Serial data acquisition in the Checkweigher Management Information System

Serial data acquisition in the "Checkweigher Management Information System"

We require a compatible ‘Checkweigher Management Information System’ software to acquire the serial data from our present checkweighers completely automatically without the need for operator intervention.

We would like reports to be viewed and printed on demand at any time based upon products, batches, production runs, lines and time periods.

1. Average weight checkweigher reports;
2. Product summary report;
3. Production run summary report;
4. Overfill.

We would like the software to hold a copy of the original data in raw format, to make the system ‘Trading Standards’ friendly format to provide us with trace ability and a paperless environment to view current production and historical analysis.

We would like information from the multiplexor to flow into either Microsoft Access or Microsoft Excel fields in a systematic order.

Hardware overview

Pic.1. Serial data acquisition. Hardware overview

Pic.2. Serial data acquisition. Raw data captured in the Hyperterminal

Requirement:

• Advanced Serial Data Logger (ASDL) Professional or a trial version;
• ASCII data parser and query plugin for Advanced Serial Data Logger;
• DDE server plugin for Advanced Serial Data Logger (optional);
• Local database plugin for Advanced Serial Data Logger.

It is meant:

You had configured communication parameters (baud rate, number of data bits, flow control etc) in ASDL and can receive any data without communication errors.

Solution:

The image above shows, that a data flow contains non-printable characters (characters in green squares on the image above) and doesn't show end of a data block. We need analyze it. We'll enable a display output for non-printable characters with a code below that 20 Hex. Please, set following options.

Pic.3. Serial data acquisition. Serial data view setup

And enable the "Wrap words" option, because a data block is very large and doesn't place in the program window.

Pic.4. Serial data acquisition. Data logger window view

Click the "OK" button and try to receive data from a serial port. You'll get same as on an image below.

Pic.5. Serial data acquisition. Raw data blocks.

It's an other view of data received. All non-printable characters was replaced with their code like #1E, #1F and #1B. Now, it is clear, that the data block begins with #1E#1F#1B and ends with #0D#0A#0C (underlined by red).

Now, we are ready for configuring modules. First, please, select the "ASCII data parser and query" plugin (pic.6, pos. 1) from a drop-down list. Then, enable a parsing option for data received (pic.6, pos. 2) and select necessary data publication plugins. The DDE server (pic.6, pos. 3) will help to check an accuracy of the parser's configuration. The "Local database" plugin will create Microsoft Excel files.

Pic.6. Serial data acquisition. Plugins setup.

Now, please, open the ASCII parser and query configuration window (click the "Setup" button near a drop-down box pos.1 on pic.6). A dialog window will appear on a screen (pic.7).

Pic.7. Serial data acquisition. Parser configuration window.

A configuration process will very simple if you had examined your data flow in the data logger window (pic.5). You should type same as in the data logger window in fields 1 and 2. The field #1 is the beginning of the data block and the field #2 is the end of him. On the pic.5 values, which you should type have been underlined by red color. It is a good idea to have a datetime stamp. You can simply add a datetime stamp to an each record. Just enable the "Add date/time stamp" option in the pos. #3.

Ok. We are going to a next tab. It's the very important part of the parser configuration. Parser uses this information for data extracting from a data block. Our data block contains 23 data items, which should be separated to different variables. Later, these variables will be used in the data publication and will be placed in different columns of our Exñel spreadsheet.

Pic.8. Serial data acquisition. Parser items.

You will be adding a new item by clicking the "Add item" button (pic.8, pos. 7). Before adding an item the program will ask you about an item description. You can type any characters here, which will help you to remember a variable's content. We had added all 23 variables with corresponding descriptions. You can import a data parsing items from a file by clicking a button at position #8 on pic.8. The file with all variables you can download here (right-click over the link and select the "Save target as..." menu item).

Each parser item has few properties:

1. Item name - this name you'll bind with a column in the data publication plugin. It's a short representation of description and can't contain spaces or few other characters;
2. Parser's type - it's a method, which the program will use for data extraction. Our parser has few methods from simple to most powerful. In our case, where data is being placed in variable place, we can ise only the most powerful method - regular expression. This method allows to extract a data from any position of the data block by mask. This mask can be widely transformed and adapted to characters in the data block;
3. Data type - the data type of characters extracted. You can specify a real type of your data or specify the STRING data type, then data will have been converted to a other type later, in the data publication module. The data type here is being used on formatting of the value, by the way is being specified on "Data formats" tab;
4. Default value - this value is being used when data can't be extracted from a data block;
5. Regular expression - In our case we needs numbers or strings, which follows character ":" in some of the data block. For example, a regular expression will as following: HBATCH NO\.(\d+). Here, the expression in parenthesis is our number, which we needs;
6. Entrance position - all our values have an unique searching mask, then a searching position of each item is constant and equal 1.

Ok. We are going to a next tab. You can specify basic format options here (pic.9). If you had specified the data type "String" in item's parameters, then first two options allows you to remove blank spaces from a value. The second option allows you convert the date time string to a field with the date time data type. We had specified YYMMDDHHNNSS here, according to the specification above. Detailed description of formatting characters, please, see in a help file.

Pic.9. Serial data acquisition. Format of items.

Other options is unnecessary in our case, because all our items has the string data type.

Click the "OK" button and close the parser configuration window and the "OK" button in the options window.

Now, our parser is ready. And now, it's a time for testing it. Connect your devices and/or power it on and try to receive a data block from a serial port. If the parser had been correctly tuned up, then in the DDE server window you'll see our variables' names and their value (pic.10).

Pic.10. Serial data acquisition. DDE server window.

Now, all variables are ready for a following usage. Now, you can export it to any database, Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access. You can read about it in following examples:

Weight data logger and Microsoft Access;
Capture a serial data to Microsoft Excel;
Log scales weight data to Microsoft Excel.

Related articles:

Capture a serial data to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with regular expressions;
GPS data logger;
Weight data logger to a Microsoft Access database (data at a fixed position);
Barcode scanner data logger. Capture a barcode data from a serial port;
PBX data logger. Capture a serial data from PBX systems;
Log weight from a scale to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (data at a enumerated position);
Pressure data logger. Log data from an intellectual pressure measuring device;
Serial data acquisition in the Checkweigher Management Information System.
[NEW] Aircraft engine monitor (example of an usage).

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