Below you can find the VFTB software version history*.
VFTB 4.1.8:
- added temperature ramp in all measurements and ignore temp reference if reference temperature is below measured temperature
- added oven output power display
VFTB 4.1.7:
- technical release
VFTB 4.1.6:
- added parameter range references
VFTB 4.1.5:
- display of FORC parameters (time, hysterons and points)
- added notification window about the measurement being stopped
- check proper electronics initialization
- added initialization check in hall sensor
VFTB 4.1.4:
- technical release
VFTB 4.1.3:
- added Advanced tab to Settings with option to disable automatic gradient coils sine wave adjustment and non-linearity compensation
- added saturation field option to FORC measurement
- debugged sineamp change without sending command to uC
VFTB 4.1.2:
- changed aspect ratio of saved graphs to square
- removed window hide during start up
VFTB 4.1.1:
- set minimum sineamp during automatic adjustment from 1 to 20
- increase the minimum wait cycles in case of sine amp readjustment to 25
- added compensation for non-linear relation between sinewave amplitude and magnetization (this needs to be configured by Mag-Instruments, please contact us if you want this feature to work on your VFTB)
- added sinewave amplitude adjustment in case of CLIPPING.
- changed EM current limit handling in load parameter functions
- added quering and display of Firmware version
- added firmware upload function
- changed starting position in auto tune to be the present stepper distance, not the one stored in configuration file.
- hall sensor data displayed in real-time
- debugged identification of ramp finished condition
VFTB 4.1.0:
- new way of setting temperature parameters allowing unlimited number of ramps
- changed the set point temperature parameter to display the real set point read from Eurotherm
- changed the 'no temperature change' emergency shutdown from 300s to 60s
- added susceptibility amplitude in test measurement
- chaged default values of parameters
- fixed ramp temperature limit
- fixed temperature warning
- solved problem with outliers in temperature ramp
- added plot saving as PDF on "Save Data"
- added sample position autotuning
- solved BUG in temperature ramp where sineamp of first run would be always 200.
- solved BUG in temperature ramp magnetization, where all results were scaled by 10 (x10 smaller than real value).
VFTB 4.0.017:
- fixed bug in serial control of the Berger motor. If you upgrade from this version please contact Mag-Instruments UG.
- moved parameter saving from on "exit application" press to dialog OK press.
VFTB 4.0.016:
- added information about maximum position of the stepper motor
- debugged problems with measurement order
- data files contain measurement time in the "Time" field
- changed FORC to complete the cycles all the way up
VFTB 4.0.015 (24/05/2017):
- changes in hall sensor drivers should solve problems with old GM-05 Hirst hall sensors.
- added checkboxes to chose which lines should be displayed in temperature ramp
- added centered average filter to the temperature ramp. The width of the window can be controlled from the dialog above the plot.
- fixed data clearing upon pressing "Start Measurement" button. Now all previous data is erased whenever the button is clicked. Make sure to save your data before starting new measurement.
VFTB 4.0.014 (09/05/2017):
- technical release
VFTB 4.0.013 (19/04/2017):
- added line selection menu to thermo-magnetic curve, so that you can chose which of the data you want to display
- added data smoothing for temperature ramp
- now temporary data files are stored with experiment date in name and don't overwrite each other. This way you can access any previous experiment in tmp folder of VFTB4. Sometimes the folder may need cleaning.
- scaling of Susceptibility results in Hysteresis mode fixed
- susceptibility plot in Hysteresis mode displayed from 0.
- image of result plots saved in PNG format instead of JPG (the latter one requires separate libraries).
VFTB 4.0.012 (4/04/2017):
- added tool tips to help users select proper parameters. You can view them by hovering over the parameter name. We will keep improving the content of the messages in coming weeks.
- to help quickly review measurement results when saving the measurement data the program is also saving the result plots to the jpg files at the same name and path as the data file.
- other minor improvements
VFTB 4.0.011 (1/03/2017):
- fixed the problem where magnetization and susceptibility was not scaled by the weight in Static measurement.
- solved bug in custom measurement order.
- added warning when sample is set without specifying weight.
- last used data save directory is remembered and used during next data saving.
- parameter file saved together with data files under the same name. This allows users to look up in the future parameters at which the experiments were performed.
- older version of software skipped display of first 6 samples of thermomagnetic curve, this function was reversed in this version.
VFTB 4.0.010 (20/02/2017):
- improvement of communication with hirst-hall sensor.
