An apparatus and method for establishing triggers for the opening of one or multiple gates to a mold cavity of an injection molding system, followed by a sequence of predetermined valve pin movements over the course on an injection cycle. In one embodiment, the invention provides a graphical user interface and control system enabling a user to select from and arrange a plurality of virtual icons into a user-defined virtual sequence that define associated triggering events and actuator controlled pin movements over the course of an injection cycle. In various embodiments, the apparatus and method allows the system operator to view a simulated profile of such triggers and movements and to compare the simulated profile to an actual profile to access differences and make adjustments to the triggers and sequencing more quickly and efficiently. This is particularly useful in sequential molding systems where multiple gates need to be programmed and adjusted to compensate for variations from a predetermined sequence.

A control system for mechanical equipment is provided with: a manual operation mechanism provided with a minimum required number of operation switches and a mechanical equipment identification signal transmission unit for transmitting a mechanical equipment identification signal that identifies mechanical equipment; an operation assistance terminal in which the mechanical equipment identification signal received from the transmission unit is used as a basis to display a manual operation assistance screen including a manually operated device selection section and a control content display section that displays control content assigned to the operation switches of the manual operation mechanism for a selected manually operated device; and a control device that connects the control unit of an identified control target device and the operation switches of the manual operation mechanism by receiving a control target device switching signal identified by operation of the manually operated device selection section.

Methods of operating a control device for controlling at least two different functions of an instrument in communication with the control device are provided, comprising for example the following steps: calibrating the control device in a calibration mode by assigning the at least two different functions to at least two different ways of actuating an actuation element; and controlling the instrument in communication with the control device in an actuation mode to perform at least one of the at least two different functions defined in the calibration mode by an actuation of the actuation element. Corresponding devices are also provided.

In the use of a display of a converter, method for operating a converter, and converter, the converter having an address code switch, in particular on its housing, and in an actuation of the address code switch and during a subsequent, predefined period of time, a respective value corresponding to the respective switch position of the address code switch is displayed by the display. Operating information of the converter is displayed in all other cases.