Phase Template: smooth-cake¶

Level the filter cake surface with gentle agitation before washing. Use this phase between filter-charge and filter-wash to even out the cake surface. An uneven cake channels wash solvent and reduces wash efficiency. Runs the smoother/agitator at a low speed for a short duration.

Where to find it¶

System endpoint → Equipment Library → Phases → select smooth-cake.

graph TD
    Start([initial]) --> SA[start_agitator]
    SA -->|"agitator.POS &gt;= 80% speed"| SM[smoothing]
    SM -->|"smoothing.T &gt;= smooth_time"| STA[stop_agitator]
    STA -->|"agitator.POS &lt; 2"| Done([done])

See Phases for the diagram conventions.

What you see when it runs¶

Element	Meaning
Active step	`start_agitator`, `smoothing`, or `stop_agitator`
Parameters	`agitator_speed`, `smooth_time`

HMI screenshot pending

An annotated capture of a running smooth-cake phase will be added here.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Unit	Range	Default	Required
`agitator_speed`	REAL	%	5-50	—	yes
`smooth_time`	TIME	—	`10s`-`5m`	—	yes

TIME parameters take duration strings ("45s", "1m30s", "5m"), not bare numbers.

Required control modules¶

Role	Module type	Description
`agitator`	analog-control	Smoother / agitator for cake leveling

Capability: filtration.

How it works¶

Each scan the SFC engine:

start_agitator writes agitator_speed to agitator.CMD and waits until agitator.POS reaches 80 % of setpoint.
smoothing holds for smooth_time.
stop_agitator zeroes agitator.CMD and waits until agitator.POS < 2 before completing.

This is a timed phase. Pair with a deviation alarm on the agitator and a timeoutSeconds backstop on the phase call. See Phases § Timed phase.

Used in recipes¶

Try it¶

HMI endpoint → Batch Execution → + New → sim-filter-dry-m1 → Start
Wait for the procedural tree to advance past filter-charge to the smooth step
Open the agitator faceplate on filter-dryer-1 and watch CMD and POS ramp, hold, and return to zero