Furness Leak Test

In this article:

Overview

Prerequisites

Station Setup

Configure

Optional - Download Product Numbers

Diagnostics & Test Runs

Using in a Production Sequence

Troubleshooting Tips

Overview

The Furness Leak Test step in Tascus MES supports two instrument modes:

• FCO730/750 – leak-only pressure-drop tester

• FCS489 – leak tester + auxiliary electrical (current) test

All F-BUS parsing and result decoding is handled behind the scenes; operators only select product names and read PASS/FAIL plus numeric values.

Prerequisites

• A PC station with a free COM port (RS-232/USB↔RS-232 adaptor or RS-485 as needed)

• Furness tester powered, cabled (Tx, Rx, GND) to that COM port

• Tascus MES installed with the Furness Leak Test plugin

Station Setup

1. Physically connect your Furness tester to the PC:

   • Null-modem cable (9-pin D-plug) for RS-232

   • OR RS-232→RS-485 adaptor if using RS-485 multi-drop

2. Confirm the COM port in Windows Device Manager (e.g. COM3).

Configure

1. In Tascus, open Tools → Furness Leak Test → Config.

2. Select:

   • COM Port – pick the port you identified (e.g. COM3)

   • Tester Type – choose FCO730/750 or FCS489

3. Click Save.

(Optional) Download Product Names

1. In the same Config window, click Get Product Names.

2. Tascus will issue the F-BUS Product Data command and populate a lookup list of all 300 product slots.

3. These friendly names drive the step configuration in your sequences.

Diagnostics & Test Run

1. Open Tools → Furness Leak Test → Diagnostics.

2. Pick a Product Name (from your downloaded list).

3. Click Run Test. Tascus will:

   • Select Product over F-BUS

   • Start Test (G000)

   • Poll Status (M000) until “Complete”

   • Fetch Results (L002) and decode PASS/FAIL + numeric data

4. The parsed values appear in the Diagnostics window—confirm PASS/FAIL, leak value (and current readings if in FCS489 mode).

Using in a Production Sequence

1. In your process flow, Add Step → Furness Leak Test.

2. Choose one of the Furness Leak Test Programs / Product Names.

3. When the sequence runs, Tascus will automatically:

   • Send F-BUS commands to the configured COM port

   • Monitor until status = Complete

   • Download & parse all result tags

   • Expose outputs to MES (PASS/FAIL booleans, numeric leak/current values)

Operators never see raw F-BUS hex or CSV—the plugin handles every low-level detail for you.

Troubleshooting Tips

• No response / timeout → verify COM port settings (baud, parity, flow) match the tester’s F-BUS config.

• Empty product list → ensure your tester is in “run” or standby mode so it responds to product-data reads.

• Test hangs → open Diagnostics log to see if Tascus polled M000 too rapidly; try increasing poll interval.

• Incorrect type → confirm you selected the correct Tester Type (FCS489 vs. FCO730/750).