BAM-2 Automounter robot states

For user safety, the robot motors are disabled at times to prevent accidents. When this is the case, the BAM2 interface status panel will have a red STATE box, and will read "unpowered" or "not_powered." Three things will send the BAM2 controller into this state:

1. The "Load_pucks" command will move the gripper arm as far out of the way as possible, then power off the motors for the safety of the person loading or unloading pucks.
2. A pressure-sensitive safety mat at the door of the X-ray hutch will power off the robot when someone enters the hutch.
3. The gripper is mounted to the robot arm through a force/torque sensor. If the gripper runs into something with excessive force, the robot motors are powered down to limit injury and damage.

If the automounter robot is in the unpowered state, buttons on the control bar must be manually pressed to restore operation. The robot motor control bar is mounted on the wall inside the hutch. In the unpowered state, the white "ON" button will not be lit. Take any corrective action to fix the condition which led to the UNPOWERED state. Then, to restore motor operation, press the green "MOTOR RUN" button. The white button should start blinking. Then press the white "ON" button, and it should be fully lit, and the robot motors restored to an operable state. The BAM2 interface should transition to the STANDBY state

In the STANDBY STATE, power is available to the robot motors, but the software is not accepting commands for execution. The State bar on the BAM2 interface status panel will read "standby" with a yellow background. The STANDBY state should be in place when the BAM2 interface is started up, presuming that the robot control bar buttons have been pressed.

The STANDBY state will be entered after an UNPOWERED state, once the buttons on the control bar have been pressed. The STANDBY state may be entered if the automounter encounters an error which is not a safety issue, such as the failure to mount or dismount a sample.

RECOVERING FROM THE STANDBY STATE: First, consider why the automounter entered the STANDBY state, and clear any error conditions. The interface generates dialog boxes which list likely causes of error. Then, find the ADX Manual Control panel, open the Automounter menu at the top, and click "Enable." This should send a command to the BAM2 interface and move it to the READY state.

In the READY mode, the automounter is ready to accept and execute commands. The State bar on the BAM2 interface status panel should be green, and the text should tell which command is being executed (e.g. "load_sample" or "rinse") or "ready" if it is between commands.