Wednesday 7 December 2011

Getting the most from the barcode scanner


When there is a barcode scanner attached to ColorPoint there are a lot of useful shortcuts you can use in the software to reduce the amount of time it takes to set up a dispense and also decrease the probability of assigning a dispense to the wrong job.  This post should be helpful either if you’re considering ordering a barcode scanner for a new or existing system or you simply want to get the most out of your existing scanner.

Dispensing to a job

If you are using ColorPoint Manager to set up jobs then using the barcode scanner can eliminate time spent finding the correct job by using the job sheet from ColorPoint Manager.
JobSheet
If you scan the barcode under any job item when you are on the jobs screen on the console it will move to the dispense screen and automatically set the weight to equal to the estimated amount less what has already been dispensed to that item.  It will also book that dispense the job item you scanned on the job sheet.  This allows you to navigate the job screen much quicker than you could using the keys and also prevents the operator from accidentally booking a dispense to the wrong job.

Repeating a dispense

If you have a label printer in your ColorPoint Console you may have noticed that every time you do a dispense you get a label with a barcode on it.  If you scan this label when you are on the dispense screen (pictured below) then ColorPoint will create another exactly like the dispense that produced that barcode.  This means if you need another bucket of ink for the same job then instead of having to navigate to the job screen and select it again you can just scan the barcode of the original dispense thus saving you time and eliminating the possibility of selecting the wrong job.
DispenseScreen

 

Booking in a return

If you scan the barcode from a dispense label then ColorPoint will match use the composition of the scanned dispense for the new return.  As well eliminating the time spent finding the correct formula to book the return in as this method also allows for more accurate return matching in future.  This is because if there was an over dispense during the original dispense, for example someone added too much on a manual add, ColorPoint can compensate for this when using the return in the future.  Using this method also means that the return will keep traceability information from the original dispense that would have otherwise been lost.

Getting a dispense from the queue

If you use the dispense queue as part of your work flow then the barcode scanner can be use to select a dispense from the queue.  You can scan the barcode of a formula code or a job number and ColorPoint select the first matching dispense from the dispense queue.  This saves time spent looking in the dispense queue for the desired dispense.

What if i don’t have a label printer or a printer attached to ColorPoint Manager?

Although we do recommend having printers for both the ColorPoint Console and ColorPoint Manager for the most efficient use of the barcode scanner it is possible to still get some of the benefits of using the barcode scanner as long as you have a printer capable of printing a barcode somewhere in the organisation.  The ColorPoint barcode scanner reads barcodes produced in the Code 39 format (sometimes also known as the 3 of 9 format) which can be produced by simply installing and using a custom font.  Although the installation of a custom font is beyond the scope of this document if you are interested in generating your own barcodes for use with ColorPoint Manager please contact Rexson directly and we will send you the details on how to get started.

Monday 5 September 2011

How to Change out an empty supply vessel with CPM

 

Step One - Stock Receipt

  • Click ‘Stock Receipt’ on the tool bar.
  • Click the drop down arrow in the ‘Material’ box.
  • Click the material you have received.
  • Tab down to ‘Number of Packs’. This is the number of barrels/IBC’s you have received.
  • Enter the number of packs.
  • Tab down to ‘Pack Size’. This is the net weight of the product in the barrel/IBC.
  • Tab down to ‘Batch Number’.
  • Enter batch number.
  • Press ‘Save’ bottom right of screen.
  • Repeat process if necessary.

Once stock receipt data has been completed, the information will automatically be shared with the console.

 

STEP TWO - Changing supply vessel

  • Press the ‘E’ stop on the console. Locate the empty supply vessel and turn the air supply ball valve off at the pump in question.
  • Have the new supply vessel (Barrel/IBC) at hand.
  • Remove the caps from the new supply vessel.
  • Remove the ‘return tube from the empty supply vessel and place it in the new supply vessel.
  • Remove the suction tube from the empty supply vessel and place it in the new supply vessel.
  • Remove the empty supply vessel.
  • Push the new supply vessel in place.

If your system has cam locks and ball valves please close the valve before removing tubes/hoses.

NOTE: When removing the return and suction tubes from the empty supply vessel be aware that there will be product residue in/on the tube, so be careful not to spill any product on you or the floor.

