Future Design MCT-CM, User Manual

Page: 98 / 247

MCT-CM
98
6.1.1 Entering Step Time and Set Points
The length of the step, loop set points and jump steps are entered by touching the corresponding row for the
desired entry in the list on the left side of the program entry screen. For example, to enter the time for the step,
press the first row in the step data list view that contains the time entry. Upon doing so, the numeric entry
keypad will be shown.
The length of each step is entered as a period of time in hours, minutes and seconds. To make time entry
easy, the entry will automatically be formatted into time as the number keys are pressed. For example, if a step
is to be thirty seconds long, just enter a value of 30. If the time for the step is one minute and thirty seconds,
enter a value of 130 for 1 minute, 30 seconds. If the step time is one hour and thirty minutes, enter a value of
13000 for 1 hour, 30 minutes and 00 seconds.
Note that one hour and thirty minutes is also a time period of 90 minutes, you can also enter a value of 9000
for 90 minutes, 00 seconds. Upon pressing the Done button, the time will be formatted and displayed in the
step data list view as 1:30:00.
To enter set points for each control loop, touch the loop in the step data list view and enter the desired set point
via the numeric keypad. The loop set points are used as the target set points for the step, i.e., the set point
that each control loop will arrive at by the end of the step. Each set point will then change independently of the
other set points in order to arrive at the target set point when the time left in the step reaches zero. Thus, based
on the time entered and the
set point of the loop from the previous step, the step will either be a “ramp” step or
a “soak” step.
Entering a Soak Step
The set point entry for a step defines the target set point, i.e., the set point that will be achieved by the end of
the step. Thus, if the set point of the step matches the set point for the control loop from the previous step, the
loop will soak, i.e., remain at that set point, for the entire step creating a soak step.
Entering a Ramp Step
A ramp step is merely a step with a set p
oint that is different from the previous step. The loop’s set point will
then ramp from the previous set point, to the set point of the current step, linearly over the time entered for the
step. This creates a ramp step.
NOTE: A step time of zero can be entered for a step to implement an immediate set point change. When
coupled with a wait for condition on the following step, there is no need to know the time it takes for
the process to reach set point. The wait condition can be used to trigger the next step, typically a
soak, so that the desired soak time is achieved without having to determine how much time may be
needed in order to make sure that the process reaches set point before starting the soak time.