Instructions+Protocol Manual MC 2000T2

COUTH MC 2000T
Instruction Manual
MC 2000 T
Controller
1. INTRODUCTION
2. SPECIFICATIONS
3. INSTALLATION
4. MARKING FEATURES
10
5. OPERATION BASICS
14
5.1. Components of the MC 2000T Controller
14
5.2. Browsing the Screens
17
5.2.1. Menu and Parameters Screens
18
5.2.2. EDITION and INSERT screens
20
5.2.3. Overlapping Windows
21
6. MARKING EXAMPLES
25
6.1. Simple Marking
26
6.2. File Management
27
6.3. Marking Several Lines
28
6.4. Marking Special Characters
29
6.5. Changing the Marking Parameters
30
6.6. Angle Marking
31
6.7. Arc Marking
32
6.8. Marking Special Functions
34
6.9. DataMatrix Marking
35
6.10. Logotype Marking
37
7. SCREENS DESCRIPTION
38
7.1. HOME PAGE Screen
38
7.2. TEST Screen
39
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7.3. MAIN Menu
39
7.4. EDITION Screen
40
7.4.1. Editing counters
41
7.4.2. DataMatrix Codes
42
7.5. FONT Overlapping Window
43
7.6. FORCE & SPEED Overlapping Window
43
7.7. POSITION & SHAPE Overlapping Window
45
7.8. INSERT Screen
46
7.9. PREVIEW Screen
51
7.10. MARKING Screen
52
7.11. FILES Screen
53
7.12. PARAMETERS Menu
54
7.13. MECHANICS PARAMETERS Menu
55
7.14. MARKING AREA Screen
56
7.15. TRANSMISSION Screen
57
7.16. HEAD Screen
58
7.17. MOTOR Screen
59
7.18. PORTABLE MACHINE Screen
60
7.19. QUICK CONFIGURATION Screen
60
7.20. MARKING PARAMETERS Screen
61
7.21. EDITION PARAMETERS Screen
62
7.22. CONTROLLER PARAMETERS Screen
63
7.23. SHIFTS Screen
64
7.24. CALENDAR Screen
64
7.25. COUNTERS Screen
65
7.26. COMMUNICATIONS Screen
67
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7.27. STATISTICS Screen
67
7.28. LANGUAGE Screen
68
7.29. PASSWORD Screen
68
7.30. CONTROLLER Screen
70
7.31. TIMERS Screen
70
7.32. MEMORY CARD Screen
71
8. BARCODE READERS
72
8.1. Connection
72
8.2. Use
73
9. BINARY IO MARKING
74
ANNEX
76
A.1. Overall Dimensions
76
A.2. Fonts
77
A.2.1. Gulim
77
A.2.2. Courier
77
A.2.2. MonoS
77
A.2.3. MS5x7
78
A.3. Electrical schematics
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PICTURES INDEX
Picture 1 HOME PAGE.......................................................................................................... 8
Picture 2 TEST screen .......................................................................................................... 9
Picture 3 Text combined with logotype and DataMatrix code................................................ 10
Picture 4 Text marked using different fonts .......................................................................... 10
Picture 5 Text with different character heights...................................................................... 11
Picture 6 Text with different character widths ....................................................................... 11
Picture 7 Text with different character spacings ................................................................... 11
Picture 8 Text with different marking dots densities.............................................................. 12
Picture 9 Coordinates of a marking area .............................................................................. 12
Picture 10 Marking in various directions............................................................................... 13
Picture 11 Front face of the MC 2000T controller................................................................ 14
Picture 12 Back panel of MC 2000T controller .................................................................... 15
Picture 13 General screen format ........................................................................................ 17
Picture 14 Menu Screen and Parameters Screen................................................................. 18
Picture 15 Editable alphanumeric parameter........................................................................ 18
Picture 16 Parameter with values from a closed list ............................................................. 19
Picture 17 Prompt for saving changes.................................................................................. 20
Picture 18 Text editing......................................................................................................... 20
Picture 19 Selecting one line in the EDITION screen............................................................ 21
Picture 20 Line selection in an overlapping window.............................................................. 22
Picture 21 Selecting parameters in an overlapping window .................................................. 22
Picture 22 Editing a parameter in an overlapping window..................................................... 23
Picture 23 Editable numerical parameter in an overlapping window...................................... 23
Picture 24 Parameter with value from a closed list in an overlapping window ....................... 24
Picture 25 Editing the text of a Simple Marking example ...................................................... 26
Picture 26 Simulation of the example................................................................................... 27
Picture 27 File saving .......................................................................................................... 27
Picture 28 Editing a sample text on various lines ................................................................. 28
Picture 29 Preview of previous example marking ................................................................. 29
Picture 30 Capital/Small Letter icon in the EDITION screen .................................................. 29
Picture 31 Special symbol window overlapping the EDITION screen.................................... 30
Picture 32 Preview of angle marking.................................................................................... 32
Picture 33 Convex arc and concave arc............................................................................... 33
Picture 34 Arc radii .............................................................................................................. 33
Picture 35 Angles of arc markings ....................................................................................... 34
Picture 36 Editing special functions...................................................................................... 35
Picture 37 Editing DataMatrix codes .................................................................................... 36
Picture 38 Editing logotypes ................................................................................................ 37
Picture 39 Screens map ...................................................................................................... 38
Picture 40 HOME PAGE...................................................................................................... 38
Picture 41 TEST screen....................................................................................................... 39
Picture 42 MAIN Menu ........................................................................................................ 40
Picture 43 EDIT screen....................................................................................................... 40
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Picture 44 Special symbols window ..................................................................................... 41

Picture 45 Editing counters.................................................................................................. 42
Picture 46 Entering text for DataMatrix coding ..................................................................... 42
Picture 47 FONT overlapping window.................................................................................. 43
Picture 48 FORCE & SPEED overlapping window ............................................................... 44
Picture 49 POSITION & SHAPE overlapping window........................................................... 45
Picture 50 Marking at different inclination angle ................................................................... 45
Picture 51 Convex arc marking and Concave arc marking ................................................... 46
Picture 52 Horizontal mirror-symmetric marking................................................................... 46
Picture 53 Vertical mirror-symmetric marking....................................................................... 46
Picture 54 INSERT Screen .................................................................................................. 47
Picture 55 Edit and Preview screens of a marking containing fixed text, special calendar mark
and DataMatrix Code ............................................................................................................. 51
Picture 56 PREVIEW Screen............................................................................................... 51
Picture 57 Error message on the PREVIEW screen ............................................................. 52
Picture 58 MARKING screen ............................................................................................... 52
Picture 59 FILES screen...................................................................................................... 53
Picture 60 FILES screen opened from the MARK screen ..................................................... 54
Picture 61 PARAMETERS Menu ......................................................................................... 55
Picture 62 MECHANICS PARAMETERS screen.................................................................. 56
Picture 63 MARKING AREA screen..................................................................................... 57
Picture 64 TRANSMISSION screen ..................................................................................... 57
Picture 65 HEAD screen....................................................................................................... 58
Picture 66 MOTOR screen .................................................................................................. 59
Picture 67 PORTABLE MACHINE screen ............................................................................ 60
Picture 68 QUICK CONFIGURATION screen ...................................................................... 61
Picture 69 MARKING PARAMETERS screen ...................................................................... 61
Picture 70 EDITION PARAMETERS screen ........................................................................ 62
Picture 71 Text selfcentering along the X and Y axes........................................................... 63
Picture 72 CONTROLLER PARAMETERS screen............................................................... 63
Picture 73 SHIFTS Screen .................................................................................................. 64
Picture 74 CALENDAR Screen............................................................................................ 65
Picture 75 COUNTERS Screen ........................................................................................... 66
Picture 76 COMMUNICATIONS Screen .............................................................................. 67
Picture 77 STATISTICS Screen........................................................................................... 68
Picture 78 LANGUAGE Screen............................................................................................ 68
Picture 79 PASSWORD Screen........................................................................................... 69
Picture 80 Password prompting window............................................................................... 69
Picture 81 CONTROLLER screen........................................................................................ 70
Picture 82 TIMERS screen .................................................................................................. 70
Picture 83 MEMORY CARD screen ..................................................................................... 71
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1. INTRODUCTION
The MC 2000T controller is the electronic system that monitors the movements of a marking
head (stylus) according to a user-defined marking program.
Editing the marking program is generally done using the MC 2000T controller itself, although
the program can be externally prepared and transmitted to the controller later by means of an
SD memory card or through a serial communications interface.
The MC 2000T controller has several operation interfaces that permit manual or automatic
PC or PLC driven operation, which makes it ideal equipment for incorporation into production
lines that perform various processes other than marking.
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2. SPECIFICATIONS
ELECTRICAL
ITEM
SPECIFICATION
Power supply
100V-220Vdc 60/50Hz.
Internal battery
3V. CR 2025.
Energy intake fuse
2A T2 - L250V.
Power supply fuses
4A T4 - L250V.
Display lighting
Adjustable at home screen

MECHANICAL
ITEM
SPECIFICATION
Dimensions
280x160x261mm
Weight
5.450kg
INTERFACES
ITEM
SPECIFICATION
2 RS232 serial ports
Female Sub-D 9-pin connector
Connection to marking unit
Female Sub-D 25-pin connector
Start/Stop push box
Male Sub-D 9-pin connector
Memory card
Slot for SD card
Control signals - 11 Inputs.
24Vdc. 12-pin terminal strip
Control signals - 7 Outputs.
Potential-free. 14-pin terminal strip
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Instruction Manual
3. INSTALLATION
To install the MC 2000T controller correctly, do the following:
1. With the controller off, plug the male cable from the marking unit into the MARK-labelled
connector at the back of the MC 2000T controller.
2. If supplied together with the MC 2000T controller, connect the start/stop push box to
the MAN-labelled connector at the back of the controller.
3. Plug the power cable into the MC2000T controller. To do this
a. first connect the power cable to the MC 2000T controller; and
b. then plug the power cable into a mains outlet.
Before making any connection, check that power supply at intake conforms to the MC
2000T controller power rating specified on the back plate.
4. Switch MC 2000T controller on.
The controller display should show a picture with COUTH's logo and the version of the controller
software.
Picture 1 HOME PAGE

After 3 seconds, the display changes to the MC 2000T controller's TEST screen.
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Picture 2 TEST screen

In case of FAILURE appearing on the display, switch MC 2000T controller off, check all the
connections and turn power on again.
Three seconds later, the controller shows the EDITION or MARKING screen and is ready to
operate1.
When using the controller for the first time, the EDITION screen is retrieved. Otherwise, the display
will show either the EDITION or the MARKING screen, whichever was last used before the controller
was switched off.
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4. MARKING FEATURES
Before starting to use the MC 2000T controller, it is essential for you to know the features that
define each marking. This will make it easier for you to set up the adequate parameters in order
to get the expected marking result.
Marking Contents: A mark is first defined by what you want to mark. With the MC
2000T controller, you will be able to mark all the characters of the Latin alphabet
(including accents, diaeresis, etc.) in both small and capital letters. In addition to
alphanumerical characters, you can insert special symbols or logotypes (e.g. your
company's logo) and DataMatrix2 codes in the marking contents. The next picture
shows a mark comprising a mix of alphanumerical text, logo and DataMatrix code.
Picture 3 Text combined with logotype and DataMatrix code

When defining the marking contents, you can finally insert changeable objects such as
the current date, a serial number that automatically increases after each marking, or a
different character for each shift.
Font: This is the second feature used to define a marking. The MC 2000T controller
permits applying different fonts to the same marking contents. The picture below shows
the same text to be marked using two different fonts.
Picture 4 Text marked using different fonts
Character Height: Character height is stated in mm and, as its name suggests, it

determines the final height of a (capitalised) character. When small letters are to be
A DataMatrix code is a two-dimensional symbol used to insert a large amount of information in a small
space. It is similar to a bar code, except that information is encoded using dots instead of bars, which
allows for a higher density of information.
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marked, the final height will be in proportion to the upper case letters. Below is a picture
showing the same text with different character heights.
Picture 5 Text with different character heights
Character Width: The character width is stated as a percentage (%) of the character
height. Its value normally is 100%, meaning that the character to be marked will keep
the proportion of width to height as defined by the font design. However, it may be
suitable to reduce the character width (programming a value less than 100%) under
certain circumstances (e.g. limited space on the substrate or for aesthetical reasons).
Likewise, it is possible to specify a character width greater than 100% of height. The
next picture shows the same text with different character widths.
Picture 6 Text with different character widths
Character Spacing: This too is given as a percentage (%) of the character height and it
defines the size of space between two consecutive characters. The picture below
shows the same text with different character spacings.
Picture 7 Text with different character spacings
Marking Dots Density: Marking dots density is stated as a percentage (%) of a

continuous marking pattern (without space between two consecutive dots) and it
defines the number of marking dots per unit length. Below is a picture showing the
same text with different marking dots densities.
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Picture 8 Text with different marking dots densities
Marking Coordinates: The above described features determine the appearance of a

mark. Marking coordinates establish the marking position within the machine's marking
area. The marking zero point or origin (coordinates 0,0) lies in the upper left corner of
the marking area, with the X-axis extending to the right and the Y-axis to the bottom. If
we program marking coordinates x,y for a text, we mean that the lower left end of the
first character shall lie at coordinates x,y.
The next picture shows a marking area that is 90mm wide (X-axis) by 60mm high (Yaxis) and the marking coordinates for various texts.
Picture 9 Coordinates of a marking area
Marking Direction: This refers to the possibility of marking a text horizontally, obliquely
at any angle, or forming a convex or concave arc. The MC 2000 T controller further
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permits both horizontal and vertical mirror-symmetric marking. Below there is a sample
of markings made in various directions.
Picture 10 Marking in various directions
Marking Depth: With the MC 2000 T controller it is possible to adjust the marking
force within certain limits, although the marking depth largely depends on the type of
machine used to mark.
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5. OPERATION BASICS
This section briefly presents the systems controls and the information that the display can
show. It will guide the operator to browse the different menus and screens and to acquire the
basic skills to operate the MC 2000T controller.
5.1. Components of the MC 2000T Controller

On its front face, the MC 2000T controller has the following components:
10
8 7
Picture 11 Front face of the MC 2000T controller
Component
Function
Alphanumeric keyboard
Keying alphanumeric characters.
Special symbols key
Entering special ASCII symbols.
Shift key
Selecting capital or small letters.
Internal start/stop pushbuttons
Starts (green) and stops (red) marking.
Rotary pushbutton
Editing and confirming data and texts.
Simulation key
Simulation and preview of a marking.
DEL key
Deleting characters.
ESC key
Cancelling an operation.
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Function keys
Activating functions and menus.
10
Display
320x240 pixels grey-scale LCD display.
The back panel of the MC 2000T controller accommodates the components as shown below:
1
14
13
12
11
10
Picture 12 Back panel of MC 2000T controller

Component
Function
Ventilating duct
Carrying air for internal parts cooling.
Earth pin
Earthing of the MC 2000T controller.
AUTOMAT Output connector
External outputs connector (PLC or automaton)
USB port
Connecting USB.
SD CARD slot
Slot for SD memory card.
COM 2 port
Communications through RS232-C serial interface
COM 1 port
Communications through RS232-C serial interface
Z-AXIS connector
Connecting rotary devices.
MAN connector
Connecting to external start/stop push-button box.
10
MARK connector
Connecting to Couth marking unit.
11
AUTOMAT Input connector
External inputs connector (PLC or automaton).
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12
AC connector
Plugging the controller to the mains.
13
Fuse
2A (5x20).
14
Power switch
ON/OFF switching of the controller.
The AUTOMAT Output connector features the following outputs:

Output
Description
Q1
General-purpose output 1 (potential-free).
Q2
Q3
Q4
Pause: Potential-free output. Contact closes when marking is interrupted.
Error: Potential-free output. Contact closes when an error occurs.
Ready: Potential-free output. Contact closes when the marking unit is ready to start
marking.
Pin C
Common for outputs P, E and R.
DC
24VDC output.
The AUTOMAT Input connector has 11 independent 24VDC inputs whose functions are as
defined below:
Input
Description
Input 1
General-purpose input 1.
Input 2
Input 3
Input 4
Binary file selection (weight 1).
Input 5
Input 6
Input 7
Input 8
Input 9
Reset counters
Input 10
Run
Input 11
Stop
As regards display information, the general screen format of the MC 2000T controller looks like
this:
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Title bar
General information
Text area
Scroll bars
Help area
Screen tag
Icons of short-cut keys

Picture 13 General screen format
The above picture shows the EDITION screen with data specific to this function, but the format
is identical for all the screens (except the HOME PAGE, TEST screen and PREVIEW screen).
Title bar: Identifies the type of screen on the left and the marking area of the marking
unit (X-axis mm x Y-axis mm) on the right.
General information: This field shows the current date, current time, and capital or
small letters function if selected.
Text area: This is the working area for editing the marking contents, changing the
values of various parameters, selecting options, etc.
Scroll bars: They indicate the horizontal and vertical positions within the text area.
Screen tag: Shows the name of the displayed screen.
Help area: Provides operator with help.
Icons of short-cut keys: They symbolically represent the function of the short-cut keys
at all times.
5.2. Browsing the Screens

