Watson-Marlow MC12 - Manual (Page 25)

Operators and Reference Manual
MC12
MC12 OM RM 1.03_EN Version: 1.03 Date: 2010-11-17 Page 25 of 46
6.7.30. Function 40 - Operating principle (mode)
Value: An integral number.
If more than one pump is connected, MC12 can operate according to three different
principles:
1 – individual (I)
2 – parallel (P)
3 – serial (S)
The mode will always be shown by the letter I, P or S in the top right hand corner of the display, in
front of the current drive number. I1, for example, means that the mode is individual and the
current drive address is 1.
I - Individual (1)
Individual filling means that each drive has its own operating parameters and that fills, calibration
and pumping will not be synchronised with any other connected drives. In theory, this means that
the MC12 can control up to 16 drives concurrently.
The parameters are programmed under the individual drive addresses which are selected via
Function 41. In practice, however, it is difficult to run several individual applications
simultaneously, as the drive has to be selected first via Function 41 for starting, stopping and
calibrating.
P - Parallel (2)
Parallel filling is used in a multi-head filling system in which a number of bottles are changed in
each cycle and filled at the same time. This gives a very high capacity. The number of drives and
the number of bottles changed at each cycle should be identical.
If more drives are connected to the MC12, they can, if they are of the same type, work
synchronously with the same set of parameters. In parallel mode, only parameters in drive 0 will
be used i.e. all drives use same volume, tube size, acc, etc. All drives are started simultaneously
regardless of where they are started from. These parameters then apply for all drives.
Calibration must be carried out for the individual drives, see the chapter on calibration for
further details.
The system will not report that the filling has been completed until all connected drives have
completed their respective fills. After this, Functions 8, 10 and 11 for drive 0 will be updated by
the total of all connected drives.
S - Serial (3)
Serial filling is used to boost the overall capacity in a semi or fully automated system by using
each drive to fill part of the total volume.
Similar to parallel filling, drive 0 is used for programming, with the exception of Function 2 for
tube diameter.