Bronkhorst Flowdde User manual



Instruction manual

FlowDDE

Doc. no.: 9.17.067F Date: 14-01-2016

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.+31573458800,info@bronkhorst.com

BRONKHORST®

Page2FlowDDE     9.17.067



Disclaimer



Theinformationinthismanualhasbeenreviewedandisbelievedtobewhollyreliable.Noresponsibility,however,is

assumedforinaccuracies.Thematerialinthismanualisforinformationpurposesonly.



Allrightsreserved.Thisdocumentationisprotectedbycopyright.

Subjecttotechnicalandopticalchangesaswellasprintingerrors.Theinformationcontainedinthisdocumentis

subjecttochangeatanytimewithoutpriornotification.Bronkhorst®reservestherighttomodifyorimproveits

productsandmodifythecontentswithoutbeingobligedtoinformanyparticularpersonsororganizations.Thedevice

specificationsandthecontentsofthepackagemaydeviatefromwhatisstatedinthisdocument.



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.



BRONKHORST®

Page3FlowDDE     9.17.067



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...............................................................................................................................5

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

4.3.3Simulationmode....................................................................................................................................13

4.4VIEWANDEDITPARAMETERS..........................................................................................................................13

4.4.1Viewparametersandvalues..................................................................................................................13

4.4.2Editparameters.....................................................................................................................................14

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



BRONKHORST®

Page4FlowDDE     9.17.067

1GENERAL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.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)

EtherCATinterface    (documentnr.9.17.063)

PROFINETinterface    )documentnr.9.17.095)



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)



1.2.3 Softwaretooling

FlowPlot(documentnr.9.17.030)



Allthesedocumentscanbefoundat:

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

BRONKHORST®

Page5FlowDDE     9.17.067



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



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.



1.5 INSTALLATION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.



1.5.1 Start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)



BRONKHORST®

Page6FlowDDE     9.17.067

2INTERFACES



2.1 RS232/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orE‐8000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.



2.1.1 D‐connectorforRS232



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



Pinnumber Description

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

notconnected

TXD

RXD

notconnected

0Vd

DTR

CTS

RTS

Shield



BRONKHORST®

Page7FlowDDE     9.17.067



2.2 RS232ONMULTIBUSINSTRUMENT



TheRS232interfaceonamultibusinstrumentcanbeconnectedtoanyRS232V24serial(computer)port.Makesure

torespectthehook‐updiagram.Bronkhorst®offersspecialcablesforcommunication,separatingtheRS232linesfrom

thepowerandanalogin‐andoutput.Onthe9‐pinmaleD‐subconnectoroftheinstrumentRXandTXareavailableon

pin6andpin1.



SerialRS232communicationonamultibusinstrumentwithRS232canbetreatedasaFLOW‐BUSsystemwithone

instrumentandaFLOW‐BUS/RS232interface.IncaseaFLOW‐BUSfieldbusconnectionispresent,otherinstruments

connectedtotheFLOW‐BUScanbecommunicatedwithaswell.



RS232communicationispossibleby:

9‐pinSubD‐connector (non‐IP65instruments,e.g.EL‐FLOW)

8‐pinDINconnector(IP65instruments,e.g.CORI‐FLOW)

Fortheexactconnectionspleaseadviseyourhook‐updiagram.



2.2.1 Applications,e.g.EL‐FLOW

FLOW

mass flow meter/controller

Power

Supply

InstrumentsuppliedthroughtheD‐subDB‐9connector



FLOW

massflow meter/controller



Forpropercableinstallationpleaseconsulttheapplicablehook‐updiagrammentionedinparagraph

1.2.2



Bydefault,theinterfaceofferscommunicationatabaudrateof38400baud.Oninstrumentsthatoffer

thepossibilitytochangetheRS232baudrate,thebaudratemaybeconfigureddifferently.Seethe

technicaldocumentationofyourinstrumentwhichbaudratesaresupported.