Browsing the different screens of the MC 2000T controller is a simple and homogeneous
process. However, because the screens present slightly different characteristics, the following
describes how to use them by type.
Anyhow, this section is a quick guide; for detailed information, please refer to Section 7 .
Screens description.
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5.2.1. Menu and Parameters Screens

This type of screens always includes one active line that is highlighted as the next pictures
show:
Picture 14 Menu Screen and Parameters Screen

Turn the rotary pushbutton to select another line; press the rotary button to retrieve the selected
screen from a menu screen or to edit the selected parameter from a parameters screen.
Editing a parameter is possible in a number of ways according to its type:
Editable Alphanumeric Parameters: These are parameters having an alphanumeric

value that the operator can edit. One example of such parameters is the character
height. If you press the rotary pushbutton, a blinking cursor appears under the first
editable character of the parameter.
Cursor
Picture 15 Editable alphanumeric parameter

It is also possible to edit this type of parameters by pressing the alphanumeric keyboard
after selecting the line, without need for pressing the rotary pushbutton previously.
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With the alphanumeric keyboard, you can change the value of the parameter and move
the cursor by turning the rotary pushbutton.
When you have finished editing the parameter, press the rotary pushbutton once to
confirm the entry and return to the initial situation of the screen with the selected line.
Alternatively, you can press ESC instead of pressing the rotary pushbutton in order to
exit the Edit Parameter mode without confirming any changes.
Parameters with values from a closed list: These are parameters that can only take
any of the values recorded in a closed list. One example of such parameters is the
counter Reset. When you press the rotary pushbutton, a window with the selectable
values pops up.
Picture 16 Parameter with values from a closed list

Turn the rotary pushbutton to select the required parameter value. Press on the rotary
pushbutton once to confirm the entry, exit the edit mode and return to the initial
situation. Alternatively, instead of pressing the rotary pushbutton, you can press the
ESC key in order to exit the edit mode without confirming any change to the existing
parameter value.
YES/NO Parameters: These parameters take either of two values only. When you
press the rotary pushbutton, the value of the selected parameter changes, i.e. if it was
YES it changes to NO, and vice versa.
In order to quit a menu or parameters screen, you can press any of the short-cut keys or the
ESC key. In the event of the parameters screens, if you press ESC and had previously changed
the value of any parameter, the MC 2000T controller will prompt you to confirm whether you
want to save the changes or not.
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Picture 17 Prompt for saving changes.
With the rotary pushbutton, you can select the option: quit and save changes, quit without
saving changes or return to the parameters screen. If you press any key, you will save the
changes and exit.
5.2.2. EDITION and INSERT screens

The EDITION and INSERT screens serve to edit the marking contents. It is possible to edit 40
text lines of up to 75 characters each. To enter text in the blinking cursor's position, type it with
the alphanumeric keyboard.
Picture 18 Text editing

Press the rotary pushbutton once to highlight one line and turn the rotary pushbutton to select
another line.
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Picture 19 Selecting one line in the EDITION screen

When a line is highlighted, you just have to press the rotary pushbutton to return to the text
editing mode.
To retrieve another screen from either the EDITION or INSERT screen, press the relevant shortcut key.
5.2.3. Overlapping Windows

If you press any of the short-cut keys F4, F5 or F6 from the EDITION screen, a window overlaps
this screen and shows some of the current file's marking properties. To be exact, there are three
overlapping windows that show the following marking properties:
FONT overlapping window: it shows the values of the character height, character
width, font type, character spacing and marking dot density.
FORCE & SPEED overlapping window: this shows the values of the marking force
and speed.
POSITION & SHAPE overlapping window: it shows the values of the X-axis
coordinate, Y-axis coordinate, marking angle, arc diameter, arc type, horizontal mirrorsymmetric marking and vertical mirror-symmetric marking.
In these windows, there is always one active line that is highlighted as Picture 20 shows. This
line states the marking properties of the associated text line. On said picture, the value of all the
parameters is -, meaning that the value of the selected parameter is identical to that of the
same parameter in the preceding line. As for the first line, the value of the parameter is the
default value as defined from the EDITION PARAMETERS screen.
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Picture 20 Line selection in an overlapping window

To select another line, just turn the rotary pushbutton.
Press the rotary pushbutton for 1 second to close the overlapping window and return to the
EDITION screen. Press the rotary pushbutton less than 1 second to highlight the first parameter
in the selected line and to be able to select the remaining parameters by turning the rotary
pushbutton as Picture 21 shows.
Picture 21 Selecting parameters in an overlapping window

Having selected one parameter, press the rotary pushbutton for 1 second to re-select the entire
line, i.e. to recover the situation shown in Picture 20, or press it for less than 1 second to enter
the edit mode for the selected parameter, in which case the parameter appears in a black box
with a blinking cursor as Picture 22 shows.
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Picture 22 Editing a parameter in an overlapping window

Like the parameters screens, this window provides two ways of editing the parameters
depending on its type:
Editable numerical parameters: You can enter the parameter value typing it directly
on the numeric keypad. The blinking cursor moves at each keystroke, showing the digit
you may change.
Turning the rotary pushbutton increases or decreases the parameter value in one
parameter definition unit. Taking the character height stated in mm with one decimal
digit, for example, if you turn the rotary pushbutton clockwise, the parameter value will
increase in 0.1mm. If the parameter value is "-" before turning the rotary pushbutton, it
will change to the minimum value for the parameter concerned, which is 0.1mm in the
case of the character height.
If you continue turning the rotary pushbutton to change the value of the selected
parameter, the blinking cursor will relocate itself under the first digit of the parameter
value.
Picture 23 Editable numerical parameter in an overlapping window
Parameters with values from a closed list and YES/NO parameters: As far as
overlapping windows are concerned, it is possible to edit the YES/NO parameters in the
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same way as parameters with values from a closed list, since those parameters can
take the value "-" in addition to the YES and NO options.
Editing those parameters is very simple: you just need to turn the rotary pushbutton in
one direction or the other in order to select the next or previous value from those
available.
Picture 24 Parameter with value from a closed list in an overlapping window

After editing one parameter, press the rotary pushbutton once to confirm the entry and return to
the situation as per Picture 21, in which you can select another parameter in the same line by
turning the rotary pushbutton. Instead of pressing the rotary pushbutton, you can press ESC to
return to the a.m. situation, but without confirming the entry.
Finally, after editing all the parameters, press the rotary pushbutton for a long while in order to
close the overlapping window, return to the EDITION screen and save all changes made.
Alternatively, you can press any short-cut key or ESC to confirm the changes made and move
to the appropriate screen.
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6. MARKING EXAMPLES
This section contains a number of marking examples. These simplified examples highlight the
most frequently used characteristics of the controller and thus provide rapid and easy training in
producing the commonest types of marks.
In developing all the examples, we used a marking unit with a marking area of 50mm (X-axis)
by 17mm (Y-axis), which presently is the COUTH marking unit having the smaller marking area.
Therefore, all the examples given in this section can be produced with any other COUTH
marking unit. In this event, there is one point to bear in mind: when reproducing the examples
with any marking unit having a different marking unit, the aspect of the scale simulation will
differ from the look it has in this manual.
Likewise, it is important to consider the default values of the marking parameters used. For the
examples given, we used the following parameter values:
Height: 005.5
Width: 100
Font: GULIM.FNT
Spacing: 25%
Density: Auto
X-axis coordinate: 000.0
Y-axis coordinate: 000.0
Angle: 000.0
Diameter: 000.0
Concave/Convex: ^
Horizontal mirror: No
Vertical mirror: No
Speed: 10
Force: 10
Selfcentering(x): NO
Selfcentering(y): NO
If your controller has values differing3 from the above, we recommend you to change them in
the EDITION PARAMETERS screen; otherwise, the examples you work out may look quite
different from those shown here.
If you are using your MC 2000T controller for the first time or if you never changed the parameters in
the EDITION PARAMETERS screen, the default values of the parameters will be those specified here.
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6.1. Simple Marking

To start with, let's make a very simple marking. Its result will look like this:
The first time you power on the MC 2000T controller, the display will show the HOME PAGE
screen and then a TEST screen, followed by the EDITION screen with the blinking cursor in the
first column of the first line.
If you have already used the controller and the display shows any screen other than the
EDITION screen, call it up (press the direct access key F1 to retrieve the MAIN menu from any
screen and then press F1 again).
In the EDITION screen, type out the text HELLO as the next picture shows.
Picture 25 Editing the text of a Simple Marking example

The marking unit is ready to mark and does not require editing any other marking parameter,
since it will use the default values.
Before starting the marking unit, press the Simulation key to preview the resultant mark. The
display will show the dry test result that will look like this:
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Picture 26 Simulation of the example

At the end of the dry test, the MC 2000T controller displays the EDITION screen again. If you
are ready to do the marking operation, press the Start pushbutton.
6.2. File Management

This example aims at saving the job of the previous example in a file for future use. Additionally,
we are going to create a new file in order to do the next exercise starting from nothing.
After making a marking successfully, you might wish to save it in a file for future use. From the
EDITION screen, press the direct access key F3 to retrieve the FILES screen that allows you to
manage files. After opening this screen, press the direct access key F4 to save a file. As you
can see on the picture below, the display shows a new filename 00000000.TXT with a blinking
cursor under the first character.
Picture 27 File saving

Use the alphanumeric keyboard to rename the file as you wish and press the rotary pushbutton.
In order to work with this file later on, press the direct access key F3 to open it and return to the
EDITION screen.
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To complete this exercise, press the direct access key F2 in the FILES screen to return to the
EDITION screen with a new empty file.
6.3. Marking Several Lines

This exercise consists in making a marking similar to the simple marking of the first example,
but writing the text on two lines. The result will look like this:
In the EDITION screen, starting from a new file, type out the text HELLO WORLD on two lines.
Changing from one line to another is achieved by shortly pressing the rotary pushbutton to
highlight the selected line, moving the cursor to the next line by turning the rotary pushbutton
and pressing the rotary pushbutton again to be able to edit the text on the second line.
Picture 28 Editing a sample text on various lines

There is no need for changing any other parameters, in order to mark the two-line text, since the
MC 2000T marking unit automatically moves the second line vertically so that marking does not
coincide with that of the first line.
Press the Simulation key to preview the result, as shown on the next picture.
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Picture 29 Preview of previous example marking
6.4. Marking Special Characters

In this exercise, we shall mark the text of the previous example, written in small letters and with
special characters added. The result should be like this:
In the previous examples, the text was fully written in capital letters, using the visible characters
of the alphanumeric keyboard. In order to write the text with a mix of capital and small letters,
press the shift key to change from one type to the other. On doing so, you can see the letter
icon in the middle of the general information field showing alternately a capital and a small letter
"a".
Capital or
small letter
icon
Picture 30 Capital/Small Letter icon in the EDITION screen

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On the other hand, to insert characters that do not appear on the keyboard of the MC 2000T
controller, press the special symbol key to open an overlapping window allowing you to choose
and insert the desired character.
The MC 2000T controller permits the use of the entire Latin set of characters as specified by
ISO-8859-1.
Picture 31 Special symbol window overlapping the EDITION screen

Turn the rotary pushbutton to select the desired characters and finish writing the text Hello
World! on two separate lines.
6.5. Changing the Marking Parameters

This example serves to apply different marking parameters to different characters. Here is the
expected result:
In the two previous examples, we have used two file lines in order to mark the text on two
different lines. The "file line" concept is however broader than that of a text line. As the result of
this exercise shows, three words will be marked on a same text line: the character height and
width being respectively 5mm and 100% for the first word; 2.5mm and 100% for the second
word, and 2.5mm and 50% for the third word.
Whereas those three words will be marked on a single text line, it is not possible to use only one
file line for this purpose, because their marking parameters differ and a file line only accepts
characters having the same marking parameters. Therefore, three file lines are necessary to do
this exercise.
As a rule, whenever any part of the marking contents requires a different marking parameter,
you will need to enter this part of the contents in a new file line. In the previous examples
"Marking on several lines" and "Marking of special characters", the Y-axis coordinate was the
parameter that determined the change of line.
Understanding this principle makes working out the last example easy.
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Starting from a new file, write the words HELLO, LITTLE and WORLD on three successive file
lines. Next, set the parameters for the second line as follows:
Character height: 02.5

and set the parameters for the third lines as follows:
Character width:: 050

You will have noticed that it has been necessary to specify appropriate marking coordinates for
these two lines. Programming correct values involves trying approximate values and adjusting
them, using the simulation function until the result is satisfactory.
6.6. Angle Marking

Angle marking at an angle of 45 is the subject of this example. The result will look like this::
To mark a text at any angle, bear in mind that the X-axis coordinate for the first line of text to be
marked (in this example, the line containing the word HELLO) will probably be different from
zero. This is because, in order to reach the required inclination, the text pivots on the lower left
corner of the first character part of which thus lies to the left of said corner. A similar rule applies
to the Y-axis coordinate. In this event, it is more obvious, since the text must be moved
downwards to avoid getting out of the marking margins.
Thus, after writing the text HELLO WORLD on two lines, change the values of the X-axis
coordinate, Y-axis coordinate and angle of the first line, as follows:
X-axis coordinate: 005.0 mm.

Y-axis coordinate: 012.0 mm.
Angle: 45.
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Now, if you press the Simulation key, you will see that part of the marking is outside the marking
margins, because the font size is too large. Therefore, change the character height for the first
line:
Height: 02.0 mm.
Press the Simulation key to preview the result that will look like that shown on Picture 32.
Picture 32 Preview of angle marking

As you can see, the text on the second line is angled too. If you do not want this text to be
marked obliquely, you need to set the angle value for this line at zero.
Finally, try changing the angle value and watch the new inclination of the text.
6.7. Arc Marking

This example explains how to make a concave marking and a convex marking. The result looks
like this:
Arc marking with the MC 2000T controller is easy, provided the arc marking underlying
concepts are absolutely clear.
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Concave/convex: Convex arc means an arc so formed that the text on the whole
circumference is readable from the inside of the arc. By contrast, a concave arc is that
which permits you to read the text on the whole circumference looking at it from the
outside of the circle.
Picture 33 Convex arc and concave arc.

The above picture shows a convex arc on the left and a concave arc on the right.
Diameter: This refers to the diameter of the circle on which the text is marked. The arc
radius is always measured from the centre of the circle to the lower left corner of the
first character. Shown below are the radii of a convex arc and a concave arc.
Picture 34 Arc radii
Angle: This defines the angular position of the first character in relation to the
horizontal. The next picture shows 8 arc markings at 8 different angles.
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Picture 35 Angles of arc markings

To work out the suggested example, follow these step-by-step instructions and press the
Simulation key after each operation to check its effect:
1. Write CONVEX ARC on the first line of a new file and CONCAVE ARC on the second
line.
2. Set the Character Height parameter for the first line at 2mm.
3. Change the first line marking coordinates as follows: X = 5mm and Y = 8mm.
4. Change the second line marking coordinates as follows: X = 4mm and Y = 10mm.
5. Change the Convex/Concave parameter, assigning "convex" to the first line and
"concave" to the second line.
6. Enter 20mm as the Diameter value for the first line and 24mm for the second line. The
reason for entering different values is that the above mentioned definition of "diameter"
makes it necessary to add twice the character height to the convex arc diameter in
order to get two circles of "same diameter". If you press the Simulation key at this stage,
the marking may exceed the marking margins, depending on the marking area of your
marking unit. Do not worry; this will be corrected with the next step.
7. Change the arc angles, specifying 53.0 for the first line and 310.0 for the second line.
Press the Simulation key and you will get the expected result.
The values entered at this final step are not easily deducible from the marking result shown at
the beginning of the exercise. An efficient method to determine those values is through trial and
error: starting from an angle value of 0, increase this value and check the result after each
change with the Simulation key. Three or four trials should be enough to assess the adequate
values for the marking concerned.
6.8. Marking Special Functions

This example aims to marking special time and counter data. Its results will look like this:
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In the EDITION screen, write TIME on the first line of a new file. Next, insert the special mark
"Calendar:Hour-Minutes". To do so, press short-cut key F2 on the EDITION screen; this opens
the INSERT screen. Now press F2 again to open an overlapping window with the available
"Calendar" options. Select the aforementioned one with the rotary pushbutton.
On the second line, insert the special mark "Counter:C1". To do so, press short-cut key F2 on
the EDITION screen; this opens the INSERT screen. Now press short-cut key F4; this opens an
overlapping window with the available Counter options. Select the aforementioned one (Counter
1) with the rotary pushbutton. The EDITION screen will be like this:
Picture 36 Editing special functions

As you can see, the counter value is 0000000000. If you press the Start button, the counter
value will not increase automatically after finishing the marking. The counter increases only
when making the marking from the MARKING screen. Save the edited file, open the MARKING
screen and mark the file several times. As you will notice, the value of the counter automatically
increases after each marking.
6.9. DataMatrix Marking

This example aims to marking two DataMatrix codes and the encrypted text they contain. It will
give the following result:
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On the first line of a new file, insert the special "Square DataMatrix " mark and write HELLO in
the parenthesis of this special mark. To insert the DataMatrix square mark, press short-cut key
F2 to open the INSERT screen; next press short-cut key F6 and select the "Square DataMatrix"
from the available options.
To place the cursor inside the parenthesis, first move back to the beginning of the special mark
and next move it one position forward. After writing the text to be encrypted, move the cursor
one position forward by turning the rotary pushbutton, leave a blank space behind the special
DataMatrix mark and type out HELLO.
On the second line, insert a special "Rectangular DataMatrix " mark and, instead of writing a
certain text inside, insert a special mark "Calendar:year-month-day". Move the cursor out of the
special DataMatrix mark and insert a blank space and the same special Calendar mark. The
EDITION screen should look like this:
Picture 37 Editing DataMatrix codes

