Loading a Background Curve in Artisan
In Artisan, you can load a background for various reasons:
- To give a baseline graph to follow visually
- To give a background of events for the roaster to attempt to automatically follow. IE a PID automatic roast.
- To playback events such as Burner, Smoke, Drum speed, Drop time or temp.
To load a background go to Roast -> Background -> Load
Navigate through your computers explorer to find an .alog file. This could be a file which your created, saved from a previous roast, or a file which someone shared with you.
NOTE: If someone creates a .alog file for a different roaster, it most likely will not perform the same. When creating or sharing .alog files, we recommend using them either as a background without events to use for reference, or to use on same brand and size of roaster.
NOTE: Not all .alog files have "events" to change the drum speed, burner, etc. In this case, if you were to use the .alog file for a PID or Automatic roast, it will confuse the roaster, usually turning the burner on from 0 to 100, back to 0 somewhat rapidly. You most likely will not achieve a PID roast as the roaster does not have any events to follow.
Pro Tip: If you do use someone elses .alog file in an attempt to recreate a profile for your roaster. We recommend setting the background "Set Value Mode" to "Manual". This will allow you to use a lower or higher charge temperatures, and more or less follow the same path. Once you have a profile you like for your roaster, you can save the new .alog file and reload the new background. To set to Manual, see below.
Setting to Manual Mode with Background
A common question I get asked "I loaded a background and it wants to play the events for me even though I am not using auto roast or PID roast. How do I turn off this feature?
In the upper right corner within Artisan click the "Control" button.
Under the Set Value Mode: Change from "Background" to "Manual".
- Manual Mode = Artisan will only send the commands that you send the roaster. IE if you say 70% burner, it will stay 70% burner until you change it.
- Background Mode = Artisan will look for "Events" and automatically make adjustments for you. IE if the Event at the beginning of the roast was a burner of 100% and at time = 2 minutes it is 80%, it would automatically change the burner to 80% at that time.
This will allow you to utilize a background from a previous roast, without allowing the roaster to take control of the roasting settings.
