The project implements a driver for a computerized helium valve manifold of a closed-cycle Stinger cryostat from ColdEdge. The driver runs on an Arduino board; it controls responses to button presses, reads and displays helium pressure, and can communicate with a host computer via the COM port using text commands with SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) syntax. The software has been successfully operated in a lab at EPFL since 2018.
The list of remote control commands:
| Command | Description | Access |
|---|---|---|
| *IDN? | Queries the identification string of the instrument. | query only |
| :VALVE<i> | Sets or reads the state of valve number i, where i=1-5 or 7 (no VALVE6 in the hardware). The argument can be 0 (the valve is closed) or 1 (the valve is open). | write/query |
| :RECirculator | Sets or reads the state of the recirculator. The argument can be 0 (the recirculator is off) or 1 (the recirculator is on). | write/query |
| :COOLer | Sets or reads the state of the cryocooler. The argument can be 0 (the cryocooler is off) or 1 (the cryocooler is on). | write/query |
| :PRESsure? | Queries helium supply pressure (returned in PSI). | query only |
For example, sending a command string :REC 1;:VALVE3 0 will start the recirculator and close the 3rd valve, and for querying :VALVE2?;:PRES? the response will be a string containing the state of the 2nd valve and the pressure separated by ;. A MATLAB class that implements communication with this driver on the host computer side exists as part of Instrument-control.
This project is based on an extended version of Lachlan Gunn' Open Instrument Control(included in the repository) and ColdEdge AutoCool_v1.35