Finally, change the character height for the first line to 3.5mm (to prevent the mark from
exceeding the marking margins when using marking units with a small marking area). You can
also change the value of the Y-axis coordinate for the second line in order to separate the
DataMatrix codes and thus to be able to distinguish them easier. Setting the value of this Y-axis
coordinate to 010.0 will be appropriate.
Having made a simulation or marking, you will notice that the height of each DataMatrix code
coincides with the specified character height. Try inserting a bigger text inside the special
DataMatrix marks and you will see that the overall size remains identical to the character height
although the new codes are denser (greater number of rows and columns).
If you have a DataMatrix code reader, you will further observe that the coded text coincides with
the text entered (as regards the rectangular DataMatrix code of the example, the text will be the
current date).
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6.10. Logotype Marking

In this example, we are going to mark two logotypes and a fixed text. The result will look like
this:
Like the DataMatrix codes in the previous example, a logotype is processed in the same way as
any other text character. In this example, we are going to mark a logotype inserted at the end of
a text and the same logotype on a different file line in order to increase its size.
On the first line of a new file, write COUTH and insert the special logotype mark for the desired
logotype (in our example CE.LOG). To insert the special logotype mark, press short-cut key F2
to open the INSERT screen; next press short-cut key F3, select LOGOTYPE and choose the
desired logo from the list.
On the next line, insert only the same special logotype mark. The text editing screen should look
like this (if you entered another logo, its name will appear instead of CE.LOG):
Picture 38 Editing logotypes

Next, change the character height for the first line, setting 3.5mm. Set the character height for
the second line to 10.0mm.
After effectively marking this file, you will see that, as commented above, the logo on the first
line has been processed just like any other character.
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7. SCREENS DESCRIPTION
This section provides a description of the menus and operating functions of the different
controls or keys on the front panel of each screen.
Picture 39 Screens map
7.1. HOME PAGE Screen

When switching on the MC 2000T controller, the display shows this screen containing the
COUTH logo and the controller's software version.
Picture 40 HOME PAGE

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After 3 seconds, the HOME PAGE screen closes and the display shows the TEST screen.
7.2. TEST Screen

The TEST screen appears immediately after the HOME PAGE screen, providing information on
the controller's auto test.
Picture 41 TEST screen
Machine zero position: When switched on, the MC 2000T controller commands a
short movement of the marking head in order to detect possible errors of the limit
switches, drive belts and motors.
STOP button: "OK" means the MC 2000T controller has detected a connected
external start/stop push box. Although this is not indispensable for the marking unit
operation, it is advisable that this push box is always connected, as it allows anybody to
make emergency stops during any marking process.
Memory Card: "OK" means the MC 2000T controller has detected the presence of an
SD memory card.
In addition to the previous information, the TEST screen allows the operator to adjust the
brightness of the display, by turning the rotary pushbutton in the appropriate direction.
After 3 seconds or the activation of any key or rotary pushbutton, the TEST screen closes and
the display shows the EDITION or MARKING screen
7.3. MAIN Menu

To retrieve this menu, press the F1 key on any of the screens that has the MAIN menu
identifying icon
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Picture 42 MAIN Menu

The MAIN menu includes the following options:
1 EDITION: Opens the EDITION screen.
2 MARKING: Opens the MARKING screen.
3 PARAMETERS: Opens the PARAMETERS menu.
4 MEMORY CARD: Opens the MEMORY CARD screen.
To select any option, press the associated figure on the numerical keypad, or press the shortcut key F1, F2, F3 or F4, or highlight the corresponding line (not shown for clarity's sake) with
the rotary pushbutton and press this button to confirm the selection.
7.4. EDITION Screen

By selecting option 1 EDITION in the MAIN menu, you will open this screen that permits you
to define the marking features: marking contents, font properties, marking coordinates and
shape, force and speed...
You can also retrieve this screen directly from the MARKING screen by pressing short-cut key
F2.
Picture 43 EDIT screen

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The display shows the first 10 lines (rows) of the 40 ones available per file and 40 of the 75
characters (columns) available per line. A blinking cursor indicates the current text inserting
position and will move on this same line if you turn the rotary pushbutton. Shifting to another line
requires pressing the rotary pushbutton first and then turning it.
Editing the marking contents is by means of the alphanumeric keyboard.
The Shift key serves to change from capitalised to small letters, and vice versa, the current
option appearing in the form of a capital or small A icon in the middle of the general information
field.
If you press the special symbol key, an overlapping window pops up, allowing you to select the
ASCII - ISO88591 symbols not available on the alphanumeric keyboard with the rotary
pushbutton.
Picture 44 Special symbols window

The Simulation key opens the PREVIEW screen that allows you to make a scale dry run of the
marking.
With the controller's START and STOP pushbuttons, you can start, stop, resume or finish
marking the active file. Alternatively you can use the external start/stop push box or the
integrated controls of COUTH portable marking units for these purposes.
Here are the functions of the short-cut keys on this screen:
F1 Menu: Opens the MAIN menu.
F2 Insert: Opens the INSERT screen.
F3 Files: Retrieves the FILES screen.

F4 Font: Opens the FONT overlapping window.
F5 Force & Speed: Opens the FORCE & SPEED overlapping window.
F6 Position & Shape: Opens the POSITION & SHAPE overlapping window.
7.4.1. Editing counters

In the EDITION screen, you can change a counter's value manually. For this purpose, move the
cursor inside the parenthesis of the counter special mark and type the new value.
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Picture 45 Editing counters

Please bear in mind that the screen always shows the counter's ten digits, even if you specified
a smaller number of markable digits in the counter's setup parameters. In this event, the digits
that shall not be marked may take any value, since the MC 2000T controller will omit them.
It is the EDITION screen's function to enable you to set the marking parameters until you
get the expected result. Once you have achieved this, you must save the file and retrieve the
MARKING screen to make the final markings. During the parameters setup process, you may
need to perform several marking tests. For this reason, the counters are inoperative in the
EDITION screen; the dry run marking shows the same counter value and there will be no
automatic increment or decrement of the counter value.
7.4.2. DataMatrix Codes

After inserting a special DataMatrix code mark, editing the encryptable text is similar to editing
the counter value: move the cursor inside the parenthesis of the DataMatrix special mark and
type the text you want.
Picture 46 Entering text for DataMatrix coding
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An encryptable text may include special marks such as work shifts, calendar, counters and
special action (Movements) commands. The previous picture shows a special DataMatrix
square mark in which a fixed text (COUTH-Hernani) and a special calendar (Day-Month-Year)
mark have been placed.
7.5. FONT Overlapping Window

This window pops up when pressing short-cut key F4 in the EDITION screen and serves to
change the font parameters for the active file.
Picture 47 FONT overlapping window

Specifically, the following are the modifiable parameters for each line in the file:
Character height: Height in mm of the characters, logotypes and DataMatrix codes to

be marked. The maximum character height is the Y-axis travel of the machine.
Character width: Width stated as a percentage (%) of the height of the characters,
logotypes and DataMatrix codes to be marked. You can specify width equal to 100%
height, less than 100% (compression) or greater than 100% (expansion).
Font: Font in which the text will be marked.
Character spacing: Spacing between two consecutive characters, stated as a
percentage (%) of character height. It is possible to define spacing characters of up to
200%.
Dot marking density: Number of dots to be marked, in %. A dot marking density of
100% denotes continuous marking (5 dots per mm). You can also select the value Auto
for high marking density at high speed when using the autovibrating pneumatic head.
7.6. FORCE & SPEED Overlapping Window

change the marking force and speed parameters for the active file.
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Picture 48 FORCE & SPEED overlapping window

Depending on the use of a pneumatic or electric (solenoid) marking head, the Force parameter
will be interpreted in different ways.
Pneumatic Head: When the setting of the marking density is Auto, the system
disregards the Force parameter. Otherwise, with force settings from 1 to 3, the
stylus impacts the workpiece only once per marking dot; with force settings from 4
to 6, there will be two impacts of the stylus per dot; with force settings from 7 to 10,
there will be three impacts of the stylus per dot.
Electric Head: In this case, the solenoid excitation time varies according to each
force value, resulting in stronger or weaker impacts. However, for effective results, it
is necessary to adjust the stylus-to-piece distance for each force setting. The table
below shows adequate distances for different forces:
Force
Stylus-Piece Distance (mm)
0.1 1.0
0.1 1.0
0.5 1.5
1.5 3.0
3.0 6.0
4.0 7.0
4.5 7.5
5.5 8.0
7.8 9.0
10
7.8 9.0
The Speed parameter, too, is interpreted differently according to the type of marking head.
When using an electric head, this parameter has no effect. If the marking head is pneumatic,
this parameter is meaningful only when the marking density setting is Auto. In this event, the
lower the speed, the greater the marking density, resulting in higher quality marks to the
detriment of the marking time.
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7.7. POSITION & SHAPE Overlapping Window

change the position and shape parameters for the active file.
Picture 49 POSITION & SHAPE overlapping window

These are the modifiable parameters for each line of the file:
X-axis coordinate: Position of the lower left corner of the first text character along the
X-axis. Changing this parameter's value, by turning the rotary pushbutton, results in a
movement of the marking head to the specified coordinate. This is very useful to check
the marking coordinate on the workpiece in the marking position.
Y-axis coordinate: Position of the lower left corner of the first text character along the
Y-axis. As this occurs with the X-axis Coordinate parameter, by changing the
parameter's value with the rotary pushbutton, the marking head will move to the
specified coordinate. If you select value "-" for any line other than the first line, this line
will not take the value of the previous line, but its value will be automatically increased
by the character height to prevent superimposing the texts of two lines.
Angle: This is the text inclination angle as measured from a horizontal line. Picture 50
shows 5 text lines marked at angles of 0, 45, 90, 180 and 270.
Picture 50 Marking at different inclination angle

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Diameter: Diameter of the circle around which arc marking takes place. If this diameter
is zero, the text is not arc marked. For further information on arc marking, refer to
example 6.7.Arc Marking.
Concave/Convex: These parameters define the type of arc when diameter is not zero.
The next picture shows convex arc marking on the left and concave arc marking on the
right.
Picture 51 Convex arc marking and Concave arc marking
Horizontal mirror-symmetry: This function allows symmetric-marking of a text along

the horizontal line.
Picture 52 Horizontal mirror-symmetric marking
Vertical mirror-symmetry: This function allows symmetric marking of a text along the
vertical line.
Picture 53 Vertical mirror-symmetric marking
7.8. INSERT Screen

To retrieve this screen, press short-cut key F2 in the EDITION screen. It permits inserting
special marks in the marking contents. When marking really takes place, specific data will
replace those special marks.
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Picture 54 INSERT Screen

You can easily recognise a special mark, since it appears in bracket-like symbols:
The following Insert options are available:
F1 Insert Shift: Inserts a special mark for marking the relevant shift in the marking
contents. Actual marking will replace the special mark with the identifier of the current
shift. In the SHIFTS window retrievable from the CONTROLLER PARAMETERS
screen, you can define up to four shifts with one marking identifier for each.
F2 Insert Calendar: This function opens a window allowing you to select the temporal
data you want to insert in the contents. Actual marking will replace this special mark
with the relevant data. These are the selectable temporal data:
- Hour (hh)
- Minutes (mm)
- Hour-Minutes (hh-mm)
- Day of the week (d)
- Day of the month (dd)
- Day of the year (ddd)
- Week of the year (ss)
- Month of the year (mm)
- Year (aa)
- Year (aaaa)
- Year-month-day (aaaa-mm-dd)
- Day-month-year (dd-mm-aaaa)
ISO 8601, which specifies that the first week of the year is that which contains
the first Thursday, applies to determining the week of the year.
F3 Insert Object: This function enables you to insert a special mark associated with a
logotype or a file from the logos and files lists in the controller memory. Actual marking
will replace the special mark with the selected logo or file contents.
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F4 Insert Counter: This function allows you to insert a special mark relating to one of
the two independent counts available per file. A counter is a number made up of one to
ten digits, which increases or decreases automatically after a user-definable number of
markings have been reached. The parameters that define the performance of each
counter are modifiable in the COUNTERS screen accessible from the CONTROLLER
PARAMETERS screen.
F5 Insert Movement: This function opens a window that permits inserting a

Movement. During actual marking, on reading this mark, the controller performs the
related action or movement. These are the selectable Commands:
- Wait for signal: The MC 2000T controller will wait for an input signal to its
MARK or AUTOMAT Input connector before proceeding with the marking
operation. For its detection by the MC 2000T controller, this input signal must
be +24VDC or 24VDC. Inputs to the MARK connector are reserved for special
applications developed by COUTH. Signals to the AUTOMAT Input connector
are allocated as follows: signal 1 to the connector's terminal 1; signal 2 to
terminal 2, signal 3 to terminal 3. The voltage value of all those signals refers to
terminal 12 of said connector.
When 24VDC signals are not available, but potential-free signals (relays) are
used, the 24VDC voltage can be obtained from terminals 13 and 14 of the
AUTOMAT Output connector.
This command is useful to avoid starting the marking (or part of it) unless an
external item is ready and this item sends the confirming signal to the controller.
- Line Origin Coordinate: The marking head moves to the origin coordinate of the
line that contains the command, before marking continues. This command
serves to force the marking head to follow a certain path before or after a
marking in such cases where the workpiece presents an obstacle the marking
head must overcome. It is possible to insert several commands of this type in
different lines of a file in order to achieve complex markings. A line containing
this command will usually include nothing else.
- Wait for communications: The MC 2000T controller wait for the marking
contents (or part of it) to be transmitted through the RS232 serial interface. It is
possible to connect port COM 2 to a barcode reader or port COM 1 to an
automaton, PC or PLC.
- Activate output: Before proceeding with the marking, the MC 2000T controller
will activate one of the available outputs of the MARK or AUTOMAT Output
connector. These are potential-free signals (relays). The outputs of the MARK
connector are reserved for special applications developed by COUTH. Signals
from the AUTOMAT Output connector are allocated as follows: output 1 relates
to terminals Q1 of said connector; output 2 to terminals Q2; output 3 to
terminals Q3; output 4 to terminals Q4.
If 24VDC instead of potential-free signals are needed, those 24VDC signals can
be obtained from terminals 13 and 14 of the AUTOMAT Output connector.
This command is useful to actuate an external item (through a electric valve, for
instance) before starting or proceeding with a marking.
- Deactivate output: Before proceeding with the marking, the MC 2000T
controller will deactivate one of the available outputs of the MARK or
AUTOMAT Output connector.
This command serves to deactivate an output that has been previously
activated by inserting the "Activate output" command. In any case, all the
outputs are automatically deactivated at the end of the marking process.
-
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Timer: The MC 2000T controller waits for a time set by the selected timer,
before proceeding with the marking. Programming the dwell times in the three
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existing timers is done in the TIMERS screen accessible from the

CONTROLLER PARAMETERS screen.
This command is useful to avoid starting the marking (or part of it) unless an
external item is ready and this item cant send the confirming signal to the
controller. For this purpose, it is necessary to define the maximum time this item
will take to be ready, from the moment it starts actuating till it finishes its job,
and to program this time in a timer. It is however safer to wait for an external
signal than a set time; therefore we recommend inserting the command "Wait
for signal" whenever possible.
Plate Feeder: This command instructs the MC 2000T controller that a COUTH
plate feeder has been fitted and must be coordinated with the marking process.
F6 Insert codification: With this function, you can insert a special mark for
generating a square or rectangular DataMatrix code. After inserting the special mark,
you can edit the text to be encrypted, by moving the cursor in the parenthesis that the
DataMatrix special mark contains. It is also possible to insert other special marks (such
as the current date or a serial number, if they are to be encrypted in the DataMatrix
code) within the DataMatrix special mark.
The table below lists the Insert options available with the respective special marks that are
inserted in the file:
Insert Option
Special mark
Shift
Calendar: Hour(hh)
C(HH)
Calendar: Minutes(mm)
C(MM)
Calendar: Hour-Minutes(hh-mm)
C(HH-MM)
Calendar: Day of week(d)
C(d)
Calendar: Day of month(dd)
C(dd)
Calendar: Day of year(ddd)
C(ddd)
Calendar: Week of year(ww)
C(ww)
Calendar: Month of year(mm)
C(mm)
Calendar: Year(yy)
C(yy)
Calendar: Year(yyyy)
C(yyyy)
Calendar: Year-month-day(yyyy-mm-dd)
C(yyyy-mm-dd)
Calendar: Day-month-year(dd-mm-yyyy)
C(dd-mm-yyyy)
Object: Logotype
L(XXXXXXXX.LOG)4
Object: File
F(XXXXXXXX.TXT)
Counter: Conter 1
CT1(XXXXXXXXXX)6
Counter: Counter 2
CT2(XXXXXXXXXX)7
Command: Wait for signal 1 (AUT)
MWS1A
XXXXXXXX stands for the name of the selected logo

XXXXXXXX stands for the name of the selected file
6
XXXXXXXXXX stands for the value of the file's counter 1
7
XXXXXXXXXX stands for the value of the file's counter 2
5
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MWS2A
MWS3A
Command: Wait for signal 1 (MARK)
MWS1M
MWS2M
Command: Line Origin Coordinate
MGC
Command: Wait for data
MWSC
Command: Activate output 1 (AUT)
MAS1A
Command: Deactivate output 1 (AUT)
MDS1A
MAS2A
MDS2A
MAS3A
MDS3A
MAS4A
MDS4A
Command: Activate output 1 (MARK)
MAS1M
Command: Deactivate output 1 (MARK)
MDS1M
MAS2M
MDS2M
Command: Timer 1
MT1
Command: Timer 2
MT2
Command: Timer 3
MT3
Command: Plate feeder
MPF
Square DataMatrix Code
DMS(XXX8)
Rectangular DataMatrix Code
DMR(XXX9)
The next picture shows a file containing a fixed text, a special calendar mark and a special
DataMatrix mark, as well as a preview of the marking.
8
9
XXX stands for the text to be encrypted.

