catalight.equipment.heating.watlow.Heater

class catalight.equipment.heating.watlow.Heater

Bases: object

Connect with and controls Watlow Heater.

Allows ramping, reading set point and current temperature, and running test on heater, printing output

__init__()

Connect to watlow, print current state.

Methods

__init__()

Connect to watlow, print current state.

disconnect()

Run shut_down() and then close connection.

ramp(T2[, T1, temp_units, record])

Ramp the heater from T1 to T2 at ramp rate defined by instance attr.

read_setpoint([temp_units])

Read current controller setpoint in defined units (default = C).

read_temp([temp_units])

Read current controller temp in defined units (default = C).

shut_down()

Set heater to 0 F.

test_heater_performance(savepath, rates, T_max)

Loops through provided ramp rates, ramps heater, save outcomes.

Attributes

max_temp

Max temp in C; 650C reduces lifetime 900C is real max.

is_busy

Used to block access from other threads

ramp_rate

C/min used for ramp method
disconnect()

Run shut_down() and then close connection.

is_busy

Used to block access from other threads

max_temp = 650

Max temp in C; 650C reduces lifetime 900C is real max. To change, use Heater.max_temp = new_value

Type:

int or float

ramp(T2, T1=None, temp_units='C', record=False)

Ramp the heater from T1 to T2 at ramp rate defined by instance attr.

If record=True, records the time, setpoint, and temp. Plots outcome.

Parameters:

  • T2 (float) – Target setpoint

  • T1 (float) – Starting setpoint Uses the last setpoint if None. None is default.

  • temp_units (str) – C, K, or F. The default is ‘C’.

  • record (bool) – If True, will record setpoints during ramp, plot outcome, and return readout dataframe and plot. Mainly used for testing heater performance.

Returns:

  • pandas.DataFrame, when record=True – pandas.DataFrame with columns [‘time’, ‘set point’, ‘temperature’] recorded during the experiment.

  • matplotlib.pyplot.figure, when record=True – figure handle for ramp rate plot

  • matplotlib.pyplot.axis, when record=True – axis handle for ramp rate plot

ramp_rate

C/min used for ramp method

read_setpoint(temp_units='C')

Read current controller setpoint in defined units (default = C).

Parameters:

temp_units (str, optional) – (C, K, or F) units to return temp in. The default is ‘C’.

Returns:

Current setpoint in requested units, rounded to 3 digits.

Return type:

float

read_temp(temp_units='C')

Read current controller temp in defined units (default = C).

Parameters:

temp_units (str, optional) – (C, K, or F) units to return temp in. The default is ‘C’.

Returns:

Current temperature in requested units.

Return type:

float

shut_down()

Set heater to 0 F.

test_heater_performance(savepath, rates, T_max, T_min=30)

Loops through provided ramp rates, ramps heater, save outcomes.

Sets heater to 20C, gives 5 min to steady out. Loops through ramp rates while recording the outcome (Heater.ramp(record=True)). Saves results. Always lets heater cool to < 30C between runs.

Parameters:

  • savepath (str) – Full path to directory in which to save data.

  • rates (list[int or float]) – (deg C/min) List of heater ramp rates to test e.g. [5, 10, 15, 20]

  • T_max (int or float) – (deg C) Maximum temperature setpoint to use for testing

  • T_min (int or float, optional) – (deg C) Starting setpoint to use for testing. The default is 30.

Return type:

None