't hurt.      

David Myers said:

If you already have the Diedrich IR-12 with automation, can you tap into the existing probe to send data to both the Diedrich panel and Artisan software? Seems a little redundant to use both, but it would be interesting to have the capability to log directly to the laptop.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin on June 20, 2013 at 3:31am

Hi David,

Yes, it's quiet easy to connect thermocouple wire to the existing probe in the Diedrich and then using appropriate hardware/software start logging your roasts. Neal Wilson, the developer of the Typica datalogging software, has posted a YT video on how to do this. 

Chad - where did you place your environmental probe? When I asked Steve Diedrich about placing an environmental probe in my Diedrich while it was still in the factory, Steve said that it would be difficult to place this probe so that it was not subject to too much turbulence and therefore not give an accurate reading.

David Myers said:

If you already have the Diedrich IR-12 with automation, can you tap into the existing probe to send data to both the Diedrich panel and Artisan software? Seems a little redundant to use both, but it would be interesting to have the capability to log directly to the laptop.

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Permalink Reply by Chad Kimm on June 20, 2013 at 10:00am

Kevin, 

I placed my environmental probe just to the right of the lower, right hand bolt that holds the green coffee chute to the front of the roaster.  This came as a result of a suggested location from Diedrich themselves.  They suggested actually removing that lower bolt and using that threaded hole itself.  The problem with that is most compression fittings don't have that thread pattern, so I drilled and tapped a new hole with the 1/8" pipe thread that my compression fitting had. 

Before I did this, I removed that bolt during a batch and tested to see if beans hit the probe I inserted and no coffee came in contact with it.  Eventually if you keep inserting it, the probe will hit the mixing paddles inside, but it has several inches of room. 

Another thought I had was to put the enviro probe in the cavity between the drum and a secondary layer of sheet metal that separates the drum and the outside frame of the roaster.  I honestly don't know if this would be more or less effective.  Having roasted on a Diedrich that only monitors bean temp, I'm admittedly new to the enviro temp thing. If you haven't ever removed the chute holder off the front of your roaster, it's quick and simple by removing the four bolts and it allows you a good look inside the drum.  

I'm starting to really appreciate your video post from Neil Wilson in regard to splicing off the existing Diedrich installed thermocouple.  I've only had my new probes installed for about 48 hours at this point am very disappointed with the performance of my thermocouples.  Even though they're supposedly high quality, stainless shielded, K-Type, thermocouples, they're dreadfully slow at reacting to temperature changes, to the point that they're not even functional for this application.  I originally talked with Diedrich about buying thermocouples from them, but the lead wires on theirs were not quite long enough to reach were I need to place my meter.  

Neil is certainly passionate about what he does.  It's hard not to admire his dedication to coffee. If you've ever been to a Roasters Guild Retreat, you certainly know the Neil Wilson laugh.  

Chad

Kevin said:

Hi David,

Yes, it's quiet easy to connect thermocouple wire to the existing probe in the Diedrich and then using appropriate hardware/software start logging your roasts. Neal Wilson, the developer of the Typica datalogging software, has posted a YT video on how to do this. 

Chad - where did you place your environmental probe? When I asked Steve Diedrich about placing an environmental probe in my Diedrich while it was still in the factory, Steve said that it would be difficult to place this probe so that it was not subject to too much turbulence and therefore not give an accurate reading.

David Myers said:

If you already have the Diedrich IR-12 with automation, can you tap into the existing probe to send data to both the Diedrich panel and Artisan software? Seems a little redundant to use both, but it would be interesting to have the capability to log directly to the laptop.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin on June 22, 2013 at 4:07pm

Hi Chad,

Thanks for your reply. I purchased my roaster before I came across Neal's work and at the time (being a total rookie!), I thought I needed a dedicated bean probe for connecting to a datalogger (I started out using a primitive Extech EA15 for datalogging - but this was very limited in what it could do) - but what was interesting is that although both probes are located quiet close together - the picture below shows position of both probes;

there was usually quiet a difference in the temperature readings from both probes - from 5-10F - anyhow once I migrated to Typica I ended up connecting the thermocouple wire directly to the original probe.

Personally I'm not sure what is the use of an environmental probe on a Diedrich roaster - though I can understand why such a probe would be of more interest in a roaster using athmospheric burners where adjustments in flame level or airflow can lead to significant changes in the internal drum temperature. The Diedrich roasters are designed to produce a very stable temperature due to the influence of the infrared gas burners and heat exchangers.

I've never met Neal - but he has always been super helpful and generous with his time in helping me get set up with Typica (even to the extent of customizing his software to cope with a new piece of National Instrument hardware that I had purchased). The new V1.6 build of Typica has a rate of change function which is really great for controlling the roast. So top marks to Neal! Hopefully one day, I'll make it across the Atlantic to one of those legendary Roaster Retreats - and personally shake his hand!

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