- vertical axis of thermomagnetic curve changed to start from 0.
VFTB 4.0.009 (29/01/2017):
- removed standard deviation information from all measurements as it might be misleading.
- test measurement is now called static measurement. Also the results of magnetization and susceptibility, unlike before, are reflecting the properly scaled values of magnetization and susceptibility in this measurement.
- temperature warning now also reminds user about enabling the furnace.
- solved bug of program crashing when the parameter load window is canceled.
- fixed calibration procedure for VFTBs with extended susceptibility function.
VFTB 4.0.008 (11/11/2016):
- added 5s delay at the beginning of the temperature ramp measurement to give time for the sample to enter the oven.
- ignoring measurement order in the temperature ramp. The temperature ramp can be executed only in consecutive order.
- added continuous measured temperature update (5s).
- added temperature emergency check. If the set temperature is more than 40deg and measured temperature after 5min did not increase above 35 deg then the measurement will be stopped.
- a lot of minor improvements
VFTB 4.0.007:
- added measurement order configuration.
- overwriting of an existing data file prevented.
VFTB 4.0.006:
- first version working with the solenoid based VFTBs.
- solved crashing issue when using "Exit application" button.
- motor moves out when the program is started.
VFTB 4.0.005:
- changed the way the output data are presented for better readability.
- other minor internal changes.
VFTB 4.0.004:
- added box to set separately the maximum negative field in backfield measurement.
- changed file saving format into YAML ASCII file. It gives better control over content and allows for easy addition of new parameters. Also now the parameter files can be edited with a text editor.
- removed bug in IRM measurement. First column was used for all measurements.
- new field in the field list added on top of the currently selected field. In previous version it was appended at the end.
- added control for extended susceptibility unit.
- new sample name and weight set by clicking 'New sample'' button. Setting new sample results in all experimental data being erased.
VFTB 4.0.003:
- saving all measurement parameters, regardless of the checkbox selection.
- to add a new field to the list user can just press enter.
- added display of measurement number in the data output window.
- all measurements extended from 4 to 8.
- removed an unused menu.
VFTB 4.0.002:
- debugged FORC measurement.
- added feed-forward to the compensation control.
- added a present temperature display.
*this software is applicable only to the new versions of VFTB and VFTB with the control electronics upgrade.
VFTB 4.1.8:
- added temperature ramp in all measurements and ignore temp reference if reference temperature is below measured temperature
- added oven output power display
VFTB 4.1.7:
- technical release
VFTB 4.1.6:
- added parameter range references
VFTB 4.1.5:
- display of FORC parameters (time, hysterons and points)
- added notification window about the measurement being stopped
- check proper electronics initialization
- added initialization check in hall sensor
VFTB 4.1.4:
- technical release
VFTB 4.1.3:
- added Advanced tab to Settings with option to disable automatic gradient coils sine wave adjustment and non-linearity compensation
- added saturation field option to FORC measurement
- debugged sineamp change without sending command to uC
VFTB 4.1.2:
- changed aspect ratio of saved graphs to square
- removed window hide during start up
VFTB 4.1.1:
- set minimum sineamp during automatic adjustment from 1 to 20
- increase the minimum wait cycles in case of sine amp readjustment to 25
- added compensation for non-linear relation between sinewave amplitude and magnetization (this needs to be configured by Mag-Instruments, please contact us if you want this feature to work on your VFTB)
- added sinewave amplitude adjustment in case of CLIPPING.
- changed EM current limit handling in load parameter functions
- added quering and display of Firmware version
- added firmware upload function
- changed starting position in auto tune to be the present stepper distance, not the one stored in configuration file.
- hall sensor data displayed in real-time
- debugged identification of ramp finished condition
VFTB 4.1.0:
- new way of setting temperature parameters allowing unlimited number of ramps
- changed the set point temperature parameter to display the real set point read from Eurotherm
- changed the 'no temperature change' emergency shutdown from 300s to 60s
- added susceptibility amplitude in test measurement
- chaged default values of parameters
- fixed ramp temperature limit
- fixed temperature warning
- solved problem with outliers in temperature ramp
- added plot saving as PDF on "Save Data"
- added sample position autotuning
- solved BUG in temperature ramp where sineamp of first run would be always 200.
- solved BUG in temperature ramp magnetization, where all results were scaled by 10 (x10 smaller than real value).
VFTB 4.0.017:
- fixed bug in serial control of the Berger motor. If you upgrade from this version please contact Mag-Instruments UG.
