Bronkhorst FlowDDE User Manual

Instruction manual

FlowDDE

Doc. no.: 9.17.067D Date: 06-05-2014

ATTENTION

Please read this instruction manual carefully before installing and operating the instrument. Not following the guidelines could result in personal injury and/or damage to the equipment.

Head Office: Nijverheidsstraat 1a, NL-7261 AK Ruurlo, The Netherlands, Tel. [phone], [e-mail]

BRONKHORST®

Disclaimer

Even though care has been taken in the preparation and publication of the contents of this manual, we do not assume legal or other liability for any inaccuracy, mistake, mis-statement or any other error of whatsoever nature contained herein. The material in this manual is for information purposes only, and is subject to change without notice.

Bronkhorst High-Tech B.V.

May 2011

Symbols

Important information. Discarding this information could cause injuries to people or damage to the

Instrument or installation.

Helpful information. This information will facilitate the use of this instrument.

Additional info available on the internet or from your local sales representative.

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Table of contents

1	GENERAL PRODUCT INFORMATION .................................................................................................			4
	1.1	INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................		4
	1.2	REFERENCES TO OTHER APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS .....................................................................................................		4
	1.2.1		Manuals and user guides ............................................................................................................................	4
	1.2.2		Technical drawings .....................................................................................................................................	4
	1.2.3		Software tooling..........................................................................................................................................	4
	1.3	SUPPORTED INSTRUMENTS .................................................................................................................................		4
	1.4	SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.....................................................................................................................................		5
	1.5	INSTALLATION AND START UP ..............................................................................................................................		5
	1.5.1		Start up options...........................................................................................................................................	5
2	INTERFACES.....................................................................................................................................			6
	2.1	RS232/FLOW-BUS INTERFACE .........................................................................................................................		6
	2.1.1		D-connector for RS232 ................................................................................................................................	6
	2.2	RS232 ON MULTIBUS INSTRUMENT......................................................................................................................		7
	2.2.1		Applications, e.g. EL-FLOW .........................................................................................................................	7
3	PARAMETER INFORMATION ............................................................................................................			8
4	OPERATION...................................................................................................................................			10
	4.1	BASIC: COMMUNICATION TO INSTRUMENTS AND SERVING CLIENT APPLICATIONS............................................................		10
	4.1.1		Communication settings ...........................................................................................................................	10
	4.1.2		Open communication................................................................................................................................	11
	4.1.3		Close communication................................................................................................................................	11
	4.2	CONFIGURATION.............................................................................................................................................		11
	4.3	SETTINGS ......................................................................................................................................................		12
	4.3.1		Poll time ....................................................................................................................................................	12
	4.3.2		System settings .........................................................................................................................................	12
	4.4	VIEW AND EDIT PARAMETERS .............................................................................................................................		13
	4.4.1		View parameters and values.....................................................................................................................	13
	4.4.2		Edit parameters ........................................................................................................................................	13
	4.5	TEST COMMUNICATION ....................................................................................................................................		14
	4.5.1		Test FLOW-BUS and DDE...........................................................................................................................	14
	4.5.2		Test ProPar................................................................................................................................................	15
	4.6	SERVICE LOG ..................................................................................................................................................		15
5 DDE COMMUNICATION BY CLIENTS ...............................................................................................				16
	5.1	BASIC PARAMETER COMMUNICATION ..................................................................................................................		16
	5.2	SPECIAL OPTIONS ............................................................................................................................................		16
	5.2.1		Channel 0 ..................................................................................................................................................	16
	5.2.2		Parameter 0 ..............................................................................................................................................	16
	5.2.3		Server topic ...............................................................................................................................................	17
6	FLOWDDE TECHNICAL DETAILS ......................................................................................................			18
7	SERVICE		........................................................................................................................................	19

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1 GENERAL PRODUCT INFORMATION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This manual will explain the operation of the software tool FlowDDE. It has been written based on FlowDDE V4.67, but should be suited for former (and future) versions as well, although functionality may differ from what is described.

FlowDDE is a Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) server, an easy connection between Windows applications and digital Bronkhorst1) instruments. DDE provides a basic level of interprocess communication between Windows applications.

By using DDE commands, sent by software to FlowDDE, data can be sent to or requested from digital instruments. FlowDDE handles all communication to the instruments and provides the data to applications.

