NAME

DESCRIPTION

The Trinamic QUADpack and SIXpack motor controllers are supported by spec over both serial (RS-232C) and CAN-bus interfaces. spec support for Trinamic controllers was introduced in release 5.05.03-2 (May 2004). A number of bug fixes and updates have been included in subsequent release. A major upgrade in parameter configuration was included in release 5.07.04-1 (October 2007). Details are included in the text below.

FUNCTIONS

The Trinamic controllers support many configuration parameters that are not normally used by spec. spec does provide the capability to set practically all of the parameters. Note, though, changing the values of some of the parameters may interfere with spec's operation of the motor controller.

The following motor_par() options are available while running spec. The parameter names are not sensitive to case (upper and lower case letters are equivalent).

motor_par("get_io1")

Returns the logic state of the TTLIO1 pin.

motor_par("set_io1", arg)

Sets the logic state of the TTLIO1 pin, using it as an output. Note, the TTLOUT1 pin is set simultaneously using the value given with the "set_out1" option.

motor_par("set_out1", arg)

Sets the logic state of the TTLOUT1 pin. Note, the TTLIO1 pin is set simultaneously using the value given with the "set_io1" option.

The following three options can be set on the standard optional-parameters screen in spec's hardware configuration editor. (Type p when on the Motor screen.) As of spec release 5.07.04-6, there are additional ways to set the same motor parameters. See below.

motor_par("misc_par_1" [, arg])

Sets or gets the peak current in percent. See "PeakCurrent" below.

motor_par("misc_par_2" [, arg]) Sets or gets the power-down current in percent. See "PowerDownCurrent" below.

motor_par("misc_par_3" [, 0|1])

Sets or gets the limit configuration. A zero configures normally closed limits, while a one configures normally open limits. See "NullPositive" below.

The following parameters allow setting of all the power parameters associated with the Trinamic controller.

motor_par("PeakCurrent" [, arg])

Sets or returns the peak current in percent. Note the maximum peak current is configured via a DIP switch on the SIXpack2 models. Note also, the peak current is set in pairs, i.e., channels 0 and 1 share the setting, as do channels 2 and 3 and channels 4 and 5. Default value is 50.

motor_par("PowerDownCurrent" [, arg])

Sets or returns the power- down current as a percent of the peak current. The power-down current kicks in after the power-down delay interval. Default value is 0.

motor_par("StandingCurrent" [, arg])

Sets or returns the stand- still current as a percent of the peak current. The stand-still current kicks in at the end of a move. Default value is 50.

motor_par("RunningCurrent" [, arg])

Sets or returns the constant-velocity current as a percent of the peak current. Default value is 75.

motor_par("AccelerationCurrent" [, arg])

Sets or returns the acceleration current as a percent of the peak current. Default value is 100.

motor_par("PowerDownDelay" [, arg])

Sets or returns the power- down delay time in milliseconds. The power-down delay is the time between when a motor has reached its target position and the time the current is set to the power-down value. Default value is 1000 (1 second).

The following fifteen parameters can be set individually or all at once by using the built-in optional "home_method" parameter, also described below. Setting any of the following parameters individually will override values set via the home-method parameter.

Note, although these parameters can all be set, certain settings may interfere with spec's ability to control the motors. In general, one shouldn't modify the values from the defaults without a good reason and an understanding of the consequences.

The meaning and significance for these parameters can be sought in Trinamic's documentation.

motor_par("RotaryAxis" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the rotary-axis parameter (zero or one). Default value is zero.

motor_par("AutoNullCmd" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the auto-null flag (zero or one). Default value is zero.

motor_par("TestNull" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the test-null flag. Default value is zero.

motor_par("NullLeft" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the null-left flag. Default value is one.

motor_par("NullCenter" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the null-center flag Default value is zero.

motor_par("StopNull" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the stop-null flag. Default value is one.

motor_par("FilterSwitch" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the filter-switch flag. Default value is one.

motor_par("WayOptimization" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the way-optimization flag. Default value is zero.

motor_par("FastRef" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the fast-reference flag. Default value is zero.

motor_par("MechRef" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the mechanical-reference flag. Default value is zero.

motor_par("DelayTestNull" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the delay-test-null flag. Default value is zero.

motor_par("StopSoft" [, 0|1])

Sets of returns the value of the stop-soft flag. Default value is zero.

motor_par("StopNoRef" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the stop-no-ref flag. Default value is one.

motor_par("NullPositive" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the null-positive flag. Default value is one.

motor_par("home_method" [, arg])

Sets or returns the value of the Trinamic-specific home-method parameter. For the Trinamic controller, the home method is a 16-bit number that encodes the flags included in the above parameters as follows:

0x0002  RotaryAxis
0x0004  AutoNullCmd
0x0008  TestNull
0x0010  NullLeft
0x0020  NullCenter
0x0040  StopNull
0x0080  FilterSwitch
0x0100  WayOptimization
0x0200  FastRef
0x0400  MechRef
0x0800  DelayTestNull
0x1000  StopSoft
0x2000  StopNoRef
0x4000  NullPositive
0x8000  StopAtFullSteps


The "home_method" option provides an alternative to setting the parameters individually. However, setting parameters individually will override the value selected with this parameter.

motor_par("PosLimit" [, arg])

Set or returns the value of the position-limit parameter used in the home search.

motor_par("StopAtFullSteps" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the stop-at-full-steps flag. Default value is zero.

motor_par("DebouncingTime" [, arg])

Sets or returns the debouncing time. Default value is 22 msec.

motor_par("StopAfterSearch" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the stop-after-search flag. Default value is zero.

motor_par("NullOffset" [, arg)])

Sets or returns the null- point offset value. Default value is zero.

motor_par("TestNullRange" [, arg])

Sets or returns the test- null range. Default value is 240.

motor_par("dump")

Displays current values for the above Trinamic-specific parameters along the following lines:

          PeakCurrent =     50 %
  AccelerationCurrent =    100 %
       RunningCurrent =     75 %
      StandingCurrent =     50 %
     PowerDownCurrent =      0 %
       PowerDownDelay =   1000 msec
       DebouncingTime =     22 msec
      StopAfterSearch =      0
           NullOffset =      0 steps
        TestNullRange =    240 steps
             PosLimit = 400000 steps
           RotaryAxis =      0 (0x0002)
          AutoNullCmd =      0 (0x0004)
             TestNull =      0 (0x0008)
             NullLeft =      1 (0x0010)
           NullCenter =      0 (0x0020)
             StopNull =      1 (0x0040)
         FilterSwitch =      1 (0x0080)
      WayOptimization =      0 (0x0100)
              FastRef =      0 (0x0200)
              MechRef =      0 (0x0400)
        DelayTestNull =      0 (0x0800)
             StopSoft =      0 (0x1000)
            StopNoRef =      1 (0x2000)
         NullPositive =      1 (0x4000)
      StopAtFullSteps =      0 (0x8000)
        "home_method" = 0x60D0


motor_par("disable_limit_checks" [, 0|1])

Sets or returns the value of the standard optional motor parameter to disable limit checks. Set this parameter if the limit inputs are to be used for a reference search but not to stop motion.