BRONKHORST®

Page8FlowDDE     9.17.067

3PARAMETERINFORMATION



FLOW‐BUSisusedforparametervalueexchangebetweeninstrumentsandoperationmodules(keyboardorPC‐

interface).ParameterinformationconsistsofseveralpropertiesforbehaviourwithintheFLOW‐BUSsystem.Inthe

‘parameterproperties’tableyouwillfindalistofparametersandtheirproperties.Inthe‘parametervalues’table,the

valuesaredescribedmoredetailed.Thislistconsistsmostlyofparametersformodesettings.



Propertydescriptioninparameterpropertiestable

ItemDescription

Parameter(DDE)Uniqueparameternumber(alsousedforDDE‐communication:P(x)).

NameNameoftheparameter,usedforparameteridentification.

ProcessProcesswhereparameterisusedonFLOW‐BUSmodule, usedforcommunicationdirectlythrough

RS232.Whenemptyinthetable,theprocesshastobedeterminedfromtheFLOW‐BUSsystem

information(forparameterslocatedinmorethanoneprocess,e.g.setpoint,measure).

FBnr(parameter)ParameternumberinprocessonFLOW‐BUSmodule, usedforcommunicationdirectlythrough

RS232.

TypeVariabletypeoftheparameter

c(unsigned)char1bytevalue0..255whenStrLenis0

cstringMultiplebyteswhenStrLenisotherthan0

i(unsigned)integer2bytesvalue0..65535

ffloat4bytesvalue+‐1.18E‐38..+‐3.39E+38(IEEE‐floatingpointnotation)

l(unsigned)long4bytesvalue0..4294967295

datatypes>1byteareMSBfirst.

StrLenLengthofstringinbytes(characters)usedincombinationwithTypecforstrings

‐2indicatesthatastringiszero‐terminated,notdefinedinlength,butuntilthefirst0‐char.

XindicatesastringwithalengthofXbytes

0meansnoinforequired(notastringtypeparameter)

MinMinimumvalueofparameterallowedwhenparameterisread/written.Thevaluewillbechecked

onthislimit(errorwhenoutoflimit).

MaxMaximumvalueofparameterallowedwhenparameterisread/written.Thevaluewillbechecked

onthislimit(errorwhenoutoflimit).

ReadIndicationifparameterisallowedtobereadviaFLOW‐BUS.

WriteIndicationifparameterisallowedtobewrittenviaFLOW‐BUS.

PollIndicationifparametershouldbepolledcontinuouslybyFlowDDE inordertokeepthe(changing)

parametervalueuptodate.

AdvancedIndicationifparameterisforadvancedusersonly.Thesearemainlyparametersfor

maintenance/service.

SecuredIndicationifparameterissecuredforusethroughFLOW‐BUS.Readingthisparameterispossible,

butchangingitneedsspecialhandling.

HighsecurityIndicationifparameterishighlysecured(onlyfewparameters).Readingthisparameterispossible,

butchangingitneedsspecialhandling.

DescriptionShortdescriptionaboutthe meaningofparameterorwhere itisusedfor.

DDEstrParameterDDEstring(max.10characters).Thisbecomesthe DDEvaluewhenparameterisnot

availableoninstrument.Also:untilFlowDDEV4.58usedforparameteridentification.



Changingparametervaluesispossiblewhenaparameterisnotread‐onlyandnotsecured.Therange

andtypeofparametersaredescribedinthetables.Whenparametervaluesareoutofrangetheywill

beeither'clipped'onthenearestvalueallowedoryouwillgetanerrormessage:'parametervalue

error'.



(FlowDDE)Parameternumbers:

Allparameterinformationisreferencedtotheparameternumber.Thisisauniquenumberforaparametertoavoid

redundancy.ThesenumbersareneededforDDEcommunicationonly.



BRONKHORST®

Page9FlowDDE     9.17.067

ForcommunicationwithFLOW‐BUSthroughotherwaysthanDDE,directlyviaRS232ASCII‐stringsorviaC‐libraries,

usetheparameternumbersfortheFLOW‐BUSmodules(incolumnFBnrofParameterpropertiestable).Alsoyouwill

needtoknowthenodeaddressoftheinstrumentontheFLOW‐BUS,theprocessnumberandtheparameternumber

ontheinstrument.