XXX stands for the text to be encrypted.
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Picture 55 Edit and Preview screens of a marking containing fixed text, special calendar mark
and DataMatrix Code
7.9. PREVIEW Screen

To open the PREVIEW screen, press the Simulation key in the EDITION or INSERT screen.
The PREVIEW screen shows a scale simulation and performs a dry run of the marking in the
marking area of the marking unit.
Picture 56 PREVIEW Screen

On the picture, you can see a 50mm wide x 17mm high white marking area on a grey
background, which contains the simulated marking of an arc-marked text and a logo.
Should a marking exceed the limits of the marking area, an error message would pop up on the
PREVIEW screen, as follows:
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Picture 57 Error message on the PREVIEW screen

After displaying the marking contents, the controller instructs the marking unit to make a dry run,
tracing all the dots with the stylus inactive. This permits the operator to check for marking
accuracy on the workpiece itself. During this dry run, the operator can press the internal startstop pushbuttons or the controls on the external start-stop push box in order to stop, resume or
cancel the marking10.
Three (3) seconds after completion of the dry run, the PREVIEW screen closes and the
EDITION is retrieved.
7.10. MARKING Screen

This screen is accessible by selecting option 2 MARKING in the MAIN menu and it serves to
mark files. The keyboard is automatically blocked to prevent careless mistakes from spoiling the
marking. To unblock it, press the ESC key for three seconds.
Picture 58 MARKING screen

10
To interrupt a marking or dry run, press the stop button once. To resume an interrupted marking, press
the start button once. To cancel an interrupted marking, press the stop button again. To cancel an active
marking, press the stop button twice.
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This screen shows the contents of the file to be marked, the filename and a scrolling message
prompting you to press the ESC key in order to unblock the keyboard.
After unblocking the keyboard, you can call up the MAIN menu (F1), the EDITION screen (F2)
or the FILES screen (F3).
In addition, you can press the internal start and stop pushbuttons at any time in order to start,
interrupt, continue or end a marking. You can also display the Font characteristics (holding
down F4), the Force and Speed parameters (holding down F5) or the Position and Shape
specifications (holding down F6) in relation to the selected file.
7.11. FILES Screen

To open this screen, press short-cut key F3 in the EDITION screen or in the MARKING screen.
You will then be able to manage the files system of the MC 2000T controller.
Picture 59 FILES screen

A list of the marking files (TXT-suffixed) and logo files (LOG-suffixed) stored in the controller's
internal memory appears in the text area. If you turn the rotary pushbutton, you will be able to
select one of those files. Alternatively, it is possible to select a file quickly if you know its name.
In this event type the filename. You need not enter the complete filename; indeed, if you type
letter E for instance, the system selects the first file whose name starts with an E. As you
complete the filename, the selection will be more accurate. If no key is pressed within two
seconds or more, the next keystroke will be considered as the first letter of the filename
searched.
After selecting a file, there are several actions possible, namely:
New file: Press short-cut key F2 to create a new, empty file. In this event, the monitor
displays the EDITION screen. It is obviously not necessary to select any file in order to
create a new file.
Open file: Press short-cut key F3 to open the selected file. The MC 2000T controller
then displays the EDITION or MARKING screen. You can also open the file by pressing
shortly the rotary pushbutton. When the selected file is a logotype, no action takes
place.
Save file: If you press short-cut key F4, the system adds a new file named
00000000.TXT below the last filename in the list. A blinking cursor under the first
character of the filename invites you to change the default name for a name of your
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choice. When you have finished editing the new filename, press the rotary pushbutton
to save the currently opened file with this name. Should the filename already exist, you
will be prompted to confirm whether you want to overwrite the existing file.
If you want to save changes to an existing file, type in the same filename and confirm
the 'overwrite original file' option.
Delete file: If you press short-cut key F5, you will be prompted to confirm whether you
really want to delete the selected file. If you do, the system will delete the selected file
permanently from the controller's internal memory and there will be no possibility of
recovering it.
Display file: When holding down short-cut key F6, the MC 2000T controller displays
the contents of the selected file in the text area. If the selected file is a logo, no action
takes place. After releasing key F6, the controller displays the FILES screen again.
Rename file: In order to rename a file, you should press the rotary pushbutton for a
long while. After 2 seconds, a blinking cursor appears under the first character of the
filename, allowing you to change the name.
Once you have finished working in the FILES screen, press the ESC key to return to the
previous screen or short-cut key F1 to recall the main menu.
All the above described operations are feasible if you open the FILES screen from the EDITION
screen. By contrast, if you call the FILES screen from the MARKING screen, several of those
operations will be disabled. As the next picture shows, you can only go back to the main menu
(F1), return to the MARKING screen (F2), open a file (F3) or display the file contents (F6). In
this event, renaming files is not possible.
Picture 60 FILES screen opened from the MARK screen
7.12. PARAMETERS Menu

To open this menu, select option 3 PARAMETERS in the MAIN menu. It gives access to the
MC 2000T controller's parameters setup screens.
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Picture 61 PARAMETERS Menu

The following options are available:
1 - MENU: Retrieves the MAIN menu.
2 MECHANICS PARAMETERS: Opens the MECHANICS PARAMETERS screen.
3 MARKING PARAMETERS: Opens the MARKING PARAMETERS screen.
4 EDITION PARAMETERS: Opens the EDITION PARAMETERS screen.
5 CONTROLLER PARAMETERS: Opens the CONTROLLER PARAMETES screen.
You can select the desired option by pressing the relevant figure on the numerical keypad, or by
pressing the short-cut keys F1, F2, F3, F4 and F5 or by moving the highlighted line (no shown
on the picture for clarity's sake) with the rotary pushbutton and pressing this button to confirm
the selected option.
7.13. MECHANICS PARAMETERS Menu

To open this screen, select option 2 MECHANICS PARAMETERS in the PARAMETERS
menu. It leads to the different parameter setup menus of the COUTH marking machine.
Incorrect changes to the mechanical parameters of the marking unit may lead to deficient
markings. The MC 2000T controller is correctly factory-set for the marking machine it will
control. You should not change the mechanical parameters of the marking unit unless you are
going to use the MC 2000T controller with a COUTH marking unit different from that supplied
with the controller.
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Picture 62 MECHANICS PARAMETERS screen

This menu screen contains the following options:
1 MARKING AREA: Opens the MARKING AREA screen.
2 TRANSMISSION: Opens the TRANSMISSION screen.
3 HEAD: Opens the HEAD screen.
4 MOTOR: Opens the MOTOR screen.
5 PORTABLE MACHINA: Opens the PORTABLE MACHINE screen.
6 QUICK CONFIGURATION: Opens the QUICK CONFIGURATION screen.
You can select the desired option by pressing the relevant figure on the numerical keypad, or by
moving the highlighted line (no shown on the picture for clarity's sake) with the rotary
pushbutton and pressing this button to confirm the selected option.
By pressing short-cut key F1 you will retrieve the MAIN menu, F2 the PARAMETERS menu, F3
the MECHANICS PARAMETERS screen, F4 the MARKING PARAMETERS screen, F5 the
EDITION PARAMETERS screen, and F6 the CONTROLLER PARAMETERS screen.
7.14. MARKING AREA Screen

To open this screen, select option 1 MARKING AREA in the MECHANICS PARAMETERS
screen. It permits changing the marking area of the COUTH marking machine.
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Picture 63 MARKING AREA screen

A marking area is stated as an X-axis travel and a Y-axis travel, both in millimetres. It is
essential that the programmed marking area reflects the actual marking area of the marking
machine; otherwise, the controller may generate incorrect markings.
7.15. TRANSMISSION Screen

To open this screen, select option 2 TRANSMISSION in the MECHANICS PARAMETERS
screen. There, you can change the gear ratio for the X-axis and Y-axis movements of the
marking machine.
Picture 64 TRANSMISSION screen

The next table lists adequate values for various COUTH marking units according to their drive
system.
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DRIVE TYPE
Transimission X-axis
Transmission Y-axis
Screw
100
100
Belt
200
200
Superfast x17
320
340
Superfast x15
400
400
Superfast x25
320
495
7.16. HEAD Screen

To open this screen, select option 3 HEAD in the MECHANICS PARAMETERS screen. It
allows you to change various parameters of the COUTH marking head.
Picture 65 HEAD screen

The Type parameter, as its name suggests, serves to define the type of marking head used,
which can be any of the following:
Pneumatic marking head

S3 solenoid (electromagnetic) marking head
S6 solenoid (electromagnetic) marking head

Impact marking head
Scratching marking head
The Input Time parameter defines the time it takes the stylus to reach the contact point with the
workpiece from the dwell position.
The Output Time defines the time it takes the stylus to reach the dwell position from the contact
point with the workpiece.
Tabulated below are appropriate values for different types of marking heads:
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MARKING HEAD TYPE
Input Time
Output Time
N7 Pneumatic
10
N10 Pneumatic
10
10
N14 Pneumatic
10
10
N20 Pneumatic
15
10
N34 Pneumatic
18
35
R14 Scratching
20
28
R30 Scratching
20
28
R40 Scratching
20
28
R50 Scratching
20
28
I08 Impact
20
20
I17 Impact
20
20
I30 Impact
20
20
I40 Impact
20
20
I50 Impact
20
20
7.17. MOTOR Screen

To open this screen, select option 4 MOTOR in the MECHANICS PARAMETERS screen. It
serves to change the parameters affecting the power load and speed of the marking machine's
motors.
Picture 66 MOTOR screen

The Consumption x and Consumption y parameters specify the maximum current that can be
fed to respectively the X-axis and Y-axis travel motors. As a result, the MC 2000T controller will
limit the current fed to each motor, which contributes to extending its useful life.
The Full Speed parameter specifies the maximum number of rotary steps per second of the
motors. The Acceleration parameter specifies the percentage of acceleration for motors
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running on no load (i.e. no marking being made), since the motors must start running at a given
speed, but can accelerate their rotation after overcoming inertia.
7.18. PORTABLE MACHINE Screen

To open this screen, select option 5 PORTABLE MACHINE in the MECHANICS
PARAMETERS screen. It allows you to change the parameter that specifies whether the
marking machine used is portable or not.
Picture 67 PORTABLE MACHINE screen

Since COUTH portable marking machines incorporate start-stop pushbuttons, the MC 2000T
controller needs the Portable Machine parameter setting to determine whether the signals it
receives come from those built-in start-stop pushbuttons.
7.19. QUICK CONFIGURATION Screen

To open this screen, select option 6 QUICK CONFIGURATION in the MECHANICS
PARAMETERS screen. It allows you to change all the machine parameters by simply entering
two values.
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Picture 68 QUICK CONFIGURATION screen

The first changeable value is the Machine Model. It appears on the rating plate of the marking
machine, as well in the documentation supplied with COUTH marking machine.
The second changeable value is the Header Model. It automatically adjusts the parameters that
can affect a marking depending on the type of marking head used (time in and time out of the
marking head).
7.20. MARKING PARAMETERS Screen

To retrieve this screen, select option 3 MARKING PARAMETERS in the PARAMETERS
screen. It serves to set various parameters of the MC 2000T controller that affect the marking
process.
Picture 69 MARKING PARAMETERS screen

Reset specifies whether the marking contents must be deleted after marking, when the
controller operates as a slave (controlled by an automaton, PLC or computer). This would avoid
marking the same contents more than once, in order to guarantee, for instance, that a
computer-defined serial number will not be marked on different parts.
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For the MC 2000T controller to recognise the Reset parameter, it is essential to program the
operating mode: slave or file. This is done setting the Marking Mode parameter. Besides, when
selecting the slave operating mode, it will not be possible to select the file manually in the
MARKING screen nor use the internal Start and Stop pushbuttons.
It is worth noting that the MC 2000T marking machine can work in a slave condition at
any time, even when the Marking Mode parameter specifies the file mode of operation. This
parameter is taken into account only for the purposes of using the Reset parameter.
7.21. EDITION PARAMETERS Screen

To open this screen, select option 4 EDITION PARAMETERS in the PARAMETERS screen. It
permits you to change the marking parameters to be used by default in the EDITION screen.
Picture 70 EDITION PARAMETERS screen

If you do not enter a value for any of the parameters in the FONT, FORCE & SPEED or
POSITION & SHAPE overlapping window, the system will use the value set through this screen.
Programming default values is particularly useful when most of the files require using the same
value for one or several parameters, since you enter them only in this screen instead of setting
them separately in all and any of those files. Then, you only set values in the files that need a
different value.
In addition to the parameters of the a.m. overlapping windows, it is possible to set another two
parameters: Selfcentering (x) and Selfcentering (y). Both parameters are usable with any
COUTH marking machine, but they are specially intended for portable machines, since they
ensure automatic centring of the marking contents along the X-axis or the Y-axis inside the
marking area. The next picture shows the result of marking with the X and Y self-centring
options enabled in a 50mm x 17mm area.
The self-centring options are disabled when the marking parameters specify marking
coordinates or when arc or oblique marking any part of the contents.
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Picture 71 Text selfcentering along the X and Y axes
7.22. CONTROLLER PARAMETERS Screen

To open this screen, select option 5 CONTROLLER PARAMETERS in the PARAMETERS
menu. It gains access to different windows that permit you to set the parameters of the MC
2000T controller.
Picture 72 CONTROLLER PARAMETERS screen

These are the options available in the Control Parameters screen:
1 - SHIFTS: Opens the SHIFTS window.
2 - CALENDAR: Opens the CALENDAR window.
3 - COUNTERS: Opens the COUNTERS window.
4 - COMMUNICATIONS: Opens the COMMUNICATIONS window.
5 - STATISTICS: Opens the STATISTICS window.
6 - LANGUAGE: Opens the LANGUAGE window.
7 - PASSWORD: Opens the PASSWORD window.
8 - CONTROLLER: Opens the CONTROLLER window.
9 - TIMERS: Opens the TIMERS window.
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You can select the desired option by pressing the relevant figure on the numerical keypad or by
moving the highlighted line (no shown on the picture for clarity's sake) with the rotary
pushbutton and pressing this button to confirm the selected option.
By pressing short-cut key F1 you will retrieve the MAIN menu, F2 the PARAMETERS menu, F3
the MECHANICS PARAMETERS screen, F4 the MARKING PARAMETERS screen, F5 the
EDITION PARAMETERS screen, and F6 the CONTROLLER PARAMETERS screen.
7.23. SHIFTS Screen

This window is accessible by selecting option 1 - SHIFTS in the CONTROLLER PARAMETERS
screen and it permits changing the marking parameters when a special shift mark has to be
inserted in a marking contents.
Picture 73 SHIFTS Screen

As the above picture shows, it is possible to define up to four shifts Shift Number. For each
shift, you must specify the time it starts (parameter Starting Time) and the identifier (parameter
Marking character) that shall be marked instead of the special shift mark.
Shifts can be different in duration and it is not necessary to specify the finish time, since the
system considers as such the start time of the next shift.
7.24. CALENDAR Screen

This screen is accessible by selecting option 2 CALENDAR in the CONTROLLER
PARAMETERS screen. It enables you to change the date and time parameters of the controller
as well as the parameters needed when inserting a special calendar mark in the marking
contents.
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Picture 74 CALENDAR Screen

Parameters Date and Hour serve to set the current date and time.
Parameter Automatic hour change instructs the controller to change or not summer time and
winter time automatically, if desired. When entering the "European" time changeover, the clock
will go forward from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. on the last Sunday of March and backward from 3 a.m. to 2
a.m. on the last Sunday of October.
Parameters Week day, Month and Month day serve to define the characters to be marked
instead of the special marks Day of the Week, Month of the Year and Day of the Month,
respectively. You can select a different character for each day of the week (bearing in mind that
Monday is the first day of the week), for each month of the year and for each day of the month.
If you select no character, the system inserts a hyphen and the marking machine will mark the
number of the day or month instead of the special mark.
Finally, with parameter Separating character you can define the character that separates the
different constituents of a special mark, such as the Day-Month-Year special mark. This
character shall be marked between the characters standing for the day and month and between
those standing for the month and year.
7.25. COUNTERS Screen

