DISTELL MFM-992 User manual

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USERMANUAL
DISTELLMEATFATMETER
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ModelMFM‐992(smallsensor)
ModelMFM‐1092(largesensor)
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©DISTELL.Com,June2011(Version2.8)–forusewithv3firmware

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distell‐ing.pres.part.verb.1.todistell.2.to
rapidlyanalysefatcontentoffoodproductsusing
microwavetechnology.

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage3
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Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................................5
Generaldescription.....................................................................................................................................................5
Principleofoperation..................................................................................................................................................5
Fatmeterupdate.........................................................................................................................................................5
Accuracyofresults......................................................................................................................................................6
Accuracyguide............................................................................................................................................................6
MFM‐1092...........................................................................................................................................................6
MFM‐992.............................................................................................................................................................6
Technicaldata.............................................................................................................................................................6
Step‐by‐stepguide..............................................................................................................................7
TheFatmeterkit..........................................................................................................................................................7
Meterunit–Frontview...............................................................................................................................................7
Data/powerSocket.............................................................................................................................................7
Microstripsensor.................................................................................................................................................7
Meterunit–Backview...............................................................................................................................................8
Readbutton(Yes).................................................................................................................................................8
Resetbutton(No)................................................................................................................................................8
Powersupply/charger...............................................................................................................................................8
Checkpad...................................................................................................................................................................8
Datacable...................................................................................................................................................................9
CD‐ROM......................................................................................................................................................................9
Usermanuals&calibrationcharts..............................................................................................................................9
Carrycase...................................................................................................................................................................9
Gettingstarted..................................................................................................................................10
Switchon..................................................................................................................................................................10
Checkpadtest...........................................................................................................................................................10
Failedcheckpadtest..........................................................................................................................................10
Readytostart...........................................................................................................................................................11
Measuringproductsamples......................................................................................................................................11
Comparingthemeterwithlaboratoryanalysis.........................................................................................................11
Preparinglaboratorysamples............................................................................................................................12
Laboratorychecklist...........................................................................................................................................12
Iftheresultsdonotcomparefavourably...........................................................................................................12
Menustructure.........................................................................................................................................................13
Productmenu....................................................................................................................................................13
Researchmenu..................................................................................................................................................13
Samplesmenu....................................................................................................................................................14
Downloadmenu.................................................................................................................................................14
AddProductoption............................................................................................................................................14
Date&Timemenu.............................................................................................................................................15
RentalKeyoption...............................................................................................................................................15
SendRefoption..................................................................................................................................................15
Clearoption.......................................................................................................................................................16
DataManagementSystem................................................................................................................17
Installation................................................................................................................................................................17
Requirements.....................................................................................................................................................17
InstallingtheDMS..............................................................................................................................................17
RunningtheDMS......................................................................................................................................................17
Historicaldatadownload..........................................................................................................................................17
Step1:ConnectingtheMeter............................................................................................................................17
Step2:ConfiguretheDMS.................................................................................................................................17
Step3:Initiatethedownloadfromthemeter....................................................................................................18

