MicroRidge WedgeLink SM User manual

WedgeLinkSM
TM
MitutoyoHardwareWedge
POBox3249Sunriver,OR97707-0249
541.593.1656FAX[phone]
[email protected]mwww.microridge.com
MICROIDGER
TheInterfaceSolutionsCompany
TM

WedgeLink SM i
Copyright © 2005
MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
Revised 6-13-2005 All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Introduction.........................................................................................................1
What’s Included with the WedgeLink SM..........................................................1
Features and Benefits of the WedgeLink SM....................................................2
What is a Keyboard Wedge?............................................................................2
What Characters Can the Wedge Process?.....................................................2
The WedgeLink Family of Keyboard Wedges...................................................3
Operation.............................................................................................................5
Quick Start........................................................................................................5
Operational Modes............................................................................................5
How the WedgeLink SM is Powered.................................................................5
Connecting the WedgeLink SM to Your PC......................................................6
Connecting the WedgeLink SM to a Keyboard Port..........................................6
Connecting the WedgeLink SM to a USB Port..................................................7
Gages Supported..............................................................................................7
Setup Program ....................................................................................................9
Setup Program Operation...............................................................................10
Toolbar Buttons ..............................................................................................10
My Computer Does Not Have a Serial Port ....................................................11
Accessories.......................................................................................................13
USB to PS/2 Adapter......................................................................................13
USB to Serial Cable........................................................................................13
Hand Switch....................................................................................................13
Foot Switch.....................................................................................................13
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program.............................................15
Computer Commands.....................................................................................15
Firmware Updates.............................................................................................17
ASCII & Hex Characters....................................................................................19
Character Table..............................................................................................19
Sales & Technical Support...............................................................................23
About MicroRidge ...........................................................................................23
Contact Information.........................................................................................23

WedgeLink SM 1
Introduction
The WedgeLink SM is a hardware keyboard wedge that supports Mitutoyo and Mitutoyo
compatible gages. With the WedgeLink SM, you can transfer Mitutoyo gage readings into
any PC application that accepts keyboard input. Some of the more common applications
that are used with the WedgeLink SM include Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access and
Minitab.
The WedgeLink SM actually has a dual personality. It can be used as a keyboard wedge
or as a gage interface. When the WedgeLink SM is used as a keyboard wedge, the gage
data is transferred to the PC via the keyboard cable and the application that currently has
the focus will receive the data. When WedgeLink is used as a gage interface, the gage
data is sent to the PC via an RS232 serial cable. When using the WedgeLink SM as a
gage interface, you must use an application on your PC that can receive data from a serial
port.
What’s Included with the WedgeLink SM
The WedgeLink SM package includes the following items:
•WedgeLink SM keyboard wedge for use with Mitutoyo gages.
•Built-in 5’ keyboard cable for connecting the wedge to the keyboard port
•CD containing setup program and communications test program
•This User’s Guide.
•Unlimited technical support from MicroRidge Systems.
In addition to these standard items, there are several accessories that can assist you in the
use of the WedgeLink SM. Refer to the Accessories section on page 13 for more
information.

WedgeLink SM 2
Features and Benefits of the WedgeLink SM
•Supports any gage or device with a Mitutoyo compatible output.
•Single and continuous read modes.
•Perform TIR calculations (number of measurements, min value, max value and TIR or
range).
•Specify the number of TIR measurements or control the number of measurements
with the press and release of a read switch.
•Initiate readingswith the read switch on the gage, read switch on the WedgeLink SM
or an optional remote read switch.
•LED to indicate when a reading has been obtained.
•Simple to use Windows setup program to define the WedgeLink SM operation.
•Define prefix and/or suffix stringsto be included with the gage output.
•Specify if gage units (mm or inch) should be sent with the gage reading.
•Specify if labels (num. min, max and TIR) should be sent with TIR values.
•Specify the end-of-packet character to be sentwith each reading.
•All power is obtained from the keyboard cable, no separate AC adapter is required.
•Connect to the PC/laptop via the keyboard input port or to a USB port via the optional
USB to PS/2 adapter.
•Serial communications test program (ComTestSerial) included to assist in setup and
testing.
What is a Keyboard Wedge?
A keyboard wedge is a hardware device (hardware wedge) or software program (software
wedge) that captures data from an RS232 device or Mitutoyo gage and makes the
application on your PC think the data is actually being entered via the keyboard.The
application on your PC that will receive the data from the keyboard wedge is the application
that currently has the input focus.
Using a wedge is really no different than entering the data from a keyboard. First you
select the application you want to send data to and then you position the cursor within the
application where you want the data to be placed.
What Characters Can the Wedge Process?
The WedgeLink SM can send all of the 8-bit ASCII characters found on the standard
keyboard. The characters that can be sent include the following:
•Control characters consisting of Carriage Return (Enter), Tab, Backspace and Escape
(Esc).
•The human readable characters consisting of 0 to 9, a to z, A to Z, comma, period,
etc.

