Interface DLL - dea.dll
PCDLRN.INI/Settings Editor - Section header title - [DEA_Interface]
This information covers machines with the Tutor, Tutor P, and DEAC (including B3P and B3PS) controllers.
If Tutor for Windows is installed on the computer, perform a straightforward installation.
The first time PC-DMIS is run, it locates the WTUTOR.INI file and extracts the relevant information about the location of the compensation map, mechanical offsets, etc., and sets the corresponding options in the PCDLRN.INI file. It looks in up to three different locations to locate WTUTOR.INI:
First, it looks in the PC-DMIS installation directory.
If the file is not there, PC-DMIS then looks in the directory in which the current Windows system was installed as returned by the GetWindowsDirectory function in the WIN32 API. Typical examples are C:\WINNT and C:\WINDOWS.
If the file is not there, PC-DMIS finally looks in C:\WINDOWS if it exists.
If you are installing on a computer that does not have Tutor installed, then you need to make the relevant changes to the PCDLRN.INI file and obtain copies of the relevant files. The main files are the COSDAT file and the compensation files.
COSDAT File
If needed, the file must be named COSDAT1.BIN. This is a binary data file.
If the \TUTOR directory exists and if the COSDAT1.BIN file is in that directory, PC-DMIS can use it directly from that location without needing to copy it to the PC-DMIS installation directory.
If the \TUTOR directory does not exist, the file must be placed in the PC-DMIS installation directory, which is typically \PCDMISW.
Controllers in the DEAC family can have a COSDAT that is resident in the controller.
If you are using version 2.23 or later of PC-DMIS, the interface can utilize the stored COSDAT for those controllers; in this case, you do not need the COSDAT1.BIN file.
If you are using an older version of PC-DMIS, you do not have one of the DEAC family of controllers, or your DEAC controller has not had the COSDAT data stored into its non-volatile memory, you must have the COSDAT1.BIN file available. If it is a DEAC controller and it does have resident COSDAT data, it can be initialized without having to download a COSDAT file.
PC-DMIS tries to use the resident COSDAT vs. the COSDAT1.BIN file for DEAC controllers that is controlled by the DEACForceDownload entry in the INI file as detailed below.
Compensation Files
The exact files needed depend on the method of VolComp that you select. If you select NONE, then no files are needed.
DEA Standard VolComp
DEA Standard VolComp is the method that has been in use with this interface. It requires a compensation file in the standard TUTOR format. You can name the file as desired. It can exist in any directory as long as you correctly set the INI file entry for COMPENS_FILE_NAME.
If you copy the file into the PC-DMIS installation directory, the file is often named COMPENS.DAT. No sink compensation is performed by this method.
If TUTOR is not present on the system, you need to place the file in the PC-DMIS installation directory. If TUTOR is present on the system, the first-time PC-DMIS is run, it examines the WTUTOR.INI file and automatically sets the file name.
If the file is in the \TUTOR directory, PC-DMIS uses it directly from that location without the need to copy the file. In that case, PC-DMIS and TUTOR share a single copy of the file.
If the TUTOR configuration is later changed to use a different file, PC-DMIS will not know about the change even though the WTUTOR.INI file was updated because it does not examine that file every time it is run. PC-DMIS only examines the file the first time you run PC-DMIS.
dea.dll (WCompens32) VolComp
dea.dll (WCompens32) VolComp is a DEA proprietary method that utilizes a DLL provided by DEA that performs the compensation. There are two versions of this DLL:
The older version supports a format for the compensation data that a new format has replaced. PC-DMIS expects the file name for the DLL in the older format to be WCompens32.dll.
The newer version of the DLL supports only the newer data format. PC-DMIS expects the file name for the DLL in the newer format to be WCompens32_2.dll.
Both DLLs require a compensation file in the same format that TUTOR uses. (Older versions of TUTOR use the older format for that data. Newer versions of TUTOR use the newer format.)
It also requires three additional files, RCXFILE.TXT, RMXFILE.TXT, and FZYFILE.TXT, utilized for the sink compensation. The compensation data file is identified by the INI file entry for NEWCOMPENS_FNAME. In addition, if it is being used on one of the large systems with dual readers on one axis (usually the X axis), the DLL automatically looks for another file named LXXD1.DAT in the C:\WTUTOR directory.
The three .TXT files and the DLL must be in the PC-DMIS installation directory. See "Additional Notes" for more details about the various DLLs and related files that must be present for this VolComp method to function properly. This VolComp method will most typically be used on horizontal arm machines or dual reader machines.
If you are using this VolComp method, it is important that the WCompensMode option is set correctly. If you are using a dual-arm machine, it is important to set ARM2CompMode=True for the arm with a negative stroke. For more information, see "Interface-Specific Options."
ASI VolComp
ASI VolComp is the normal method that ASI service representatives use when they perform their own laser calibration of a machine. Normally, this results in a compensation file named COMPENS.DAT. It is stored in the PC-DMIS installation directory.
The internal format of this file is not the same as the TUTOR standard format.
Brown & Sharpe VolComp
Brown & Sharpe VolComp is the method frequently used on controllers such as the SHARPE32. It can also be applied to other controllers.
This method uses a compensation file named COMP.DAT.