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage4
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Realtimedatadownload..........................................................................................................................................18
Enablingreal‐timedatadownload.....................................................................................................................19
Annotatingthedata.................................................................................................................................................19
DMSdatafiles..........................................................................................................................................................19
Printingdata.............................................................................................................................................................19
Exportingdata..........................................................................................................................................................19
DataManagementSoftwarehelp............................................................................................................................19
Advancedtopics.......................................................................................................................................................19
Hintsandsuggestions.......................................................................................................................20
Preparationofsamples.............................................................................................................................................20
OperationoftheFatmeter........................................................................................................................................20
Cleaningandgeneralcare........................................................................................................................................20
Beforecallingforservice...........................................................................................................................................21
Warrantyandrepair.................................................................................................................................................21
Contactdetails.................................................................................................................................22
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...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage5
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Introduction
Generaldescription
THEDISTELLFATMETERwasdevelopedinresponsetodemandfromvariouscustomersforameterthat
couldmeasurelipidcontentoffish,meatandpoultryproductssimply,andnon‐destructively.Thehand
heldinstrumentisplacedincontactwiththesampleandthefat/oilcontentisdisplayedonthe
instrument’sdigitalreadout,providinginstantprocessingorqualitycontrolinformation.Thevalueis
alsostoredinmemoryforlaterdownloadingtocomputer.Thesefeaturesareinvaluablefor
organisationsrequiringcollationandreportinginformation,especiallywhereHACCPandTQMregimes
areinforce.
Therearecalibrationsavailableforalargenumberoffishandmeatsofcommercialimportance.There
isalsotheoptionofhavingDistellprepareaspecificcalibrationofyourchoice,whererequired.
Theinstrumentisnon‐destructiveandnon‐invasiveinuse,andforthisreasoncanbeusedequallywell
onwholepiecesofmeat,ormincedmeatproducts,smallliveanimalsandliveordeadfish.
Pleasenotehowever,thattheinstrumentcannotmeasuresamplesthatarefrozen,anditisnecessary
tofullydefrostsuchsamplesbeforemeasurement.
Principleofoperation
Thelipidcontentofnaturallyoccurringmeatisrelatedtothewatercontent,andthemeasurementof
onecanservetodeterminetheotheriftherelationshipisknown.TheMeatFatmeterutilisesthisfact
inestablishingthefatcontent.
Theinstrumentusesamicrostripsensorwhichissensitivetothewatercontentofthesample.Using
storedcalibrationdatatheinstrumentconvertstheresponseofthesensortoapercentagefat/oil
contentthatisshownonthemeter’sdisplay.
Theprinciplesofthemethodweredefinedafteranumberofyearsofresearchanddevelopment
conductedbytheTorryResearchStation(TRS)oftheUK’sMinistryofAgriculture,FisheriesandFood
(MAFF)inAberdeen,Scotland.Calibrationswereobtainedusingawiderangeofmeatproducts.Results
ofthisworkandotherrelatedresearchhavebeenpublishedinthescientificandtechnicalpressbystaff
ofTRS.
ThisinstrumenthasbeenfurtherdevelopedbyDistell.TheFatmeteriscoveredbyvariouspatentsin
severalcountries.
Fatmeterupdate
ThefirstFatmetermodelsweresuppliedtocustomerswithinthefishandmeatindustryinJuly1992.
SincethentheMeatFatmeterhasbecomeuniversallyknownandisinusethroughouttheworld.Distell
hasreceivedinvaluablefeedbackfromcustomersabouttheuseoftheFatmeterinthefield.Thisallows
ustoconstantlyimproveandrefinetheFatmeterandtogiveyouhintsandtipsonitsuse.
Also,wereceivednumerousenquiriesregardingtheoperationandaccuracyoftheFatmeter,andhow
theresultscomparewiththecurrent,historicalmethodsusedinindustry.
Itwouldseemthatthesamplingandanalysisproceduresarefarfromstandardisedandvariesfrom
countrytocountry,andevenfromcompanytocompanywithinthesecountries.Evenwherethesame
laboratoryequipmentisused,therearedifferentsamplingtechniquesapparent,whichseemstogive
varyingresults.
Thismanualshouldbetreatedasaguide.Itisnotfullycomprehensive,butisprovidedsimplytohelp
youunderstandtheFatmeter,howitoperates,andhowtoeliminatefactorsthatmayaffectyour

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage6
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results.If,havingreadthismanual,youstillhaveaqueryoraproblemthenpleasedonothesitateto
contactourcustomerservicesdepartmentattheaddressshownattheendofthismanual.
Accuracyofresults
TheaccuracyoftheFatmeterdependsuponthefat/oilcontentofthesamplebeingmeasuredand
rangesfromanuncertaintyinthefatcontentof±1%(95%confidenceinterval)atlowlevelsto±4%at
veryhighlevels(greaterthan45%).
Thereforeitisadvisablethattheoperatorfollowsthemeasurementmethodologyrigorously,and
alwaystakesreadingsasdescribedinwallchartssupplied.
Accuracyguide
TheMFM‐1092(largesensor)Fatmeterbenefitsfrombetterrepresentationalaccuracythanthemore
compactMFM‐992(smallsensor)Fatmeter.Theaccuracyofthemetersisshownbelow:
MFM‐1092
Fat/OilReadingAccuracy
2to15%from±0.5%,risingto±1.0% (13‐15%at14%)
16to30%from±1.0%,risingto±2.0%(28‐32%at30%)
31%andabovefrom±2.0%,risingto±4.0%(46‐54%at50%)
MFM‐992
Fat/OilReadingAccuracy
2to15%from±1.0%,risingto±1.5% (12.5‐15.5%at14%)
16to30%from±1.5%,risingto±2.5%(27.5‐32.5%at30%)
31%andabovefrom±2.5%,risingto±4.0%(46‐54%at50%)
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Theresultsachievedwillallowtheoperatortotakeswiftdecisionsregardingtheprocessingofthemeat
productbeingmeasured.
Technicaldata
ThisUserManualdoesnotcoverthetechnicalsideoftheFatmeteringreatdepth.Youcanfindacopy
ofourTechnicalManualontheCD‐ROMthatissuppliedwiththemeter,oryoucandownloadacopy
fromourwebsite.ThiswillhelpyouexplorethetechnicalaspectsoftheFatmeter’soperation,aswell
ashowtocreatecustomcalibrations.

