Instructions manual for software installation and first start-up of the system

Transcription

1 Instructions manual for software installation and first start-up of the system SISMA S.p.A. Via dell Industria, PIOVENE ROCCHETTE Vicenza ITALY Tel Fax info@sisma.com - Website: _0

2 295145_0 2/20 CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION SCOPE OF THE DOCUMENT MODELS AND VERSIONS TO WHICH THE MANUAL REFERS DESCRIPTION OF THE OPERATIONS Characteristics of the computer HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Minimum hardware requirements of the PC Notes on the use of USB converters SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Disabling of the energy-saving settings SOFTWARE SETUP START THE INSTALLATION PACKAGE SLC INSTALLATION INSTALLATION OF THE DRIVERS OF THE PERIPHERAL DEVICES Installation of the laser scanning head control board Installation of the drivers of the USB-serial converter for the electrical rack Verify correct installation of the converter drivers INSTALLATION OF THE SETTINGS CONFIGURATION OF THE COMMUNICATION PORTS Start-up of the port search tool Check of the operations carried out by the port search tool INSTALLATION OF THE SUPPORT PROGRAMS INKSCAPE SVG Viewer Notepad++ (optional) zip CHECK THE CORRECT OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM... 18

3 295145_0 3/20 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 SCOPE OF THE DOCUMENT This document is a guide for the machine operator or user or the installer during commissioning of the marking system with regard to the control software. In fact, the control software of the laser is an integral part of the marking system and must be fine-tuned in order to achieve flawless operation of the system. If the machine is equipped with a PC supplied by SISMA, it is already configured and ready to use. If instead you would like to use your own independently selected PC, it will be essential that you configure it following the operations described in this document. 1.2 MODELS AND VERSIONS TO WHICH THE MANUAL REFERS This manual should be considered during the first installation and start-up of the following models (all versions): SMARKY OEM PLUS BIG SMARKY BIG SMARK SMARKY EASY 1.3 DESCRIPTION OF THE OPERATIONS This manual must be consulted before the system is switched on. To continue with the operations described, the machine must be unpacked and positioned in the work area. Furthermore, all the parts making up the machine must be connected. For more information on the connections, refer to the specific manual provided. Thus the correct operating procedure is the following: Connection of the system cables Installation of the control software System start-up and checks

4 295145_0 4/20 2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COMPUTER 2.1 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Minimum hardware requirements of the PC Desktop Personal Computer (preferable) or Laptop VGA graphics that support a resolution of 1024x768 or higher Microsoft Windows XP/7 operating system (32 or 64 bit) 1GB RAM (2GB recommended) 40GB HDD 5 USB(2.0) ports + 1 RS232 port or 6 USB(2.0) ports + 1 USB-RS232 serial converter Notes on the use of USB converters There are various models of USB-RS232 serial converters available on the market. It should be noted that some poor-quality models may not guarantee correct operation of the machine. We recommend that you ask your local computer equipment supplier for assistance in selecting the most appropriate converter, and in any case that you select a high-quality one. Alternatively you can contact our customer service office (laserservice@sisma.com) for more information. 2.2 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Disabling of the energy-saving settings For correct use of the marking system, it is recommended that you disable the energy-saving settings of the PC. This is essential in order to prevent the operating system from disabling the communication ports to which the electrical rack of the laser is connected. This setting is particularly important on laptop PCs. To change the energy-saving settings, follow the procedure below: NOTE: the procedure described below refers to the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. For more information or for instructions on different operating systems, refer to the specific user guides of the products being used. Perform the login on the PC as the system administrator (or make certain you have all the rights like the administrator of the PC). Open the Control Panel window from the Start menu.

5 295145_0 5/20 Click on System and security. Select Power options.

6 295145_0 6/20 Click on Change plan settings. Click on Change advanced power settings. Select the item USB settings in the list.

7 295145_0 7/20 Change the value of the two lines in boldface by selecting Disabled. Finish by pressing Apply and OK.