 

STEP Three - Enter data

  • Enter RFID key.
  • Press ‘Materials’ (right of screen)
  • Press ‘Vessel Contents’ (Bottom of screen).
  • Using arrow keys (bottom right) high light the vessel/material you wish to replenish.
  • Press ‘Refill’ (right of screen).
  • Press the tab on the right of the ‘Batch’ box.
  • A batch list will appear. Using arrow keys (bottom right) High light the batch you want.

NOTE: This batch number must match up with the batch number on the Vessel you are about to place on the pump system.

  • Press ‘Select’ (top right).

The screen will change back to the ‘Enter refilled vessel weight when full’. You will notice that the batch number has changed and that you have a new vessel content weight. You will also see that you have an option to ‘Top-up with remnant weight’. This will default to ‘No’. Unless you wish to pour the remnants into the new supply vessel, leave the option as ‘No’ and press save.

  • Press ‘Save’

Once you have pressed ‘save’ the ‘Supply vessel contents’ screen will appear.

At this point pull the ‘E’ stop out and re-energise the console by pressing the green power button (top left of the console screen).

  • Whilst still on the ‘Supply Vessel Contents’ screen press ‘Recirc’
  • Go to the pump station and turn the air supply on to the pump.
  • Pump will come on and recirculate the new supply vessel contents for 2 minutes.

This will mix the product and help its fluidity, as the product has been standing for a time without any movement.

If you are part way the through dispensing, you will need to press continue once you have returned to the dispense screen.

How to Change out an empty supply vessel with CPC only

 

STEP ONE. Changing supply vessel.

Press the ‘E’ stop on the console. Locate the empty supply vessel and turn the air supply ball valve off at the pump in question.

  • Have the new supply vessel (Barrel/IBC) at hand.
  • Remove the caps from the new supply vessel.
  • Remove the ‘return tube from the empty supply vessel and place it in the new supply vessel.
  • Remove the suction tube from the empty supply vessel and place it in the new supply vessel.
  • Remove the empty supply vessel.
  • Push the new supply vessel in place.

If your system has cam locks and ball valves please close the valve before removing tubes/hoses.

NOTE: When removing the return and suction tubes from the empty supply vessel be aware that there will be product residue in/on the tube, so be careful not to spill any product on you or the floor.

 

STEP TWO. Enter data

  • Enter RFID key.
  • Press ‘Materials’ (right of screen)
  • Press ‘Vessel Contents’ (Bottom of screen).
  • Using arrow keys (bottom right) high light the vessel/material you wish to replenish.
  • Press ‘Refill’ (right of screen).
  • Press the tab on the right of the ‘New vessel content weight’ box (box will now be red).
  • Using the numeric keys (bottom of screen) enter the barrel/IBC net weight.
  • Press ‘Save’

There is no real need to enter a batch number, because without a management system you won’t be able to trace the product.

Once you have pressed ‘save’ the ‘Supply vessel contents’ screen will appear.

At this point pull the ‘E’ stop out and re-energise the console by pressing the green power button (top left of the console screen).

  • Whilst still on the ‘Supply Vessel Contents’ screen press ‘Recirc’
  • Go to the pump station and turn the air supply on to the pump.
  • Pump will come on and recirculate the new supply vessel contents for 2 minutes.

This will mix the product and help its fluidity, as the product has been standing for a time without any movement.

If you are part way the through a dispense you will need to press continue once you have returned to the dispense screen.

Monday 1 August 2011

Dispense Vessels on ColorPoint Console

Once in a while we get a support call from a site where the dispense vessel appears to not be recognised. Instead there is a warning icon when you attempt to start a dispense.

WarningIcons_WrongVesselOnScale

This is the wrong vessel on scale icon, and it means that the currently selected dispense vessel parameters do not match what is being read from the scale.

