Datacolor MATCH Pigment 3 Dispenser...

Datacolor MATCH Pigment 3 Dispenser Interface

of 6 2002 Datacolor All rights reserved. Subject to protection under the Berne convention November 6, 2002

The Datacolor MATCH Pigment installation CD menu includes an option to install a dispenser.

Once selected, choose a dispenser type based on the recommendation of your dispenser

manufacturer.

The “generic” selection shown below will enable a simple text-file transfer.

After selecting a dispenser type, accept defaults by clicking “next” to continue loading the

dispenser drivers.

Once installed, the command to start a dispense may be initiated from Formula Central’s Tools-

>Dispense menu option. This option will be enabled only when a formula is selected and

displayed in the formula grid.

At the dispense command, Formula Central will prepare the current formula and send it to the

configured dispenser driver. The generic driver writes a text file formatted in the style of a MS

Windows INI file.

By default that file is written to the folder: C:\Program Files\Datacolor\Spectrum\Datacolor Match Pigment\dispense\

In case one might use multiple dispensers or multiple terminals for formula transfer, there will

usually be two files written:

Dispense.dci and Dispense”PCNAME”.dci where PCName is the windows name of the computer



After installing a dispenser driver, new settings are enabled on the Dispenser tab of the main

window of the DMP Admin module.

Formula Central uses these settings to prepare a selected formula prior to dispense by scaling and

formatting total and individual ingredient amounts.

Set Dispense Unit to fix the unit for individual ingredient amounts. Select a weight or volume

unit for gravimetric or volumetric output, respectively. Different dispensers may require specific

settings for Dispense Unit. All ingredient amounts will be converted to the select unit prior to

dispense.

Batch Size Unit and Default Batch Size set a fixed total dispense amount.

If Use Variable Batch Size box is unchecked, the default batch size will always be sent to the

dispenser. To dispense whatever amount is shown in Formula Central, check the box next to Use

Variable Batch Size. Care must be taken to ensure that a proper container is used with the

dispenser. Check with your dispenser manufacturer if this option may be used.

Fractional Part is typically set at 48 for volumetric paint dispensers. For decimal output, or to

obtain the amounts seen in the Formula Central grid, set this value to one.

Part Denominator is typically set at 1 or 2 for volumetric paint dispensers. For decimal output,

this value controls rounding and the number of digits after the decimal point. Use 1 for no

decimals, 10 for 1 decimal, 100 for two, 1000 for three and 10000 for four.

Can Size Label, Fractional Delimiter and Shot Delimiter are formatting text fields required by

some dispensers.

Note: The number of ingredients sent to the dispenser (or dispense text file) is determined by the

number of ingredient displayed in the formula grid of Formula Central. Datacolor MATCH

Pigment’s “Ingredient Maintenance” module may be used to add components to individual

colorants. See Datacolor MATCH Pigment documentation or contact Datacolor support for

more information.



The settings displayed in Admin for dispense are stored in an INI file named, C_Machine.INI.

The default location for the file is:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Datacolor\Match Pigment\MATCH

PIGMENT_Terminal_"PCNAME" where "PCNAME" is the name of the computer.

Below are the contents of cc_machine.ini corresponding to the settings in DMP’s Admin

program shown in the previous section.

Notes: 1) Each PC will have its own CC_Machine.INI file

2) Inside CC_Machine.INI are TWO similar sections – [Dispenser] and [Dispense]

Settings that control Formula Central’s behavior are in the {DISPENSE} section.

3) Some DMP Workstations are not licensed to run the Admin module. Dispensers connected to a

workstation may be configured by directly editing the cc_machine.ini file.



Below is a sample gravimetric formulation to be dispensed as it appears in the grid. Up to six

ingredients can be dispensed.

To dispense the formula click on Tools and then click on Dispense Formula.



A message window will appear after the dispense file is successfully created.

The dispense files are named Dispense.dci and Dispense”PCNAME”.dci where PCName is the

windows name of the computer. By default they are written to the folder: C:\Program Files\Datacolor\Spectrum\Datacolor Match Pigment\dispense\



Below is the dispense.dci file created for the sample formula.

There will be only one formula in the dispense.dci file. Each dispense operation overwrites the

existing file. It can be read with the standard Windows ini commands of get PrivateProfile

String and get PrivateProfile integer. New information might be added to the file in the future.

Below is an explanation of the various fields. [FORMULA1] This section contains general dispenser information.

NumColorants=5 Number of ingredients. An integer from 1 to 6

ColorName=Standard Yellow YRB Target name. An ASCII string.

ColorNumber= Datacolor MATCH Pigment does not use this ASCII string field.

System=DMP Datacolor MATCH Pigment sets this ASCII string to DMP.

Brand= Datacolor MATCH Pigment sets this ASCII string field to Null.

CanSize=My Can A user definable ASCII string

DispenseUnit=KG Units being dispensed. An ASCII string.

FractionalPart=1 An integer field that is dispenser dependent (see page 1).

PartialShots=10000 An integer field that is dispenser dependent (see page 1).

Base= Datacolor MATCH Pigment sets this ASCII string field to Null.

RGB=0 Datacolor MATCH Pigment sets this integer to 0.

[INGREDIENTS1] This section contains the ingredient amounts being dispensed.

Flex Yellow Paste=21.2801 The amount of each ingredient is an ASCII string. Flex Red Paste=2.6149

Flex Black Paste=0.5185

Flex Clear Paste=25.5865

Solvent Blend=50.0000

[STATUS] This section is required by some Datacolor formulation systems.

Cancel=0 Datacolor MATCH Pigment always sets this integer to 0.

Datacolor MATCH Pigment 3 Dispenser...

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