How to use the Robot

So, you have made it this far, you have mounted and shipped your samples to the beam line and your remote beam time is fast approaching! So how are you going to change samples?

The robots are controlled through an interface on the sample page of sergui. It is important to have the web video server active and within easy reach while you are using the robot remotely. You should also become familiar with the allowed state of the robot mechanism.

The bottom left section of the Sample page is where the robot commands are located.

(1) The blue numbers under Puck and Pin in the Dismount row represent what the control system believes to be mounted. If the Pin number is 0, then the system believes that there is no sample mounted on the goniometer.

(2) The entry fields in the Mount row are used to select which sample will be mounted next. If the Pin entry field is set to 0 (and there is a sample mounted), the system will just dismount the current sample.

(3) The green Go button commands the robot to change the sample.

(4) The green Screen button performs the sample function as the GO button, but immediately goes into an auto alignment of the sample.

During normal operation, a user will mount/dismount samples using this interface. The user will be forced to dismount each sample from the location it was mounted from – The dewar does not have any detection capabilities, so it is important that you place each sample back where you picked it up from. The gripper will stay in the dewar after its first mount from idle for up to 12 consecutive mount/dismounts, after its 12^th mount (or after a data set has been started from the collect runs page) the gripper sill be defrosted. The defrosting cycle is timed at 2-minutes, during which time you will not be allowed to mount/dismount another sample.

Sometimes it will be useful to be change the sample data base or to force the robot into a few of its defined states. These capabilities are accessible through the setup Robot gui. The setup Robot gui can be opened from the main sergui setup pull down menu. This gui will allow a user to perform a number of useful robot functions.

(1) The user can change what the software believes to be mounted by setting the Puck and Pin positions using the first 2 entry fields in this gui. To change the Puck or Pin information you select the number you want and then press the appropriate green Set button. A USER MUST BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN USING THIS FEATURE AS THE SYSTEM DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IS IN THE DEWAR, AND YOU CAN DESTROY SAMPLES BY PLACING A SAMPLE ON TOP OF ANOTHER SAMPLE!

(2) The green Access button is used locally to move the liquid nitrogen storage dewar to the correct position to allow access to the specified puck location for loading/unloading pucks from the storage dewar.

(3) The green Defrost button will warm up the gripper, which will take 2-minutes during which time you will not be allowed to mount/dismount samples. After the defrost cycle has completed, the gripper will be returned to the idle position.

(4) The green Idle button will return the gripper to the Idle position.

(5) The Green Anneal button is currently disabled.

If you are having any trouble with the robot, please reference the FAQ list before contacting your user support.

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We welcome your questions and comments. Send e-mail to: SER-CATwebmaster@anl.gov