ThenodeaddressisthenodeaddressoftheinstrumentontheFLOW‐BUS.RS232interfacesacceptnodeaddress128.

Whensendingmessagestonodeaddress128,themessagewillalwaysbeaccepted,regardlessthetruenodeaddress

oftheinstrumentonthebus.

Theprocesscanbefoundintheparametertableorhastobedeterminedwhennothingisfilledin.Inthatcase,the

processnumbermostoftenis1,butondeviceswithe.g.multiplesensorchannels,theprocesswillbe1forthefirst

channel,2forthesecond,andsoonupto32.Onthesemodulesalsoprocess33,65and65aremultipliedinthisway.



Itisimportanttoknowthatnotallparametersareavailableonall(FLOW‐BUS)instruments.

Formoredetailsaboutparametersandtheiruseseealsothetechnicaldocumentationofyour

instrument.TheBronkhorst®softwareapplicationFlowDDEalsogivesanoverviewofwhichparameters

areavailableonwhichdevices.



BRONKHORST®

Page10FlowDDE     9.17.067

4OPERATION

4.1 BASIC:COMMUNICATIONTOINSTRUMENTSANDSERVINGCLIENTAPPLICATIONS



OnceFlowDDEhasbeenstarted,themainwindowwillappear.Itconsistsofamenubar,aninformationlineanda

messagessection.



InthemessagessectionthegeneralproceduretostartservingclientapplicationswiththeFlowDDEserverisdescribed

infoursteps:

1. ConnectaninstrumenttoaCOMportofthePC

2. Setthecommunicationsettings

3. Startthecommunication

4. WaituntilFlowDDEisready



Usingtheinformationofchapter2and/orthehook‐updiagram,physicallyconnecttheinstrumenttotheCOMportof

thePC.



4.1.1 Communicationsettings

Beforecommunicationtotheinstrument(s)canbemade,the

communicationsettingshavetobecorrectlyconfigured.

OpenthecommunicationsettingsfromthemenuCommunication>>

Communicationsettings…orbypressingF2.Thewindowshownat

therighthandsidepopsup.



AtInterface,theCOMportandthebaudratecanbeselected.For

mostinterfaces,thedefaultbaudrateis38400.



AtFLOW‐BUSsomesettingsfortheFLOW‐BUSinterfacecanbeset.

Thedefaultvalues(Autobusmaster+optimizeandbothprocessand

parameterchainingenabled)shouldonlybechangedincasethese

optionsarenotsupported,i.e.onlyforlegacyinterfaces.



OnOKthesettingsareaccepted,whereasonCancelFlowDDEretains

itssettings.



Inthemainwindow,theactualcommunicationsettingsareshown

belowthemenubar,nexttotheinterfacestatus.



Table of contents

Popular Server manuals by other brands

HP Tc2120 - Server - 256 MB RAM installation guide

Lenovo

Lenovo ThinkServer RD230 manual

Avocent

Avocent CPS810 Installer/user guide

Dell

Dell PowerEdge R6615 Installation and service manual

FreeWave

FreeWave HT2+ installation guide

GIGA-BYTE TECHNOLOGY

GIGA-BYTE TECHNOLOGY G492-Z50 user manual

Lanner

Lanner HTCA-E400 user manual

Bull

Bull NovaScale T840 E2 user guide

Asus

Asus RS740-E70RS24-EG Configuration guide

Meinberg

Meinberg LANTIME M300/TCR manual 

HP ProLiant SL335s G7 Maintenance and service guide

ZyXEL Communications

ZyXEL Communications VANTAGE RADIUS 50 user guide

Lantronix

Lantronix xDirect-IAP quick start guide

Fujitsu

Fujitsu PRIMEQUEST 2400E3 General description

IBM

IBM 9040-MR9 manual

IBM

IBM 306m - eServer xSeries - 8849 user guide

green hippo

green hippo Hippotizer Nevis+ quick start guide

IBM

IBM 8203-E4A Brochure & specs

BRONKHORST FlowDDE User manual

Popular Server manuals by other brands