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.

CONFIGURATION

Configure the motor controllers on the Devices screen of the configuration editor as follows, choosing the CAN bus or serial entry, as appropriate:

Motor and Counter Device Configuration (Not CAMAC)

MOTORS     DEVICE   ADDR <>MODE NUM                               <>TYPE
   YES                 0         16  Trinamic QUADpack/SIXpack (CAN bus)
   YES /dev/ttyS0     <>  19200  10   Trinamic QUADpack/SIXpack (Serial)

If using the CAN-bus interface, configure the CAN-bus controller in use in the field-bus section of the Interfaces screen of the configuration editor. Multiple field-bus controllers can be configured with each assigned an index number starting from zero. The ADDR field in the example holds the index number of the field-bus controller to be used.

For the serial interface, the baud rate is entered in the MODE column. Use 19200 baud for the Trinamic controllers.

On the Motor screen of the configuration editor, choose TRINAMIC as the controller type. Note, also, that Trinamic motor channels require the unit/module/channel configuration for each motor channel. The unit numbers refer to the entries on the Devices screen for the controller configuration and start at zero for each type of controller. That is, the first Trinamic controller is unit 0, even if other controller types appear before it in the listing. The module number is the board address set using switches on the controller card. The channel numbers run from 0 to 3 for the QUADpack and 0 to 5 for the SIXpack.

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(mne, "get_io1")

Returns the logic state of the TTLIO1 pin.

motor_par(mne, "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(mne, "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(mne, "misc_par_1" [, arg])

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

motor_par(mne, "misc_par_2" [, arg])

Sets or gets the power-down current in percent. See "PowerDownCurrent" below.

motor_par(mne, "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(mne, "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(mne, "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(mne, "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(mne, "RunningCurrent" [, arg])

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

motor_par(mne, "AccelerationCurrent" [, arg])

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

motor_par(mne, "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(mne, "PosLimit" [, arg])

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

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

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

motor_par(mne, "DebouncingTime" [, arg])

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

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

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

motor_par(mne, "NullOffset" [, arg)])

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

motor_par(mne, "TestNullRange" [, arg])

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

motor_par(mne, "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(mne, "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.

CHECKING FOR RESET

Trinamic parameters need to be reprogrammed after a power cycle. It is possible to have spec continuously check whether power has been cycled by requesting a particular status response from the controller. To enable such an automatic check (as of spec release 5.09.01-1), set the custom controller parameter "check_interval" in the hardware config file. If this parameter has a value greater than zero, spec will check for reset no more frequently than that number of seconds. If a reset is noted, all parameters will be reprogrammed. The check will be performed before moving, reading positions, on the sync command, and before changing parameters with mot_par(), but no more often than the specified interval. When the controller is idle, there is no checking done.

To set the parameter, go the controller configuration line on the Devices screen of the configuration editor and type p to enter the parameter:

Custom Parameters for "Trinamic QUADpack/SIXpack (Serial)"

NAME                      VALUE
check_interval            2

The above example configures the checking at no more often than every two seconds. In the current implementation, the parameter needs to be separately configured for each controller for which checks are to be enabled.