Micronic RD235 Code Reader#

The Micronic RD235 Code Reader scans the side barcode of an 8x12 tube rack, acquires an image of the rack, and decodes the 96 tube DataMatrix codes locally. It does not require Micronic Code Reader or IO Monitor.

Property

Value

Model

RD235

Rack-ID communication

Serial trigger and response

Serial settings

9600 baud, 7 data bits, even parity, 1 stop bit

Rack image

TWAIN helper on Windows, SANE scanimage on Linux, or a custom Scanner

Rack layout

8 rows by 12 columns

Tube barcode

Ten-digit DataMatrix

Rack barcode

Code 128

OEM link

Micronic
RD235
Fullv1
barcode scanner
barcode reading
APIpylabrobot.micronic.MicronicRD235
code OEM

How it talks#

The side reader uses pylabrobot.io.Serial. A rack-ID scan clears pending input, sends <t> followed by CRLF, reads through the response terminator, and returns the first sequence of at least six digits. It returns NOREAD when the response contains no rack identifier.

Rack-image acquisition runs through PyLabRobot’s command-line transport. TwainScanner calls an operator-installed TWAIN helper; SaneScanner calls scanimage. PyLabRobot then performs grid fitting and DataMatrix decoding locally.

Physical setup#

  1. Connect the rack scanner to the computer and install its operating-system driver.

  2. Connect the side rack-ID reader and identify its serial port.

  3. On Windows, install the local TWAIN helper and note its path and TWAIN source name. On Linux, install SANE and confirm that scanimage --list-devices lists the scanner.

  4. Install the serial and decoding dependencies: pylabrobot[serial], pillow, opencv-python-headless, numpy, and zxing-cpp.

  5. Place an 8x12 Micronic tube rack in the scanner with the orientation expected by the instrument.

Connect#

Choose the scanner implementation for the host. This example uses a Windows TWAIN helper. On Linux, replace it with SaneScanner(sane_device="<device from scanimage --list-devices>"). setup() resolves the scanner executable, creates the image directory, and opens the side reader’s serial port.

from pylabrobot.micronic import MicronicRD235, TwainScanner

reader = MicronicRD235(
  scanner=TwainScanner(
    twain_scanner_path=r"C:\Tools\twain_scan.exe",
    twain_source="AVA6PlusG",
  ),
  serial_port="COM4",
  image_dir=r"C:\ProgramData\PyLabRobot\micronic-images",
)
await reader.setup()

Read the rack ID#

scan_rack_id() triggers only the side barcode reader. It returns the decoded identifier or NOREAD.

rack_id = await reader.scan_rack_id(timeout=5.0)
print(rack_id)

Represent the rack#

scan_rack() accepts a TubeRack with exactly 8 rows and 12 columns. Define the rack layout before scanning it.

from pylabrobot.resources import ResourceHolder, TubeRack, create_ordered_items_2d

rack = TubeRack(
  name="micronic_96_tube_rack",
  size_x=85.0,
  size_y=127.0,
  size_z=20.0,
  ordered_items=create_ordered_items_2d(
    ResourceHolder,
    num_items_x=12,
    num_items_y=8,
    dx=0,
    dy=0,
    dz=0,
    item_dx=9.0,
    item_dy=9.0,
    size_x=9.0,
    size_y=9.0,
    size_z=20.0,
  ),
)

Scan the rack#

scan_rack() reads the side rack barcode, acquires the rack image, and returns one entry for each tube position. A position reports NOREAD when no tube barcode was decoded.

result = await reader.scan_rack(rack=rack, timeout=90.0)
print(result.rack_id)
print(len([entry for entry in result.entries if entry.status == "OK"]))

Disconnect#

stop() closes the side reader’s serial connection.

await reader.stop()