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage7
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Step‐by‐stepguide
TheFatmeterkit
YourFatmeterkitcomprisesthefollowingitems:
•Meterunit
•Powersupply/charger
•Checkpad
•USBdatacable
•CD‐ROM
•UsermanualsandCalibrationcharts
•Carrycase
Pleasetakegoodcareofthemeter.Itisameasurementinstrumentandshouldbehandledcarefully.
Themetershouldbecleanedandstoredinitscaseafteruse.
Meterunit–Frontview
Data/powerSocket
The7‐waysocketonthesideofthemeterservesthreefunctions:
•Datadownloadsocket,fortransferringdatatoPC,using
cablesupplied.
•Allowsthemetertorunonexternalpower
•Usedforcharginginternalbatteries
Microstripsensor
Themicrostripsensorisplacedincontactwiththesample
productinordertotakemeasurements.
Importantnote:Pleaseensurethatthesensorisprotected.Itis
sealedwithaPTFEfilmwhichmustbeintactforreliable
operation.Donotattempttoremovethisfilm.Ifthisfilmis
damagedthenthemetershouldbereturnedtoDistellforservice
andrepair.
Note:thephotographaboveshowstheMFM‐1092model,wherethepowerswitchandthedata/
powersocketareonthesameside.OntheMFM‐992modeltheseareonoppositesides,buttheir
functionisidentical.
Microstripsensor
Data/powersocket
Powerswitch
LCDDisplay

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage8

Meterunit–Backview
Readbutton(Yes)
•Pressandholdthisbuttontotakeareading;
•Presstoanswer‘Yes’toanyYes/Noquestiononthedisplay.
Resetbutton(No)
•Presstoresetthemeasurementroutine,ortoabortan
incompleteseriesofreadings;
•Presstoanswer‘No’toanyYes/Noquestiononthedisplay.
Powersupply/charger
Onlytheunitsupplied
withyourkitshouldbe
usedtochargethe
batterypack,orpower
themeter.Thisisconnectedtothe7‐wayoutletonthe
meter.Thechargersupplyunitsimplyplugsintothe
mainssocket,acceptinginputmainsvoltagefrom110v–
240vAC,50–60Hz.Thechargerunitcomescomplete
withvariousplugconfigurationsforusearoundthe
world.
AredLEDwillilluminatewhencharger/powersupplyis
switchedon.Thebatterypackshouldbefullycharged
afteraperiodof12hours.Whenchargingiscomplete,firstdisconnectthechargerfromthemainsand
thenfromthemeter.
Thepowersupply/chargercanalsobeusedtopowerthemeterduringusewhilealsochargingthe
internalbatteriesatareducedrate.
Checkpad
Allscientificinstrumentsneedregularcalibration.InthecaseoftheFatmeteranannualcalibrationis
recommended.Wherethemeterissubjecttointensiveuse,atwiceyearlycalibrationcheckis
recommended.
Sothatyoucanbesurethatthemeterisoperatingtospecifications,itisalwaysbesttotake
measurementsonthecheckpadpriortocommencingwork.Thecheckpadprovidestheuserwitha
quickdailycheckthatthecalibrationhasnotchangedsignificantlysincelastcalibration.Itshouldbe
noted,however,thattheresultsobtaineddonotverifyyourmeter’sprecisecalibration,buttheydo
giveanassurancethattherehasbeennosignificantchange.
Thepadhastworectangularslotswhichprovidearepresentativereadingofthehighandlowrangeofa
statedspeciesselection.Aseriesofeightreadingsshouldbetakenineachoftheseslots(firmpressure
shouldbeapplied).Theaveragereadingsobtainedshouldfallwithin±2%ofthevaluesstatedonthe
pad.
Becauseofthecompressiblenatureofthepad,differentoperatorsmayobtainslightlydifferentresults
onthecheckpad,usingthesameinstrument.Itisthereforerecommendedthatonepersonbemade
responsibleforthisdailycheck,sothatconsistentdailychecksarecarriedout.
Read/Yes
button
Reset/No
button

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage9

Datacable
Alwaysusethedatacablesuppliedfordownloadingtocomputer.Connectthe7‐wayplugtooutleton
meterandtheotherenddirectlyintoaUSBportonyourcomputer.
CD‐ROM
TheCDcontainstheusermanuals,DataManagementSystem,calibrationcharts,andotheruseful
information.
Usermanuals&calibrationcharts
Ahardcopyoftheusermanual,calibrationchartsandthecalibrationcertificateisincluded.
Carrycase
TheFatmeterkitissuppliedinarobustcarrycase,andcomescompletewith2keysforsecurityofyour
Fatmeter.