This screen is accessible by selecting option 3 COUNTERS in the CONTROLLER
PARAMETERS menu. It enables you to change the parameters that shall be marked when
inserting a special counter mark.
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Picture 75 COUNTERS Screen

A counter is a 1 to 10 digit number that increases (or decreases) automatically after a preset
number of markings. With the MC 2000T controller, there are two counters available and
although their parameters are identical, the value of each counter is saved independently with
each file. This means that, if counter 1 were used in two files, the value of counter 1 can be,
say, 1111 in the first file and, say, 2222 in the second file.
These are the parameters underpinning the performance of each counter:
Increase: This is a value ranging from 100 to +100 that specifies the amount by which
the counter value increases. To change from a positive to a negative value, or vice
versa, just press any key when the cursor is under the + or sign.
Repetition: This setting that can take any value from 0 to 100 indicates the number of
times the counter value must be repeated (in addition to the initial marking) before this
counter increases or decreases automatically. Setting 0 implies that there is no
repetition of the marking and, therefore, after the machine has marked the counter
value once, the counter changes to its next value; setting 8, for instance, implies that
the marking will be repeated 8 times; thus, the machine will mark the same counter
value 9 times, before the counter increases or decreases.
Digit number: Indicates the number of digits to be marked. If the counter value has
fewer digits than those to be marked as specified here, the machine will add zeros to
the left.
Minimum and Maximum: These parameters specify the minimum and maximum
permissible values of the counter. On reaching the maximum (high) value, a counter
with a positive increment will restart from its minimum (low) value. By contrast, on
reaching the minimum (low) value, a counter with a negative increment will restart
decrementing from its maximum (high) value.
Reset: This parameter serves to specify a condition under which the counter with a
positive increment shall reset to its low value and a counter with a negative increment
will reset to its high value. The following options are programmable:
- None: No condition is established.
- Year: The counter resets when year changes.
- Month: The counter resets when the month changes.
- Week: The counter resets when the week changes, considering Monday as the first
day of the week.
- Day: The counter resets when the day changes. .
- Shift: The counter resets at each shift changeover.
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- External: Counter resetting depends on an external signal. Input I8 of the AUTOMAT

Input connector is available for connecting the signal necessary to reset the
counters.
7.26. COMMUNICATIONS Screen

This screen is accessible by selecting option 4 COMMUNICATIONS in the CONTROLLER
PARAMETERS screen. It enables you to change the parameters that define communications
with the MC 2000T controller through the RS232 serial interface.
Picture 76 COMMUNICATIONS Screen

Parameter Baudrate defines the transmission rate in bits per second between the controller
and the external equipment communicating with it.
Parameter Protocol defines the communications protocol to be used. We recommend using the
MC 2000T protocol, since it permits making the most of all the features of the MC 2000T
controller. Other usable protocols are MC 2000T and MC 2000L, but these protocols should be
used only when the MC 2000T controller shall operate jointly with an MC 2000T or MC2000L
controller that already use one of these two protocols.
Parameter Error checking defines the type of error detecting algorithm to be included in the
communications. COUTH recommends using always CRC because it provides serial
communications with greater security.
Parameter Topology specifies whether the external equipment (automaton, PLC or computer)
communicates only with this controller (point to point topology) or will communicate with several
MC2000T controllers at the same time (network topology). In this latter case, the controller will
stop using asynchronous transmission for some messages in order to avoid possible collision
with messages sent by other controllers.
Finally, parameter Address defines a unique communication address for the controller in order
to identify it unequivocally when there are several networked controllers.
7.27. STATISTICS Screen

This screen is accessible by selecting option 5 STATISTICS in the CONTROLLER
PARAMETERS menu. It shows statistical data of the markings made with the MC 2000T
controller.
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Picture 77 STATISTICS Screen

These are the data displayed in this window: the total time the controller has been on so far
(POWER ON hours), the total time (in hours) the controller has been busy making markings to
the current moment (Marking hours), the total number of markings made by the controller so
far (Number of markings) and the time it took the controller to make the last marking (Time of
last marking).
7.28. LANGUAGE Screen

This screen is accessible by selecting option 6 LANGUAGE in the CONTROLLER
PARAMETERS menu. It permits you to select the working language of the MC 2000T
controller.
Picture 78 LANGUAGE Screen
7.29. PASSWORD Screen
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This screen is accessible by selecting option 7 PASSWORD in the CONTROLLER

PARAMETERS screen. It serves to set a password for acceding to the different menus of the
MC 2000T controller.
Picture 79 PASSWORD Screen

On leaving the factory, the MC 2000T controller incorporates a default password that the user
can change by editing the New parameter in this window.
On the other hand, parameters Marking, Edition and Parameters specify whether a password
will be requested in order to access the MARKING, EDITION and PARAMETERS screens
respectively. If you set the Marking parameter to YES, you will also be prompted to enter the
password in order to exit the MARKING screen.
To avoid unauthorised changing of passwords, the PASSWORD screen has a permanent
protection that is irremovable.
Picture 80 Password prompting window

The default password of the MC 2000T controller is 000000. Once changed, this
password will not serve as a master password; therefore, be sure to be able to remember your
new password or keep it in a safe place.
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7.30. CONTROLLER Screen

This screen is accessible by selecting option 8 CONTROLLER in the CONTROLLER
PARAMETERS menu. It serves to enter the settings of two parameters specific to the MC
2000T controller.
Picture 81 CONTROLLER screen

The first of these two parameters, Internal Start/Stop, determines whether the controller's
internal start and stop pushbuttons are active or not. In certain cases where the controller
operates as a slave, it is advisable to disable the internal start and stop pushbuttons to avoid
possible human errors.
The second parameter, Beep, states whether the controller shall or shall not beep each time the
user strikes a key.
7.31. TIMERS Screen

This screen is accessible by selecting option 9 TIMERS in the CONTROLLER PARAMETERS
menu. It allows you to set the values of the three timers the MC 2000T controller incorporates.
Picture 82 TIMERS screen

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Timer values are stated in milliseconds and they serve to force a dwell time during the marking
process. A timer may have any value from 0 to 60000 milliseconds (1 minute).
7.32. MEMORY CARD Screen

To retrieve this screen, select option 4 MEMORY CARD in the MAIN menu. It permits you to
copy parameters, character sets, files and logotypes from the controller's memory to a memory
card and vice versa.
Picture 83 MEMORY CARD screen

Turn the rotary pushbutton to select the desired Copy option. Then, press the rotary pushbutton
to start copying data.
You can also start copying the desired data by pressing the short-cut keys F2, F3, F4, F5 and
F6.
In order to change the data transfer direction (from the controller's memory to the memory card
or from the memory card to the controller's memory), select the icon at the bottom of the text
area with the rotary pushbutton and then press the rotary pushbutton.
If you press ESC or short-cut key F1 or the rotary pushbutton with the MENU option selected,
you will close the MEMORY CARD screen and return to the MAIN menu.
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8. BARCODE READERS
The MC 2000T controller makes it possible to use barcode or 2D-code readers in order to edit
the marking contents. This avoids mistakes that editing the marking contents manually might
cause.
8.1. Connection
For connecting a barcode reader to the MC 2000T controller, use the RS-232 interface with the
following communications parameters:
Baud rate: .............................9600 bits per second.
Parity:....................................Odd.
Data bits: ..............................8
Stop bits: ..............................1
Flow control: ........................None.
Barcode readers and other external devices must always be connected to the controller
through the COM2 port at the rear of the controller. The COM1 port is reserved for connecting a
PC, PLC or automaton.
Both COM1 and COM2 ports of the MC 2000T controllers are prepared for a direct connection
to a PC through direct pin-to-pin cables. Since barcodes readers with an RS-232 interface are
usually designed for direct connection to a PC too, connecting them to the MC 2000T controller
will require the use of a NULL MODEM type of cable, crossing terminals 2 and 3 at both ends of
the cable.
If in doubt, remember that data transmitted by a barcode reader is received through terminal 3
of the COM2 port of the MC 2000T controller.
The MC 2000T controller provides a 5Vdc voltage across terminals 6 and 5 of the COM2 port.
You can use this voltage for powering up barcode readers that operate on a current not greater
than 250mA.
Finally, for the barcode reader to be operative with the MC 2000T controller, you must
configure it in such a way that it transmits hexadecimal character 10 (decimal 16) prior to the
text string and hexadecimal character 0A (decimal 10) followed by twice the hexadecimal
character 03 (decimal 03) after the text string it reads. By way of example, if 123-456 is the
barcode read by the reader, transmission of the complete string will be as follows:
Hexadecimal
10
31 32 33 2D 34 35 36
0A
03
03
Decimal
16
49 50 51 45 52 53 54
10
03
03
ASCII
PAGE - 72
Unprintable 1
6 Unprintable Unprintable Unprintable
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8.2. Use
It is currently possible to use a barcode reader with the MC 2000T controller in either of two
ways:
EDITION Screen: With the barcode reader connected to the COM2 port of the MC
2000T controller, scan the barcode and its contents will appear on the line where the
cursor lies at that moment. Any text that might already be on that line will be
overwritten. Scanning a barcode will not affect the text on any other lines that remain
unchanged.
MARKING Screen: To use a barcode reader from the MARKING screen, the file to be
marked must contain a special command: Movement(Wait for communications). This
special command may be placed anywhere in the file, preceded and followed by text.
On receiving the Start order, the MC 2000T controller will start marking the active file.
On detecting the special command, the MC 2000T controller will stop the marking
machine until it receives the remaining marking data. At this time, use the barcode
reader connected to the COM2 port to transmit the marking data. The MC 2000T
controller will resume marking after receiving the contents of the scanned barcode.
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9. BINARY IO MARKING
Binary IO marking is one of the operating modes the MC 2000T controller offers. This mode of
operation usable from the MARKING screen permits marking a file selected by means of the
inputs of the AUTOMAT Input connector. To be exact, inputs 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are available for
selecting one among 31 files for its marking in this mode. Input 4 is assigned the least
significant bit of the file number, input 8 the most significant bit.
Since the files are identified by a filename, and not by a file number, in the MC 2000T
controller, the filename must contain a number from 001 to 031 (including zeros on the left) if
this file is to be selected in the binary mode.
Suppose you want to work with two files in binary mode. You can use two numbers from 1 to 31
to identify them. So, you opt for numbers 2 and 28. Therefore, one file must contain the 002
character group in its name, the other the 028 character group. Any of the following filenames
would be valid for this purpose:
FILE_002.TXT, A0020000.TXT, 002ZZZZZ.TXT, ABC002DE.TXT...
FILE_028.TXT, A0280000.TXT, 028ZZZZZ.TXT, ABC028DE.TXT...
Of course, to avoid confusion, neither the 002 nor 028 character group may be present in any
other filename.
Finally, you decide to name your files FILE_002.TXT and FILE_028.TXT.
To mark those files, you should bear in mind that the binary form of number 2 is 00010, while
number 28 is stated 11100.
Accordingly, in order to mark the file FILE_002.TXT, inputs 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the AUTOMAT
Input connector must be given the following values:
Input
Logical value
Voltage value
Automat Input 4
0V
Automat Input 5
24Vdc
Automat Input 6
0V
Automat Input 7
0V
Automat Input 8
0V
In order to mark the file FILE_028.TXT, inputs 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the AUTOMAT Input
connector must be given the following values:
Input
PAGE - 74
Logical value
Voltage value
Automat Input 4
0V
Automat Input 5
0V
Automat Input 6
24Vdc
Automat Input 7
24Vdc
Automat Input 8
24Vdc
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Below is a table with the logical values of the inputs of the AUTOMAT Input connector for the
31 selectable file numbers.
File
number
Input 4
Input 5
Input 6
Input 7
Input 8
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
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ANNEX
A.1. Overall Dimensions
All dimensions expressed in milimeters.
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A.2. Fonts
A.2.1. Gulim
Proportional width font
A.2.2. Courier
Proportional width font.
A.2.2. MonoS
Monospaced font
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A.2.3. MS5x7
Monospaced font
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A.3. Electrical schematics
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Communication protocol
MC 2000 T
Controller
1. INTRODUCTION
2. COMMUNICATION PARAMETERS
3. COMMUNICATION FORMAT
3.1. Addressing
3.2. SEGMENTATION
3.3. Frame format
3.4. Error checking
3.4.1. CRC
3.4.2. Sum
3.4.3. None
4. ANSWERS, GENERIC FRAMES AND RETRANSMISSIONS
4.1. ACK
4.2. NACK
4.3. Retransmissions
5. COMMAND SET
11
5.1. RESET Command
11
5.2. STATUS Command
11
5.3. NEW FILE Command
12
5.4. OPEN FILE Command
13
5.5. SEND FILE Command
13
5.6. DELETE FILE Command
20
5.7. SAVE FILE Command
20
5.8. EDIT TEXT Command
21
5.9. LINE PARAMETER Command
21
5.10. START Command
24
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5.11. PAUSE Command
25
5.12. STOP Command
26
5.13. SEND DATA Command
26
5.14. MARK TEXT Command
27
5.15. MARK FILE Command
27
5.16. START WITHOUT ANSWER Command
28
5.17. MARK TEXT WITHOUT ANSWER Command
29
5.18. MARK FILE WITHOUT ANWSER Command
29
5.19. GENERAL PARAMETER Command
30
6. COMMUNICATION DURING THE MARKING PROCESS
42
7. FRAGMENTATION OF A DATA BLOCK
44
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PICTURES INDEX
Picture 1 Connection between the MC 2000T control unit and a computer. ............................ 5
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1. INTRODUCTION
The MC 2000T control unit can be connected via RS-232 with a PC or PLC so that it receives
from it the texts to be marked or part of them. This use is handy when some of the data may not
be stored in the memory of the MC 2000T control unit because it is variable, for example: the
weight of a piece, tolerance, measureme, etc.
This user manual describes the protocol used for communicating with the MC 2000T control
unit. This is a robust communication protocol, with a very complete set of commands that allows
the computer or PLC have full control over the MC 2000T control unit. In addition to sending
files or text to be marked, it is possible to set the parameters of the control unit and completely
govern the entire marking process.
We recommend always using the MC 2000T communication protocol, as it allows capitalize on
all the characteristics of the MC 2000T control unit. It is also possible to work with the MC
2000T and MC 2000L protocols, but they should be used only in those cases in which you want
to use the MC 2000T control unit along with MC 2000T or MC2000L control units which already
use one of these two protocols.
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2. COMMUNICATION PARAMETERS
The RS-232 connection between the MC 2000T control unit and the computer or PLC is pin to
pin type, formed by two MALE FEMALE Sub D9 connectors.
Figure 1 shows the connections schemes between the MC 2000T control unit and a computer:
FEMALE SUB-D9 Connector
MALE SUB-D9 Connector
Picture 1 Connection between the MC 2000T control unit and a computer.

