Guide

Machine control

Heater · fan · drum setpoints and Auto Heat (PID) on Active Roast — Pro+

Machine control lets you drive heater · fan · drum setpoints from the Active Roast screen. On supported machines you can also use Auto Heat (PID) to hold a target bean temperature (BT).

Prerequisites

Pro+ or higher
Machine connected — sidecar online with live temperatures
The model must report writable control channels
(read-only temperature links will hide the panel or mark channels N/A)

Using it on Active Roast

Start a roast session and connect the machine.
Expand the Machine Control panel next to the chart.
Drag the vertical faders:
- Heater — heat power
- Fan — airflow
- Drum — drum speed
On release (or after keyboard adjust), the command goes to the sidecar. If the machine does not follow, a warning appears.

Unsupported channels

All three slots (Heater / Fan / Drum) always stay visible.
Unsupported channels are disabled, show value —, and label N/A so the layout does not jump between models.

Auto Heat (PID)

Shown only when the model supports PID (heater write map + gains).
Enable Hold BT at target so software PID owns heat and tracks the SV.
While PID is running/holding, the Heater fader locks with PID (avoids fighting the controller).
On drop / session end, heat is held or zeroed per your drop behavior setting.

Support scope

Writability depends on the model and register/capability map. Read-only links cannot control.
Connection guides: overview, Modbus, Phidget.
If channels look wrong for your roaster, contact us with make, model, and protocol.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
No control panel	Plan (Pro+), connection, writable status
All channels N/A	Preset has no write map — likely read-only
Setpoint does not move the machine	Remote control allowed on the roaster, interlocks, local-mode panel
No PID block	Model without heater write + PID gains
“Device did not apply the command”	Disconnect, write reject, out of range — check sidecar/machine

For connection failures, start with troubleshooting.