Pegas 4000 MF - Columbus Instruments International · Table of Contents Foreword 1 Part IIntroduction 2 1System overview

© 2001-2008 ... Columbus Instruments

Pegas 4000 MFGas Mixer

InstructionManual

Table of Contents

Foreword 1

Part I Introduction 2

................................................................................................................................... 21 System overview

................................................................................................................................... 32 Specifications

Part II Installation 4

................................................................................................................................... 41 Rear panel connections

................................................................................................................................... 52 Front panel controls

................................................................................................................................... 63 Tubing connection

................................................................................................................................... 84 Cable connections

Part III Stand alone operation 9

................................................................................................................................... 91 Setting mixing parameters

................................................................................................................................... 112 Static mixing

................................................................................................................................... 113 Diagnostics

................................................................................................................................... 134 Error messages

................................................................................................................................... 145 Troubleshooting

Part IV Software 15

................................................................................................................................... 151 Software intallation

................................................................................................................................... 172 Running the software

................................................................................................................................... 213 Configuration

Index 0

IContents

I


1Foreword


Pegas 4000 MF2


1 Introduction

1.1 System overview

The Columbus Instruments Pegas 4000 MF is a gas blending system that uses mass flow controllerswhich are controlled by a microprocessor to blend precise mixtures of component gasses. The systemcan be operated stand alone or can be controlled by a computer via the RS-232 serial port. Thesystem also has advanced features for allowing the use of different gasses. The systems are custombuilt to user specifications for the range of gas mixtures, flow and inlet and outlet pressures. The rangeof the flow controllers which can be used in the system can be from 5 sccm to over 500 slpm. Thesystem can support between 2 and 4 different component gasses.

Introduction 3


1.2 Specifications

Power Consumption: 200 wattsDimensions: 13" x 11.5" x 7.5" (33 x 29 x 19 cm)Weight: 14 lbs (6.4 Kg)Available Flow Controller Ranges:5 sccm - 500 sl/m

Each mixer contains flow controllers with ranges to meet each application

Flow controller accuracy and linearity: +/- 1% of full scaleFlow controller repeatability: 0.2% of full scaleInput pressure: 30 PSI*Outlet pressure: Atmospheric**Alternative ranges and gasses are available, Contact Columbus Instruments for detailsNote: Pegas 4000MF can accommodate 2-4 gasses

NOTE The flow controllers should not be used at less than 10% of their full scale range oraccuracy will suffer and cannot be guaranteed

Custom Specifications (for each mixer)

Number of gases available ___________________

Gas 1 type ______________Gas 1 full scale flow __________________ SLPM SCCM

Gas 2 type _____________ Gas 2 full scale flow ___________________ SLPM SCCM



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2 Installation

2.1 Rear panel connections

List of connections:1 AC power connetor This is where the AC power cord connects to the

instrument2 Power switch The power to the Pegas 4000 MF is switched on

and off here3 Fuse(s) Replace with 3A slow blow type if fuse blows, IF

fuse continues to blow, contact ColumbusInstruments for service.

4 Mixed gas output this is where the tubing connects for the outputof mixed gasses

5-7 Input gas connections The individual component gases connect hereand the pressure must be regulated to thespecified pressure (normally 30 PSIG)

Installation 5


2.2 Front panel controls

List of controls:1 Display screen Displays menus and

operation parametersfor the Pegas 4000 MF.

2 RS-232 Serial connector The RS-232 connectorallows the PEGAS 4000 MFto be connected to theserial port of a computer

3 Keypad Input for parameters andcontrols when operating thegas mixer stand alone

4 Flow meter Indicates the flow of mixedgas. Keep in mind this isvolumetric flow and the gasmixer output is mass flownormalize to 0 degrees Cand 760 mmHg. So therecan be a differnce in thisflow meter reading and thegas mixer indicated flow

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2.3 Tubing connection

The PEGAS 4000 MF uses 2 different types of tubing connectors for the component gasses cominginto and the mixed gas output on the mixer depending on pressure and flow rate used.. The proper useof the connectors is shown below. Also different sizes of tubing are used based upon the flow ratesused.