If you are on a site that uses multiple dispense vessel sizes, this is probably something you have seen. The workaround is simple. Go to the vessel selection page and select the vessel capacity that you are using. The currently selected vessel is displayed on the lower left edge of the dispense screen, as shown below:

image

Something we see less frequently is where the currently selected vessel is blank, as shown below:

image

In this case there is no currently selected vessel. The last used vessel is remembered across dispense sessions and this does not usually happen.  What can happen is that the only dispense vessel is deleted and there is no dispense vessel to select. Only a level 3 (master) or level 4 (Rexson Engineer) key can used to delete vessels. The delete button is next to the top up button, and will produce a warning to confirm the deletion.

image

image

Only after you have answered yes to this prompt will the vessel be deleted. As a precaution, operational dispenses should be made with a level 1 (operator) or 2 (supervisor) key. This will prevent accidental deletion of a vessel.

The next release of ColorPoint Console will prevent a vessel from being deleted when it is the only vessel configured. The delete button will be moved further away from the Top-up button to prevent accidental presses.

If you do find yourself facing this:

image

Creating a new dispense vessel is a simple task. Press any of the empty buttons to select it. Once highlighted, pressing the button again allows you to edit the button.

image

The first entry page allows you to enter the capacity of the vessel as maximum weight and maximum volume.

image

If you regularly work with heavier pigments, you may find that allowing the maximum weight to be higher will allow you to fill the vessel to a higher capacity without reaching an overflow condition.

The next page allows you to set the parameters for an empty vessel. The smaller the range of weights is, the more accurate vessel detection will be when you have multiple vessels.

image

The final page is for the lid weight and nominal weight. If you don’t book in returns with the lid on, the lid weight doesn’t need to be filled in.

The nominal weight is the expected empty vessel weight. It defaults to half way between the minimum and maximum empty weights, but may be adjusted to suit if required. This is the weight used in overflow calculations.

image

Pressing the save button save the vessel configuration. Pressing back allows you to return to previous sections to edit the parameters.

Thursday 7 July 2011

Changing a Formulation on ColorPoint Manager

 

When you have made a correction to a formulation, typically on press by adding more of a pigment or another new pigment you can update the formula to reflect this change.

From the menu bar choose Tools | Change Formulation.

Change-formulation-1

In the Change Formulation panel select the formula you will be changing from the drop down list.

Change-formulation-2

Enter the weight of the original dispense you are going to change. This will populate the panel with the weights of the raw materials used.

Change-formulation-3

Now adjust the formula for the quantities added. In this case 0.1kg of 9448 Blue was added by double clicking on the quantity in the added column for the material. The formula is recalculated to reflect this change.

Change-formulation-4

Next 0.05kg of another Red was added. This material was not in the original formulation but is needed to correct the colour.

Change-formulation-5

The formula is recalculated to reflect this change after the Add button is clicked. The change can be made permanent by clicking on the Save button.

Change-formulation-6

Material Replacement

Occasionally it is sometimes necessary to replace all usages of a material within a formula with a new material that is replacing it.  Rather than having to edit all the formulas which contain this material manually ColorPoint Manager contains a material replacement function which allows you to replace a material in either all or selected formulas.

BEFORE YOU START

Before you use the material replacement screen we very strongly advise you to make sure you have a back up of the manager database.  Material replacements cannot be undone so it is important to have a back up you can go back to if you make a mistake.  For more about backing up and making sure you have back ups available please see the entry Backing up your data.  It is also advisable to save any unsaved changes and close any formula windows you may have open.

SAMPLE REPLACEMENT

For this example we will replace a material with the code ‘old’ with a material with the code ‘new’.  First we open up the material replacement screen by selecting ‘Replace Material’ from the Tools menu of ColorPoint Manager.
ReplaceMaterialMenuItem

Next you need to decide whether you wish to replace the material in all formulas or just selected formulas.  As you can see from the screenshot below, the default option is to replace the material in all formulas but if you select the ‘Replace this material in the following formulas’ option you can un-check the formulas where you do not want the selected material to be replaced.
WhereToReplace

Next you should decide which of the following options you wish to use when replacing the material, as you can see all options are turned on by default.
ReplacementOptions

There are 3 options that you can turn on or off depending on how you want the material to be replaced. The first option ‘Reapportion formulas after replacement’ reapportions formulas back to 100 parts if the total does not equal 100 parts after the material replacement.  This should be kept checked unless your formulas do not total 100 parts. 