WedgeLink SM 3
The characters that cannot be sentfrom WedgeLink SM include the following:
•Control characters other than Carriage Return (Enter), Tab, Backspace and Escape
(Esc).
•Extended characters greater than ASCII 126.
•Cursor control keys.
Refer to ASCII & Hex Characters on page 19 for more information.
The WedgeLink Family of Keyboard Wedges
The WedgeLink SM is a member of the WedgeLink family of hardware and software
keyboard wedges available from MicroRidge Systems. The hardware keyboard wedges
includes:
•WedgeLink SM for Mitutoyo and Mitutoyo compatible devices.
•WedgeLink HW for any device with an RS232 output.
The software keyboard wedges includes:
•WedgeLink Lite for capturing data from any device with an RS232 output. WedgeLink
Lite does not contain any data parsing capabilities.
•WedgeLink Standard for capturing data from any device with an RS232 output.
WedgeLink Standard contains all the features of WedgeLink Lite plus data parsing.
For more information about the WedgeLink family of hardware and software wedges go to
www.microridge.com/wedgelink.htm or contact MicroRidge Systems.

WedgeLink SM 5
Operation
Quick Start
Using the WedgeLink SM is quite simple. Follow the steps listed below and you will be up
and running within a few minutes.
•Connect the WedgeLink SM to yourcomputer via the keyboard port or a USB port
with a USB to PS/2 adapter.
•Connect yourMitutoyo compatible gage to the WedgeLink SM.
•Start up the application on your PC that you want to send the gage data to.
•Position the cursor where you want the data to appear.
•Take a reading with the read button on the gage or the read button on the WedgeLink
SM.
Be sure to read the rest of this section so that you fully understand the methods available
for connectingthe WedgeLink SM to your computer. If you need a setup in the WedgeLink
SM other than the default configuration, you will need to use the setup program described
on page 9.
Operational Modes
The WedgeLink SM has 2 distinct operational modes.
1. Keyboard wedge mode. The measurement data is sent to the PC via the keyboard
cable and appears in the application on the PC that currently has the focus.
2. Gage interface mode.The measurement data is sent to the PC serial port via the
RS232 cable. If you use this mode, you must have an application on your PC that
supports serial communications.
The default operational mode is the keyboard wedge mode. To select the gage interface
mode, run the WedgeLink SM setup program and select Serial port in the Send data to PC
via group. Refer to page 9for more details. You can also use the serial communications
test program to switch between the operational modes. Refer to page 15 for more details.
How the WedgeLink SM is Powered
The WedgeLink SM obtains its power from the keyboard cable that is connected to your
PC. No separate AC adapter is required. There is a provision for powering the WedgeLink
SM from another power source; however,this should not be necessary for most
applications. If you believe that you need to use another power source, contact MicroRidge
Systems.

WedgeLink SM 6
Connecting the WedgeLink SM to Your PC
There are 2 methods available for connecting the WedgeLink SM to your PC or laptop.
1. Connect the keyboard cable from the WedgeLink SM to the keyboard port on your
PC and plug your keyboard into the WedgeLink SM.
2. Plug a USB to PS/2 adapter into a USB port and connect the keyboard cable from
the WedgeLink SM into this adapter.
The use of the USB to PS/2 adapter is the recommended way to connect WedgeLink SM to
yourPC. If you are using WedgeLink SM with a laptop, the only method for connecting
WedgeLink SM may be to use this USB adapter. Refer to the following sections for
additional details on connecting the wedge to your PC or laptop.
Be careful if you plan to use keyboard extension cables between the hardware wedge and
the PC. We have done some testing and have found that when you start adding additional
keyboard extension cables to the wedge connections, yourhardware wedge and/or
keyboard may stop working. In one test on a 400 MHz computer (purchased in 1998)
running Windows 98, problems started to occur when 1 6-foot extension cable was
connected between the hardware wedge and the PC. In another test on a 3.2 GHz
computer (purchased in 2005) running Windows XP, no problems were detected when 4 6-
foot extension cables where connected between the hardware wedge and the PC.
Connecting the WedgeLink SM to a Keyboard Port
In the past, hardware wedges were connected to a PC by connecting the wedge between
the keyboard and the PC keyboard port. This method can still be used today, however we
recommend the use of a USB to PS/2 adapter as described below.
If you are going to connect the wedge between yourkeyboard and PC, you should follow
the steps listed below.
•Turn off your PC.
•Unplug the keyboard cable from the back of your PC.
•Plug the cable coming from the wedge to the keyboard connector on the back of your
PC.
•Plug the keyboard into the back of the wedge.
•Turn on your PC.
If your keyboard uses the older style 5-pin DIN connector, you must purchase adapters in
order to use the wedge. These adapters should be available at most computer stores.
Many laptops have a port on them that looks like a keyboard or mouse port. You can plug
a mouse or keyboard into one of these laptop ports and the mouse or keyboard will work
just fine. However, if you plug the wedge into one of these laptop ports, the wedge
probably will not work. These laptop ports are not standard keyboard ports and in order to
use this laptop port with WedgeLink SM, you must also have a keyboard plugged into the
wedge. When using the wedge with a laptop, we recommend you use a USB to PS/2
adapter as described below.