Swagelok Connectors

All system are equipped with Swagelok fittings. These are compression fittings that use a 2 pieceferrule. The orientation of the ferrules is very important for a proper seal. The picture below shows theproper way to make the Swagelok connections. Be sure the nut faces towards the end of the tube thatis going into the fitting. The nut should be tightened finger tight, then 1/2 turn tighter with a wrench. Becareful not to over tighten the fitting or it can be damaged. Be sure to use ferrules made of the samematerial as the tubing used to pervent leakage problems. If metal tubing is used, the ferrules must bechanged to metal.

Installation 7


Connecting the bottle

Refer to the picture below for the tubing connection to the bottle. Make the same connection for alladditional gas bottles. Once properly connected, Open the tank valve (1) adjust the pressure regulatorknob (2) to achieve a pressure reading of 30 PSIG (or specified inlet pressure if controllers with inletpressure other thant the standard 30 PSI have been ordered) on the pressure gauge (3). Open the flowcontrol valve (4) (if the regulator is equipped with the valve) fully counterclockwise.

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2.4 Cable connections

The Pegas 4000 MF has only 2 cable connections. The AC power cord plugs into the AC powerconnector on the rear panel.

If the PC software is used to control the mixer, then the included 9 pin serial cable is used to connectthe Pegas 4000 to the RS-232 serial port on the computer. The picture below show properconnection the PC.

Stand alone operation 9


3 Stand alone operation

3.1 Setting mixing parameters

This section describes operating the Pegas 4000 MF stand alone. The user can set theconcentration(s) and total flow for static (a single non changing mixture of gas) or cycling the mixerbetween 2 different mixtures for 2 different time durations which are configured on the PC computerand downloaded into the mixer.When the power to the mixer is first turned on, the following introduction screen if displayed. Push anyof the front panel buttons to enter the main menu.

The main menu contains selections for mixer settings and system functions.From the main menu, if you select Mixer settings by pressing the Enter button. You will go into themenu for setting the mixture.

In the percent mode the total flow is specified, then the percentage of gas #1 and gas #2 and gas # 3are specified (depending on how many different gasses the Pegas 4000 MF is configured for. Thehighest number gas is always used as the gas to creat the balance.

For example a Mixer which is configured for 3 gasses having CO2 as gas #1, O2 for gas #2 and N2 forgas #3

The Mixer settings menu will be displayed as shown above. The Up arrow button is used to scrollthrough the different menu entries. The Enter button is used to select which menu entry to pick . TheSet mixture parameter allows the user to set the values for the total flow of mixed gas and the

Pegas 4000 MF10


percentage of each gas components. The Static mixing selection start the mixing of a single staticmixture, .When Set mixture is selected, the screen below is displayed:

The first parameter to set is the total flow of gas. Pushing the up arrow button will increment the digiton which the cursor is placed each time the up arrow is pressed, If a lower value then the valuedisplaed is desired the user must increase the value higher than 9 and it will then go to zero. If theuser wishes to increase the value of any entry to another place left (increase by 10), then thedigit must be set to 9, then accept the entry by pressing the Enter button, then re-enter themenu selection, and the cursor will be on another digit to the left of the digit which it waspreviously on as shown below:

The next parameter to be set after the total flow of gas, is the concentration of gas #1 in percent:

Then the concentration of gas #2 (if the Pegas 4000 MF is equipped with 3 gasses). and theconcentration of gas #3 (if the Pegas is equipped for 4 gasses) After entering this information, themachine will go back to the mixer settings menu. Then when it is desired to start mixing the gas, theuser puts the cursor on the selection for static mixing and press enter.



3.2 Static mixing

From the mixer settings menu, selecting Static mixing will start the flow of mixed gasUnless a flow rate that exceed the maximum flow rate of any controller. If the maximum flow rate ofany controller is exceeded an error message will be displayed indicating the error and the system willreturn to the main menu.If a flow rate is selected for any controller that is less than 10% of the controller's maximum range, awarning message will be displayed indicating the accuracy will be degraded by operating the flowcontrollers at a flow that is too low.The display will show the flow of each gas as shown below:

To stop the flow of gas, press the cancel key, the mixer will then prompt for confirmation of cancelingthe flow of gas as shown below, press the up button to change the entry from N to Y, then press enter,the mixing process will be stopped and the Pegas 4000 MF will return to the mixer settings menu.