...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage10

Gettingstarted
Verifythatbatteryhasbeencharged.
Switchon
SwitchontheMeterandallowthemetertocyclethroughitsstartupprocedure.
Partofthestartupprocedureistoshowhowmanyreadingsarecurrentlystoredinthemeter.Youmay
wishtodownloadanderaseanystoredreadingsbeforetakingnewmeasurements.Youcanfindout
aboutthedownloadprocedureinthe‘DataManagementSystem’section.
TheFatmetershouldbeswitchedonforfiveminutesbeforetakingmeasurements,inordertoallowthe
sensorelectronicstostabilise.Thisshouldbedonebeforethecheckpadtestisdone.
Checkpadtest
ItisrecommendedtotesttheFatmeteragainstitscheckpadeveryday.TheFatmeterwillpromptthe
usertoverifythemeteragainstthecheckpadshortlyafterstartup,butpleasenotethe
recommendationtoallowafiveminutewarmup/stabilisationperiodafterturningthemeteron.
ThecheckpadtestinvolvescontinuallytakingreadingsanddisplayingtheRESEARCH‐1valueforthe
reading.Itdoesthisregardlessofwhichcalibrationsettinghasbeenselected.Youwillseesomething
likethefollowingonthedisplay:
Check Pad
Y 65.8 N
Thevalueshownwillchangeaccordingtowhatisbeingmeasured.Placethemeterfirmlyonthecheck
padwiththesensormakinggoodcontactonthepad’stestarea,thenverifythatthevaluedisplayedon
themeteriswithintherangeshownonthepad.Repeatthisontheothersideofthepad.Ifthevalues
onthemeterarenotwithintherangeshownonthepad,re‐trythetestwhilemakingsurethatthe
meterisproperlypositionedandnotatanangle.
Oncethemeterhasbeenverifiedagainstthecheckpadpresseitherofthebuttonstocontinue.Youcan
proceedtotakemeasurementsonyourdailyproductsamples.
Failedcheckpadtest
IftheFatmeterdisplaysvaluesthatarenotwithinthetoleranceshownonthecheckpadthen
somethinghaschangedfromthelasttest.Possibleareasforerrorinclude:
•Inexperiencedoperatorcarryingoutthechecks;
•Sensornotproperlylocatedinaperture,thusnotincontactwiththepad.
Ifthechecksusingthecheckpadhavebeencarriedoutcorrectlythenwemustsuspectthatthe
calibrationintheFatmeterhassomehowchanged.Therearethreeoptionsatthispoint:
•CarryoutacheckinIso‐PropanolSolutions,andverifythatthefatmeterresultsagreewith
calibrationtablesuppliedontherearofyourcalibrationcertificate;
•IfthischeckisOK,thenthepaditselfmustbefaulty.Afaultycheckpadis,however,veryrare.
•IfthischeckconfirmsthattheFatmeterhasdriftedoutofcalibrationthenpleasecontactDistellto
arrangefortheFatmetertobereturnedforserviceandre‐calibration.
Ifindoubt,pleasecontactDistellforadvice.Wewilltalkyouthroughthecheckprocedure,andadvise
accordingly.

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage11

Readytostart
Whenthemeterisreadyforusethedisplaywillshowthelastcalibrationsettingused,andwilllook
somethingliketheexamplebelow:
CalibrationSetting
BEEF-1
Y SN=8 N
Yes Numberofsamples used
tocalculateaverage
No
Measuringproductsamples
Itisextremelyimportanttofollowtheinstructionsonthecalibrationchartsuppliedforthemeat
productyouaremeasuring.Thechecklistbeforesamplingisasfollows:
•Youhavechosenthecorrectmeatcalibration.
•Youhavecheckedtoensurethatthemeatproductisindeedanaturalmeatproduct,freeof
additivesandotheradditions.
•Select300gofmincedmeatproduct.
•Forbestaccuracyalwaysfollowthemeasurementrecommendationsonyourcalibrationchart.
•Temperatureofthemeatproducttobemeasuredshouldbebetween0and10oC,withnoice
crystalspresentinthesamples.
•Ensurethatthesamplehasnoaircavitieswithinthesamplebyhandpressingthesampleintoa
pattyorsausageshape.
•Ensurethatthesensorisplacedfirmlyagainsttheproduct,thusensuringthattherearenoair
pocketsbetweenthesensorandthesampletobemeasured.
•Itisnormaltoexperiencesubstantialvariabilityintheindividualreadings,especiallywithacoarse
mincedproduct.Forthisreason,themeterwilltakemultiplesamplesandthenaveragethemto
produceafinalvalue.Notethatthiscanprovideausefulmeasureofproductuniformity.
Forthemostaccurateresults,besuretofollowtheproceduredetailedonthecalibrationchart.This
includes(a)thenumberofreadingstotake,(b)thesamplepreparationmethodand(c)thelocationsto
takethemeasurements.Iffollowedcorrectly,themeterwillgiveafatpercentagethatrepresentsthe
fatcontentofthemeatproduct.
Normallyeightreadingsshouldbetakenbutthisshouldbeconfirmedbycheckingthecalibrationchart.
Youcanchangethenumberofreadingsthatthemeterwilltakebeforeaveragingbyusingthe‘Samples’
menuoption.Seethe‘Menustructure’sectionformoredetails.
TheFatmetercanstoreupto1000setsofreadings.ThesecanbedownloadedtoaPCrunningtheData
ManagementSystem.Seethe‘DataManagementSystem’sectionformoreinformationonhowtodo
this.Thereisalsoanoptiontodownloadthedatainrealtime,i.e.asthereadingsaretaken,andthisis
coveredinthesamesection.
Comparingthemeterwithlaboratoryanalysis
Sometimes,especiallyinaresearchenvironment,youmaywishtocomparetheFatmeterresultswith
dataobtainedfromlaboratoryanalysis.Thissectionwillhelptoensurethatthecorrectlaboratory
processisfollowedsothatthetwosetsofresultscanbecompared.

