Metrohm IC Driver for Empower™ Instructions for Use Manual 8.102.
Metrohm AG CH-9100 Herisau Switzerland Phone +41 71 353 85 85 Fax +41 71 353 89 01 info@metrohm.com www.metrohm.com Metrohm IC Driver for Empower™ Instructions for Use Manual 8.102.
Teachware Metrohm AG CH-9100 Herisau teachware@metrohm.com This documentation is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Although all the information given in this documentation has been checked with great care, errors cannot be entirely excluded. Should you notice any mistakes please send us your comments using the address given above.
Change Control Version Date Summary of Changes 1.0 July 2013 First Edition 1.
Contents Change Control ..................................................................................................................... 3 Contents ............................................................................................................................... 4 1 Preconditions ................................................................................................................. 5 2 Starting Empower™ and creating a node ......................................................
1 Preconditions The following preconditions must be met to ensure proper functioning: • Empower™ is installed according to the Waters instructions. • The Metrohm driver is installed according to the instructions.
2 Starting Empower™ and creating a node 2.1 Starting Empower™ 1. Connect the Metrohm instruments to the PC (via USB) and the power supply. 2. Switch the Metrohm instruments on. 3. Start Empower™. 4. Log in with your Empower™ password and click on OK. 2.2 Configuring the system 1. Click on Configure System.
2. The Configuration Manager opens. Its icon will appear and blink in the lower task bar of your screen. 3. Go to Nodes. 4. Create a new node (i.e. where your instruments are connected to the PC). 5. Follow the instructions of the wizard.
6. Right-click on the new node and open the Properties menu item. The connection to the node will be established. 7. Click on Configure DHCP on the Configure DHCP tab.
8. Click on Add…. Note: If several systems are added, both the IP address and the MAC address have to differ. 9. Enter the following parameters: • IP address: 000.000.000.xxx, (where x = 001-255) e.g. start with 000.000.000.001 • MAC address: 00-00-00-00-00-xx, (where xx = 00-FF) e.g. start with 00-00-00-00-00-01 • Instrument type: Select "Metrohm IC" This includes all implemented Metrohm instruments, also Sample Processors and Dosinos.
Examples (excluding double quotes): • IC only: "IC=21124" • SP only: "SP=03534" • Both: "IC=21124 SP=03534" 10. Click on OK. Example: 11. Click on OK.
12. Click on OK.
3 Setting up a chromatographic system 3.1 Generating a system 1. Go to Systems. 2. Create a new system by selecting the New > Chromatographic System menu item.
3. Select Create New System and click on Next. Create New System Specifies that you create a new chromatographic system using available instruments connected to an acquisition server. It is not necessary that the system is directly connected to your Empower™ workstation. Connect to Existing System Specifies that the current user can access the selected chromatographic system. If the system is password-protected, you need the password to access the system.
5. In case of a client/Server installation, the node must be selected on which the Metrohm IC Driver for Empower™ was installed.
3.2 System selection 1. Select an instrument from the Available Instruments list and drag it to the list beneath New System Instruments. You can use instruments from the Unused Components and an existing system. If the instrument is not in the Available Instruments list, click on Cancel and check the properties of the acquisition server. Note: Several IC systems cannot be controlled with one chromatographic system; two different systems are required for this (see Chapter 11). 2. Click on Next.
3.3 Access Control Use this window to control how other users access the new system you are creating. You can share the system with other network users and password-protect it. Note: If you have access to a chromatographic system, you do not need to enter the password unless you are crossing databases. 1. If required, enable the fields under Allow Access to Group(s). 2. Click on Next.
Detailed explanations Share System with Other Network Users Specifies that other network users (determined by the access option you select; see below) can use the system. If you select this option, consider password-protecting the system to limit its use to authorized users. Allowed Access Owner Only Specifies that the owner of the chromatographic system and users with administrator rights can access the selected chromatographic system.
3. Enter a system name and click on Finish to complete the creation of a new chromatographic system and to close the wizard. Detailed explanations System Name Identifies the chromatographic system in the Empower™ database and in the Configuration Manager. Up to 30 alphanumeric characters are allowed for the system name. Use a meaningful system name in case other users have access to the system. Acquisition Server Name Name of the acquisition server to which the selected system is connected.
4. Then the following window appears, and: • the IC instrument's LED stops blinking. • the Sample Processor initializes the sample rack. 5. Right-click on the system to check whether it is online (with Bring Online).
4 Creating a project 1. Create a new project by selecting the New > Project menu item. 2. The Tablespace form appears.
3. Click on Next. 4. Click on Next.
5. In the Projects tree view, select an appropriate project for already existing settings. 6. Click on Next. 7. Click on Finish.
5 Creating an instrument method 5.1 Opening the QuickStart interface 1. In the Empower™ start window, go to Run Samples. 2. Choose your chromatographic system and click on Use QuickStart. 3. It will open in your task list.
4. The status of the system should be IDLE. If this is the case, Select View Method > Instrument. All modules of your setup should be visible. Enter the desired parameters. The following screenshots show parameters for a typical anion setup.
5.2 Setting the start parameters 5.2.1 Setting the parameters for the ion chromatograph Note: The selection option with the tabs depends on the instrument types.