The next option ‘Combine Materials’ determines what to do if the material you are replacing the old material with is already present in the formula. When this option is ticked it will add the old materials parts to the existing material.  When it is not checked it will add the new material as separate item (i.e. if that material was in the formula once before it will be put in twice).  This item should only be unchecked if there are some formulas that deliberately contain the same material twice.

The option ‘Replace material in returns’ is very important if you use returns on your site. If this option is not checked then the console will not suggest using any return that contains the old material with the formulas containing the new material.  If the old material and the new material can be used together then you should leave this box checked.

ONE TO ONE REPLACEMENT

For this example we will do a straight one to one replacement of the old material with the new material as this is the most common form of replacement.  Replacing a material with multiple materials will be dealt with in a separate post in the future.  Simple replacement is already the default option so all we need to do is select the replacement material from the drop down and set the material replacement percentage.
SimpleReplacement

The material percentage figure represents how strong the new material is in comparison to old material.  In this example I’m using 100% which means that the new material is the same strength as the old material i.e. if a formula contains the old material at 50 parts it will replace it with the new material at 50 parts.  If for example, the new material is twice as strong as the old material and you only need to use half as much of it then if you set the material percentage to 50 then if the old material uses 50 parts the new material will be added with 25 parts.  At this point all you need to is double check that the correct options and materials are selected and press the ‘Replace’ button and confirm the replacement.
Confirmation

IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG

If you’ve made a mistake when replacing a material or didn’t get the result you wanted then it may still be possible to effectively undo those changes depending on what they were and how your formulas are set up.  If this isn’t the case then it is best to contact Rexson Systems directly and we will either fix the problem or restore from your latest backup.

Thursday 31 March 2011

Backing up your data

 

Data backups are often overlooked. It is vital that you make regular backups of your data to protect against virus infection, hard disk failure and computer theft. All three of these have happened to some our customers at some point.

What do I need to backup?

At a minimum, you need to take a regular backup of the ColorPoint Manager database. the CPM database backup is found in C:\SqlBackup\CPM\. Backing up the most recent file to a USB flash drive ensures that we can recover your system in the event of failure or theft.

The files are date stamped and rotated by the backup scheduler. There should normally be 7 backups named ColorPoint.Manager_Full_date_time.bak. If your computer was switched off when a backup was meant to run (03:00) there may be one or more missing. Ideally you want these backups to be made every day, so if needed contact Rexson support to have the scheduled time changed.

If you look in the backup folder and there are no backups, or the newest ColorPoint Manager backup is older than 1 week old (date format yyyymmdd, e.g. 20110331) please contact Rexson support immediately.

What else should I backup?

If you have other software installed on the ColorPoint Manager PC, e.g. spectrophotometer software, Word, Excel, it will be important to backup those documents too. It is beyond the scope of this article to tell you how to back up the other data on your system. Please check with your IT department and spectrophotometer manufacturer for guidelines on what to backup.

If in doubt it is worth using an external hard disk and using the Windows backup program to perform a full system backup on a regular basis too. As long as the hard disk is as large as, or larger than the hard disk on the PC you will be able to make a full backup.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

ColorPoint Manager Reporting

 

Dispense Summary

The dispense summary can be run over a range of dispenses to provide counts and totals as follows:

Dispense count, total press returns issued, neat ink weight, return issue weight, number of dispenses with returns in them, weight of dispensed returns, weight of returns as % of dispensed weight.

 

Simple Formula Sheet

The simple formula sheet provides a simple way to get your formulas into an excel spread sheet for analysis. The report gives the composition of all selected formulas.

 

Job Costing

The job costing report gives a detailed analysis of all inks and returns issued and created in a job. The report can be expanded to include individual materials used. Substrate costs and run length statistics are also taken into account.

 

Simple Design Sheet

The simple design sheet provides a simple way of analysing the coverage and usage factors of multiple designs simultaneously.

 

Design Sheet (Design Estimation)

The design sheet provides a method of creating estimations without having to create a job first. Simply enter the run length required and, provided all of you costing, coverage and usage factors are accurate, you will have an estimation for that design.

 

Usage Reports (Material, Formula, Material Usage By Date)

The material and formula usage reports break down the dispensing history by month. The Material Usage by Date report does the same but allows for custom date ranges to be used where months ends or reporting periods do not correspond to calendar months.