3.3 Diagnostics

The stand alone operation provides a basic diagnostics for checking the operation of the mixer. To runthe diagnostics select Diagnostics from the main menu. The diagnostic test works as follows: The test

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sets the flow controllers at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the full scale range of each controller. Thesetpoint is incremented each time the ENTER key is pressed. The setpoint is displayed in the leftcolumn, and the actual flow is displayed in the right hand column. The two values should match eachother for each gas. It starts with 0.

Then with each press of the ENTER key the setpoint will increase 25%

After the diagnostics reaches 100%, the tests are completed and press any key to return to the mainmenu.



3.4 Error messages

If the flow controllers are not operated within th proper range warning or error messages will bedisplayed.

Error Warning message Cause

Flow too low Warning message. The lowestflow at which the flow controlersshould be operated is at 10% ofthe full scale range of thecontroller. If any gas is set below10% of the flow controller's fullscale range, this warningmessage will be generated foreach controller. This is only awarning message and after a fewsecond it will diappear, andnormal operation will be allowed,buy the accuracy of the flowcannot be guaranteed.

gas flow > maximum range Error message. A flow has beenselected which is greater than therange of the flow controller(s).Since it is not possible to operatethe flow controller above it'smaximum range, the system willstop and return to the previousmenu. A lower flow must beselected to be able to continue

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3.5 Troubleshooting

Symptom Possible Cause Possible solution

Pegas 4000 MF will not turn on No power

Fuse blown

Check AC power to instrument

Check with ohmeter or replacefuse

When running the Pegas 4000MF there is no flow.

Incorrect settings of flow rate,

No pressure from gas source.

Check flow settings are withinspecifications(for example is the system isconfigured for a flow rate of 1000sccm and the flow is set to 2sccm it will appear there is noflow becasue the value is sosmall

Referring to picture below checkthe following:tank valve (1) is opened fullycounterclockwiseAdjust regulator setpoint knob (2)to achieve the specified inletpressure (30 psig / 2 bar for mostsystems)Open flow contol valve (3) ifequipped fully counterclockwise.

Not providing proper mixture Too low of flow rate has beenselected

Flow controller malfunction

For accurate operation, the flowcontroller should not be used at aflow rate lower than 10% of thefull scale range. The system willallow the use of flow rates lessthan 10% of full scale, but willissue a warning. The accuracywill be less than normal.

Run diagnostics and verify flow iswithin 5% of set

Software 15


4 Software

4.1 Software intallation

To install the software insert the enclosed CD ROM into the CD ROM drive. On the windows desktop,double click the icon for My Computer. Then Double click the CD ROM icon.

Select the Setup program.

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The following screen will me displayed. From here, click the button to install the software. It isrecommended to install the program in the default location.

This will copy all of the needed files to run the program In some instances Windows will come up with amessage(s) that a file on the computer is newer than the one being installed, do you wish too keep thenewer file. Always answer yes, to keep the newer file.

Software 17


4.2 Running the software

To run the software, go to the start menu and click on Gas Mixer System, this will start the programand the following splash screen will be shown.

After a few seconds, the software will attempt to communicate with the Pegas 4000 MF.

If the software can communicate with the mixer it will display this message.

Pegas 4000 MF18


If the software is unable to communicate with the Pegas 4000 MF this message will be displayed. Ifthis happens first check the serial cable connection between the computer and the Pegas 4000 MF. Ifthe connection is ok, check to see that there are no other programs running that might be using thesame serial port. If the problem still persists, have a qualified technician test the function of the serialcommunication port.

Once the software connects to the Pegas 4000 MF, the main menu will be displayed. To set theparameters for controlling the mixer, select experiment and then set mixer parameters.

