What is a Generic Connector?

Establishing a connection between your roast machine and Cropster is the essential first step to accessing our comprehensive suite of tools.

If you are familiar with the communication protocol and register settings of your roast machine, you can establish a connection using one of the available Generic Connectors listed below:

1. Generic Modbus over Network (TCP)
2. Generic Modbus over Network (UDP)
3. Generic Modbus over Serial port 
4. Generic Siemens S7 over Network 

Specifications

Requirements 

• USB cable, Ethernet cable, WiFi connection (depends on which Generic Connector is being used).
• Driver for the USB serial converter in cases where a USB connection is being used.
   

Supported measurements

• Bean temperature
• Exhaust temperature 
• Gas: Not when using the Generic Modbus over serial port connector.
   

1. Download Roasting Intelligence (RI).
2. Complete the installation process by following the steps provided.
3. Double-click the Cropster icon on your desktop to access Roasting Intelligence (RI).
4. Click the green Login with the browser button.
   

   

5. You will be directed to the C-sar browser. 
   

   

6. Enter your Username* and Password* and click the green Sign in with password button. Use the same credentials that you use to access the online platform C-sar.
    

Establishing a connection to the machine
 

1. ClickPreferences > Machine > Configuration to access the Preferences screen. 
2. Select the Machine by clicking on the dropdown in the Roasting Machine section. 
3. Navigate to the Connector setup section. Choose the relevant Generic Connector from the available options by clicking the +Add connector button. 
4. Click Select. 
   

   

5. Navigate to the Machine > Measurements tab.
6. All supported measurements will be displayed here. To activate the measurements, simply click the green toggle button.
7. Switch on the measurements you would like to enable and select the relevant Generic connector from the dropdown. 
8. Change the order of the measurements by using theDrag and Drop icon and move it into position.
   

   

9. Navigate back to the Machine > Configuration tab and click on the Gear icon in the Connector setup section next to the previously added connector to open and configure more settings.
10. Fill in all the information according to the specifications of your roast machine.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Save to finalize the changes. 
    

    

Troubleshooting

If Roasting Intelligence (RI) indicates No source connected and/or you cannot see any measurements, please check the following: 

• Is the roast machine connected to the computer? 
• Have you downloaded the driver for the USB serial converter?
• Have you set up a static IP address if using an ethernet connection directly into your computer?
• Is the correct serial port within the RI selected?
• Are the settings copied correctly?

Driver for the USB serial converter

If you cannot select the correct serial port within RI's Serial port field, your computer may not have the appropriate driver needed to recognize the serial converter's physical connection.

Please reach out to support.cropster.com, and attach the following information relevant to the USB serial converter used:

• Brand, and model
• Serial number
• Picture of the serial converter
• RI log files

A Cropster representative will assess the information, and assist in providing the required driver for the USB serial converter used.

Congratulations! You have successfully set up the Cropster Roasting Intelligence!

Your opinion matters. If you have further questions, feedback, or concerns, please submit a support ticket directly from support.cropster.com.