 

Returns Report

The returns report shows the current return stock, with formula code, weight, cost, strength and date created for each return. Scrapped returns are not shown.

 

Return Usage Report

The return usage report allows you to view and compare the creation and use of returns over a number of consecutive periods. The periods supported are, Monthly, Weekly and Custom. Monthly and weekly work to calendar periods. Custom uses the entered date range as a whole and does not split over calendar boundaries.

 

Stock Report

The stock report gives and overview of the total stock levels of each selected material.

 

Stock Valuation Report

The stock valuation report gives a more detailed view of the stock situation. Tick “Include materials with no weight” to see items that have zero or less than zero stock. Tick “Include obsolete materials” to see stock of materials that have been obsoleted and are no longer available for use.

 

Material Batch List

The material batch list gives a more detailed view of the materials in stock. The material batch and serial number details are displayed along with the usable weight of each batch. Finished batches are not shown.

Monday 14 March 2011

Using Press Returns When Working With Jobs On ColorPoint Console

 

There are a number of ways to work off press returns on CPC. This post outlines the most efficient route when dispensing to jobs.

Select Job Item to Dispense

Go to the jobs screen and navigate to the job required using the navigation buttons on the right side of the screen.

image

A job consists of one or more job items. Each job item is a formula. The numbers to the right of the formula name indicate how much ink is estimated for this item and in brackets how much has already been issued against the job.

The panel at the left displays the job items on that job. Use the navigation buttons below the job panel to navigate up and down within the list of job items. When you navigate through the job items, a check is made against the returns database for the formula code of the currently selected job item. If a return with the same formula code is present, the “Returns” button will appear on the left side of the screen.

image

Pressing the “Returns” button will take you the returns database with the list filtered to the current formula code. Here you will be able to see all matching returns. If there are any returns that are a suitable size, you can issue them to press from here directly instead of topping up, remixing or dispensing new ink.

If there are no suitable returns and you need to dispense new ink for your formula press the select button at the top right. This will take you to the dispense screen.

image

The returns selection process in the dispense screen is more thorough. Once the required weight is known a check is made for any return that can be made into the target formula, not just returns with a matching formula code. If any returns can be recycled, the “Available Returns” button glows red.

To dispense without recycling any returns, just press “Start” or “Top-up” depending on the type of dispense needed.

To recycle returns in the current dispense press the “Available Returns” button.

image

In the returns screen you are presented with the list of whole returns that can be used. These returns will be fully converted into the target formula with nothing remaining. The advantage of this is that you may use the same vessel as the return is already in and simply top up to the required weight instead of decanting into a new vessel.

If no suitable return is listed, or you want to use part of a larger return first, press the “Part Returns” button on the lower edge of the screen.

image

Here the return will have to be poured into the dispense vessel. The list shows the weight of the return that will be used up. The detail panel on the left shows the actual weight of the return. On the screen shot it can be seen that 7.068kg of return will be used from a total size of 17.2kg.

To add a return to the list to be recycled press the “Add” button on the right. You may continue to add returns until there is no more remaining weight available to recycle them.

If you want to maximise the amount of returns recycled press the “Best” button. This attempts to recycle as much material as possible. Be aware that this could lead to having to manually add up to 8 or nine small returns, so this may not be the most efficient method for you to use.

image

Here “Best” has been selected, resulting in 3 returns being added for recycling. To continue press the “Select” button.

When the first return in the selection is a whole return, you will be given the option to use the return vessel for dispensing. Select yes if you want to dispense into the return, select no if you want to manually add the first return to a new vessel. Subsequent returns will always be added manually.

image

After making your selection you will see the dispense screen again. Notice that the “Available Returns” button is no longer red, and the recycled material amount has been filled in. In this case 97.8% of the ink will be recycled ink, with the remainder being new ink.

image

The “Start” button has changed to “Top-up” to indicate that you will be topping up an existing press return rather than using an empty vessel.

Press the “Top-up” button to begin dispensing.

If you change the weight to be dispensed, this will reset the returns list and remove them all from the selection. The “Available Returns” button will glow red again if returns are available for this new weight. This happens because with a different weight parameter some returns will no longer be viable for remixing, and the selection should be made from the updated returns list.