8 295145_0 8/20 3 SOFTWARE SETUP 3.1 START THE INSTALLATION PACKAGE A storage support (DVD or USB drive) is provided with the machine. This contains the manuals in digital format, the software installation package and the specific settings of the machine. The package is a program that, when executed, will copy all the files necessary for configuration of the PC. Most of the operations are automated and do not require extensive knowledge of computers, other than the basics of how to use the PC. Select the SLC menu (SISMA laser controller). NOTE1: for recently manufactured machines, always download the latest version of the software from the site NOTE2: updates may be made to the software at any time without advance notice. Thus the version included on the DVD provided may not be the latest version. Always check our site at the link provided above for updates.

9 295145_0 9/ SLC INSTALLATION The SLC program is the program that allows you to control the machine and perform the laser processing. To install it, just follow the instructions provided on the screen of the installation program. If a version of the program is already present, a backup copy will be made so as to be able to restore the previous situation if necessary. The SismaCode fonts are also installed to allow the creation of barcodes and datamatrix (refer to the program manual for this function). For this reason any version of the program already present and the Inkscape graphic program must be closed during installation. 3.3 INSTALLATION OF THE DRIVERS OF THE PERIPHERAL DEVICES Installation of the laser scanning head control board Pressing the button drivers marking laser management software starts the automatic installation of the files necessary for connection of the scanning head control board. This program copies the files of the drivers into the folders of the SLC and does not require any user intervention. If it becomes necessary to reinstall the drivers, it is recommended that you execute the installation package program again as per paragraph 3.1 and repeat the procedure described here. To verify that the board is recognized correctly by the PC being used on the machine, proceed as follows: Right-click on the My computer icon and select Manage, then click on Device manager. Select the item SCANLAB : the device SCANLAB USB SCANalone4 must be displayed without any errors detected.

10 295145_0 10/20 If it is not listed in the list of system devices or in case of errors, try to disconnect and then reconnect the USB cable connecting it to the PC. It is important that the SCANalone board drivers are installed after the SLC program has been installed because, in addition to installing the drivers, the libraries used by the board are also updated and if these two elements are not compatible, the marking system management program will not function properly Installation of the drivers of the USB-serial converter for the electrical rack Inside the electrical rack there is a USB-serial converter with which to make the connection with the PC. The driver must be installed to ensure correct operation of the machine. To start the setup, press the FTDI Drivers button on the initial screen shown in paragraph 3.1. The Setup file is also available on the DVD provided with the machine. To start the installation, download the executable from the following address: by clicking on the setup executable item. Note 1: if you would like to check for the presence of more recent drivers than those provided on the DVD with the machine or to obtain more information, you can consult the manufacturer's site on the page: Note 2: the procedure described below can be repeated whenever the drivers of the converter need to be reinstalled.

11 295145_0 11/20 Continue the installation by pressing Extract and then Next. At this point the installation files will be copied. When finished, the following screen will be displayed:

12 295145_0 12/20 The final screen must show that the drivers have been installed correctly and thus that the procedure has been completed successfully Verify correct installation of the converter drivers It is appropriate to check that the installation has been completed successfully by verifying that the serial port installed is listed among the system devices. Right-click on the My computer icon and select Manage, then click on Device manager. Click on Ports (COM and LPT) and a list of the installed COM ports will appear. Double-click on the port displayed with the name USB Serial Port and check that the manufacturer FTDI is specified as in the following figure.

13 295145_0 13/20 Note 3: disconnecting the USB cable that connects the PC to the electrical rack of the laser will cause the COMx port (COM3 in the example shown in the figure) to disappear from the list, thus preventing correct operation of the marking system. 3.4 INSTALLATION OF THE SETTINGS All the settings are set during the final testing and verification of the machine. These settings are specific to the particular machine and cannot be exchanged with those of machines of the same series. Thus it is recommended that you save them carefully. These settings are saved on the storage support provided (DVD or USB drive). They must be installed with the appropriate program that copies them into the appropriate folder, by pressing the SLC Settings button. NOTE: if necessary, you can request a copy of the settings from our customer service office laserservice@sisma.com.

