Chapter 8 BeamSquared Automation Interface
BeamSquared provides an application programming interface (API) via .NET components to allow users the
ability to build custom applications that incorporate the laser beam analysis and processing power of
BeamSquared. The BeamSquared Automation Interface allows custom applications to open/close
BeamSquared, control settings and M
2
settings, access camera data and calculated results, and export
measurement data to files.
The ability to base control decisions for a second application on the results and behaviors of BeamSquared
allows users to quickly and efficiently meet their manufacturing/analysis goals with minimal human interaction.
Another popular use of the Automation Interface is to create companion applications to augment regular user-
assisted operations in BeamSquared.
Ophir-Spiricon is dedicated to protect users from changes in underlying implementation as BeamSquared
evolves. In order to facilitate this goal, it is important that the user be given stable abstractions to program
against, and to allow BeamSquared to evolve as new features are added.
To this end, BeamSquared’s automation interface is presented as a set of interfaces that collectively expose
the functionality of the application. Access to these various interfaces is provided by programmatically creating
one concrete class known as AutomatedBeamSquared. The BeamSquared interfaces may grow over time but
will not be renamed or fundamentally modified to change the inputs and outputs of each interface.
Evolution of the Automation Interface 8.1
Ophir-Spiricon’s older products used an ActiveX/COM server to provide an automation interface. More recent
technologies, like .NET, provide more fully featured programming functionality. Recent developments in
remoting technologies allow nearly transparent interaction between machines on the same domain. This allows
the user to leverage more than one PC while using BeamSquared for analysis. COM remote operation is more
difficult to use and setup when compared to its .NET counterpart. For this reason, BeamSquared’s Automation
Interface was developed using Microsoft’s .NET infrastructure. Any .NET application should easily integrated
and be able to interact with the core functionalities provided by BeamSquared.
Recommended Skill Set 8.2
Over the years, Ophir-Spiricon has learned that to design a proper automation client for products similar to
BeamSquared requires a skill level comparable to that of a degreed and experienced computer programmer.
Even with this background, a learning curve is necessary to achieve an acceptable level of competency. Very
often Ophir-Spiricon’s Service and Engineering departments are contacted by individuals that are assigned to
design an automation interface, but lack a sufficient technical background. To assist your company in making a
good employee fit for this type of work, we offer the following guidelines for the minimal skill sets needed.
To interface with LabVIEW you need:
An understanding of .NET programming methods.
An understanding of LabVIEW .NET Connectivity objects.
Prior, and recent, experience designing and deploying National Instruments LabVIEW VI’s in an
automation environment.
Review Ophir-Spiricon’s Automation Documentation (see section 8.3). If you don’t know immediately
what this means and how to use it, we strongly recommend that you contract a consulting LabVIEW
developer to design your company’s automation client.
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