Fast Cooling Furnace support

[GRyall]

Issue Description

As a user/instrument scientist I would like to be able to control the new fast cooling furnaces.

How & Where?

These will have Omron PLCs and be controlled by OPCUA. In February I was told that the first prototype would be ready in July/August. There will eventually be 12 in total.

Additional Information

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@davidkeymer and @KathrynBaker have also been to a meeting more recently and can add more details.

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[davidkeymer]

Some information from meeting on 13/04/2026:

• All 12(11?) units will be identical
• 10 will be permanently installed on instruments (believed TS1 only)
• Connected to private networks (one reason so that they can all have the same IP address for hot-swapping)
• Designers will talk to P&F group to decide on level of remote control offered to end-users
• Suggested implementing some form of heartbeat in PLC and continuously available status information to IBEX
• Next stage for ExptCtrls group will be when initial list of OPCUA variables has been created and test PLC set up

[GRyall]

Is it common practice for repeated use of IP addresses on private networks? Seems risky in that you are reliant on maintaining segregation of the private network to prevent clashes.

[davidkeymer]

Is it common practice for repeated use of IP addresses on private networks? Seems risky in that you are reliant on maintaining segregation of the private network to prevent clashes.

• Yes. For example, DAE, Galil and SKF controllers all share the same addresses across instruments.
• Each instrument's 'private' network is physically separate from the others' and so it would be difficult for devices to exist on more than one.