Your universal control box is the heart of your SOVDA Lift System. It controls how your lift works and enables you to upgrade, and add certain components to your lift.
Control Box Inputs
Starting on the bottom, you'll have the inputs of the Universal Control Box. You'll see these are labelled, and any cables will have a corresponding label below. Ensure you plug them in at the correct orientation.
From left to right, here is what each of them control.
Power - This enables power to your control box.
On/Off Switch - Turns the control box on and off
Suction - This will send a signal to your canister vacuum or SOVDA Vacuum Box to turn on and off.
Solenoid Box -This will send a signal to your solenoid box, and will actuate your butterfly valve on the cyclone. If connected, this will also actuate your Three Way Valve, Double Cyclone and Lance.
Sens. Power & Sens. Signal - These both will control your sensors that you install inside your Precision Hopper.
Auxiliary - This is an extra input for any additional upgrades or modifications.
Control Box Switches
On the front of the box, you'll see two switches and a control screen.
Stop & Cycle - This will start your box, and begin to lift coffee.
1 & 2 - This will control any 'options' you have in your lift. For example, this may switch your lift between lifting coffee via a Lance or Hopper, or between two Hoppers if you have a Double Cyclone installed.
At the top you'll see an Orange Screen which is the programmable element of your control box. This will control all aspects of how your box will actually function.
On the main screen when you turn on the box you'll see Status and Mode:
Status - This will either be Inactive or Active - essentially meaning is the lift running.
Mode - This will either say Cycle or Sensor depending if you are lifting via sensors.
When you push the down arrow from this screen, you'll see the logic inputs and output. Your Technician may ask for a video of this screen to diagnose any issues with the control box. Push ESC from this screen to go into the Menus.
Entering the Control Box Settings
From here you'll see the following menus:
Stop/Start- This enables the program to run. If you see Stop, your program is active. If you see Start, your program is not active. (E.g. The lift will not run if you switch the lower right switch to cycle).
Program - This menu will allow you to edit the programmable options within the lift.
Press OK and then select Set Parameter
When you enter the Set Parameter Menu you'll have the following options:
CycleTimer - This controls the cycle time of your lift. The TH is lift loading time, and then TL is unloading time. The recommended default settings are between 35-45 seconds for TH and 8-10 seconds for TL. You can adjust this depending on your batch size.
VacCycle - This option will either be ON or OFF depending on your vacuum. If you have a canister vacuum it will be ON, if you have the SOVDA Vacuum Box it will be OFF.
HopperSensor - If you have sensors on your Lift, you can enable then by switching this setting ON. You'll see your Home Screen Mode will change from Cycle to Sensor. Alternatively if you need to temporarily switch off the sensor, you can do this by switching to OFF.
Delay Timer - The Delay Timer is the timer after the Sensors no longer detect coffee in the hopper, to then switch off the Vacuum. For example if it's set at 15 seconds. 15 seconds after detecting no coffee, the vacuum will switch off. You can adjust this depending on your lift run length.
InvertSensor - If you need to invert your sensor signal, your Technical Brand Ambassador may ask you to switch depending on your lift setup.
DefSensInput - This changes the default sensor input, your Technical Brand Ambassador may ask you to switch this depending on lift setup.
Setup / Network / Diagnostics - These menus are not used here.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Depending on your lift setup, you’ll have a canister vacuum or a vacuum box which will also need cleaning and maintenance.
For standard vacuums, these are similar to standard home vacuums, where you’ll twist the bottom and empty the bag.
For Pump Boxes, these inside have a filter, and a cyclone that is similar to what you may have on your roaster. Undo the tri-clamp and discard whats in the container. For the filter on the top, undo the clamps, and in a well-ventilated area (ideally outside) and with a dust mask, used compressed air to clean the filter.
Both vacuums will need cleaning depending on the volume your outputting through them. Start with once a week and adjust as needed. The Pump Box filter can be cleaned when you notice a decrease in conveyance performance.