The parameters of the RS-232 communication are as it follows:
Baudrate: 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600 or 115200 bits per second.
Parity: Odd.
Data bits: 8
Stop bits: 1
Flow control: None.
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3. COMMUNICATION FORMAT
The communication between the MC 2000T control unit and a computer or PLC meets the RS232 standard. The following are the peculiarities of the MC 2000T communication protocol.
3.1. Addressing
The most commonly used connection type with the MC 2000T control unit, either from a
computer or from a PLC, will be a point-to-point connection type, i.e. the computer or PLC
connected to a single MC 2000T control unit. However, in some cases it may be desirable to
make a bus type connection, so that a single computer or PLC can communicate with several
control units using a single serial port.
It is not recommended to make a bus type connection using directly the serial ports from a
computer or a PLC and several MC 2000T units. In the case of wanting to govern various MC
2000T controllers through a single computer or PLC, it is preferable to perform a means
conversion, using for example RS-232 to RS-422 converters, RS-232 to RS-485 converters or
RS-232 to Ethernet converters. Thus, the bus connection actually takes place in a RS-422, RS485 or Ethernet bus, ensuring greater reliability of communications.
In order to make this second type of connection, each of the devices connected to the bus must
have a unique address bus, so that each time the communication takes place only between two
devicess (usually one in master mode - the computer or PLC- and one in slave mode - the
control unit-), despite the fact that there are more devices connected. Therefore, it is possible to
assign to each MC 2000T control unit a different address from the rest of devices connected to
the bus. The range of valid addresses is as it follows:
Address 0: This address will always be assigned to the computer or PLC.
Addresses 1 250: Addresses valid for the various MC 2000T control units connected
to the bus.
Address 255: Broadcast address. The communication frames addressed to this

address will be answered by any control unit, even if its address is another one.
3.2. SEGMENTATION
In communication with the MC 2000T control unit it is possible to exchange large data blocks.
In order not to limit the maximum size of the blocks of data to exchange, a block segmentation
mechanism is provided, i.e. a big block of data should be divided into several smaller
communication frames. A maximum frame size of 250 bytes has been defined; this size on the
one hand allows doing the majority of the communications with the control using a single frame
for each command, and on the other hand, does not require the use of a wide amount of
memory designed exclusively for communication.
3.3. Frame format

Each communication frame is formed by seven different fields with the following format:
Order
Field
STX
DD
LT
UT
CMD
Size
PAGE - 6
1 byte
6
DATA
7
CRC
1 byte 1 byte 1 byte 1 byte N bytes 2 bytes
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
STX: Starting character: 10 Hexadecimal, 16 decimal.
DD: Address of the receiver of the frame.
MC 2000 T
Controller
LT: Total lenght of the frame.
UT: Last frame: a value of 0 in this field indicates that this is the last frame of a data
block. Any value other than 0 indicates missing more frames to complete the block.
CMD: Command: indicates the action to perform on the MC 2000T controller unit or the
response type from it.
DATA: Details of each command. Some commands have no data so this field will be
empty.
CRC: Error checking filed. CRC value aplied to all bytes of the frame except for the
same CRC.
3.4. Error checking

The MC 2000T communications protocol allows using three different types of error checking
mechanisms: CRC, Sum or none. COUTH recommends always using CRC because it is the
most secure and reliable method when it comes to identifying possible errors. If it is not possible
to use this mechanism, it is recommended to use the Sum, which is less reliable than the
former. As last and least secure option, you can use None of the previous two.
3.4.1. CRC
It uses the 16-bit CRC known as X25 standard (generator polynomial: x16 + x12 + x5 + 1).
Below is a function written in language '
C'for the calculation of the CRC of a frame.
This function returns the calculated CRC value for a frame data of length len.
short CalcularCRC(char * data, unsigned char len)
{
short icrc;
unsigned char i;
unsigned char j;
short temp;
icrc = 0x0000;
for (i = 0; i < len; i++)
{
if((icrc == 0x00) && (data[i] == 0))
{
icrc = 0x0000;
}
else
{
temp = ((short)data[i])<<8;
for(j=0; j<8; j++)
{
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if(((temp ^icrc) & 0x8000))

{
icrc = ((icrc^0x0810)<<1) | 0x0001;
}
else
{
icrc <<= 1;
}
temp <<= 1;
}
}
}
return icrc;
}
As an example, if a frame formed by the bytes 10 02 07 00 01 in hexadecimal is to be sent, the
calculated CRC value will be 7C83 in hexadecimal and the complete frame will consist of values
10 02 07 00 01 7C 83.
From now on, unless otherwise specified, all values of a communication frame shall be
expressed in hexadecimal system.
3.4.2. Sum
In this case is the sum of all the bytes of the frame except for the two bytes for the error
checking field. For the same previous case of a frame formed by the bytes 10 02 07 00 01 the
calculated sum will be 001A and the complete frame will consist of values 10 02 07 00 01 00
1A.
3.4.3. None
In this case the two bytes for the error checking field will always be 03 03. For the same
previous case of a frame formed by the bytes 10 02 07 00 01 the complete frame will consist of
values 10 02 07 00 01 03 03.
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4. ANSWERS, GENERIC FRAMES AND RETRANSMISSIONS

The usual way of carrying out the communication between a computer or PLC and the MC
2000T control unit is where the computer or the PLC act as masters and the control unit makes
it as a slave. This means that the control unit will not send any communications by itself, will be
awaiting a command from the computer or the PLC and only then will respond to that command.
2
Some commands have an own answer and the MC 2000T control unit will respond that answer
when it receives this command. Other commands however, have no answer, which defines the
positive acknowledgement frame (ACK) for these cases. It also defines another generic plot,
which is valid for all command, and it is called negative acknowledgement frame(NACK). The
role of these generic frames is that the transmitter of a frame can know whether this frame has
been received correctly or not by the addressee.
4.1. ACK
Any plot that does not require a response by the recipient'
s own, and which has been received
correctly, must be answered with a positive acknowledgement frame (ACK). This applies both to
control units and to the computer or PLC. The only exceptions are the generic frames, since
neither the positive acknowledgement frame (ACK) or the negative acknowledgement frame
(NACK) must be answered.
The format of the positive acknowledgement frame is as it follows:
STX
DD
10
LT
07
UT
00
CMD
CRC
00
4.2. NACK
The negative acknowledgement frame is used to indicate that the control unit can not perfom
the action indicated by the received command. This occurs when, for example, the control unit
is on a marking process and a command that alters any of the parameters of the marking
process has been received. The control unit will not respond to this type of command until it has
finished the marking. Therefore, it must retry sending the command later.
The format of the negative acknowledgement frame is as it follows:
STX
10
DD
LT
07
UT
00
CMD
CRC
FF
4.3. Retransmissions
In some cases it is possible that some of the devices sends a frame and it is not answered by
the device such frame has been addressed to. This can happen, for example, if the
transmission line is electrically noisy and sent frame has been altered. The device to whom the
frame was intended could have lost the frame or discard it as being wrong after checking the
CRC.
In this case, if some time has elapsed since the transmission of the frame and the transmitter of
the same frame has not received a response or a positive or negative acknowledgement, it
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COUTH MC 2000T
must retransmit the same frame. The maximum waiting time for an answer to a sent frame is
500 ms.
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5. COMMAND SET
Below is a description of all commands supported by the MC 2000T communication protocol. In
all the examples shown CRC is used as error checking method. All values of a communication
frame shall be expressed in hexadecimal system.
5.1. RESET Command

Upon reception of this command MC 2000T control unit will reset itself.
STX
RESET
DD
10
LT
UT
CMD
07
00
01
CRC
Immediately prior to the internal reset the control unit will send an ACK.
For example, if a computer (address 00) sends a RESET command to one MC 2000T control
unit whose address is 02, the communication will be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
RESET
10 02 07 00 01 7C 83
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.2. STATUS Command

Upon reception of this command MC 2000T control unit will anwser its status.
STATUS
STX
DD
10
LT
UT
CMD
07
00
02
CRC
The format for the STATUS ANSWER is as it follows:

STATUS
ANSWER
STX
DD
LT
UT
CMD
DATA
10
00
08
00
03
status
CRC
Where status will have one of the following values:
00: The control unit is idle, ready for a new marking.
01: The control unit is marking.
02: The control unit is marking but at the moment the marking is paused or
pending reception of further information.
03: The last marking has been cancelled by the user.
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04: An error occurred during the last marking: text to mark exceeds the limits of
the marking area.
05: An error occurred during the last marking: logotype to mark exceeds the
limits of the marking area.
06: An error occurred during the last marking: DataMatrix code to mark exceeds
the limits of the marking area.
07: An error occurred during the last marking: marking unit has not been
detected at origin.
08: An error occurred during the last marking: the control unit has not been able
to find the selected font.
09: : An error occurred during the last marking: the control unit has not been
able to find the selected logotype.
0A: : An error occurred during the last marking: the control unit has not been
able to find the selected file.
0B: : An error occurred during the last marking: the control unit has not been
able to find access the internal memory.
Upon reception of the STATUS ANSWER, the sender of the STATUS command has to send an
ACK.
For example, if a computer (address 00) sends a STATUS command to one MC 2000T control
unit whose address is 02, and the control unit is idle the communication will be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
STATUS
10 02 07 00 02 4C E0
Receives
Receives
STATUS ANSWER
10 00 08 00 03 00 CA 14
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 02 07 00 00 6C A2
Receives
5.3. NEW FILE Command

Upon reception of this command MC 2000T control unit will load a new empty file in memory
and anwser and ACK.
NEW FILE
STX
10
DD
LT
UT
CMD
07
00
21
CRC
For example, if a computer (address 00) sends the NEW FILE command to one MC 2000T
control unit whose address is 02, the communication will be as it follows:
PC
Sends
PAGE - 12
MC 2000T
NEW FILE
10 02 07 00 21 58 E1
Receives
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ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Receives
Sends
5.4. OPEN FILE Command

Upon reception of this command MC 2000T control unit will open the requested file, load it in
memory and anwser and ACK.
OPEN FILE
STX
DD
LT
10
UT
CMD
DATA
00
22
name
CRC
Where name is the name of the file to open. It is not necessary to include the extension of the
file.
For example, if a computer (address 00) sends the OPEN FILE command to one MC 2000T
control unit whose address is 02, requesting the file TEST0001 to be opened, the
communication will be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
OPEN FILE
10 02 0F 00 22 54 45 53 54 30 30 30 31 72 5F
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.5. SEND FILE Command

Upon reception of this command MC 2000T control unit will load the received file in memory
and anwser and ACK.
Formato:
STX
DD
LT
10
UT
CMD
DATA
3B
file
CRC
Where file has the following format:

Line 1 Data
Line 2 Data
...
Line n Data (maximum 40 lines)
Counter Data
A file can contain up to 40 lines, but if the file to transmit only uses one line, simply include only
the data for that line.
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It is not always necessary to include data for the counters, only if you are going to use a
Counter special mark within the text.
For those line parameters whose size is two bytes, the less significant byte must be sent first,
that is, if for example you want to set the character height of a line to 20.0 mm (200 tenths of a
mm), the value to send is 00C8 in hexadecimal and should be sent in the order C8 00.
For one byte size parameters, the value FF indicates using the same parameter value as the
previous line (the default value will be used if the parameter belongs to the first line).
For two bytes size parameters, the value FF FF indicates using the same parameter value as
the previous line (the default value will be used if the parameter belongs to the first line).
For the Font parameter, the value FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF indicates using the
same Font as the previous line (the default value will be used if the parameter belongs to the
first line).
Line Data:
Character height: Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.

Examples:
Height = 5mm
Value to be sent = 32 0
Height = 10,5mm
Character width: Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in %(1-200).

Examples:
Width = 100%
Value to be sent = 64
Width = 200%
Value to be sent = C8
Font: Size: 12 bytes. ASCII string with the name of the source, including the extension
".FNT". If the name and extension number less than 12, the rest will be filled with the
value 00.
Examples:
Font = GULIM
Value to be sent = 47 55 4C 49 4D 2E 46 4E 54 00 00
00
Font = COURI
Value to be sent = 43 4F 55 52 49 2E 46 4E 54 00 00
00
Character spacing: Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in %(0-200).

Examples:
Spacing = 100%
Spacing = 200%
Density: Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in %(1-101). Value 101 means auto density.
Examples:
Density = 100%
Density = auto
X Coordinate: Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.

Examples:
X Coordinate = 5mm
X Coordinate = 10,5mm
Y Coordinate: Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.

Examples:
Y Coordinate = 5mm
Y Coordinate = 10,5mm
Z Coordinate: Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.

Examples:
Z Coordinate= 5mm
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Controller
Z Coordinate = 10,5mm
Angle: Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a degree.

Examples:
Angle = 180 Value to be sent = 08 07
Angle = 45,5 Value to be sent = C7 01
Diameter: Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.

Examples:
Diameter = 180mm
Diameter = 45,5mm
Value to be sent = C7 01
Concave/Convex: Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:

Concave/Convex Value
Examples:
Convex
00
Concave
01
Concave/Convex = Concave
Concave/Convex = Convex
Horizontal mirror: Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:

Horizontal mirror Value
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Horizontal mirror = Yes

Horizontal mirror = No
Vertical mirror: Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:

Vertical mirror Valor
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Vertical mirror= Yes

Vertical mirror = No
Speed: Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-10.

Examples:
Speed = 1
Speed = 10
Value to be sent = 0A
Force: Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-10.

Examples:
Force = 1
Force = 10
Reserved data: Size: 20 bytes, all to FF.
Text: Maximum size: 75 bytes. ASCII string with the text to mark. It is possible to
include the following special marks:
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MC 2000 T
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PAGE - 16
Insert Option
Special mark
Shift
Calendar: Hour(hh)
C(HH)
Calendar: Minutes(mm)
C(MM)
Calendar: Hour-Minutes(hh-mm)
C(HH-MM)
Calendar: Day of week(d)
C(d)
Calendar: Day of month(dd)
C(dd)
Calendar: Day of year(ddd)
C(ddd)
Calendar: Week of year(ww)
C(ww)
Calendar: Month of year(mm)
C(mm)
Calendar: Year(yy)
C(yy)
Calendar: Year(yyyy)
C(yyyy)
Calendar: Year-month-day(yyyy-mm-dd)
C(yyyy-mm-dd)
Calendar: Day-month-year(dd-mm-yyyy)
C(dd-mm-yyyy)
Object: Logotype
L(XXXXXXXX.LOG)
Object: File
F(XXXXXXXX.TXT)
Counter: Conter 1
CT1(XXXXXXXXXX)
Counter: Counter 2
CT2(XXXXXXXXXX)
MWS1A
MWS2A
MWS3A
MWS1M
MWS2M
Command: Line Origin Coordinate
MGC
Command: Wait for data
MWSC
MAS1A
MDS1A
MAS2A
MDS2A
MAS3A
MDS3A
MAS4A
MDS4A
MAS1M
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COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
MDS1M
MAS2M
MDS2M
Command: Timer 1
MT1
Command: Timer 2
MT2
Command: Timer 3
MT3
Command: Plate feeder
MPF
Square DataMatrix Code
DMS(XXX )
Rectangular DataMatrix Code
DMR(XXX )
Any special mark must be preceded by the value 1E and followed by the value
1F.
At the end of the text of every line, value 0A must be included, indicating the end of the
line.
After the end of line value (0A) of the last line of the file, value 0B must be included,
indicating the end of file.
Examples:
Text = Shift
Value to be sent = 53 68 69 66 74 0A
Text = Shift Shift special mark
Value to be sent = 53 68 69 66 74 1E
54 1F 0A
Counter data:
Counter 1 repetitions: Size 1 byte. Number of repetitions already made for this
counter.
Examples:
Repetitions = 0
Repetitions = 100
Counter 1 value: Size 10 bytes. Value of counter 1. Each byte represents the ASCII
value for the corresponding byte.
Examples:
Counter 1 value= 0123456789
Value to be sent = 30 31 32 33 34 35
36 37 38 39
Counter 1 value = 6789
Value to be sent = 30 30 30 30 30 30 36 37
38 39
Counter 1 repetitions: Size 1 byte. Number of repetitions already made for this
counter.
Examples:
Repetitions = 0
Repetitions = 100
Counter 1 value: Size 10 bytes. Value of counter 1. Each byte represents the ASCII
value for the corresponding byte.
Examples:
Counter 1 value= 0123456789
Value to be sent = 30 31 32 33 34 35
36 37 38 39
Rev. - Jan 2008
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COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Counter 1 value = 6789

38 39
Value to be sent = 30 30 30 30 30 30 36 37
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the SEND FILE command to one MC 2000T control
unit whose address is 02, the communication would be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
SEND FILE
10 02 80 00 3B 32 00 64 47 55 4C 49 4D 2E 46 4E 54 00 00
00 19 65 64 00 64 00 FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0A 03 FF
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF 43 4F 55 54 48 0A FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF FF FF FF FF 4D 43 20 32 30 30 30 54 B2 0A 0B 7A 6F
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
And the sent file has the following format:

Line 1:
Character height: 5mm
Character width: 100%
Font: GULIM.FNT
Spacing between characters: 25
Density: auto
X coordinate: 10mm
Y coordinate: 10mm
Z coordinate: Default value.
Angle: 0
Diameter: 0mm
Concave/Convex: Convex
Vertical mirror: No
Speed: 10
Force: 3
Reserved values: Size 20 bytes, all to FF.
Text: COUTH
Line 2:
Character height: Same as previous line.
Character width: Same as previous line.
Font: Same as previous line.
Spacing between characters: Same as previous line.
Density: Same as previous line.
X coordinate: Same as previous line.
PAGE - 18
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
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Controller
Y coordinate: Same as previous line.

Z coordinate: Same as previous line.
Angle: Same as previous line.
Diameter: Same as previous line.
Concave/Convex: Same as previous line.
Horizontal mirror: Same as previous line.
Vertical mirror: Same as previous line.
Speed: Same as previous line.
Force: Same as previous line.
Text: MC 2000T
Counter data:
Not included because no counter is used.
The following example uses a file with a counter:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
SEND FILE
10 02 64 00 3B 32 00 64 47 55 4C 49 4D 2E 46 4E 54 00 00
00 19 65 64 00 64 00 FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0A 03 FF
FF 1E 43 54 31 28 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 30 29 1F 0A
0B 00 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 30 00 30 30 30 30 30 30
30 30 30 30 ED 7F
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
And the sent file has the following format:

Line 1:
Character height: 5mm
Character width: 100%
Font: GULIM.FNT
Spacing between characters: 25
Density: auto
X coordinate: 10mm
Y coordinate: 10mm
Z coordinate: Default value.
Angle: 0
Diameter: 0mm
Concave/Convex: Convex
Vertical mirror: No
Speed: 10
Rev. - Jan 2008
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COUTH MC 2000T
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Controller
Force: 3
Text: The text is a Counter 1 special mark with a counter value of 1234567890.
Counter data:
Counter 1 repetitions: 0
Counter 1 value: 1234567890
Counter 2 repetitions: 0
Counter 2 value: 0000000000
5.6. DELETE FILE Command

Upon reception of this command, the MC 2000T control unit will delete the selected file from its
internal non volatile memory and send an ACK.
DELETE
FILE
STX
DD
LT
10
UT
CMD
DATA
00
23
name
CRC
Where name is the name of the file to delete. It is not requiered to add the extension of the file.
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the DELETE FILE command to one MC 2000T
control unit whose address is 02, asking to delete file TEST0001, the communication would be
as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
DELETE FILE
10 02 0F 00 23 54 45 53 54 30 30 30 31 99 7C
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.7. SAVE FILE Command

Upon reception of this command, the MC 2000T control unit will save into the internal non
volatile memory the file it has in memory, using the selected name. Afterwards, the control unit
will send an ACK.
SAVE
FILE
STX
10
DD
LT
UT
CMD
DATA
00
24
name
CRC
Where name is the name of the file. It is not mandatory to add the extension of the file.
For example, if a PC (address 00) sends the SAVE FILE command to one MC 2000T control
unit whose address is 02, asking to save file TEST0001, the communication will be as it follows:
PAGE - 20
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
SAVE FILE
10 02 0F 00 24 54 45 53 54 30 30 30 31 28 D7
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.8. EDIT TEXT Command

Upon reception of this command, the MC 2000T control unit will modify the texto of the
selected line of the file loaded in memory and will answer an ACK.
EDIT
TEXT
STX
DD
LT
10
UT
CMD
DATA
00
25
line text
CRC
Where line is the number of the line to edit (1 40) and text is the new text for that line. Within
the text, special marks described in the chapter for the command TRANSMIT FILE can be
included.
For example, if a PC (address 00) sends one EDIT TEXT command to one MC 2000T control
unit whose address is 02, indicating that the text for the first line of the file must be ABCD123,
the communication will be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
EDIT TEXT
10 02 0F 00 25 01 42 43 44 45 31 32 33 44 D6
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.9. LINE PARAMETER Command

Upon reception of this command, the MC 2000T control unit will modify the value of the
selected parameter of the selected line of the file in memory and it will send an ACK.
LINE
PARAMETER
STX
10
DD
LT
UT
CMD
DATA
CRC
00
25
line parameter value
Where line is the number of the line (1 40), parameter is the code of the parameter to be
changed and value is the new value for that parameter. For those line parameters whose size is
two bytes, the less significant byte must be sent first, that is, if for example you want to set the
character height of a line to 20.0 mm (200 tenths of a mm), the value to send is 00C8 in
hexadecimal and should be sent in the order C8 00.
These are all the parameter which can be modified, their codes, sizes and formats:
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MC 2000 T
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COUTH MC 2000T
Character height: Code: 01. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a
millimetre.
Examples:
Height = 5mm
Height = 10,5mm
Character width: Code: 02. Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in %(1-200).

