Let an AI agent set up the syringe, infuse or withdraw an exact volume at a set rate, follow the dispensed volume and stop New Era Pump Systems syringe pumps through their documented RS-232 Basic-mode command set.


Package	`labmcp-new-era`
Instruments	NE-1000 Multi-Phaser, NE-1002X, NE-1010, NE-4000 two-channel, NE-500 OEM, NE-8000 high-pressure, and other NE-1000-series pumps with an RS-232 port
Interfaces	RS-232 (RJ-11 "To Computer" jack), USB via New Era's CBL-USB232 or any USB-RS-232 adapter, serial-to-Ethernet adapters
Protocol	New Era RS-232 Basic mode (NE-1000 User Manual, Publication #1200-01, section 10; same command set in the NE-4000 manual)
Status	🧪 simulated: tested against a wire-level simulator, not yet verified on hardware. Report a hardware test

Try it without hardware

uvx labmcp-new-era --simulate --check

The simulator pumps in real time. Add --option sim_speed=20 to make simulated time run 20× faster for demos.

Connect your pump

Pump setup: the pump must be in Address mode (the default, Ad:nn in the Setup menu) and in Basic communications mode (the default; if someone enabled Safe mode, send SAF0 from a terminal or run a master reset). Factory settings are 19200 baud, 8N1, network address 0.
Cable: New Era CBL-PC-PUMP-7 (plus CBL-USB232 for USB) into the pump's To Computer jack.
Find the port: uvx labmcp ports

Test the connection:

uvx labmcp-new-era --address /dev/ttyUSB0 --check            # Linux
uvx labmcp-new-era --address /dev/tty.usbserial-XXXX --check  # macOS
uvx labmcp-new-era --address COM5 --check                    # Windows

Non-default baud rates go in the address: serial://COM5?baudrate=9600.

Pump networks: up to 100 pumps can be daisy-chained (To Network → next pump's To Computer), each with its own address 0–99. Run one server per pump and select it with --option pump_address=3. Without the option, commands carry no address prefix, which the pumps treat as address 0.

Add to your MCP client

Claude Code

claude mcp add syringe-pump -- uvx labmcp-new-era --address /dev/ttyUSB0

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf (claude_desktop_config.json, .cursor/mcp.json, …)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "syringe-pump": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["labmcp-new-era", "--address", "/dev/ttyUSB0"]
    }
  }
}

Each server controls one pump (--option pump_address=N on a daisy-chained network). A serial port can only be opened by one server at a time, so to drive two pumps at once give each its own cable/port. Add --read-only to allow monitoring but block pumping and settings changes.

Tools

Tool	Kind	Description
`clear_dispensed_volume`	🎛 control	Reset the infused and withdrawn volume accumulators to zero. Only possible while stopped.
`get_command_log`	👁 read	Return the most recent raw commands sent to / replies received from the instrument (newest last). Useful for debugging and for recording what was done.
`get_connection_info`	👁 read	Report which instrument is connected (identity, address, simulated or real), whether the server is read-only, and the active safety limits. Call this first.
`get_dispensed_volume`	👁 read	Return the accumulated infused and withdrawn volumes (pump command DIS).
`get_status`	👁 read	Report what the pump is doing (infusing/withdrawing/stopped/paused, alarms), the syringe diameter, rate, target volume, direction and the accumulated dispensed volumes.
`infuse`	⚠️ hazard	Push `volume_ml` out of the syringe at `rate_ml_min`, then stop. Returns as soon as pumping has started, with the estimated duration. Requires the correct syringe diameter (`set_syringe`) and a stopped pump. Overwrites phases 1-2 of the pump's stored Pumping Program.
`list_syringe_presets`	👁 read	List the syringe inside diameters from the New Era manual's reference table (BD, Monoject, Terumo, HSW Norm-Ject, Poulten & Graf glass, stainless steel, SGE, Hamilton), with the NE-1000 rate range each allows. Use a name with `set_syringe`.
`reconnect`	🛑 safety	Close and re-open the connection to the instrument (e.g. after it was power cycled or a cable was re-plugged).
`set_syringe`	🎛 control	Set the syringe inside diameter, either from a preset or a measured value. The pump must be stopped. Changing the diameter also resets the dispensed-volume accumulators and may switch the pump's volume units (µL below 14.0 mm, mL above).
`stop_pump`	🛑 safety	Stop the pump immediately (STP). A paused program is also cancelled so it cannot resume.
`withdraw`	⚠️ hazard	Pull `volume_ml` into the syringe at `rate_ml_min`, then stop. Returns as soon as pumping has started. Make sure the syringe has room for the volume. Overwrites phases 1-2 of the pump's stored Pumping Program.

Safety limits

Limit	Default	Meaning
`max_rate_ml_min`	10 mL/min	Highest pumping rate `infuse`/`withdraw` may set
`max_volume_ml`	20 mL	Largest volume a single `infuse`/`withdraw` may move

Override at launch: --limit max_rate_ml_min=0.5 --limit max_volume_ml=2 (e.g. for a microfluidic chip). The pump itself also refuses rates outside what the syringe diameter allows (?OOR), and the server explains that range.

Example prompts

"Set the pump for a BD 10 mL syringe and infuse 2 mL at 0.5 mL/min into the reactor. Tell me when it's done."
"Withdraw 250 µL at 100 µL/min, then report how much was actually withdrawn."
"What's the pump doing right now? Is there an alarm?"
"Our syringe is a 5 mL glass Hamilton with 10.30 mm inside diameter — set that, then prime by infusing 0.1 mL at 1 mL/min."
"Stop the pump now."

Notes

Diameter is everything. The pump converts volume to plunger travel from the inside diameter. Presets come from the reference table in the NE-1000 manual (section 12.7); always confirm against your syringe manufacturer's data. Changing the diameter resets the dispensed-volume counters, and the pump works in µL for diameters ≤ 14.0 mm and in mL above.
Stored program is overwritten. infuse/withdraw program phase 1 as a RATE phase (rate, volume, direction) and phase 2 as STOP, so the pump stops after the volume. Any multi-phase Pumping Program you stored on the pump is overwritten in phases 1–2.
Rounding. The pump accepts at most 4 significant digits (and 3 decimals). The server picks the rate units (µL/min, mL/min, µL/h, mL/h) that represent your rate most precisely and reports the exact values it sent.
infuse/withdraw return as soon as pumping starts; long infusions keep running after the tool call. stop_pump sends STP and, if the program is then paused, a second STP so the program cannot be resumed by accident.
The first reply after the pump powers up is a reset alarm (A?R). The server acknowledges it and repeats the command; stall alarms (A?S) are reported, never retried.
Safe mode is not supported. Safe mode (CRC-16 framing, communication watchdog) is recommended by New Era for production. This server uses Basic mode only.
The NE-300 "Just Infusion" manual documents no RS-232 interface, so it is not supported. Syringe rate ranges quoted by list_syringe_presets are for the NE-1000; other models (e.g. NE-8000, NE-1010) have different speed ranges.