IC – MCS IC – Column Oven IC – Detector 5.2.2 Setting the parameters for the Sample Processor Sample Processor – Tower Note: These values are dependent on the racks and sample vessels used.
5.2.3 Setting the parameters for the Dosino Note: The dosing devices (Dosinos) have to be connected to the instrument before the system is set up, because they are not plug-and-play devices. Dosino default settings normally do not require any modification. 5.3 Creating the time program of the method Write a time program to set the chronological order of the action of your measurement. Commands can be selected with Add….
Depending on the instrument type, an IC instrument can perform the following actions: Actions that can be performed by a Sample Processor: Commands for the Dosino: 28 ▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
Device-independent commands are commonly used for the execution of subprograms. Subprograms can be used to create more complex time programs. 5.3.1 Time program – Example To start a simple time program, you can proceed as follows: 1. Double-click on Switch. 2. Switch to Fill.
3. The first line in the time program looks as follows: 4. With Add… more lines can be added, e.g.: Actions of indefinite time are highlighted in gray in the time program. The time counter restarts at zero after such a command. 5. Save your instrument method (e.g. as "AnionInstrument" to make clear that this is an instrument method).
6 Creating a processing method 1. Click on File > New > New Processing Method and open a new processing method. 2. The following window appears. 3. Click on OK. 4. Make a list of the analytes and their retention time under Components.
5. Click on Components to define the retention times of the analytes and the desired calibration parameters. The processing method can be adjusted later. It is not necessary to fill in all parameters. It is possible to start with the default settings. 6. Enter the levels of your standard solutions under Default Amounts. 7. The integration parameters can be set on the Integration tab.
8. Save the processing method.
7 Forming a method set 1. Go to Method Set. 2. Group your Instrument Method and your Default Processing Method to a Method Set. Default Report Method and Export Method are optional.
3. Save your Method Set.
8 Running samples 8.1 Creating a sample table and starting the analysis 1. Under Run Samples, go to Sample Queue. The instrument status must be IDLE before starting a measuring series. 2. Start filling in the sample table. • Start with a line for equilibration of the system. Use the Equilibrate function for this. • Enter a long run time (e.g. 60 min). This makes sure that the system has a stable baseline before moving on to the next line.
3. Create a sample table according to your needs. 4. Click on Start to start the series (only if system is idle).
5. Give the sample set a name and click on Run. 6. When your baseline is stable, you can click on Stop and select the Abort run and continue on next line option. This will result in a short stop of all modules.
8.2 Manual control More options Under Manual Control, all hardware components can be operated individually (only when no measurement is running). The manual control is located next to the status parameters. 8.3 Equilibrating the system In order to equilibrate the system, it might be useful to create an “Equilibration” method. Create an instrument method named "Equilibration" (all parameters as desired, e.g. pump flow 0.7 mL/min, MSM autostep all 10 min, etc.).
Create also a method set “Equilibration”. This method set can be run in the first line of each sample table.
9 Evaluating recorded data 1. To review recorded data, go to Browse Project and select the desired sample set. 2. Right-click on the name of the sample set and choose process.... 3. With OK, a result set is created out of the sample set. To view the results (e.g. calibration curve, amount of components in analyzed samples) go to the desired result set.
4. Click on Update to see also the latest recalculations. 5. Double-click on a result set to open a review window and to see a single result.
6. The icon shows the calibration. 7. Several results can be loaded into the review by highlighting them and then opening the review window. Use the icon to overlay curves.
8. For a report, right-click on the desired sample and select Preview. 9.
10. The report can be modified as required using the Edit Method button. 11. The information can be applied directly to the report by double-clicking on the corresponding fields.
9.1 Example Among many other things, the report can contain the chromatogram, the calibration curve, instrument parameters as well as the time program.
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10 Troubleshooting 10.1 Stopping the process 1. If there is a system failure or if the connection is lost, it is recommended to close the software and also stop InstrumentServer.exe (with Task Manager/Processes). 2. Then restart the software to continue working.
10.2 Message Center 1. Double-clicking on the "E" in the task bar opens the Message Center, in which error messages are documented. 2. A list of all current messages appears (example list).
11 Restrictions • This device driver allows you to operate one or several IC systems from one PC. One IC system may include a maximum of one changer, five Dosinos and one IC instrument with a conductivity detector. • Two Metrohm IC instruments can be operated in parallel in two different systems. • Two sample changers cannot be operated (with one PC) with this version. • The stop all command does not only stop all components, but also the communication.
12 Importing example methods 1. Go to Configure System. 2. Go to File > Restore Projects.
3. Browse to find the desired project. 4. Click Next until finished. The imported project will not only contain exemplary chromatograms, but also all instrument methods and processing methods that were used to record them.
13 Measuring cations For cations, the polarity needs to be changed because conductivity will show negative peaks for cations. In order to swap the chromatogram, the method set needs to be modified: 1. Go to Method Set. 2. Create a derived channel by right-clicking on Derived Channel > New > Derived channel.
3. For the derived channel, the conductivity needs to be multiplied by "-1" to obtain the inverse: 4. Give the derived channel a name.
5. Choose a processing method for the cation channel.
