Serial API

Notes

<cr> = carriage return.

Hotel 1 refers to the plate stacker hotel furthest from the gripping arm.

Hotel 2 refers to the plate stacker hotel nearest to the gripping arm.

Port Configuration

The serial port connection needs to be configured as follows:

• Baud Rate: 9600
• Data Bits: 8
• Parity: none
• Stop Bits: 1
• Flow Control: none

Commands

The Scorpion has two types of commands: Action Commands and Query Commands.

Action Commands

Action commands tell the instrument to perform a specified movement. A command that is successfully sent to the instrument is responded to immediately with ok<cr>. Commands that are invalid or unsuccessfully sent to the instrument are responded to with err<cr>.

After an action command is sent you can query the instrument for its status using the Status Query command until the instrument is no longer busy before sending the next action command. IMPORTANT: It is recommended you wait 200-500 ms after sending the action command before you query the instrument for its status.

The following is a list of the currently supported actions. Click on the link to be taken to a page describing the command purpose and how to use it.

• Initialize
• Get Plate
• Return Plate
• Finish/Plate Away

Query Commands

Query commands are used to request information from the Scorpion instrument regarding its current state. A command that is successfully sent to the instrument will respond with the requested information. The format of this information depends on the query sent. Commands that are invalid or unsuccessfully sent to the instrument are responded to with err<cr>.

The two most important query commands are the Status Query and Error Query commands as they will be used most frequently during normal operation of the instrument. A full list of query commands is below.

• Status Query
• Error Query