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage12

Preparinglaboratorysamples
Itisimportantthatallofthe300gsampleispackagedandsenttothelaboratoryfortheanalysis.
Consultthelaboratoryanalysisprocedureontherelevantcalibrationchartfordetails.
Thesampleshouldbestoredinasealedpolythenebagimmediatelyaftermeasurement.Thiswill
ensurethattheproductsampledoesnotloseanymoisturebeforeanalysis.
Laboratorychecklist
•Allofthe300gsampleshouldbereceivedatthelaboratory,properlypackedandsealed.
•Thewholesampleshouldbeblendedinordertocreateahomogeneousmix,ensuringthatany
fluidsareincludedintheblend.
•Thelaboratorypersonnelmusttakethreesamplesofproductfromdifferentpartsoftheblendfor
thechemicalanalysis.Thiswillconfirmthehomogeneityobtainedbytheblendingprocess.
•Theaverageofthelaboratorytriplicateanalysisshouldbecomparedwiththetriplicatereadings
takenusingtheFatmeter.
•Theresultsshouldbecomparedwithconsiderationtotheaccuracyclaimspresentedatthe
beginningofthisusermanual.
Iftheresultsdonotcomparefavourably
ChecktheFatmeteruse,asfollows:
•HasthecorrectcalibrationbeenusedontheFatmeter?
•HastheFatmeterbeencheckedonthecheckpad?
•IstheoperatorproficientintheuseoftheFatmeter?
•IstheproductsampletrulywithinthespecificationoftheFatmetercalibrationbeingused?
•Checktheproductforuniformity,grindsize,andpreparation.
Checkthelaboratoryprocedureasfollows:
•Analyticalmethodbeingused
•SamplepreparationisOK
•Threesamplesfromdifferentpartsofthe300gblendhavebeenanalysed
ThisisjustashortchecklistonhowtouseandcomparetheFatmeterwithothermethods.
RememberthattheprimarypurposeofusingtheMeatFatmeteristoscreenalotofproductfor
uniformityandspecification.
Duringtheproductionprocess,finiteaccuracyisnottheobjective.Theobjectiveistotrytoensurethat
thebulkoftheday'sproductioniswithinspecificationstimeaftertime.
If,afterthesechecks,thereisstillasignificantdifferencepleasecontactDistellforadviceandhelp.



...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage13

Menustructure
Whenthestandardmeasurementdisplayisshown(seetheexampleatthestartofthischapter)youcan
accessthemenubypressingtheReset/Nobutton.TheChoicesmenuscreenwillappearintheorder
shownbelow.Therearesixoptions.CyclethroughtheoptionsbypressingReset/Nountilthecorrect
oneisdisplayedthenpressRead/Yes.


*OnlyoneoftheSETTIMEandRENTALKEYoptionswillbeavailable.
Productmenu
IntheProductmenuyoucanchoosewhichoftheproductcalibrationsettingsyouwishtouse.Simply
choosethecalibrationthatcorrespondswiththetypeofmeatproductthatyouwishtoanalyse.The
detailofeachproductcalibrationsettingisshownontheassociatedcalibrationchart.


Note:Youcanhaveupto48differentcalibrationsprogrammedintoyourFatmeter
Researchmenu
IntheResearchmenuyoucanchoosewhichoftheresearchcalibrationsettingsyouwishtouse.The
FatmeterisnormallysuppliedwiththeRESEARCH‐1settingbutadditionalcalibrationscanbeaddedto
theresearchblockviatheCustomCalibrationprocess.FulldetailsareavailableinourTechnicalGuide,
whichisavailableontheCD‐ROMandfromourwebsite.


