create a binary message buffer for a message

def get_msgbuf(self):
        '''create a binary message buffer for a message'''
        values = []
        for i in range(len(self.fmt.columns)):
            if i >= len(self.fmt.msg_mults):
                continue
            mul = self.fmt.msg_mults[i]
            name = self.fmt.columns[i]
            if name == 'Mode' and 'ModeNum' in self.fmt.columns:
                name = 'ModeNum'
            v = self.__getattr__(name)
            if mul is not None:
                v /= mul
            values.append(v)
        return struct.pack("BBB", 0xA3, 0x95, self.fmt.type) + struct.pack(self.fmt.msg_struct, *values)