How do you connect a D25 NC directly to a LIMs system? Follow

FAQ: “Do you know of anyone that has connected the D25 NC to a LIMs system?… I get the D25 NC hooked up and I can see that it is connected to my computer through USB but I don’t see any data that can be pulled from the equipment. Do you have any other resources about how the data is sent, like the format and how I can see that data on the computer?”

HunterLab does not support specific third-party LIMs systems but does provide multiple ways to output human-readable data records in ASCII format to different output devices.

When the Print function is selected by the operator after a measurement, what is sent out to all USB ports is human-readable, 8-bit ASCII record of the color information (English only) on the D25 NC display screen, plus the spectral data record for the measurement.

Production Tip: Pressing the "PRINT" function on the D25 NC implements a manual output of the data record. You can further optimize sending out the data record by setting the AutoSave feature to ON under Main Menu/Global Options such that every time a measurement is taken, the data is automatically sent to all USB ports including the back USB to be collected by the LIMs system.

Typical output of a USB data record.

What is needed for LIMs Connection and Configuration

• HunterLab D25 NC sensor
• Attach the USB Adapter Cable (A21-1014-375 USB Adapter Cable, Standard-A receptacle to Standard B plug, 1 meter long, supplied as standard by HunterLab) at the back of the D25 NC turntable. Plug the Standard B receptacle into the back of the D25 NC beside the power cable and the Standard-A USB plug into the PC
• Capture program for viewing USB data record output for LIMs integration

If an IT professional integrates the ColorFlex EZ into LIMs system, they typically would have a utility program for viewing the data record output being sent out the back USB port of the ColorFlex EZ.

If you do not have this USB communications program, contact HunterLab for a CFEZ MSEZ D25 NC USB Data Capture program to allow viewing of the data record output.

Once the data record leaves the USB port, the LIMs integrator can parse out what the color information from the record that needs to be collected and stored in the LIMs.

FAQ: “Can the data output of the D25 NC be modified have any way to save what is coming to it – automatically or manually? (I don’t see a file menu option in your screen cap).”

No. This data capture program allows you to see what is coming out after the “Print” button is pressed or AutoSave (better) is turned on. The LIMs integrator has to write a program, typically in the LIMs,  to parse the captured data for what you need and save then save it.

FAQ: “I was able to contact our LIMs supplier and they gave me the information we need from your company, in order to set up communication with the equipment. This consists of baud rate, parity, data bits, stop bits, flow control, and buffer size.”

Definition of these parameters is important with Serial communication protocols, but with USB communication where the D25 NC acts as a device to the PC host, all of these data parameters set by the USB protocol. All the LIMs integrator has to do is capture the data record coming out of the back D25 NC USB port and parse out the color values they want to collect.