CHOICES MENU
Y RESEARCH N
RESEARCH‐1...
CHOICES MENU
Y PRODUCT N
BEEF‐1BEEF‐2PORK‐1BURGER‐1OTHER
ChoicesMenu
BEEF-1
Y SN=8 N
PRODUCT
RESEARCH
SAMPLES
DOWNLOAD
ADDPRODUCT
RENTALKEY*
SETTIME*
SENDREF
CLEAR

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage14

Samplesmenu
Ourcalibrationchartsaredesignedaroundusing8samplesforeachsetofreadings.Using8samples
offersthebestbalanceofaccuracyandrapidmeasurementperformance,butyoucanchoosebetween
1and16sampleshere.


Downloadmenu
TheDownloadmenuallowsyoutosendanystoredsampledatatoaconnectedPCrunningtheData
ManagementSystem.TheDMSisdocumentedlaterinthisguide,andthedownloadprocedureis
coveredthere.


AddProductoption
Usingthismenuprovidestheabilitytoprogrammethemeterwithadditionalcalibrations.Thisfacilityis
especiallyusefulforthosewhowishtorefineexistingmetercalibrationsorcreateanewcalibration
settingbasedontheirowndata.
FullinstructionsonhowtousethisfacilityareintheTechnicalManual,availableontheCD‐ROMand
fromtheDistellwebsite.



CHOICES MENU
Y ADD PRODUCT N
Waitingdata
CHOICES MENU
Y DOWNLOAD N
(Ifnodatahas
beenrecorded)
(Ifdataisready
fordownload)
NoDataStandardD/L
CHOICES MENU
Y SAMPLES N
Samples=1Samples=2Samples=3...Samples=16

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage15

Date&Timemenu
Youshouldcheckthedateandtimewhenyoufirstreceivethemeter,andupdateitifnecessary.Each
samplethatisrecordedbythemeterhasadateandtimestamp,soitisrecommendedthatthedate
andtimebekeptaccurate.Thiswillthenensurethatalldownloadsreflectthecorrectdateandtime.
Notethatifameterisconfiguredasarentalmeterthenthisoptionwillnotbeavailable.


RentalKeyoption
IfyourmeterhasbeensuppliedaspartofarentalagreementthentheRentalKeymenuoptionwillbe
available.Thisallowsyoutoenterasequenceofeightnumbersandlettersthatisspecifictoyour
meter,andisusedtochangeyourrentalsettings,e.g.changetherentalexpirydate.
Youcanreadmoreaboutrentalkeysathttp://www.distell.com/downloads/rentalkey.pdf.


SendRefoption
ThisoptionisusedbytheCustomCalibrationprocesstocopythemeter’sbuilt‐inRESEARCH‐1
calibrationsettingtotheDataManagementSystem.Thisdataisusedasareferencetoconstructa
customcalibration.
YoucanreadmoreaboutthisintheTechnicalManualavailableontheCDorontheDistellwebsite.



CHOICES MENU
Y SEND REF N
Sending...
CHOICES MENU
Y RENTAL KEY N
Entercode
CHOICES MENU
Y SET TIME N
Minutes
Hours
Day
Month
Year

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage16

Clearoption
Thismenuoptionallowstheusertoclearanystoredreadingsfromthemeter.Normallythisisnot
requiredbecausestoredreadingscanbeclearedafterbeingdownloadedtotheDataManagement
System.Someusers,however,mayusethemeterpurelyforinstantmeasurementswithoutever
downloadingthesamplesand,intime,theFatmeter’sstoragecapacitywillfillupand‘MEMORYFULL’
messageswillbedisplayed.Inthesecircumstancesthismenuoptioncanbeusedtoerasethesamples
andavoidthe‘MEMORYFULL’messagebeingdisplayed.


CHOICES MENU
Y CLEAR N
Sure?

