Fusion Client is used at chuteside barns. Fusion will recognize this and put it in a special mode where it expects to be run on a touchscreen computer. There can be as many chuteside computers as you desire.
While a wired gigabit connection from the office to each chuteside computer would be ideal, this isn’t usually feasible. Good point-to-point wireless radios in the 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz ranges with 100-1000 Mbps bandwidths can be installed and are recommended if wired is not feasible.
Fusion Client requires a stable, constant connection to work. Low latency and high bandwidth characteristics are critical, so care should be taken in choosing the equipment to spread your network to the chuteside areas.
The network switch at chuteside is often exposed to extreme conditions, electrically and otherwise. We recommend the switch be a high quality one and that it be protected with a battery backup.
When the network is not working, cycling the power on the switch and other network equipment will often solve the issue. However, if this is something that must be done often then know that there must be a deeper issue that needs to be fixed. We recommend not waiting until the equipment fails completely before you fix the underlying issue.
For the latest chuteside computer requirements, please see our System Requirements page.
It is possible to get an all-in-one computer and touchscreen that will withstand the rigors of the chuteside environment, but they are relatively expensive. Many chutesides have a small office which is kept cleaner and closer to room temperature than directly beside the squeeze. Where possible, we recommend buying a regular computer and placing it in this space. Then just buy a touchscreen monitor and run cables to it so that it can be mounted closer to the squeeze. This will be cheaper and allow for a larger monitor. If the monitor becomes damaged, it is the only thing that needs to be replaced.
When deciding where to place the monitor, consider the workspace around the squeeze. You will want it close enough to touch on occasion, but far enough away to be out of the road for most activity. It also needs to be in a place where it can be seen by everyone working. One popular design is to hang the monitor from the ceiling on an arm which can swivel to different positions, allowing for it to easily be moved to the best location for each job. Many of our customers mirror the display to an additional monitor or large television where is can easily be seen from the other side of the squeeze.
When you launch Fusion Client, if the server is on the same subnet, it should automatically connect. On subsequent launches, Fusion Client will attempt to connect at the last know IP address of the server.
If the client cannot detect and/or connect to the server, it will throw an error. Please see the Office Client Installation section of this guide for more details on what to do when Fusion Client cannot connect to the server.
Please see the Upgrading Fusion section of the Resource Guide for instruction on how to upgrade Fusion Client.
Fusion can work with any type of tag reader as long as it presents itself as a serial device. If your computer doesn’t have a serial port, it is possible to find serial to USB converters and serial to Bluetooth converters. We strongly recommend a wired connection to the reader. Our experience has been that wireless connections, such as Bluetooth, often are not stable enough for smooth processing.
If you use such a converter, there will be some software or drivers that need to be installed and configured so that the tag reader ends up looking like a serial device. Please note that every tag reader and every converter work differently and we are not able to help with the configuration of this equipment. If you are having trouble with this aspect, please refer the documentation that came with the tag reader and/or the converter or call the manufacturer for additional help.
Once the device is properly installed and configured as a serial port, getting Fusion to work with it should be fairly easy.
In Fusion Client, click the Options button in the main menu window and choose Physical Computer Management. Find the Tag Readers check box and turn it on. Then click the Setup button below the check box.
In the window that opens you will add a tag reader and tell Fusion how to communicate with it. Each tag reader must be assigned a specific custom animal ID. After that is done, select the port the reader will communicate on. If your reader is plugged directly into a serial port on the computer, the port will probably be labeled. If you are using a USB or Bluetooth converter, it will be the port you set up in the software provided by the tag reader or converter company.
Most of the other settings usually work with their default values. The tag reader documentation will specify the values that will work. Sometimes these values can even be programmed into the reader itself. Just make sure that the values in Fusion match the values on the reader.
The termination string may be the trickiest to set up. When a serial device is sending data like a tag number, it will send each character one after the other. At the end of the tag it will send one or more special characters that let Fusion know the reader has sent all of the tag’s characters and it can prepare for a new tag to be sent. These special characters are referred to as the termination string.
Because they are special characters they can’t normally be typed in directly with a keyboard. Instead, you must enter their ASCII representation where each special character is represented by a number between 1 and 255. If there is more than one special character, they must be separated by commas.
The most common termination strings are 13 and 13,10. This information should be in the reader documentation. Fusion also contains a tool called the Serial Port Debugger that can be used to figure this out. Please refer to the Serial Port Debugger section for more information.
Many tag readers can be programmed to only send the tag number once or to send it continually as it scans. Fusion works equally well in either mode. However, if the reader is programmed to detect duplicates and only send them once this can lead to unexpected results in some situations. Since Fusion has its own duplication detection built in, we recommend turning this feature off in the reader if it exists.