Friday 4 March 2011

Material Types on ColorPoint

 

One of the subjects that seems to cause a lot of confusion with more advanced use of ColorPoint is the difference between the various types of base materials on the system.

Here is a brief explanation along with some examples of where you might use them.

 

Auto dispense Material

The auto dispense material is the most commonly used on ColorPoint. It refers to a material that is attached to a dispense valve and can be dispensed as required without any operator intervention. When a formula is being dispensed and an auto dispense material is required, the requested amount will be dispensed and then it moves along to the next item in the formula automatically.

The size of a ColorPoint system dictates how many auto dispense materials are supported on that system. An 18 has a maximum of 18 auto materials, and so on. If an Auto Dispense Material is deleted or unassigned from a valve, it appears as a Manual Add Material.

 

Manual Add Material

The manual add material is a material that will be requested by the dispenser when required in a formula, but it is not attached to a dispense valve and so cannot be added automatically. The operator must pull out the scale and manually pour the requested amount into the dispense vessel using the indicator lights to tell him when to stop.

To ensure your dispensing operation is as efficient as possible, it is best practice to make your most frequently dispensed items auto materials. When all dispense valves are allocated, the remaining materials will be manual add materials. Generally due to the quantity, manual materials are added to the formula last therefore appearing at the end of the dispense order.

 

Non-Dispense Materials

Non dispense materials often cause the most confusion. These are materials that are part of the formula, but will not be weighed by the dispenser at all. when a non-dispense material is requested in a formula, the dispenser marks it as fully dispensed at the requested weight and skips to the next item in the formula.

There are two common scenarios for this type of material:

  1. The material cannot be added at the dispenser and must be added elsewhere in the process.
  2. The material is part of a larger batch and is acting as a placeholder.

 

Non-Dispense Material Added Elsewhere

In this case the dispense vessel will be used to add the non-dispense material so the capacity/overflow checks are carried out taking the requested weight of non-dispense material into account. So a 20kg dispense that contains 10kg of dispensed material and 10kg of non-dispensed material would give an overflow warning if an 18kg vessel was placed on the scale. The dispense completes with 10kg in the dispense vessel which is then taken to another part of the process where the other additives are added.

 

Non-Dispense Material As Placeholder

In this case the dispenser is only dispensing the pigment part of a batch. The non-dispense material will never be added to the dispense vessel and the capacity/overflow checks on take the actual dispensed materials into account. This allows an operator to request the pigment based on the batch size without calculating how much pigment is required. Consider that a batch of 2000kg of product is being produced, but the pigment portion is only 0.95% of the total batch. The operator requests a dispense of 2000kg, but only places a 20kg vessel on the scale. The capacity/overflow check passes as the non-dispense material is excluded from the check. 19kg of pigment is dispensed into the dispense vessel.

 

Limitations

A single dispenser cannot operate in both of the modes described above simultaneously. The setting that defines the mode of operation for non-dispense materials is set by Rexson personnel and cannot be altered by the end user.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Exporting Data and Performing Backups on ColorPoint Console

 

This post applies mainly to standalone CPC dispensers.

 

There are two methods of saving your data from CPC. Use an export when you wish view the data exported, or change it and import it again. Use a backup when you want to be able to recover the whole system in event of a failure.

 

Exporting Data

To Export data you need to be a level 3 user.

From the Main Menu page go to:

  • Configuration
  • Import-Export

You will see a summary of the material and formula data on your system.

  • Go to Export
  • Select the items of data you wish to export. By default al data is exported.
  • Press Export
  • The data is saved to the Export USB drive in the \ExportFiles folder.
  • The file name is [Console name]-[DateTime]-[type].csv,
    • e.g. CPC-14461-001-201102161559-formulation.csv
    • e.g. CPC-14461-001-201102161559-manualmaterial.csv
    • e.g. CPC-14461-001-201102161559-automaterial.csv

See the section "Accessing your data" for the next step.

 

Backups

A database backup is more comprehensive than an export. It contains details of your user accounts and their key codes, as well as any internal settings.All new ColorPoint Consoles have automatic backups scheduled on a daily basis. On some older systems this feature wasn't available. Please contact Rexson Support if you would like to check the status of automatic backups on your console.