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage17

DataManagementSystem
Installation
Requirements
TheDataManagementSystem,referredtoasthe‘DMS’,requiresaPCrunningWindowsXPorlaterand
afreeUSBsocketfordatadownloads.
InstallingtheDMS
Thissectiontellsyouhowtoinstalltheprogramonyoursystemandhowtoruntheprogram.
Itisbesttocloseallprogramsbeforeinstallingthesoftware.Youshouldhaveatleast5Mbofharddisk
spaceavailablefortheinstallation.
•InserttheCDinthecomputer;
•Findthe‘Installationfiles’folderontheCDthenopenthe‘DataManagementSoftware(DMS)’
folder;
•RuntheDMSInstaller.exefileandfollowthepromptstocompletetheinstallation
RunningtheDMS
ClicktheWindowsStartbuttononyourdesktop,selectprograms,selectDistellthenlocatetheDMS
iconfromthefileslistedthere.
Youcanusetheprogramstraightawayafterinstallation.Theprogramenablesyoutodownload,print,
save,andexportdata,quicklyandefficiently.TheDMSalsoallowsyoutocreateanduploadyourown
customcalibrationstotheFatmeter(seetheTechnicalManualontheCD‐ROMandontheDistell
website).Allprogramfunctionsareaccessedusingthemenuandtoolbaroptions.Thereisa
comprehensiveon‐linehelpfacility,whichisavailablebyclickingontheHelpmenuoption.
Historicaldatadownload
ThisfunctionenablesyoutodownloadreadingsthatarestoredintheFatmeter.
Thedataincludesthedateandtimeofthesample,thecalibrationsettingthatwasused,thenumber
andvaluesoftheindividualsamplestaken,andtheaveragevalueofthesamples.
Toillustratetheprocedure,we'llassumethatyouhavetakensomesamplereadingswiththeFatmeter
andarereadytodownloadthemtoyourPC.
Step1:ConnectingtheMeter
ConnectthemetertoaUSBportonyourPC,usingthedatacablesuppliedwiththemeter,thenturnthe
meteron.WhenthecableisconnectedtheUSBdriversoftwareinstalledonthePCwillcreateoneor
two‘virtualserialports’.NormallytheseareCOM3/COM4,butthismaychangeifyouhaveotherUSB
virtualserialdevicesinstalled.YourcomputerwillnormallyreserveCOM1andCOM2forbuilt‐in
hardware,orforlegacypurposes
Step2:ConfiguretheDMS
StarttheDMSthenusethePreferencesoptionundertheEditmenutoselecttheCOMporttouse.If
theUSBdrivercreatedCOM3andCOM4thenyouwouldchooseCOM4here.Ingeneralyoushould
alwaysselectthevirtualCOMportwiththehighernumber.Ifyouseeanerrormessagewhenyou

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage18

selecttheCOMportthenensurethatthemeterisconnectedproperlyandturnedon.Ifitis,try
selectingadifferentCOMport.
Onceyouhaveconnectedthemeterandselectedthecorrectcommunicationport,selectDownload
HistoricalDatafromtheDownloadmenu.TheDMSwillnowmonitortheCOMportforincomingdata
fromthemeter.
Step3:Initiatethedownloadfromthemeter
OncetheDMSisreadyandwaitingfordata,themeterneedstobetoldtobeginthedownload.
Findthe‘Download’optioninthechoicesmenu(see‘Menustructure’).Atthe‘StandardD/L’option,
presstheRead/YesbuttonthenlookforthedataarrivingattheDMS.
IfnodataisseenattheDMSthenyoumayhaveselectedthewrongCOMport.Gobacktostep2and
tryanalternativeport.
Oncethedatahasbeensafelydownloadedthenyoucan,ifyouwish,erasethedatafromthemeter.
Youcan,alternatively,allowdatatobuildupinthemeteruptothemaximum1000readings.Ifyou
wishtoclearthedatafromthemeteratalaterstagethenyoucanusetheClearoptionfromthe
Choicesmenu.


Whenthedatahasbeensuccessfullydownloaded,itwillappearintheDMSinaspreadsheet/grid
form.WiththedataintheDMSyoucannow:
•Printthedata
•Addextracolumnsofinformation
•Savethedatainnativeformasan.FMDfile.
•ExportthedataasaCommaSeparatedValue(.CSV)fileforexportingintootherapplicationssuchas
Excel,Access,etc.
Realtimedatadownload
Youcanusethisfunctiontodownloaddatainrealtime,samplebysample,eachtimethatanaverage
readingiscreatedbythemeter.Therealtimedatawillappearonscreenlinebylineasyouusethe
meter.
CHOICES MENU
Y DOWNLOAD N
NoDataStandardD/L
Downloading
Download
Complete
Erase?
YN
IfYesthendataiserasedfrom
themeter‘smemory
IfNothendataisretainedin
themeter‘smemory

