Let me respond to "Coding badly"
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Is the stuff to be analyzed hazardous?
Nope, basically, it measure carbon dioxide in water -
Have you determined how to synchronize your Arduino Feeder with the analyzer?
Kind of. (by time step) But I would like to hear more options. -
What happens if something goes wrong?
Only worst thing is losing a sample. Also, if I connect 10 samples to the valve, I would lost 10 but not more than that. -
Are the samples "precious" (meaning they cannot be replaced if they are ruined)?
Samples are just natural sea water. I can collect any time/number of samples from Chesapeake Bay. If I am worried about losing a sample at the developing stage, I can collect twice as many as I want. Also, there is flip side of doing this: if I work 10 hours of analyzing and cannot do anything but sitting in front of machine, calculated data would be more organized and easy to understand because I will double check numbers between samples. However, if Arduino helps me running the analysis and I have an extra time to research. it would be much more fruitful in terms of efficiency.
For Msqure's questions:
I already have a set of glass syringe. Reason of using a glass syringes is due to minimum back pressure. I have already tested with the syringe and it works great. Even the company of analyzer recommends using it. For the valve, I have consulted with a engineer in my university and he said that this is very easy to make (valve not a Arduino). Also, the analyzer has own pump, computer (netbook), and a software which allows only basic function (saving).
The netbook is connected to DIC machine through a port. Honestly, I kind of have a hard time to understand what you told about the conncetion between computer, DIC, and Arduino. I will read it again and answer later. But just for the info, the machine is only controlled by a software in the computer. If I can 'connect' or let 'communicate' between software and Arduino, it should be the way to try first.
Sorry if my English is bad, I am not native.
But thanks a lot!