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Summary of Contents for Alicat Scientific BC Series
- Page 1 OPERATING MANUAL DIGITAL MASS FLOW CONTROLLERS BC-Series...
- Page 2 Thank you for purchasing your OEM Mass Flow Controllers. Contact Information Alicat Scientific World Headquarters 7641 N Business Park Dr., Tucson, AZ 85743 USA info@alicat.com · alicat.com · +1 888-290-6060 India China & SE Asia Europe india@alicat.com info-cn@alicat.com europe@alicat.com M/s Halma India Pvt. Ltd.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
Contents Getting Started __________________________________________ 4 Mounting _________________________________________ 4 Plumbing _______________________________________________ 5 Process Ports ______________________________________________ 5 Maximum Pressure _________________________________________ 5 Flow Controller Operation ___________________________________ 6 Power and Signal Connections ________________________ 6 RS-232 or RS-485 Digital Signals ______________________ 7 Analog Signals _________________________________ 7 Serial Communication _____________________________________ 8 Establishing Communications _________________________ 8 Serial Terminal Application _________________________ 9... -
Page 4: Getting Started
Getting Started Mounting No straight runs of pipe are required upstream or downstream of the flow controller. BASIS (BC-Series) Mass Flow Controllers have mounting holes on the bottom for convenient mounting to flat panels. The thread size of these holes is M3. These controllers are position insensitive and can be mounted in any orientation. -
Page 5: Plumbing
Plumbing Process Ports Your instrument is shipped with plastic plugs fitted in the port openings. To lessen the chance of contaminating the flow stream do not remove these plugs until you are ready to install the device. If you are using a fitting that does not have a face seal, use thread- •... -
Page 6: Flow Controller Operation
Alicat Scientific BC-Series Mass Flow Controllers incorporate a digital sensor with a single control valve and circuitry. The integrated control algorithm measures the mass flow, compares it with the setpoint, and adjusts the valve accordingly at 400 times per second. -
Page 7: Rs-232 Or Rs-485 Digital Signals
RS-232 or RS-485 Digital Signals To use the RS-232 or RS-485 input signal, connect the RS-232 / RS-485 Output Signal (Pin 5), the RS-232 / RS-485 Input Signal (Pin 3), and Ground (Pin 8) to your computer serial port as shown below. 9-Pin Serial Connection 9-Pin Alicat Connection Function... -
Page 8: Serial Communication
Serial Communication The device supports both ASCII-based serial commands and Modbus/RTU IO over either a RS-232 or RS-485 serial port. The supported physical serial protocol will be specified in the device model number. Connecting your flow controller to a computer allows you to log the data that it generates. This section of the manual shows you how to operate the flow controller using ASCII commands. -
Page 9: Serial Terminal Application
Serial Terminal Application Alicat’s proprietary Serial Terminal is a preconfigured program for serial communications that functions much like Windows’ old HyperTerminal program. Download Serial Terminal at alicat.com/drivers for free. Once downloaded, simply run SerialTerminal.exe. Enter the COM port number to which your device is connected and the baud rate of the flow controller. -
Page 10: Changing The Baud Rate
Changing the Baud Rate BASIS units can communicate over bauds rates of 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, or 115200. 38400 is the default baud rate. You can read the current baud rate as well as change it by typing: [unit ID]rb Read the baud rate: arb... -
Page 11: Taring
Taring Before collecting data, be sure to tare your flow controller. If auto-tare is enabled, this can be accomplished by providing a setpoint of zero for at least 2 seconds. Taring flow sets the zero-flow reading and must be done when no flow is passing through the flow controller: [unit ID]v... -
Page 12: Commanding A New Setpoint
Commanding a New Setpoint Before attempting to send setpoints to your BASIS flow controller serially, confirm that it’s configured to receive serial setpoints. If not, the device will respond with SETPOINT SOURCE IS ANALOG . This can be done by typing: [unit ID]rs... -
Page 13: Sending Setpoints As Integers
Sending Setpoints as Integers In this method, your controller’s full scale range (FS) is represented by a value of 4000, and a zero setpoint is represented by 0. To calculate your intended setpoint, use the following formula: [desired setpoint] [device FS] Integer value = 4000 ×... -
Page 14: Flow Averaging
Flow Averaging Flow averaging governs how the flow sensor reports its data. The higher the flow averaging setting, the greater a smoothing effect will be applied. This is most useful on rapidly-fluctuating flow readings. Allowed values are integers from 0–9, which correspond to the following settings: Setting Averaging (ms) 1280... -
Page 15: Pid Tuning
PID Tuning Your flow controller uses a closed-loop algorithm to determine how to actuate its valve in order to achieve the commanded setpoint. We have tuned these settings to work for most operating conditions, but sometimes your process requires on-site adjustments to maintain optimal control performance. -
Page 16: Tuning The Pdf Control Algorithm
Tuning the PDF Control Algorithm Alicat’s control algorithm employs pseudo-derivative feedback (PDF) control, which uses two editable variables: • The larger the integral (I) gain, the faster the controller will correct for offsets based on the size of the errors and amount of time they have occurred. -
Page 17: Quick Command Guide
Quick Command Guide ✓ Note: Serial commands are not case-sensitive. For simplicity, we assume that the unit ID of the flow controller when not streaming is a in the listing that follows. a@=[desired unit ID] Change unit ID: awm=[desired Modbus ID] Change Modbus ID: awb=[baud rate, see page 10]... -
Page 18: Modbus/Rtu Communication
Modbus/RTU Communication All BASIS devices support input and output using the Modbus/RTU protocol. The following Modbus commands are supported: Function Code Function Read holding register Write single register Write multiple registers ✓ Note: All function codes and registers listed in this manual are base 10. -
Page 19: Configuration Registers
Configuration Registers Data Address Access Description The baud rate. See baud table on page 10 for valid values. The firmware version. This is encoded as 256 × a + 16 × b + c where the version is Va.b.c. For example, V2.1.3 would read as 2 ×... -
Page 20: Data Registers
Data Registers Access Description Data Address The currently selected gas, returned as the gas number. 2048 See gas table on page 14 to view available gases. Temperature in degrees Celsius. 2049 Value is presented as hundredths of a degree. For example, 2850 = 28.5°C Current mass flow rate (4-byte signed integer) in flow units. -
Page 21: Maintenance
Maintenance Cleaning This device requires minimal maintenance. If necessary, the outside of the device can be cleaned with a soft dry cloth. Avoid excess moisture or solvents. The single most important thing that affects the life and accuracy of these devices is the quality of the gas being measured.
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