As part of the Delvotest® Accelerator Smart (DAS)'s Working Principle🔗, uniformity calibrations are essential for making sure it is able to consistently and reliably determine the placement and light distribution across Delvotest® plates on the heating grid. In this article, we will guide you through how to execute it.
Required Reference Material
Get a 155 × 130 mm standard white printer paper with a weight of 90 g/m². It's important to ensure this cut-to-size paper has a matte finish and a whiteness index between 95 and 170 on the CIE scale. We recommend using standard printer paper (i.e., a typical white A4 sheet) cut to the size of the internal window.
Executing Uniformity Calibration
Once the required reference material is ready, follow these steps:
Setting up
Sign in as the administrator🔗and, in the top-right corner, click on the Calibration tab and then click on the Execute button for the Uniformity parameter's row (see below). This will initiate the interface's step-guide wizard.
Step 1
Activate Service Mode by holding the DAS's physical ⚙️ Settings button🔗 for 10 seconds. Its physical light indicators and display text should change from either Idle (⬜⬜🟩) or Heating (⬜🟦🟩) to Service Mode (⬜🟦🟩). Once that's done, go back to the interface and click on the Confirm button.
Step 2
2.1. Open the lid.
2.2. Carefully remove the heating grid by lifting it through the side-entries on the top and bottom.
2.3. Check the glass underneath the grid is clean—no smudges, dirt or dust particles. For cleaning tips, check out this article🔗.
2.4. Leave the lid open, and, going back to the interface, click on the Confirm button.
Step 3
3.1. Place the cut-to-size white matte piece of paper on the window, making sure the right side is completely covered.
3.2. Secure the heating grid on top of the paper.
3.3. Close the lid.
3.4. Go back to the interface and click the Confirm button.
The DAS should now start calculating uniformity, where a progress indicator will show (see below). Wait until this is done before proceeding.
Step 4
A report with a Result table should appear. There are two possible outcomes: either the uniformity calibration has been successful, or not.
❌ If unsuccessful
If the uniformity calibration has not been successful, the values on the Result table usually signifying light distribution performance across the heating grid will report a Valid parameter row result of False, with the usual Activate button also not being available, as exemplified below.
In this example, unusual light distribution was identified because no cut-to-size white matte piece of paper was inserted. However, in some rare circumstances uniformity calibrations may fail despite steps having been thoroughly followed. If this is the case, you will need to troubleshoot🔗 before proceeding.
✅ If successful
Step 5
If the uniformity calibration has been successful, the Valid parameter row should result in True, with similar values on the Result table signifying light distribution performance across the heating grid as follows:
| Parameter | Value | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gain Colors Min | 0.76 | 0.50 | |
| Gain Colors Max | 1.72 | 2.00 | |
| Intensity Avg Grey | 90.02 | 81.00 | 105.00 |
| Delta wrt expected distribution | 0.031 | 0.040 | |
| Valid | True |
If this is the case, simply click on the Activate button to proceed.
Step 6
The page should then refresh immediately with the Activate button being replaced by an Is Activated text.
Step 7
To continue, click on the Home button above. The page should then refresh immediately, with the following being shown:
Step 8
Then, simply:
8.1. Open the lid.
8.2. Remove the heating grid.
8.3. Remove the cut-to-size white matte piece of paper from the window.
8.4. Re-insert the heating grid.
8.5. Close the lid.
🔂 If you have multiple DASes, repeat this process for each.
Next Steps
If you're following the Installation and Setup flow🔗, now that you've calibrated your DAS(es)'s uniformity, simply stay on the same interface screen and check out our next article.
⏭️ Next article: Colour Calibration🔗
If you are not doing any other calibrations at this time, press the DAS's physical ⏹️ Stop button🔗 to leave Service Mode, and then, going back to the interface, click on the Home button shown above. This will return you to the Calibration tab, where the Age [days]'s column value in the Uniformity parameter row should now be '0' with a green colour indication🔗signifying the calibration is recent.
💬 Got any questions? Need help? Contact us at support@delvotest.com