Features of Alicat instruments

Easy to use, multivariate meters and controllers

• All flow and pressure devices are available with monochrome backlit LCD or color TFT displays with integrated touchpads, enabling users to easily monitor and control their setup.
• Flow meters and controllers measure volumetric flow, mass flow, pressure, and temperature. Flow controllers are additionally able to switch between controlling volumetric flow, mass flow, or pressure. Mass flow meters/controllers therefore double as pressure meters/controllers.
• Users can also easily change displayed measurement units from an extensive list of engineering units or adjust STP conditions without need for recalibration.

Flow over 98 and 20 custom gas mixtures

• Flow instruments are pre-loaded with over 98 NIST-traceable gas calibrations, ensuring maximum accuracy is retained when switching gases.
• The user can also create and save up to 20 custom gas mixes with up to 5 constituent gases per mix.

Note: Custom gas calibrations are available upon request.

User-adjustable measurement and control

The following features are available for all flow and pressure controllers.

• Easily configure setpoints with user adjustable setpoints limits.
• Control how quickly the device arrives at a setpoint with user adjustable setpoint ramping.
• Smooth out noise in measurements with user adjustable averaging from 1-255 ms.
• Maximize performance for your specific conditions and gas with user adjustable control gains. 

Totalizer, min/max tracker, and batch control

• All devices are available with free integrated dual flow totalizers (optional). This feature precisely tracks total volumetric and mass flow over time at 1 kHz, and also tracks the min/max measurements seen since power up or last reset.
• Controllers with totalizers have integrated batch control (optional), allowing users to dispense precise amounts of flow.

Monitor valve performance and set alarms to improve control

• Monitor valve drive (0-100%) to detect changes in differential pressure across the valve. This is a useful diagnostic tool, able to detect changes caused by debris entering the system or changing inlet/outlet pressures. Valve drive percentage can be added to the main screen during quoting, or through the device’s menu on devices with 9v firmware and above.
• Utilize valve close/open override alarms to control the state of the Alicat instrument. If the valve open pin on the Alicat is grounded, the device will override normal closed loop control logic and open the valve to 100%. This can be useful in situations where you may want to vent a process. If the valve close pin is grounded, the device will override normal closed loop logic and close. This can be useful in situations where something downstream of the device needs the flow to stop.

Autotune optimizes control in the event of changes

• Use on-screen menus or digital commands remotely to run the built-in autotune procedure. Called Optimize Control in the Setup menu, Alicat’s robust autotune algorithm lets you choose whether you want the fastest possible control, or a control that’s smooth and won’t overshoot or something between.
• If you’re repurposing a controller (mass flow, liquid or pressure controller), our mainline product saves you time and gets you there with no hassles. Great for integrators who are keeping an inventory of Alicats to use on different projects, or for labs that use the instruments for different experiments.
• Changes that might require autotuning:
  • Changing to a gas with a very different viscosity
  • Adding or subtracting volume to the process
  • Significant changes in system pressure, like changing from a bottle supply to a pump