Examples:
Width = 100%
Width = 200%
Font: Code: 03. Size: 12 bytes. ASCII string with the name of the source, including the
extension ".FNT". If the name and extension number less than 12, the rest will be filled
with the value 00.
Examples:
Font = GULIM
00
Font = COURI
00
Character spacing: Code: 04. Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in %(0-200).

Examples:
Spacing = 100%
Spacing = 200%
Density: Code: 05. Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in %(1-101). Value 101 means auto
density.
Examples:
Density = 100%
Density = auto
X Coordinate: Code: 06. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
X Coordinate = 5mm
Y Coordinate: Code: 07. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
Y Coordinate = 5mm
Z Coordinate: Code: 08. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
Z Coordinate= 5mm
Angle: Code: 09. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a degree.
Examples:
Diameter: Code: 0A. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
Diameter = 180mm
Diameter = 45,5mm
PAGE - 22
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Concave/Convex: Code: 0B. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Examples:
Convex
00
Concave
01
Horizontal mirror: Code: 0C. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01

Vertical mirror: Code: 0D. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Vertical mirror Valor
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Vertical mirror= Yes

Speed: Code: 0E. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-10.

Examples:
Speed = 1
Speed = 10
Force: Code: 0F. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-10.

Examples:
Force = 1
Force = 10
For one byte size parameters, the value FF indicates using the same parameter value as the
previous line (the default value will be used if the parameter belongs to the first line).
For two bytes size parameters, the value FF FF indicates using the same parameter value as
the previous line (the default value will be used if the parameter belongs to the first line).
For the Font parameter, the value FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF indicates using the
same Font as the previous line (the default value will be used if the parameter belongs to the
first line).
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the LINE PARAMETER command to one MC
2000T control unit whose address is 02, indicating that the X Coordinate parameter of the third
line must be 10.0 mm, the communication will be as it follows:
PC
Sends
Rev. - Jan 2008
MC 2000T
LINE PARAMETER
Receives
PAGE - 23
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
10 02 0B 00 26 03 06 64 00 BC D4
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Receives
Sends
5.10. START Command

Upon reception of this command the MC 2000T control unit will begin the marking process if it
was in idle state or resume the marking process if it was paused.
STX
START
DD
10
LT
UT
CMD
07
00
31
CRC
The control unit will respond an ACK to this command and once the marking process has
finished or if it has been paused, then the MARKING ANSWER will be sent indicating the result
of the marking process.
The format of the MARKING ANSWER is:
MARKING
ANSWER
STX
DD
LT
UT
CMD
DATA
10
00
08
00
32
status
CRC
Where status will have one of the following values:
00: The control unit is idle, ready for a new marking.
02: The control unit is marking but at the moment the marking is paused or
pending reception of further information.
03: The last marking has been cancelled by the user.
04: An error occurred during the last marking: text to mark exceeds the limits of
the marking area.
05: An error occurred during the last marking: logotype to mark exceeds the
limits of the marking area.
06: An error occurred during the last marking: DataMatrix code to mark exceeds
the limits of the marking area.
07: An error occurred during the last marking: marking unit has not been
detected at origin.
08: An error occurred during the last marking: the control unit has not been able
to find the selected font.
09: : An error occurred during the last marking: the control unit has not been
able to find the selected logotype.
0A: : An error occurred during the last marking: the control unit has not been
able to find the selected file.
0B: : An error occurred during the last marking: the control unit has not been
able to find access the internal memory.
Once the MARKING ANSWER is received, the sender of the START command has to reply
with an ACK.
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Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the START command to one MC 2000T control unit
whose address is 02, and after 2 seconds the marking process finishes correctly, the
communication will be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
START
10 02 07 00 31 4A D0
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Marking for 2 seconds

Receives
MARKING ANSWER
10 00 08 00 32 00 FC B0
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 02 07 00 00 6C A2
Receives
5.11. PAUSE Command

Upon reception of this command, the MC 2000T control unit will send an ACK and then pause
the ongoing marking process. It the marking was already paused it will be canceled.
PAUSE
STX
10
DD
LT
UT
CMD
07
00
33
CRC
Once the marking process is paused or cancelled, the MARKING ANSWER will be sent
indicating the result of the marking process.
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the PAUSE command during a marking process to
one MC 2000T control unit whose address is 02, the communication will be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
PAUSE
10 02 07 00 33 6A 92
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Receives
MARKING ANSWER
10 00 08 00 32 02 DC F2
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 02 07 00 00 6C A2
Receives
Rev. - Jan 2008
PAGE - 25
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
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5.12. STOP Command

Upon reception of this command, the MC 2000T control unit will send an ACK and then cancel
the ongoing marking process.
STOP
STX
DD
10
LT
UT
CMD
07
00
34
CRC
Once the marking process is cancelled, the MARKING ANSWER will be sent indicating the
result of the marking process.
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the STOP command during a marking process to
one MC 2000T control unit whose address is 02, the communication will be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
STOP
10 02 07 00 34 1A 75
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Receives
MARKING ANSWER
10 00 08 00 32 03 CC D3
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 02 07 00 00 6C A2
Receives
5.13. SEND DATA Command

This command is used to transmit to the MC 2000T control unit part of the text to be marked.
Through a special mark within the text to mark it is possible to indicate to the control unit at the
time of marking, when it reaches the point where it is such a special mark, to pause the marking
process and wait for more data to mark.
Upon reception of this command, the MC 2000T control unit will send an ACK and resume the
marking process, marking the received text.
SEND
DATA
STX
DD
10
LT
UT
CMD
DATA
00
35
text
CRC
Where text is the text to be marked.

For example, if a PC (address 00) sends the SEND DATA command to one MC 2000T control
unit whose address is 02, indicating that the text to be marked is ABCD123 the communication
will be as it follows:
PC
PAGE - 26
MC 2000T
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Sends
SEND DATA
10 02 0E 00 35 41 42 43 44 31 32 33 E8 2D
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.14. MARK TEXT Command

Upon reception of this command the MC 2000T control unit will erase the text currently loaded
in memory, load the received text and begin the marking process.
MARK TEXT
STX
DD
LT
UT
10
CMD
DATA
36
text
CRC
Where text is the text to mark. If the text sent belongs to several lines of the same file, you must
include 0A character at the end of each line. Within the text, special marks described in the
chapter for the command TRANSMIT FILE can be included.
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the MARK TEXT command to one MC 2000T
control unit whose address is 02, indicating that the text to mark must be ABCD on the first line
and 123 on the second line, the communication would be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
MARK TEXT
10 02 0F 00 36 41 42 43 44 0A 31 32 33 FA
8C
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Marking
Receives
MARKING ANSWER
10 00 08 00 32 00 FC B0
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 02 07 00 00 6C A2
Receives
5.15. MARK FILE Command

Upon reception of this command the MC 2000T control unit will load the received file in
memory and begin the marking process.
MARK
FILE
Rev. - Jan 2008
STX
DD
LT
UT
CMD
DATA
CRC
PAGE - 27
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
FILE
10
37
file
Where file is the file to mark. It has the format described in the chapter corresponding to the
SEND FILE command.
For example, if a PC (address 00) sends the MARK FILE command to one MC 2000T control
unit whose address is 02, the communication will be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
MARK FILE
10 02 42 00 37 32 00 64 47 55 4C 49 4D 2E 46 4E 54 00 00
00 19 65 64 00 64 00 FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0A 03 FF
FF 43 4F 55 54 48 0A 0B 99 BD
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Marking
Receives
MARKING ANSWER
10 00 08 00 32 00 FC B0
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 02 07 00 00 6C A2
Receives
5.16. START WITHOUT ANSWER Command

Like with the START command, upon reception of this command the MC 2000T control unit will
begin the marking process if it was in idle state or resume the marking process if it was paused.
START WITHOUT
ANSWER
STX
10
DD
LT
UT
CMD
07
00
38
CRC
The control unit will respond an ACK to this command.

The difference between the START command and the START WITHOUT ANSWER command
lies in the fact that in the latter case, upon completion of the marking process, the MC 2000T
control unit will not send the MARKING ANSWER. To know when it completed the marking
process, the sender of the START WITHOUT ANSWER command can "ask" to the control unit
during the marking process using the STATUS command.
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the START WITHOUT ANSWER command to one
MC 2000T control unit whose address is 02, and the marking process finishes correctly after 2
seconds, the communication would be as it follows:
PAGE - 28
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
START WITHOUT ANSWER

10 02 07 00 38 DB F9
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.17. MARK TEXT WITHOUT ANSWER Command

Like with the MARK TEXT command, upon reception of this command the MC 2000T control
unit will erase the text currently loaded in memory, load the received text and begin the marking
process.
MARK TEXT
WITHOUT ANSWER
STX
DD
LT
UT
CMD
DATA
39
text
10
CRC
Where text is the text to mark. If the text sent belongs to several lines of the same file, you must
include 0A character at the end of each line. Within the text, special marks described in the
chapter for the command TRANSMIT FILE can be included.
The difference between the MARK TEXT command and the MARK TEXT WITHOUT ANSWER
command lies in the fact that in the latter case, upon completion of the marking process, the MC
2000T control unit will not send the MARKING ANSWER. To know when it completed the
marking process, the sender of the MARK TEXT WITHOUT ANSWER command can "ask" to
the control unit during the marking process using the STATUS command.
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the MARK TEXT WITHOUT ANSWER command to
one MC 2000T control unit whose address is 02, indicating that the text to mark must be ABCD
on the first line and 123 on the second line, the communication would be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
MARK TEXT WITHOUT ANSWER

10 02 0F 00 39 41 42 43 44 0A 31 32 33 62 D8
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.18. MARK FILE WITHOUT ANWSER Command

Like with the MARK FILE command, upon reception of this command the MC 2000T control
unit will load in memory the received file and start the marking process for that file.
MARK FILE
WITHOUT
ANSWER
Rev. - Jan 2008
STX
10
DD
LT
UT
CMD
DATA
3A
file
CRC
PAGE - 29
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Where file is the file to mark. It has the format described in the chapter for the command
TRANSMIT FILE.
The difference between the MARK FILE command and the MARK FILE WITHOUT ANSWER
command lies in the fact that in the latter case, upon completion of the marking process, the MC
2000T control unit will not send the MARKING ANSWER. To know when it completed the
marking process, the sender of the MARK FILE WITHOUT ANSWER command can "ask" to
the control unit during the marking process using the STATUS command.
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends the MARK FILE WITHOUT ANSWER command to
one MC 2000T control unit whose address is 02, the communication would be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
MARK FILE WITHOUT ANSWER

10 02 4B 00 3A 32 00 64 47 55 4C 49 4D 2E 46 4E 54 00
00 00 19 65 64 00 64 00 FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0A
03 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF FF FF FF 43 4F 55 54 48 0A 0B 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 8A 78
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
5.19. GENERAL PARAMETER Command

Upon reception of this command, the MC 2000T control unit will modify the value of the
selected general parameter and send an ACK.
GENERAL
PARAMETER
STX
10
DD
LT
UT
CMD
00
43
DATA
parameter
CRC
value
Where parameter is the code for the parameter to modify and value is the new value for that
parameter.
Para aquellos parmetros cuyo tamao sea de dos bytes, se debe enviar primero el byte
menos significativo, es decir, que si por ejemplo se desea fijar Altura (Parmetros de edicin) a
20.0 mm (200 dcimas de mm), el valor hexadecimal a enviar es 00C8 y se deber enviar en el
orden C8 00.
For those parameters whose size is two bytes, the less significant byte must be sent first, that
is, if for example you want to set Height (Edition parameters) to 20.0 mm (200 tenths of a mm),
the hexadecimal value to send is 00C8 and should be sent in the order C8 00.
Below is a description of all the general parameters that can be edited:
Mechanics parameters
Marking area:
X Travel: Code: 01. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
X Travel = 50mm
Value to be sent = F4 01
PAGE - 30
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
X Travel = 200mm
MC 2000 T
Controller
Value to be sent = D0 07
Recorrido Y: Code: 02. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
Y Travel = 50mm
Y Travel = 200mm
Recorrido Z: Code: 03. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
Z Travel = 50mm
Z Travel = 200mm
Transmission:
Transmission X: Code: 04. Size: 2 bytes. Values according to the table shown in yhe
instructions manual.
Examples:
Transmission X = 200
Transmission X = 340
Transmission Y: Code: 05. Size: 2 bytes. Values according to the table shown in yhe
Examples:
Transmission Y = 200
Transmission Y = 340
Transmission Z: Code: 06. Size: 2 bytes. Values according to the table shown in yhe
Examples:
Transmission Z = 200
Transmission Z = 340
Head:
Type: Code: 07. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Type
Examples:
Value
Pneumatic
00
Solenoid S3
01
Solenoid S6
02
Impact
03
Scratching
04
Type = Pneumatic
Type = Scratching
Input time: Code: 08. Size: 1 byte. The value is expressed in miliseconds.
Examples:
Input time = 10ms
Input time = 20ms
Output time: Code: 09. Size: 1 byte. The value is expressed in miliseconds.
Examples:
Output time = 10ms
Output time = 20ms
Rev. - Jan 2008
PAGE - 31
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Motor:
Consumption X: Code: 0A. Size: 1 byte. The value is expressed in tenths of Amperes.
Examples:
Consumption X = 1 Ampere
Consumption X = 1,5 Amperes
Value to be sent = 0F
Consumption Y: Code: 0B. Size: 1 byte. The value is expressed in tenths of Amperes.
Examples:
Consumption Y = 1 Ampere
Consumption Y = 1,5 Amperes
Consumption Z: Code: 0C. Size: 1 byte. The value is expressed in tenths of Amperes.
Examples:
Consumption Z = 1 Ampere
Consumption Z = 1,5 Amperes
Full speed: Code: 0D. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in motor steps per
second.
Examples:
Full speed = 1000 steps/second
Value to be sent = E8 03
Full speed = 1200 steps/second
Value to be sent = B0 04
Acceleration: Code: 0E. Size: 1 byte. The value is expressed in %.

Examples:
Acceleration = 10%
Acceleration = 50%
Portable machine:
Portable machine: Code: 0F. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Portable machine Value
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Portable machine = S
Portable machine = No
Quick configuration:
Machine model: Code: 10. Size: 5 bytes. ASCII string.

Examples:
Machine model = P50FN
Value to be sent = 50 35 30 46 4E
Machine model = N60RS
Value to be sent = 4E 36 30 52 53
Header model: Code: 11. Size: 5 bytes. ASCII string.

Examples:
Header model = N14SB
Value to be sent = 4E 31 34 53 42
Header model = S06
Value to be sent = 53 30 36 20 20
Marking parameters
Marking mode: Code: 12. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Marking mode Value
File
PAGE - 32
00
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Slave
Examples:
01
Marking mode = File

Marking mode = Slave
Reset: Code: 13. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Reset Value
Examples:
Reset = Yes
Reset = No
No
00
Yes
01
Edition parameters
Height: Code: 14. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
Height = 5mm
Height = 10,5mm
Width: Code: 15. Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in % (1-200).

Examples:
Width = 100%
Width = 200%
Font: Code: 16. Size: 12 bytes. ASCII string with the name of the source, including the
extension ".FNT". If the name and extension number less than 12, the rest will be filled
with the value 00.
Examples:
Font = GULIM
00
Font = COURI
00
Spacing: Code: 17. Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in % (0-200).