- moved parameter saving from on "exit application" press to dialog OK press.
VFTB 4.0.016:
- added information about maximum position of the stepper motor
- debugged problems with measurement order
- data files contain measurement time in the "Time" field
- changed FORC to complete the cycles all the way up
VFTB 4.0.015 (24/05/2017):
- changes in hall sensor drivers should solve problems with old GM-05 Hirst hall sensors.
- added checkboxes to chose which lines should be displayed in temperature ramp
- added centered average filter to the temperature ramp. The width of the window can be controlled from the dialog above the plot.
- fixed data clearing upon pressing "Start Measurement" button. Now all previous data is erased whenever the button is clicked. Make sure to save your data before starting new measurement.
VFTB 4.0.014 (09/05/2017):
- technical release
VFTB 4.0.013 (19/04/2017):
- added line selection menu to thermo-magnetic curve, so that you can chose which of the data you want to display
- added data smoothing for temperature ramp
- now temporary data files are stored with experiment date in name and don't overwrite each other. This way you can access any previous experiment in tmp folder of VFTB4. Sometimes the folder may need cleaning.
- scaling of Susceptibility results in Hysteresis mode fixed
- susceptibility plot in Hysteresis mode displayed from 0.
- image of result plots saved in PNG format instead of JPG (the latter one requires separate libraries).
VFTB 4.0.012 (4/04/2017):
- added tool tips to help users select proper parameters. You can view them by hovering over the parameter name. We will keep improving the content of the messages in coming weeks.
- to help quickly review measurement results when saving the measurement data the program is also saving the result plots to the jpg files at the same name and path as the data file.
- other minor improvements
VFTB 4.0.011 (1/03/2017):
- fixed the problem where magnetization and susceptibility was not scaled by the weight in Static measurement.
- solved bug in custom measurement order.
- added warning when sample is set without specifying weight.
- last used data save directory is remembered and used during next data saving.
- parameter file saved together with data files under the same name. This allows users to look up in the future parameters at which the experiments were performed.
- older version of software skipped display of first 6 samples of thermomagnetic curve, this function was reversed in this version.
VFTB 4.0.010 (20/02/2017):
- improvement of communication with hirst-hall sensor.
- vertical axis of thermomagnetic curve changed to start from 0.
VFTB 4.0.009 (29/01/2017):
- removed standard deviation information from all measurements as it might be misleading.
- test measurement is now called static measurement. Also the results of magnetization and susceptibility, unlike before, are reflecting the properly scaled values of magnetization and susceptibility in this measurement.
- temperature warning now also reminds user about enabling the furnace.
- solved bug of program crashing when the parameter load window is canceled.
- fixed calibration procedure for VFTBs with extended susceptibility function.
VFTB 4.0.008 (11/11/2016):
- added 5s delay at the beginning of the temperature ramp measurement to give time for the sample to enter the oven.
- ignoring measurement order in the temperature ramp. The temperature ramp can be executed only in consecutive order.
- added continuous measured temperature update (5s).
- added temperature emergency check. If the set temperature is more than 40deg and measured temperature after 5min did not increase above 35 deg then the measurement will be stopped.
- a lot of minor improvements
VFTB 4.0.007:
- added measurement order configuration.
- overwriting of an existing data file prevented.
VFTB 4.0.006:
- first version working with the solenoid based VFTBs.
- solved crashing issue when using "Exit application" button.
- motor moves out when the program is started.
VFTB 4.0.005:
- changed the way the output data are presented for better readability.
- other minor internal changes.
VFTB 4.0.004:
- added box to set separately the maximum negative field in backfield measurement.
- changed file saving format into YAML ASCII file. It gives better control over content and allows for easy addition of new parameters. Also now the parameter files can be edited with a text editor.
- removed bug in IRM measurement. First column was used for all measurements.
- new field in the field list added on top of the currently selected field. In previous version it was appended at the end.
- added control for extended susceptibility unit.
- new sample name and weight set by clicking 'New sample'' button. Setting new sample results in all experimental data being erased.
VFTB 4.0.003:
- saving all measurement parameters, regardless of the checkbox selection.
- to add a new field to the list user can just press enter.
- added display of measurement number in the data output window.
- all measurements extended from 4 to 8.
- removed an unused menu.
VFTB 4.0.002:
- debugged FORC measurement.
- added feed-forward to the compensation control.
- added a present temperature display.
*this software is applicable only to the new versions of VFTB and VFTB with the control electronics upgrade.