QtKM User Info

QtKM is an application that facilitates hand tuning of devices. It is capable of interfacing with the knob box which allows the user to tune devices by adjusting the knobs.

Launching

When launching QtKM, a dialog box may ask about starting the knob/meter sever. If the console has knobs, click yes. You then need to load a configuration. Do File→Open and navigate to files/shared/groups/operations/NCSData and open one of the configurations (k500_legacy).

Application Overview

In the top section of the window are readback devices. These may display faraday cup readings, device values, vacuum, etc. On the bottom/main section is a list of devices that may be controlled. In general, you click the small squares and that selects that device to be controlled. On the bottom, there is a dropdown to select different pages, e.g. Ion source devices, injection line devices, K500 devices, etc. On the right there is a section for creating/restoring temprorary snapshots.

Snapshots

The snapshot section can store up to 7 snapshots that hold all the device settings for the page you are on. It only saves the devices that are currently displayed on the page, e.g. it does not save the injection line if you are on the K500 main page. It is good practice to click store on the top row whenever you come to a page for the first time. You may store multiple snapshots and can restore them quickly if you need to compare different tunes. The snapshots are not permanent and will disappear if the application is closed.

Device Selection

The small squares next to the devices shows which devices will be controlled by the knobs. Clicking on an empty box will enable that device (blue box), clicking on it again will disable the device (empty box). All devices with blue boxes in a column will be adjusted by the knob at the same time! This is useful in some applications, for example adjusting all three dee voltages at the same time.

Device Selection Scheme

The device selection scheme is configured with the small section above the snapshots. You can select between four options, and each one may be single, gang, or row. Single allows you to select any single device in each column. Gang allows you to select multiple devices in each column. Row allows you to quickly select a single row of devices. It is very common to use row by default. For the K500 Tuning page, option 4 is configured to gang the dees together and the inflector plates together.

Knob Rate

The rate that the knobs adjust devices settings may be controlled by right clicking on the “S” field. This brings up a dialog box where the rate can be modified. Electrostats whose settings are ~10000 V will need a higher knob rate (100), and devices with low settings like corrector magnets at 0.5 amps will need a lower rate (0.1). If you are tuning a device and it requires numerous turns of the knob to see a change in beam, you may need to increase the knob rate. If the knob is too sensitive, lower the rate.