User guide

11-2 Needle Senso
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Theory of Operation
The needle sensor gathers information about needle tip location by passing the needle in front of two light
beams within the sensor, one for the X- and Z-axes, and one for the Y-axis. The NSZ Series needle sensor
installed at the Asymtek factory is configured to work with the Fluidmove for Windows NT (FmNT)
software.
Operation
The X and Z coordinates of the needle tip are determined by moving the needle laterally back and forth
along the X-axis slot, descending in rough increments until the needle blocks the X-axis light beam. After
that, the needle begins to move back and forth while rising in smaller increments. When the beam is no
longer blocked, this reveals the locations of the sides of the needle (in X) and the height of the tip (Z).
Finally, the needle moves to the Y-axis slot, again moving back and forth laterally to determine the
coordinates of the sides of the needle along the Y-axis. The XYZ coordinates are then sent to FmNT,
which calculates the exact center of the needle.
The NSZ Series needle sensor uses an additional tactile sensor to more precisely determine needle
Z-height. The Dispensing Head lowers and touches the needle tip to the Tactile Sensor. The needle tip
height determined is reported to FmNT.
Needle Sensor Setup
The Needle Sensor installed on your system is configured to work with the FmNT software. If you make
significant changes to your system configuration, upgrade your FmNT software, or have difficulty
calculating machine offsets, you will need to perform the setup procedures on the following pages.
Find Needle XYZ
Find Needle XYZ is a setup routine used with for defining the needle and height sensor probe XYZ
locations. You should perform a
Find Needle XYZ whenever you install a new syringe or needle. On
completion of the sequence, the FmNT software will automatically make any needed adjustments to the
dispensing program. You can run this routine at any time, or program it at any point in a dispensing
program.
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NOTE Calculate Master Offsets is the only machine offsets mode that uses Find Needle XYZ
to calculate needle offsets. You must run Calculate Master Offsets at least once before
Find Needle XYZ can be used. You cannot use Find Needle XYZ and any of the Valve
Offsets
routines (“Machine Offsets Procedures” in the Operation section of this manual).
To perform a Find Needle XYZ:
1. In the Main window, click on either
Teach a Program or Run a Program.
2. In the Programming window, select
Setup from the menu bar, or in the Production window, click
on
Setup.
3. Select
Find Needle XYZ.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts.
> Consult the Online Help for assistance.