To make a backup of your database you will need to be a level 3 user. Go to

  • Configuration
  • Backup/Restore

You will see a summary of the data on your system.

  • Press Backup
  • The backup will be stored on the Export USB drive in the \BackupFiles folder.
  • The file name is ColorPoint_Full_Date_Time.bak
  • If automatic backups are scheduled on your system there may be 7or more of these files, along with some other internal backups
    • The automatic backup system keeps the last 7 days backups in a rotation.

 

Accessing your Data

To access the data on the USB drive do the following:

  • Switch off the console using the power button on the front of the panel.
  • Open the side panel of the console cabinet. On hazardous systems this will cause the unit to lose pressure and will require purging afterwards.
  • Locate the ColorPoint embedded controller, near the centre of the panel.
  • moz-screenshot-1
  • Locate the export USB drive on the left of the controller
    • On early models with 2 USB drives
      • this will be a white USB drive in the upper slot.
      • or a silver USB drive labelled "Export" in the upper slot
    • On later models with a single USB drive this is the only drive.
  • Remove the USB drive and connect to your computer
  • Copy the contents of ExportFiles and/or BackupFiles
  • Replace the USB drive taking care to insert it the right way up.
  • Close the cabinet and power on the console.

Using Lists and Searching on ColorPoint Console

 

The Formula and Job pages of CPC have the facility to navigate through their lists an item at a time, a page at a time and by searching the codes or names of the items.

Navigating

To the right of the lists on the job and formula pages are the navigation buttons.

image

From top to bottom they are:

  • Previous item
  • Previous page
  • Next page
  • Next item

The navigation buttons “wrap around”. So pressing the previous page button when on the first page will take you to the last page and pressing previous item when on the first item will take you to the last item. Similarly, next page or item on the last page or item will take you to the first.

Searching

The main buttons to use when searching are these:

image

The left button is “Search”, the right button is “Clear Search”. Pressing “Clear Search” at any time reverts the list to all jobs or formulas in the database.

Pressing “Search” takes you to the search page.

image

Pressing the “? Code” or “? Name” button toggles between searching in the code of name for the text you enter. The search field preference will be remembered for your next search.

The text you enter is searched for anywhere in the code or name field. So typing “12” would match formulas “12”, “120”, “0012” and “ABC 12”.

Pressing the “Clear” button clears the search text.

On the left the image button allows you to step through the list of your last 10 searches allowing frequently used searches to be re-used without re-typing them.

The counter in the centre of the screen shows how many records will be returned by your current search. When you have narrowed the number of results returned down, press the select button image to apply your search to the list.

 

 

 

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Adding a New Material on ColorPoint Console

 

This procedure only applies if you don’t have a management PC. To add new materials on systems with ColorPoint Manager see Create a new material on ColorPoint Manager

 

Adding a material direct to a valve

  • Insert an ID key of level 2 or above.
  • Press ‘Material’ on the Main Menu screen.
  • Using the arrow keys clip_image002 clip_image004 scroll up or down to the valve number you wish to assign the material to. The selected valve number row will turn white.
  • Press clip_image006 (bottom of screen).
  • Press ‘Assign Colour’ (right of screen).
  • Using arrow keys clip_image008 clip_image010 scroll up or down to the row you want. Then select the colour by pressing the keys at the bottom of the column your colour is in.
  • Press clip_image012 top right.
  • Press ‘Code’. The text field will change colour, from orange to red.
  • Now you can enter the material code using the virtual keyboard. Using the same method you did when selecting the colour, scroll up and down the rows using the arrow function keys to the right of the keyboard. Once you have the correct row, you can select the character you require by pressing the key at the bottom of the column character is in.
  • clip_image014
  • Press ‘Name’. The text field will change colour, from orange to red.
  • Enter the material name using the same method as you did to enter the code.
  • Once complete press clip_image016.

 

Adding a manual material

  • Insert an ID key of level 2 or above.
  • Press ‘Material’ (right of screen).
  • Press ‘Manual Material’ at the bottom of the screen.
  • Then follow the above procedure from Press clip_image006[1].

