AutoFire DLS

(Data Logging Software)

SOFTWARE INSTRUCTIONS

Version: November 2007

For more information contact:

The Edward Orton Jr. Ceramic Foundation
6991 Old 3C Highway
Westerville OH 43082 USA

(Phone) 614-895-2663
(Fax) 614-895-5610
www.OrtonCeramic.com

Email:
info@OrtonCeramic.com

All rights reserved.

Protected by U.S. copyright laws and international treaties. Unauthorized
reproduction is prohibited.

© 2007 The Edward Orton Jr. Ceramic Foundation

 Auto-Fire Data Logging System

Table of Contents
Installation
Setup and Other Settings
Options
Profile Files
Start DataLog
DataLog Review
Print Data
Print Preview
Print Graph
Graph Controls
DataLog File Format
Graph Parameters

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Installation

Load the Orton Installation CD into the CD ROM drive. The software should auto run. If
not, select the appropriate drive letter for the CD ROM and select the Read Me file and
follow the instructions found there as shown below.

There is also a link to install standard cone-fire profile files for ceramic firings. This will
install the standard Cone-Fire profile files into the default profile file directory
“C:\orton\profile”.

Setup and Other Settings

To start the AutoFire DLS click on either the Desktop Icon or the Start menu Icon. After
starting the program the following welcome screen will appear. This screen will
automatically close. If you want to use to contact information or visit our web page, you
can use the About menu item to display this screen.

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Then the Setup Screen will be shown.

This screen assigns Kiln ID’s to Com Ports. The software is capable of monitoring up to
four Kilns at the same time. The Kiln ID is a user defined name for the kiln. The Com
port can be any available com port on your computer. This screen must be filled out the
first time the software is run, but unless you add another kiln or decide to rename the
Kiln ID you can have the software skip this step on startup.

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Options

The Options menu item contains the Temp Units Selection, Time Units Selection and the
previously discussed Setup Screen. The Time and Temp units selected affect the
Datalog screen and the Datalog Review screens and outputs. The units cannot be
changed when any of those screens are open. The units selected do not affect the
Datalog file. Those units are fixed.

Profile Files
A Profile file represents the planned firing cycle. Supplied with the software are the
standard Cone-Fire programs. These programs are detailed in the AutoFire Kiln
Controller User’s Guide. You can also create your own custom profile to represent your
firing cycle. Use the Edit Profile selection under the File menu.

The Browse button is used to change the profile file directory. The default is
c:\orton\Profile. The Profile files are text and have a .PFL extension. The Profile File
name field shows the name of all profile files found in the profile directory. You can either
select a file name from this list or enter your own. You can then load an existing file. The
Save Profile button will save the current displayed profile. The Clear button will set the
profile to all zero’s.

The Set Fast and Set Slow buttons accelerate or slow down the ramp rates by 20%. This
feature is useful for duplicating the Orton controller Cone-fire speeds of Fast and Slow.
This does not affect the last ramp step. A valid step has a non-zero ramp rate. Any steps
after the first invalid step are ignored. Any rate over 998 °C/hr will show as “Full”. Any
Hold over 99:58 will show as “Indefinite”.

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Start DataLog
To start recording a datalog select “Start Datalog”. This will bring up the following
screen. The only required fields are the Datalog File name and Kiln ID. The other fields
can be used by the user any way they desire. All of the information is recorded in the
Datalog file.

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After the Datalog is started the following form is displayed. This screen displays the last
data received from the controller, and graphs the profile and all data received.

The profile menu allows the user to change the profile or display one if none are
displayed. The Graph Params menu item allows the user to specify the colors for the
background, traces, axis, and grid lines. More information is in the Graph Parameters
section. The Close menu item will close the datalog file and close the form.

The graph has a set of buttons which can be used to change the display and also print
the graph. The operation of these controls is detailed in the Graph Controls section.

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DataLog Review

Print Data
This screen displays the Data in the file selected. On the left side of the screen the
information entered at the start of creating a Datalog. The Express checkbox determines
if the top, bottom and middle temperature data is display. The current units are used.
The print button brings up the print preview screen.

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Print Preview
This screen creates a data report containing a user specified title, the file header
information and some of the data. The data can be filter by either temperature or time.
The filters will limit the data based on the filter interval. For example: Let the time filter be
selected and the time interval be set to 30, the first and last data points will be printed
along with a data point for each time 30 * current time unit.

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Datalog Graph
This screen plots the data from up to 4 files simultaneously. It also has the capability to
compare two sets of data by plotting the difference. The Get Files button displays a
dialog to select up to four files which can be graphed at one time. The Graph Params
button brings up the dialog to select the graph colors. The Get Profile button allows the
user to select the profile file to plot.

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The Plot Difference button displays the dialog shown below. This will generate a new
trace where each point in one trace will be subtracted from another trace to create a
difference trace.

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Graph Controls

RESUME/PAUSE TRACKING BUTTONS

These buttons allow the graph to automatically track the incoming data as it is plotted.

AXES SCROLL MODE BUTTON

When the axes scroll mode button is active, the user can drag the axis and scroll the
view. When this button is selected, the axes zoom mode button is unselected.

AXES ZOOM MODE BUTTON

When the axes zoom mode button is active, the user can drag the axis and zoom the
view. When this button is selected, the axes scroll mode button is unselected.

ZOOM IN BUTTON
When this button is clicked, all axes are zoomed in by a factor of 2x

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ZOOM OUT BUTTON

When this button is clicked, all axes are zoomed out by a factor of 2x

ZOOM BOX
This button allows a user to rubber band a region in the graph for zooming into. The box
can start at any point, but must be dragged to the lower right to actually cause a zoom.
The zoom action will affect all axes.

CURSOR BUTTON
This button turns on or off a cursor. The cursor can be used to read specified values
from the graph.

PRINT BUTTON
This button prints the Graph. The background of the plot is changed to white and the
axis color and grid colors are changed as specified by the graph parameters.

DataLog File Format

File name: c:\Orton\DataLogs\BobsCup.txt

Batch ID: Run for Bob
Kiln ID: Kiln 1
Operator ID: Mike
Batch Notes: Fire a cup for Bob
Firing Notes: test the logging software
Start: 11/01/2007 09:33:23

Elapsed Time SetPoint Avg. Temp. Heat Rate Top Temp. Mid Temp. Btm Temp.
(Sec.) °C °C °C/Sec. °C °C °C

11.00 21.8 18.7 0.00000

21.00 24.6 18.8 0.00980
31.00 27.4 18.7 0.00000

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Graph Parameters

These buttons allow the user to select the colors that will be used to create the Plot.
When the “Default” buttons is pressed the colors will return to the last set of colors
saved. When the “Set Colors” button is pressed the following dialog will be displayed.

When you select the color of any of the traces or other color collections the following
dialog will be displayed. The user can then select the new color from any displayed or
select Define Custom Colors and select any of up to 16 million colors.

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Hardware Requirements
Autofire DLS software

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