Configuring device custom labels for VCA system

[Art]

Hello all,

We need to establish custom labels for the VCA system.
From my understanding, we should initiate an upload session with the Host to inform it about the custom labels, and the VCA system must be somehow notified of their existence.
Additionally, our request session configuration needs to be updated with these labels. Then, when querying the Host for job parameters in the future, it should include our custom labels among others.

So, my first question is: Is this approach correct?
And if so, can someone provide insight into how and when data exchange occurs between systems in this scenario?

My second question is: How do we execute this scenario?
According to the standard documentation, there is a UPL request type that should meet these requirements. However, the standard does not provide the format of the request with examples, unfortunately.

Thank for your help!

[Yaron [LaserOp]]

Art,

To clarify, are you (your devices/software) in charge of both the populating the label data and using it (you have earlier in the process a db or measurement machine that needs to put the correct values of the labels in the host, so that later down the line a different device of yours could request them with the job data) ?

Getting the values in the job data request, is the very easy part. Just ask for them like for any other labels, in the D block during initialization. Then when you request jobs, the host should send you these labels if it has them.

Setting these labels, is probably not really fully automated from your side, because the host may need to know more about them.

• Possibly not a big issue if you're also the source, but depends on the host. Some hosts may allow any interested devices to send labels, so if you make the listed UPL request and send a line/record like "_ART=3;2" (but with a more fitting name), then it will keep for that job these values, and if your device asks for _ART it will send them.
  But you'll need to talk with each specific host (software vendor of the host/LMS) to see about that. Because it's likely some/many won't just accept any random machine, and will need to configure their software to whitelist which device can add or modify labels, or even to list in advance the specific labels they're willing to accept.
• If you're not the source, and the actual data needs to come from somewhere else (extra info that the lab will need to enter, or the LMS will need to calculate based on data it has but doesn't send as a standard label), then this really will need to be discussed and agreed with each host developer. There's no way for a device to just tell the host out of the blue to calculate a special field for them, after all.
• Related, if what you need can be derived from existing labels, then asking the LMS/host to do it can be indeed be an option, but you can also consider doing it on your side if possible. It's more work on your side, and could make maintenance more complicated if it needs people in the lab to modify data continously, but it will allow your devices to work automatically without needing the actual custom labels or any extra work from the host. Some LMS are really good and capable in terms of data manipulation and logic they'll be willing to do, but others may be less flexible or some system that hasn't been in active development for years. So if you can do it yourself from existing labels, you'll have easier wider compatibility in more labs.

This, well, really depends on what sort of data these custom labels should hold, who is supposed to populate them and how, and which individual LMS/hosts you're working with. Again, depending on the actual details, if you have a lab you're already in contact with and plan to start your devices in, get from them the contact details and let the people managing the LMS know what you're going to need. Hard to give you any more specific details without more info.