Serial driver and command line tool for Alicat mass flow controllers.
pip install alicat
If you don't like pip, you can also install from source:
git clone https://github.com/numat/alicat.git
cd alicat
python setup.py install
###Command Line
For basic tasks, this driver includes a command-line interface. Read the help for more.
alicat --help
###Python
For more complex projects, use python to automate your workflow.
from alicat import FlowController
flow_controller = FlowController(port="/dev/ttyUSB0")
print(flow_controller.get())If the flow controller is communicating on the specified port, this should return a dictionary of the form:
{
"flow_setpoint": 0.0, # Mass flow setpoint
"gas": "Air", # Can be any option in `flow_controller.gases`
"mass_flow": 0.0, # Mass flow (in units specified at time of purchase)
"pressure": 25.46, # Pressure (normally in psia)
"temperature": 23.62, # Temperature (normally in C)
"total_flow": 0.0, # Optional. If totalizer function purchased, will be included
"volumetric_flow": 0.0 # Volumetric flow (in units specified at time of purchase)
}You can also set the gas type and flow rate.
flow_controller.set_gas("N2")
flow_controller.set_flow_rate(1.0)