Most of what is written about tag readers applies to the temperature probe as well. This is because Fusion will only work with a probe if it presents itself as a serial device and most serial devices work the same way. So please refer to the Requirements and Setup sections for tag readers above.
The only differences will be that the probe’s setup window has some additional fields:
You will typically use a scale indicator to communicate the scale weight to Fusion. We refer you to the Scale System Information section for information on deciding which system to use and how to set it up.
Fusion can be set up to automatically control sorting gates during a chuteside job based on either the pen an animal is going to or the sort group the animal is assigned to. Compatible sorting gate systems must meet the following criteria:
If you have an existing system that is controlled manually, a capable electrician will probably be able to add a PLC that Fusion can talk to to control the gates.
Using the Physical Computer Management window, check the Sorting Gate checkbox and click the associated Setup button. In the next window, choose the port the sorting gate controller is communicating on and set up the rest of the serial port communication information to match the gate controller. You can get this information from the electrician who installed the controller.
In the Communication Setup tab, use the top area to let Fusion know how many sort directions the gate is capable of. Each direction may be given a name (which is used when setting up a chuteside job that will use the sorting gates) and a direction code that should be sent to the gate controller to move the gates into that position. If the direction code includes hidden characters (like a carriage return), make sure you enter the ASCII equivalents surrounded by less than and greater than signs, as the default direction codes show. You will need to get the actual codes from the sorting gate manufacturer. You can use the ... button to make it easier to enter these special codes.
The Settle Time setting is used to ask Fusion to wait a certain amount of time after the animal has entered the squeeze before sending a signal to the sorting gate. For example, if it usually takes two or three seconds for the previous animal to get through the sorting gate, you don’t want Fusion to ask the sorting gate to switch positions before the animal is through. Make sure you set this to a safe amount of time for your particular setup.
Fusion can work with the Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope which can be used to obtain a lung score for animals during a chuteside job. Most of the setup for this device will be done by whoever you purchased the device from. Usually this means placing some additional software on the chuteside computer, although it will remain hidden while Fusion Client is being used.
Using the Physical Computer Management window, check the Whisper Device checkbox and click the associated Setup button. In the next window you can change the port that Fusion listens for communication from the Whisper device on. The default is port 16000. This rarely needs to be changed and only if the person setting up the Whisper software requests it.
Fusion has the ability to work with automed and Te Pari dosing guns. It 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.
First, follow the automed or Te Pari's instructions to connect the gun to your network and ensure they are set up as needed for use with Fusion. Please see their documentation for these instructions.
Then, using the Physical Computer Management window, make sure the Dosing Gun checkbox is turned on and click the Setup button. In the window that opens, click the + button to add a new gun and let Fusion know which brand of gun you are adding.
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:
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.
Following is some additional information that may be helpful to know when setting up dosing guns with Fusion.
| The company mentioned below which made these electronic keyboards seems to no longer be in business. This section is left here as a reference for customers who already purchased a keyboard. |
An electronic keyboard can be used for entering sex, breed, color, source, and other information about an animal during a chuteside job without having to touch the computer. These keyboards are made to be mounted anywhere that is convenient including directly on the squeeze.
Electronic Keyboards Inc. is the company that sells these keyboards and Fusion only works with model 90 PKB-FMTH-CS-SSG1. Fusion can help you customize a keyboard layout before ordering. We recommend including a wall plug in your order to make it easier to wire power to it.
In Fusion go to Fusion Admin → Setup → Chuteside Jobs. Then choose Edit Keyboard Profiles from the Options button to show the Keyboard Profiles list window. From here you can create new profiles by clicking the New button.
When you create a keyboard profile you customize the function and look of each key. Just select a key in the window and then change the function, label, font, and coloring attributes. The help button in this window gives more details on this and explains how you let Fusion automatically layout a keyboard for you.
Once the keyboard is customized, use the gear button to create an email to Electronic Keyboards Inc. to place your order. Fusion will include the necessary information for the company to print your customized keyboard.
When you customized your keyboard by telling it which function to assign each key, you were also programming it. Make sure you save this profile which will be used later when you set up the keyboard at chuteside.
After you have wired power to the keyboard and plugged it into a serial port on the computer, you are ready to set it up in Fusion. In the Physical Computer Management window make sure the Keyboard Profile(s) checkbox is turned on. Then click the Setup button.
To add a new keyboard click the + button and choose the profile that matches the keyboard. Then choose the port the keyboard is connected to and click OK to save the setup. You can have as many electronic keyboards hooked up to Fusion as you like, and they can either be the same or customized differently.
If everything has been set up properly you should now be able to use the keyboard during a chuteside job. A suitable subjob needs to exist in the job. For example, the Change Attributes subjob needs to exist if you are trying to change the breed. However, the subjob doesn’t need to be selected in Fusion. Touching a key on the keyboard will cause Fusion to update the relevant value in the job.
