Equipment Controller

Code for operating benchtop equipment.

The Arduino serial port configuration is: 9600 baud 8N1

Arduino Port-to-Equipment Mapping

The ports on the Arduino for controlling the equipment relays are mapped as follows:

Benchtop Equipment Arduino Pin
Main Incubator A1
UV Transilluminator A2
Overhead Lighting D2
Shaker D3
Electrophoresis D4
Centrifuge D5
WL Transilluminator D6
Shaker Incubator D7

When the equipment controller is initialized, the equipment relays have the following state:

Benchtop Equipment Initial State
Main Incubator On
UV Transilluminator Off
Overhead Lighting On
Shaker Off
Electrophoresis Off
Centrifuge Off
WL Transilluminator Off
Shaker Incubator On

The keyboard commands to turn each of the equipment relays on and off are as follows:

Benchtop Equipment On Off
UV Transilluminator '1' '0'
Overhead Lighting '4' '3'
Shaker '7' '8'
Electrophoresis '9' 'A'
Centrifuge '5' '6'
WL Transilluminator 'B' 'C'

The Liquid Handling Robot Computer sends these commands to operate the benchtop equipment, but these commands can also be send manually. The Equipment Controller operates the Incubators according to a controller which reads the temperature of each incubator. They cannot be commanded manually. If necessary, they can be tested using the Controller Tester. The Enter Key (or newline character) does not need to be pressed for a command to take effect, however, if using the Arduino IDE for serial port communication, the Enter Key needs to be pressed for a command to be sent. When a command has been received by the Arduino, it will be echoed on the terminal to indicate receipt of the command.