Examples of applications with DDE communication are Microsoft Excel and LabVIEW (National Instruments). Several Bronkhorst applications require FlowDDE for communication to the instrument(s), e.g. FlowPlot and FlowView.

1) Bronkhorst: This includes Bronkhorst High-Tech B.V. , Bronkhorst Cori-Tech B.V. and M+W Instruments GmbH.

1.2 REFERENCES TO OTHER APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

Manuals and guides for digital instruments are modular. General instructions give information about the functioning and installation of instruments. Operational instructions explain the use of the digital instruments features and parameters. Fieldbus specific information explains the installation and use of the fieldbus installed on the instrument.

1.2.1 Manuals and user guides

Operation instructions digital instruments	(document nr. 9.17.023)
FLOW-BUS interface	(document nr. 9.17.024)
Profibus-DP interface	(document nr. 9.17.025)
DeviceNet interface	(document nr. 9.17.026)
Modbus slave interface	(document nr. 9.17.035)
RS232 interface with FLOW-BUS protocol	(document nr. 9.17.027)

1.2.2 Technical drawings

Hook-up diagram laboratory-style MBC RS232 + analog	(document nr. 9.16.062)
Hook-up diagram industrial style MBC RS232 + analog	(document nr. 9.16.051)
Hook-up diagram CORI-FLOW RS232 + analog	(document nr. 9.16.044)
Hook-up diagram LIQUI-FLOW L30 digital RS232 + analog	(document nr. 9.16.073)

1.2.3Software tooling

FlowPlot

(document nr. 9.17.030)

All these documents can be found at:

http://www.bronkhorst.com/en/downloads

1.3 SUPPORTED INSTRUMENTS

All FLOW-BUS instruments and instruments with RS232 communication, with the following limitations:

•RS232/FLOW-BUS interface: 16-bit is not supported and 32-bit firmware >= 4.09 only

•Digital mass flow meters/controllers without RS232 communication: firmware >= V5.xx only

•Digital readout control modules (E-7000): firmware >= V3.xx only

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1.4 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Processor	x86 or x64 700 MHz or higher
Memory (RAM)	64 MB
Hard disk	20 MB available disk space
Display	800 x 600 or higher resolution, 256 colors or more
Connections	RS232 port with FIFO buffers
Operating system	Windows 2000, XP, Vista (x86 or x64) or 7 (x86 or x64)

The digit grouping symbol of currency must always differ from the number’s decimal symbol. Having equal symbols is not valid (not just in this situation, but also in other situations) and will probably cause other problems as well. See Microsoft’s KB198098.

To avoid communication errors, it is advised to use a serial (RS232) port with hardware buffer overrun detection. Few USB-RS232 converters have this feature, but e.g. the Digitus part no. DA-70156 has.

1.5INSTALLATION AND START UP

Follow on-screen instructions when installing FlowDDE.

FlowDDE will be installed in C:\Program Files\Bronkhorst\FlowDDE32.

Start FlowDDE through the Start menu: Start >> (All) Programs >> Bronkhorst >> FlowDDE V4.67.

C:\Program Files is a system folder and is followed by (x86) on 64-bit Windows versions and may differ on non-English Windows versions.

1.5.1Start up options

In some situations, it is convenient that FlowDDE behaves differently or performs an action after startup. The following start up options are available:

•	FlowDDE /o	open communication to FLOW-BUS
•	FlowDDE /s	start simulation mode
•	FlowDDE /d	accept all FLOW-BUS configuration changes on open communication
•	FlowDDE /q	disable pop up message boxes
•	FlowDDE C:\client.exe	start the client application C:\client.exe (usually in combination with /o)

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2 INTERFACES

2.1RS232/FLOW-BUS INTERFACE

The RS232/FLOW-BUS interface is an interface between the FLOW-BUS and the RS232 V24 serial (computer) port. It will either be supplied as a separate enclosed unit with a FLOW-BUS connector and a RS232 connector or as an integral 14TE module of your E-7000 readout and control system. The converter offers communication with a baud rate up to 38400 baud. Communication software support is available. Communication settings are: 38400, n, 8, 1.

2.1.1D-connector for RS232

The female RS232 (x) (sub miniature 9-pin) D-connector has the following pin configuration:

Pin number	Description
1	not connected
2	TXD
3	RXD
4	not connected
5	0 Vd
6	DTR
7	CTS
8	RTS
9	Shield

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