12. Delivering to the customer
You deliver the function as an .ftcf file, which is imported into a map, or embedded in the map you send. This chapter shows both and ends with the final checklist.
#Exporting the .ftcf file
- Open the function and go to the Adjust tab.
- Click Export, in the upper right corner.
- In the Export custom function dialog, replace the suggested name (the function's name, or custom_function if it has no name, plus .ftcf) with a name that includes the version and confirm.
FuelTech Vision shows no success or error message when exporting: check that the file appeared in the folder. Exporting also writes to the open map what is on the screen. With the function locked, the Export button sits under the panel. The file carries the graph with the parameters of each block, the function name, the user screen (fields, tables, text boxes, positions, size and the mode, basic or advanced), the background image and the lock, that is, the password digest.
The file is compressed and encrypted. FuelTech Vision also opens old files, without encryption.
#Importing into the customer's map
- Open the customer's map in FuelTech Vision and, in the Custom functions menu, open an empty function.
- On the Adjust tab, click Import and choose the file in the Import custom function dialog.
- Do the checks below and click Confirm.
- The drawing arrived complete. FuelTech Vision cuts off without warning anything beyond 128 blocks or 256 links per function.
- The function is enabled. A disabled function is not written to the VCU and does not count toward memory. To turn it on, right-click the function's item in the side menu and choose On / Off, or use the Map options screen.
- The memory fits. Import does not check the memory or warn you: check the meter, because the write is only refused at the moment of writing to the VCU. The limits apply to the whole map, adding up the enabled functions: 512 bytes of working memory and 2048 bytes of configuration.
#Function embedded in the map
The function is part of the map. When you save the map, each custom function goes along, with the user screen, the background image and the lock: sending the map delivers the function without a separate .ftcf file. The same applies to the log, which keeps a copy of the map. Before sending the map, open the ten functions in the Custom functions menu and check that no test function was left in it.
#Versioning in the file name
The .ftcf file does not identify its revision. Replace the suggested name with a name that includes the version and never reuse the name of a file already delivered. Example: boost_control_v01.ftcf and, later, boost_control_v02.ftcf. The map that carries the function also gets the version in its name.
#Final checklist
| Item | What to check | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Function enabled | A disabled function is not written to the VCU and does not count toward memory. | Side menu, On / Off, or Map options |
| Memory | The RAM and Settings numbers (used / total) do not go over the total. The bar stops at 100% even if the use goes over. | Adjust tab, lower left corner |
| Physical outputs | On/off output, PWM output and Analog output 0-5V require the output function to be assigned to a pin. Without this they stay silent, with no warning. | Outputs and Analog Outputs screens |
| Log channels | The custom measurements that Value for VCU writes are among the channels recorded in the log. | Datalogger settings |
| User screen | Every field has a Custom name, there are only calibration values, nothing overlaps or goes off the screen, and the mode is the one the customer should receive. | User screen tab, as the customer sees it |
| Logo and image | The image appears, has the screen's aspect ratio and is a small file, because it goes in every map and every log. | Screen editor |
| Password | Use User screen checked, password written down in a safe place and master version without a password kept. | Edition password |
| VCU action | Minimum and Maximum adjusted before enabling. The replacements, except O2 closed loop target override, act all the time, even with the input at 0; a cut with Minimum above 0 stays always on. The effects of each action, including Ignition timing, Torque target override (EV) and Fuel injection compensation, are in the VCU action sheet. | VCU action sheet |
| Test with the engine off | Test each output with the load disconnected or safe. While a pin is in output test, the function does not command it. | Bench |
| Validation log | Record a log with the function in use and check its channels. The copy of the map inside the log records the version that ran. | FuelTech Vision log |