 

Assigning a manual material to a valve

  • Insert an ID key of level 3.
  • Press ‘Configuration’ (top right of screen).
  • Press ‘Operations’ (second from top on the right of screen).
  • Use the arrow keys on the bottom right to scroll up and down to the valve number required. There are to hidden keys on the bottom row at the right that scroll up and down by 10 valves at a time to make navigation quicker.
  • Press ‘Assign Material’ on the bottom left of the screen.
  • Select a material from the list of manual material to assign to the valve.

Add or Edit a User on ColorPoint Console

  • Insert a Master Key in to key holder.
  • Press clip_image002 (top right)
  • Press clip_image004 (top right).
  • Press User (bottom right).
  • To edit an existing user
    • Using the arrow keys (bottom right) highlight the user/key you wish to change.
    • Press ‘Edit’.
    • Once on the ‘Edit’ page you can change the user name.
    • Note: NEVER change the key code number of an existing user unless you have been instructed to do so by Rexson support personnel.
    • To change the user level press the ‘Access Level 1-3’ key to until you arrive at the required level.
    • Press ‘Save’ (top right).
  • To add a new user
    • Press ‘Add’.
    • Enter the use name.
    • Enter the key code supplied with the key.
    • To change the user level press the ‘Access Level 1-3’ key to until you arrive at the required level.
    • Press ‘Save’ (top right).
  • Check the user details are correct in the master list.
  • Press ‘Exit’ until you are back on the main menu page.
  • Remove the Master Key for security..

An Introduction to ColorPoint Console

ColorPoint is a gravimetric dispensing system.

The most basic system comprises of a computerised dispense control console, a weighing platform and a dispense head which is attached to the pump frame.

The pumps and dispense valves are operated by pneumatic control signals from there relevant control modules.

The console is operated using Rexson’s unique ATM style console. The console has no keyboard or mouse and the user-friendly graphical software is navigated by simply pressing the appropriate buttons as required.

ColorPoint allows access to the following main menus:

  1. Dispense
  2. Materials
  3. Formulas
  4. Press Returns
  5. Stock/inventory

The console is accessed by the operator using individual ‘ID keys’. These can be set to different access levels. The ID key also allows traceability (with CPM).

In addition to the basic system, there are a number of optional extras you can have in order to make dispensing and administration easier.

  • ColorPoint Manager Software (CPM).
  • Link to Spectrometer.
  • Link to business system.
  • Barcode scanner.
  • Console label printer.
  • Pail mixer (manual or auto)
  • Conveyor system.

The most common system is the basic Console with CPM and a label printer. This allows the operator and the administrator to run the ColorPoint dispense system efficiently.

 

ColorPoint Console

Common Keys & Icons

clip_image002[4] Exit (top left) exit the page you’re in.

clip_image004[4] Help (top left) gives you a description of what each key does on the screen you’re in.

clip_image006[4] Return

clip_image008[4] Issue

clip_image010[4] clip_image012[4] Delete

clip_image014[4] clip_image016[4] Edit

clip_image018[4] clip_image020[4] Add

clip_image022[4] Copy

clip_image024[4] Search

clip_image026[4] Clear Search

clip_image028[4] clip_image030[4] Select

clip_image032[4] Save

clip_image034[4] clip_image036[4] Scroll up or down the page.

clip_image038[4] clip_image040[4] Scroll to next page.

clip_image042[4] Virtual keyboard.

 

Using the keys

All of the keys and icons are self-explanatory in their functions, however you do need to know what to press and when.

To use any of the function keys you must press the outer screen key clip_image044[4] adjacent to the function you wish to use, not on the on-screen icon itself.

If you need to enter information in the text field, you must first highlight the box so that it turns from orange to red.

This is done by pressing the clip_image044[5] adjacent to the text field. You can also use this key for backspace/delete to clear the original text or a mistake.

Once you have highlighted (red) the text field, you can enter your information using the virtual keyboard and colour palette.

You scroll up and down the rows using the arrow function keys to the right of the virtual keyboard.

Once you have the correct row, you can select the character you require by pressing the key at the bottom of the column character is in.

clip_image046

Repeat the process until all the information has been entered.