Hi,
I am working in a university as some kind of lab-automation software engineer. We are setting up a new robotic platform and are in the process of acquiring the necessary devices. On the list is a MultiFlowFx dispenser but the LHC software is neither free nor particularly handy if you want to control your devices from python on a linux computer. Does anyone have experience with an equivalent (, i.e., multiple connected liquids) dispenser that is easier to integrate into a python automation framework?
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If the Multiflo has any automation interface at all it will almost certainly be accessible from Python. The most common limitation of automation interfaces is that they are restricted to Windows + 32 bit because of the dlls that provide the interface. I dont know of any that are specifically compatible with Linux (Id look for devices that have an http api in that case).
Idk if Id make a purchasing decision based on a devices software interface unless all other points of comparison were equal. You can make almost any device work in a Python context without a huge time investment.
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If it exists, it can be hacked.
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Yes, that is exactly my problem with LHC software. Even the new version LHC3 provides their BTLRunner.dll as entry point for automation and that is 32 bit. My (quite capable) colleague failed to get it running on linux and ended solved the problem with 32-bit C# command line interface running on a windows computer accessing this from a python application which in turn was accessible via LAN. Next point is, that the LHC software is not free. I went more with luis approach for a biotek washer ;-). Anyway, the problem with both solutions is, that they are complicated, more difficult to maintain, have more points of failure and in academia automation often gets handed over. So, purchasing decision can really depend on the integration possibilities.
Has anybody tried to reverse engineer the serial-communication parts of the LHC software?