Threads and pacing

A thread is one path through a schedule. In most schedules one thread carries one plate, so running a schedule with eight threads processes eight plates side by side. A single run can hold many threads, and a step such as Run Schedule Thread can start more.

Pacing

A schedule’s pacing mode decides when the next thread of a run starts:

• Manual: each new thread starts a fixed pacing time, in seconds, after the previous one.
• Event Driven: a new thread starts each time a running thread reaches a Start Next Schedule Thread step, after that step’s optional delay. Use it to start the next plate only when the system is ready for it.

A schedule can also be set to suspend child threads on error: an error then stops any child threads that have not yet started from starting.

When several threads need the same devices, see Sharing devices between threads.