According to the International Coffee Organization, more than $70 billion worth of coffee is sold worldwide each year—annual retail sales in the
United States alone are estimated at $19 billion. With coffee being one of the few drinks considered universal, perhaps the Diedrich family was on to something when they delved into the coffee trade in 1912. What began as a family coffee-growing business has become a roaster manufacturing company known internationally for original product development and high quality.  

Diedrich Manufacturing is an international leader in the design and production of industrial roasting systems designed to apply the correct combination of heat, airflow and timing to create an optimum roasting environment for coffee beans. Based in
Sandpoint, Idaho

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Three generations

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2005, Diedrich Manufacturing remains committed to the advancement of roasting technology by combining the roasting methods developed by three generations of Diedrichs with cutting-edge automation to achieve accurate “roast profiling.” Diedrich strives to make every machine capable of the best roast through quality of construction and depth of automation.

According to Dave Williams, software engineer at Diedrich Manufacturing, optimal roasting requires precise process control. “Our machines provide very fine control over the coffee roast, and by adding automation, our customers can maintain that one variation point or roast profile they strive for,” Williams says. “This means we need top performance from every part of the machine to consistently hit that variable.”

Declining equipment reliability and technical support limitations were threatening to impact the company’s manufacturing performance standards. To maintain the high level of accuracy and reliability of its machines, Williams and his team knew they needed to update the existing platform that controlled the machine’s roasting environment.

Machine meltdown

“O
ur previous vendor cited ‘user error’ as the primary reason for our reliability and performance problems—offering no path toward a resolution,” Williams explains. “Our last straw was when we experienced a complete machine meltdown and overflow as a result of a drive failure during an important plant floor demonstration. It was extremely disappointing to have the drive fail at a critical time like that, and we knew then that it was definitely time to start looking at an upgrade.”  

 “Rockwell Automation took the time and energy to understand the challenge we were facing and offered us a variety of solutions,” Williams says. “While I expected the product quality, I was impressed by the support and quick responses I received from the Rockwell Automation representatives.”

Ethernet-based control

The new control solution for Diedrich’s coffee roasting process includes an Allen-Bradley CompactLogix L-35E controller, an Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus 1000 touch screen operator interface running RSView Machine Edition (ME) software, and five or more Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 40 variable-frequency drives (VFDs), depending on the size of the system. The operator interface is mounted on a small box attached to the side of the machine, so the operator can monitor status of the roast. The control system is connected by EtherNet/IP,  allowing remote technical support and roaster diagnostics via a virtual private network.

EtherNet/IP uses standard transmission control protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and Ethernet technologies requiring no proprietary hardware. Also, EtherNet/IP works with either standard- or industrial-grade products, mixing the technologies for a tighter integration of information from the roasters to the enterprise.

The new Ethernet-based control system provides Diedrich’s customers with enhanced production capabilities, including automated control of roast profile, batch loading and ancillary equipment. In addition, the new automation system enables recording and duplication of exact roast parameters and process variables, including temperature control and importing and exporting of roast profiles.  

“The advanced control platform has helped us boost our efficiency and reduce our assembly times on individual
projects,” Williams says. “The reliability of the control system has ...