...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage19

Thepurposeoftherealtimefacilityistoallowtheusertoseesampledatainstantaneously,asthe
readingsaretaken.Eachtimethatanaveragereadingisgeneratedbythemeter,itdownloadsthe
sampledataviatheUSBcommunicationsport.
Thereisnospecificprocessinthemetertodownloaddatainrealtime;thesamplesareautomatically
senttothePCastheyaretaken.
Enablingreal‐timedatadownload
ConnectthemetertothePCandstarttheDMS,asdescribedinsteps1and2of‘Historicaldata
download’,above,thenselect‘Real‐timedownload’fromtheDownloadmenu.
DatawillnowappearintheDMSoncetheaveragereadinghasbeenrecordedinthemeter.
Annotatingthedata
TheDMSpresentsthedatainagridwithonerowforeachsetofsamples.Youcanaddextracolumnsto
thegridusingthe‘Addanewcolumn’optionoftheEditmenu,andusethatcolumntoaddnotesabout
anygivensample.Extracolumnscanalsobedeletedusingthe‘Deletecolumn’optionoftheEditmenu.
DMSdatafiles
Likemostapplications,theDMScansavedatatoafileondiskandloaditbackinagain.Dataisstoredin
aproprietaryformatinfileswitha.FMDextension.TheOpenandSaveoptionsundertheFilemenuare
usedtoloadandsavethesedatafiles.
Printingdata
TheDMScanprintareportofthedataforauditpurposes.ThePrintoptionisundertheFilemenu.
Exportingdata
TheDMSwasneverintendedtobeananalysistool.Instead,youcanexportthedatatoaComma
SeparatedValuefile(.CSV)forusewithinaspreadsheetordatabase.Toexportthedata,selectSave
As...undertheFilemenu,thenselect‘CSVfiles(*.CSV)’inthe‘Saveastype’option.
DataManagementSoftwarehelp
TheDMSprogramprovidesanOn‐LineHelpFacility.Thiscanbeaccessedatanytimewhenusingthe
softwareprogram.
Advancedtopics
TheDMShasthecapabilitytocreatecustomcalibrationsandtouploadthosecalibrationstothemeter.
Theseareareasthatarenotexpectedtobeofinteresttomostusers,sotheyarenotdocumentedhere.
Youcan,however,readmoreabouttheminourTechnicalManual,whichisavailableontheCD‐ROMor
canbedownloadedfromtheDistellwebsite.


...theartofdistell‐ing...
FatmeterUserManualPage20

Hintsandsuggestions
Preparationofsamples
Alwaysensurethatthesampleformeasurementiswiderthanthesensorandthatithasaminimum
thicknessof25mm.Thisensuresthattherearenoreflectionsfromtheunderlyingsurface,whichcould
resultinspuriousreadings.Beparticularlycarefulwhenthesampleisonametalsurface,asthiswill
increasetheriskofthereflectedsignalinterferingwiththereadings.
Ensurethattheproductformeasurementisfullydefrosted,andpreparedinaccordancewith
instructions.
OperationoftheFatmeter
ThemeteroperatorshouldcheckthestabilityofthecalibrationsettingsoftheFatmetereachdayonthe
checkpadsuppliedbeforegeneraluse.
TheFatmetershouldbeswitchedon5minutespriortouse,toallowthemetertostabilise.Ensurethat
youhavechosenthecorrectcalibrationsettingfortheproducttobemeasured.
Ensurethatmeasurementsaretakeninaconsistentandrepeatablemanner.
Ensurethatthesensorheadisfirmlyincontactwiththeproduct.Wesuggestthatthemeterisheldina
verticalposition.Ifthemeteristiltedbackwardsorforwardsthenadifferentsectionoftheproductis
beingread,andthiscanaffectrepeatabilityofthemeasurements.
AfterpressingtheRead/Yesbutton,alwaysallowthereadingtostabilisebeforereleasingthebutton.
Thereadingisonlystoredbythemeteruponreleaseofthebutton.Oncethereadingisstable,besure
toreleasethebuttonbeforeremovingthemeterfromthesample.
Ifthedisplayedreadingtakesalongtimetosettlethenthisisagoodindicationthattherearepocketsof
airinthesample.Trypressingthemeterfurtherintotheproducttoexpelanyair,butensurethatthe
productthicknessisstillatleast25mm.
IfthemeterdisplaysOutOfRange,possiblecausescouldbe:
•Youhavechosenthewrongcalibrationsetting.
•Thefatspecificationoftheproductisbeyondthe‘rangeofexperience’setforthisproduct.
•Therearelargeairpocketsorcavitieslocatedintheproductdirectlybeneaththesensor.
•Theproductthicknessisinsufficient.
When‘BatteryLow’isshownonthedisplay,orthedisplaybecomesveryfaint,thebatteryneeds
recharging.
Cleaningandgeneralcare
TheFatmeterisasealedunitandiswaterproofedtoIP67priortoleavingthefactory.However,wedo
notrecommendthattheunitbeimmersedinwateroranyotherfluid.Tamperingwiththeunit,
openingtheseals,etc.,willimmediatelyinvalidatethewarranty.
YourFatmeterisencasedinimpactresistantplastic,withthesensorheadmadefromstainlesssteeland
PTFE.TakecarenottopiercethePTFEfilm–i.e.avoidplacingthesensorhead‐ontoabrasiveorrough
surfaces.Theunitmaybecleanedwithadampcloth,usingamildsolutionofdetergent.Beawarethat
somehouseholdcleanersmaycontainchemicalswhichcouldseriouslydamagetheplasticenclosure.
Avoidtheuseofanypetroleumbasedsolventcleaners.