Software 19


The screen below will be displayed. The way the software works, it will cycle through the rows on thegrid from top to bottom,The time column sets the amount of time that the gas will flow with the concentrations selected in thatrow. If time is set to zero it will continuously flow the amount of gas specified in the first row The flowcolumn selects the total flow. And the % gas columns set the concentration of each component gas,with the last gas comprising the balance.The number of mixing points control sets how many different mixtures (rows) are available in the grid.When more than one is selected, it will cycle from top to bottom and deliver the mixture for the timespecified in the boxes in the time column.Start starts the mixing and stop stops the mixing

1 Number of mixing points. This controls how many discrete pointsare used when cyling the mixer through the differentconcentrattions

2 Status window. This indicates when data is being sent to the Pegas4000

3 Start button. This button starts the cycling of the mixer.

4 Stop button. This button stops the flow of gas when the mixer isrunning under computer control.

5 Time column. The entry controls the amount time that the mixturelisted in the corresponding row is flowing.

6 Flow column. This entry determines the total flow rate during thecurrent interval.

7 % Gas 1. This column sets the concentration of Gas 1 for thecurrent interval.

8 % Gas 2. This column sets the concentration of Gas 1 for thecurrent interval.

9 Control From file: when this box is checked, the Pegas 4000 can becontrolled

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Below is an example of multiple mixing points spaced 1 minute apart.

Control from file allows the user to control the mixtures from a file called mixer.txt.The advantage of this is the gas mixer can be easily incorporated into process controlsThe file must be written to the gas mixer software directory and must be in the following format :

#.##,#.##,#.##,#.##(How many numbers is determined by how many gasses installed in the Pegas 4000.

The first number will be the total flow the following are concentrations of each gas with the final gasbeing the balance.

Here is an example of a file which could be used In this example a total flow of 10 liters (or cc's) permin would be used, depending of the configuration of the system and the concentration of gas # 1would be 5.0 % and the concentration of gas # 2 would be 21.0%. The file is checkedapproximately once every second.

Software 21


4.3 Configuration

The configuration screen allow changing the operating parameters of the mixer including the gassesbeing used in the mixer, whether the system is in the flow mode (where the flow of each controller isset individually), or percentage mode (where total flow is selected and the percentage of eachcomponent gas is set). Also different types of gases can be used and liters or cc's can be selected.The configuration screen can be accessed from the main menu under setup:

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List of configuration screen slections:

1 Max N2 flow: This column contains the basic flow calibration for each controller based onnitrogen flowing through the controller. This value is used in all calculations and is specific tothe controllers and entered at the factory. These values should never change

2 Gas type: This column selcts and displays the chemical formula of gas used with thecorresponding flow controller. Alternate gasses can be selected to use, Changing the type ofgas used will change full scale range of the corresponding flow controller.

3 Gas name: This column selcts and displays the name of the gas used with the correspondingflow controller. Alternate gasses can be selected to use, Changing the type of gas used willchange full scale range of the corresponding flow controller.

4 Coefficient: The coefficient is used to calculate the full scale range of the correspondingcontroller. Depending on which gas is selected, the corresponding coefficient will be displayedused.

5 Max flow: This column diplays the Max flow rate for each controller. based on the gas used.

6 Units: This button selects whether cc/min units are used or l/min are used. This is set at thefactory based on the contoller used. If you wish to change between liters/min and cc/minplease contact Columbus Instrumnets.

7 Mode: This button selects between flow mode and percent mode. In flow mode, the flow rateof each individual controller is set individually. In percent mode, the user enters a total flowrate and the percentage of each componenet gas.

8 Cancel: This button exits the configuration screen without saving the parameters

9 Save: This button saves all of the configuration variables into the Pegas 4000 MF

10 Number of gasses: This pulldown selects how many different gasses (flow controllers) areinstalled in the pegas 4000 MF

Software 23


Changing the system to use different gases

All mass flow controllers used in the Pegas 4000 MF are calibrated to a maximum flow when Nitrogenis flowing through the controller. Each gas other than N2 which is used has an associated coefficientwhich is used to determine the maximjum flow possible with the gas being used. The system isconfigured to the user specifications from the factory and the basic Maximum N2 flow cannot bechanged. The systemcan be configured to operate with a different gasses, however the value of the coefficient will controlwhat the maximum available flow of the alternate gas will be. See the example below where thesystem is change from using carbon dioxide to using propane. In this example the maximum flow ratewas previously .8195 and it has changed to .4092

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Documents

Pegas 4000 MF - Columbus Instruments International · Table of Contents Foreword 1 Part IIntroduction 2 1System overview