User Manual

Programming Basics 7-1
7 Programming Basics
Overview
This chapter introduces the fundamentals of developing dispensing programs in FmNT.
These skills prepare you for more complex programming in the next two chapters.
It is essential to be familiar with the tools you will use to program, such as the Vision
System software. This chapter explains the use of Model Fiducial Finder and Corner Finder
in the Vision System. You will be taught basic tips on how to define and recognize good
fiducials and how to set up for edge detection.
The following subsections provide guidance on how programs are built in FmNT and also
what tools are used to create them. Read this section before going on to programming. Part
of this exercise requires use of the Tutorial Board and FmNT. You will not be dispensing,
but you will be using the board.
Estimated time to complete: 60 minutes
Theory and Use of Programs
All complex dispensing systems require software programs to control the dispensing system
components. The software controls the flow of fluid, temperatures and motion by controlling
the individual components of the system. FmNT controls almost all of the dispensing system
components.
Programs are written for specific dispensing applications on specific dispensing systems.
Typically, a program written on one dispensing system must be modified slightly before it
can deliver the same degree of accuracy on another system. Therefore, it is important to
write the program on the same machine that will run the program.
Programs are composed of command instructions like any other machine-control program.
The instruction lines may seem cryptic, but can be easily identified. Commands can contain
location instructions, telling the dispensing head where to move, when to start dispensing
and in what shape, instruct the system to check fluid flow rate or temperature, to purge, and
where to look for and how to find fiducials. Basically, any function you want performed
during a dispensing run should appear as a command somewhere in your program.