Examples:
Spacing = 100%
Spacing = 200%
Density: Code: 18. Size: 1 byte. Value expressed in %(1-101). 101 means density
auto.
Examples:
Density = 100%
Density = auto
X Coordinate: Code: 19. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
X Coordinate = 5mm
Y Coordinate: Code: 1A. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a

millimetre.
Examples:
Y Coordinate = 5mm
Rev. - Jan 2008
PAGE - 33
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Z Coordinate: Code: 1B. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
Z Coordinate = 5mm
Angle: Code: 1C. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a degree.
Examples:
Diameter: Code: 1D. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in tenths of a millimetre.
Examples:
Diameter = 180mm
Diameter = 45,5mm
Concave/Convex: Code: 1E. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Examples:
Convex
00
Cncave
01
Horizontal mirror: Code: 1F. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01

Vertical mirror: Code: 20. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Vertical mirror Value
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Vertical mirror = Yes

Speed: Code: 21. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-10.

Examples:
Speed = 1
Speed = 10
Force: Code: 22. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-10.

Examples:
Force = 1
Force = 10
PAGE - 34
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Selfcentering X: Code: 23. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Selfcentering X Value
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Selfcentering X = Yes
Selfcentering X = No
Selfcentering Y: Code: 24. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Selfcentering Y Value
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Selfcentering Y = Yes
Selfcentering Y = No
Controller parameters
Shifts:
Shift number: Code: 25. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-4.

Examples:
Shift number = 1
Shift number = 4
Marking character (shift 1): Code: 26. Size: 1 byte. ASCII value to be marked.
Examples:
Marking character = A
Marking character = 1
Examples:
Examples:
Examples:
Starting time (shift 1): Code: 2A. Size: 3 bytes. Firts byte: Hours. Second byte:
Minutes. Third byte: Seconds.
Examples:
Starting time = 06:00:00
Value to be sent = 06 00 00
Value to be sent = 0D 1E 2D
Rev. - Jan 2008
PAGE - 35
MC 2000 T
Controller
COUTH MC 2000T
Starting time (shift 2): Code: 2B. Size: 3 bytes. Firts byte: Hours. Second byte:
Examples:
Starting time (shift 3): Code: 2C. Size: 3 bytes. Firts byte: Hours. Second byte:
Examples:
Starting time (shift 4): Code: 2D. Size: 3 bytes. Firts byte: Hours. Second byte:
Examples:
Calendar:
Week day: Code: 2E. Size: 7 bytes. Each byte represents the ASCII value for the
character of each day.
Examples:
Characters = L M X J V S D
Value to be sent = 4C 4D 58 4A 56 53
44
Characters = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Value to be sent = 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
Month: Code: 2F. Size: 12 bytes. Each byte represents the ASCII value for the
character of month.
Examples: Characters = E F M A M J J A S O N D
Value to be sent = 45 46 4D 41
4D 4A 4A 41 53 4F 4E 44
Characters = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C
Value to be sent = 31 32 33 34 35
36 37 38 39 41 42 43
Month day: Code: 30. Size: 31 bytes. Each byte represents the ASCII value for the
character of each day of the month.
Examples: Characters = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S
TUV
Value to be sent = 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 41 42 43 44 45
46 47 48 49 4A 4B 4C 4D 4E 4F 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
Hour: Code: 31. Size: 1 byte. Value between 0-23.

Examples:
Hour = 06
Hour = 23
Minutes: Code: 32. Size: 1 byte. Value between 0-59.

Examples:
Minutes = 06
Minutes = 59
Value to be sent = 3B
Seconds: Code: 33. Size: 1 byte. Value between 0-59.

Examples:
Seconds = 06
Seconds = 59
Value to be sent = 3B
Day: Code: 34. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-31.
PAGE - 36
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
Examples:
Day = 06
Day = 31
MC 2000 T
Controller
Month: Code: 35. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-12.

Examples:
Month = 06
Month = 12
Value to be sent = 0C
Year: Code: 36. Size: 2 bytes.

Examples:
Year = 2008
Year = 1974
Separating character: Code: 37. Size: 1 byte. ASCII value of the character.
Examples:
Separating character = /
Separating character = :
Automating hour change: Code: 38. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following
table:
Automating hour change Value
Examples:
None
00
European
01
Automatic hour change = European

Automatic hour change = None
Counters:
Increase (C1): Code: 39. Size: 1 bytes. Value between 100 y +100. Negative values
are calculated as a 2s complement, i.e., 256+Value.
Examples:
Increase = -1
Value to be sent = FF
Increase = 1
Increase = -100
Increase = 100
Increase (C2): Code: 3A. Size: 1 bytes. Value between 100 y +100. Negative values
are calculated as a 2s complement, i.e., 256+Value.
Examples:
Increase = -1
Value to be sent = FF
Increase = 1
Increase = -100
Increase = 100
Repetition (C1): Code: 3B. Size: 1 bytes. Value between 0-100.

Examples:
Repetition = 1
Repetition = 100
Repetition (C2): Code: 3C. Size: 1 bytes. Value between 0-100.

Examples:
Repetition = 1
Repetition = 100
Rev. - Jan 2008
PAGE - 37
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Digit number (C1): Code: 3D. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-10.
Examples:
Digit number = 1
Digit number = 10
Digit number (C2): Code: 3E. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1-10.
Examples:
Digit number = 1
Digit number = 10
Mark zeros (C1): Code: 3F. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Mark zeros Value
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Mark zeros = Yes

Mark zeros = No
Mark zeros (C2): Code: 40. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Mark zeros Value
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Mark zeros = Yes

Mark zeros = No
Minimum (C1): Code: 41. Size: 10 bytes. Each byte represents the ASCII value of one
digit.
Examples:
Minimum = 0123456789
Value to be sent = 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
38 39
Minimum = 6789
Value to be sent = 30 30 30 30 30 30 36 37 38 39
Minimum (C2): Code: 42. Size: 10 bytes. Each byte represents the ASCII value of one
digit.
Examples:
Minimum = 0123456789
Value to be sent = 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
38 39
Minimum = 6789
Value to be sent = 30 30 30 30 30 30 36 37 38 39
Maximum (C1): Code: 43. Size: 10 bytes. Each byte represents the ASCII value of one
digit.
Examples:
Maximum = 0123456789
Value to be sent = 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
38 39
Maximum = 6789
Value to be sent = 30 30 30 30 30 30 36 37 38 39
Maximum (C2): Code: 44. Size: 10 bytes. Each byte represents the ASCII value of one
digit.
Examples:
Maximum = 0123456789
Value to be sent = 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
38 39
PAGE - 38
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Maximum = 6789
Reset (C1): Code: 45. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Examples:
Value to be sent = 30 30 30 30 30 30 36 37 38 39
Reset
Value
None
00
Year
01
Month
02
Week
03
Day
04
Shift
05
External
06
Reset = Day
Reset = None
Reset (C2): Code: 46. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Examples:
Reset
Value
None
00
Year
01
Month
02
Week
03
Day
04
Shift
05
External
06
Reset = Day
Reset = None
Communications:
Baudrate: Code: 47. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Baudrate Value
Examples:
Rev. - Jan 2008
2400
00
4800
01
9600
02
19200
03
38400
04
57600
05
115200
06
Baudrate = 2400
Baudrate = 115200
PAGE - 39
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Protocol: Code: 48. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Protocol
Examples:
Value
MC 2000T
00
MC 2000T
01
MC 2000L
02
Protocol = MC 2000T
Protocol = MC 2000L
Error checking: Code: 49. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Error checking Value
Examples:
CRC
00
Sum
01
None
02
Error checking = CRC

Error checking = None
Topology: Code: 4A. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Topology
Examples:
Value
Point to point
00
Net
01
Topology = Point to point

Topology = Net
Address: Code: 4B. Size: 1 byte. Value between 1 and 250

Examples:
Address = 1
Address = 250
Value to be sent = FA
Idioma:
Language: Code: 4C. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Examples:
Language
Value
ESPAOL
00
ENGLISH
01
FRANAIS
02
DEUTSCH
03
PORTUGUS
04
ITALIANO
05
Language = ESPAOL
Language = ITALIANO
Controller:
PAGE - 40
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Internal Start/Stop: Code: 4D. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Internal Start/Stop Value
Examples:
No
00
Yes
01
Internal Start/Stop = Yes

Internal Start/Stop = No
Beep: Code: 4E. Size: 1 byte. Values according to the following table:
Beep Value
Examples:
Beep = Yes
Beep = No
No
00
Yes
01
Timers:
Timer 1: Code: 4F. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in miliseconds.

Examples:
Timer 1 = 1000 miliseconds
Timer 2: Code: 50. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in miliseconds.

Examples:
Timer 3: Code: 51. Size: 2 bytes. The value is expressed in miliseconds.

Examples:
As an example, if a PC (address 00) sends a GENERAL PARAMETER command to one MC

2000T control unit whose address is 02, indicating that the parameter Travel X (Mechanics
parameters) is 100.0 mm, the communication would be as it follows:
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
GENERAL PARAMETER
10 02 0A 00 43 01 E8 03 B0 5D
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Rev. - Jan 2008
PAGE - 41
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
6. COMMUNICATION DURING THE MARKING PROCESS

As can be seen in the previous chapter, there are 6 commands that activate the marking
process: START, MARK TEXT, MARK FILE, START WITHOUT ANSWER, MARK TEXT
WITHOUT ANSWER and MARK FILE WITHOUT ANSWER. The first three indicate to the
control unit to send a reply to the sender of the command at the end of the marking process,
while the last three make the control unit skip this response.
If you are working in a networked configuration, with a PC and a number of control units
connected to a bus, it can be dangerous to use any of the first three commands because if the
PC sends, for example, the START command to 10 units control at the same time, as each one
completes its marking process it will sent its MARKING ANSWER to the PC. In addition to the
risk of collision between several responses from various control units, there is the problem that
the PC will not know what control unit corresponds each reply. These commands should be
used only when working with a single marker unit connected to the PC.
WITHOUT ANSWER commands are designed to solve such problems. The PC can send the
START command to 10 different control units and then sequentially ask for the state to each of
them through the STATUS command until the completion of all marking processes. Thus, it will
be able to determine unambiguously the result of each of the marking processes.
Anyway, if you set the control units connected to the bus so that they work with a network
topology (Parameter topology from Communications from Controller parameters), they will not
send the MARKING ANSWER even in the case of starting the marking process with START,
MARK TEXT or MARK FILE command.
Below is an example in which a PC governs simultaneously the marking process of two control
units (addressesc 1 and 2 respectively):
PC
Control
unit 1
Control
unit 2
Sends
START
10 01 07 00 31 D1 0C
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Sends
START
10 02 07 00 31 4A D0
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Sends
STATUS
10 01 07 00 02 D7 3C
Receives
Receives
STATUS ANSWER (marking)

10 00 08 00 03 01 DA 35
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 01 07 00 00 F7 7E
Receives
Sends
STATUS
PAGE - 42
Receives
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
10 02 07 00 02 4C E0
Receives
STATUS ANSWER (marking)

10 00 08 00 03 01 DA 35
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 02 07 00 00 6C A2
Receives
The STATUS questions and answers are repeated

until to the end of the marking process.
A minimum time of 200 ms between each repetition is
recommended.
Sends
STATUS
10 01 07 00 02 D7 3C
Receives
Receives
MARKING ANSWER (end of marking)

10 00 08 00 03 00 CA 14
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 01 07 00 00 F7 7E
Receives
Sends
STATUS
10 02 07 00 02 4C E0
Receives
Receives
MARKING ANSWER (end of marking)

10 00 08 00 03 00 CA 14
Sends
Sends
ACK
10 02 07 00 00 6C A2
Receives
Of course, this system can be used with more than two control units and also with only one. In
the latter case, if the control unit is configured to work on a point-to-point topology, WITHOUT
ANSWER commands should be used.
Rev. - Jan 2008
PAGE - 43
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
7. FRAGMENTATION OF A DATA BLOCK

As discussed above, in the case of wanting to make the transmission of a large data block it is
necessary to split that block on several smaller communication frames.
The maximum size of a frame is 250 bytes. These 250 bytes relate to the whole frame,
including the bytes of fields STX, DD, LT, UT, CMD, DATA and CRC. As bytes of fields STX,
DD, LT, UT, CMD and CRC add 7, the maximum size for data is 243 bytes. Therefore, any
block of data that exceeds this size must be fragmented. This only will happen when
transmitting files or text to be marked, and not in all cases.
Below is an example of fragmentation of a MARK FILE command when a file to be marked is
sent from a PC to the MC 2000T control unit.
PC
MC
2000T
Sends
MARK FILE
10 02 FA FF 37 1E 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 0A FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF FF FF FF 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 0A FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 5A 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 0A FF FF
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 39 38 37 36 35 95 48
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Sends
MARK FILE
10 02 31 00 37 34 33 32 31 0A 0B 00 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
30 30 00 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 FF FF 35 00 10 00 10 01
00 20 35 00 10 00 37 F9
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
The total size of the transmitted file is 285 bytes. It has been divided into a first frame with a size
of 250 bytes (7 bytes for STX, DD, LT, UT, CMD, CRC and 243 bytes for file data) and a seconf
frame with a size of 49 bytes (7 bytes for STX, DD, LT, UT, CMD, CRC and 42 bytes for file
data).
As shown in the sequence of communication, the field UT (Last frame) of the first frame has a
value other than 00 (in this case FF), while the second frame has a value of 00, indicating that
this is the last frame of the entire block.
Moreover, it can be observed that once the first frame is received, the MC 2000T control unit
sends an ACK indicating that the first frame has been received correctly and is ready to receive
the next frame of the block. The PC must wait for the ACK by the control unit before sending
the next frame. It should be borne in mind that the field UT of the ACK is always 00 since the
very ACK frame has not been divided into several smaller frames.
PAGE - 44
Rev. - Jan 2008
COUTH MC 2000T
MC 2000 T
Controller
Significantly, the maximum frame size of 250 bytes is just that: the maximum size, which does
not imply that all frames least the last should have a size of 250 bytes. You can send smaller
frames if it is more convenient for you. The following sequence shows the same transmission
shown above, but this time sending frames of a maximum size of 100 bytes. In this case it has
been necessary to employ 4 frames instead of 2 frames.
PC
MC 2000T
Sends
MARK FILE
10 02 64 FF 37 1E 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 41
42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 0A FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF AC 1D
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Sends
MARK FILE
10 02 64 FF 37 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 0A FF FF FF
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 5A 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52
0A BB 2A
Receives
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Sends
MARK FILE
Receives
10 02 64 FF 37 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 0A 0B 00 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
30 30 00 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 FF FF 35 00 10 00 10 01
37 3
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
MARK FILE
10 02 0D 00 37 00 20 35 00 10 00 0E 26
Receives
ACK
10 00 07 00 00 81 CA
Sends
Receives
Sends
Finally, it is not mandatory that all frames but the last one having the same size. It might be
possible for example, that the first had a size of 110 bytes, the second a size of 100 bytes, the
third a size of 90 bytes and the fourth a size of 13 bytes.
Rev. - Jan 2008
PAGE - 45

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COUTH MC 2000T

5.1. Components of the MC 2000T Controller

5.2. Browsing the Screens

5.2.1. Menu and Parameters Screens

5.2.2. EDITION and INSERT screens

5.2.3. Overlapping Windows

6.1. Simple Marking

6.2. File Management

6.3. Marking Several Lines

6.4. Marking Special Characters

6.5. Changing the Marking Parameters

6.6. Angle Marking

6.7. Arc Marking

6.8. Marking Special Functions

6.9. DataMatrix Marking

6.10. Logotype Marking

7.1. HOME PAGE Screen

7.2. TEST Screen

Rev. A Nov 2007

7.3. MAIN Menu

7.4. EDITION Screen

7.4.1. Editing counters

7.4.2. DataMatrix Codes

7.5. FONT Overlapping Window

7.6. FORCE & SPEED Overlapping Window

7.7. POSITION & SHAPE Overlapping Window

7.8. INSERT Screen

7.9. PREVIEW Screen

7.10. MARKING Screen

7.11. FILES Screen

7.12. PARAMETERS Menu

7.13. MECHANICS PARAMETERS Menu

7.14. MARKING AREA Screen

7.15. TRANSMISSION Screen

7.16. HEAD Screen

7.17. MOTOR Screen

7.18. PORTABLE MACHINE Screen

7.19. QUICK CONFIGURATION Screen

7.20. MARKING PARAMETERS Screen

7.21. EDITION PARAMETERS Screen

7.22. CONTROLLER PARAMETERS Screen

7.23. SHIFTS Screen

7.24. CALENDAR Screen

7.25. COUNTERS Screen

7.26. COMMUNICATIONS Screen

Rev. A Nov 2007

7.27. STATISTICS Screen

7.28. LANGUAGE Screen

7.29. PASSWORD Screen

7.30. CONTROLLER Screen

7.31. TIMERS Screen

7.32. MEMORY CARD Screen

A.1. Overall Dimensions

A.3. Electrical schematics

Rev. A Nov 2007

Picture 44 Special symbols window ..................................................................................... 41

Rev. A Nov 2007

Rev. A Nov 2007

Energy intake fuse

Power supply fuses

Adjustable at home screen

2 RS232 serial ports