Dosing Gun Setup
Fusion has the ability to work with automed and Te Pari dosing guns. Dosing guns can be used to deliver product to animals accurate to a 10th of a cc. They also ensure animals aren't accidentally double-dosed. Fusion will work with multiple guns at the same time, each one associated with a different drug. During a chuteside job, Fusion communicates the dosage or weight of the animal to the gun and listens for when the gun delivers the dose, recording the actual amount delivered.
This window is used to setup the guns that Fusion should be aware of for chuteside jobs. This documentation assumes you've already followed automed or Te Pari's instructions to connect the gun to your network and that they are set up as needed for use with Fusion. Please see their documentation for these instructions.
Adding a Gun
Click the + button to add a new gun. You'll first be asked to choose which brand of gun you want to add and then a new gun will be added to the list.
The next step is to pair the gun. This is necessary so that Fusion can identify this particular gun on the network in the future, even if it ends up with a different IP address. There are two ways to do this:
- If the gun has been given a static IP address, use the IP Address and Port fields to enter the network information for the gun. Then, after making sure the gun is turned on and connected to the network, click the Pair... button. Fusion will attempt to communicate with the gun and learn it's unique identifier. If successful, the gun will become paired.
- If the gun does not have a static IP address, click the Scan Network..., after making sure the gun is turned on and connected to the network (Fusion Client and the gun must be on the same subnet). Fusion will try to find all guns that are on the network that aren't already paired in Fusion and present you with a list. If more than one gun is listed, use the identifier to figure out which one you want to add. Then select the gun in the list. This will automatically pair it.
Once the gun is paired, use the Nickname field to give it a unique name. If you have more than one gun it will be important to know which one you are dealing with during a job. This is done using the nickname you give it.
You can also associated a drug with this gun using the Associated Drug field. This isn't mandatory as you'll also be given a chance to associate the gun with a drug during each chuteside job. Fusion remembers the last drug that was associated with a gun at each computer.
Removing a Gun
To remove a gun, select it in the list and click the - button.
Miscellaneous Information
Following is some additional information that may be helpful to know when setting up and using dosing guns with Fusion.
- When Fusion tries to connect to a gun during a job, it will first try the last known IP address for the gun. If the connection is successful it checks the gun's identifier to make sure it matches. If it doesn't, it disconnects. If the correct gun isn't found at the last known IP address, Fusion will then scan the network for the gun and connects to it if found. This allows a gun to be on the network using DHCP without a static IP address which simplifies setup.
- Some older guns may not support the network scanning function and must be set up using a static IP address. For example, Te Pari guns must have a wifi version of 2.3.2.0 or newer for the scanning to work.
- If you change the IP address or port in this window, the gun must be re-paired.
- The Dosing Gun Setup window cannot be used at the same time that a job is running on this computer.
- If you use the same gun at different chutesides, you'll need to set up the gun on each computer separately. Fusion keeps track of guns with the Physical Computer Management settings which stay with a specific computer.
Getting Here
You can open this window by clicking the appropriate Setup… button in the Physical Computer Management window.
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