14 295145_0 14/ CONFIGURATION OF THE COMMUNICATION PORTS Start-up of the port search tool The program settings installed in the previous point also contain information about the communication ports used by the control software. Some versions of the laser also require a dedicated communication port, i.e., the 120F, 200F, 400F and 700F machines. The same is true for the accessory that measures heights on the marking surface (dynamic feeler). In addition to the version of the machine, these ports also depend on the computer being used, so they must be reconfigured in the event of installation on a new unconfigured PC. To facilitate this operation, a tool has been developed that allows automatic detection of the ports. To start it, press the Port config. button. You must select which port you would like to search for/set in the SLC program using the check-boxes shown in the figure. The first search is that for the sources of the 120F, 200F, 400F and 700F machines. Communication with these sources can occur at two different speeds. The first search is done at the lower speed; if this is unsuccessful, a warning is displayed that invites the user to restart the electrical rack before continuing with the faster speed.

15 295145_0 15/20 During the searches, the progress of the operations is displayed: At the end of the operations the final summary is displayed, which could be of the following type: Simultaneously all the settings of the SLC program are updated.

16 295145_0 16/ Check of the operations carried out by the port search tool Observing the final summary that appears after the port search, it will be possible to verify whether or not the procedure was completed without any problems (see the following table). PORT (COM) MESSAGE RESULT Laser source SPI source: Not found Laser source is not connected or not present. USB-RS232 Converter is not connected or the driver is not installed. SPI source: Found at port COM Laser source detected properly on the COM port displayed. Machine (Electrical rack) New electronic: Not found Old electronic: Not found New electronic: Found at port COM Old electronic: Found at port COM Electrical rack is not present or not connected. Integrated converter driver is not installed (New electronic only). Electrical rack detected properly on the COM port displayed. Height gauge (dynamic feeler) Height gauge: Not found Height gauge: Found at port COM Dynamic feeler is not connected or the driver is not installed correctly. Dynamic feeler detected properly on the COM port displayed.

17 295145_0 17/ INSTALLATION OF THE SUPPORT PROGRAMS You can find some programs included in the installation package that may be useful during machine use. The installation of this software is not essential, but it is in any case recommended INKSCAPE This is a graphics processing software. It is useful for editing vector files to be used during the marking process SVG Viewer This program allows the display of SVG files in browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox Notepad++ (optional) Textual editing software. This software is necessary in order to easily read any system log files or edit the scripts of the marking process zip File compression software. This software is useful for opening and managing compressed files in various formats. It is necessary if you want to read the contents of the SLC dump file (system dump). For installation, download the file from the following link:

18 295145_0 18/20 4 CHECK THE CORRECT OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM When starting the SLC program from the connection on the desktop, a window similar to the one above should appear, in which the serial port icons on the right (two for the 120F, 200F, 400F and 700F machines, one in the other cases) must be green. This indicates correct communication between the program and the devices. For an additional verification, when pressing the Light button on the left side of the window, the working box lighting should turn on. If this does not occur, restart the electrical rack and close the SLC program. Before starting the SLC again, you must wait for the three LEDs of the electrical rack to go out and only the green one to remain lit while the yellow one must flash. Once the communication with the electrical rack works, you can turn the key to switch on the laser.

19 295145_0 19/20 Now you must test that the scanning head control board is configured correctly. First of all you must verify that the output of the program is set on Laser in the Output screen of the program. For safety reasons this setting is set on Disabled at the first installation, so when pressing the Red and Start buttons without changing this setting, the program carries out all the preliminary operations but no output is produced.

20 295145_0 20/20 Once this parameter has been set correctly, if the machine is equipped with a Z axis, the homing procedure must be carried out from the Output screen using the appropriate Home button (This button is not present if the machine is not equipped with a motorized Z axis). When this is done, pressing the Red button will project the outline onto the working field. If this doesn't happen and the error message RTC card not found comes up, you must close the program, make certain that the USB cable connecting the scanning board is connected well and repeat the installation of the drivers. If the red light is projected correctly, the program is configured correctly and the machine is ready to work.