SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS Please keep this user's guide! Electric hazard: Safety instructions for use: you must imperatively wear safety eyeglasses

Transcription

1 AxeMotion PULSEMAKER USER'S GUIDE

2 SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS Please keep this user's guide! It contains important instructions you should refer to when installing, maintaining and using your AxeMotion module and the machine it drives. It has been written for people who use, configure, install, handle or maintain this hardware. Electric hazard: To avoid risks of fire and injuries due to electric shocks, pay attention to the safety guidelines when using this product. - Carefully read and study the instructions of this user's guide. - Always use a grounded outlet for the electric connection of the machine. If you do not know if your socket outlet provides a ground plug, then get info r- mation from a qualified electrician. - Unplug all electrical connections before cleaning the hardware. - Do not install the AxeMotion module or the machine it drives near water or in an moist environment. Do not handle or use the machine if you are wet. - Always install your hardware on a stable flat bed, in a clean and protected place where nobody can step or stumble on electric connection cables. Safety instructions for use: Warning: to avoid any risk of injury due to eventual projections when using an automated machine tool, including in manual mode, you must imperatively wear safety eyeglasses. Furthermore, depending on the type and the use of your machine, it must be integrated in an approved safety cabinet or protected area

3 WARRANTY / LIABILITY The AxeMotion CNC modules are guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship for one full year from the date of purchase. This warranty cannot apply if electrical connections and prescriptions of use that are described in this guide have been strictly observed. An installation that does not comply with these prescriptions invalidates the warranty for cons e- quent damages. AxeMotion CNC modules are provided without any warranty, even implicit, concerning the results that can be obtained by their use, or the fact that any user will be able to run them successfully, or regarding overall satisfaction with the end products which can be obtained using the modules. The purchaser explicitly recognises that he/she is solely responsible for choosing this module, for running and using it and its related software, and for obtaining the actual results. Connecting an AxeMotion CNC module requires skills in electrical wiring and connecting, in motors and power stages, and in computerised motion control. After integrating a CNC module, it is strongly recommended that the p urchaser begins to get familiar with the machine control by making the first tests on valueless workpieces. Strict safety rules exist for building or using an automated machine tool. These rules must be observed very accurately, and especially for the ele ctrical wiring, the containment of mobile parts in a protection cabinet, the risks of injury caused by impacts of chips or fragments of broken tools. No liability can be accepted concerning the AxeMotion modules, their manufa c- turer or distributor, for direct or indirect damages caused by a misuse or non complying use, on persons who handle the module or the machine it drives, on objects or materials subject to machine work, or on computer data subject to the software processes. Obviously none of the above terms and conditions may affect your statutory rights under current law or legislation

4 CHARACTERISTICS Miscellaneous: Almost all power stages for stepper motors, and many servodrives are co n- trolled by couples of 5V signals Clock (or Pulse, i.e. rotation of an increment) and Direction (rotation sense). AxeMotion CNC modules are able to produce these signals in an intelligent way by receiving and processing high -level commands that are sent by the supervision software. The AxeMotion PulseMaker is a complete and high performance computerised numerical controller that includes advanced functions. Its internal memory buffer and the availability of different linear interpolation modes render it cap a- ble of producing motion with a rare fluidity, especially in non-circular curves. Especially developed to be integrated in a motor control rack, it requires some wiring to connect the miscellaneous input signals (USB connection, axis end switches, tool measurement, digitising probe, safety system) and output signa ls (power stage, spindle control, coolant and other peripheral devices). Important: the AxeMotion PulseMaker is not opto-isolated, and signals must be TTL 0-5V strictly. A maximum of 20 ma is allowed on each input and 10 ma on each output, with a total of 50 ma on all outputs. Technical data: - Connection and power supply from USB port (consumption < 90 ma) - Control for 4 axes, interpolated simultaneously - Maximum output frequency 35 KHz in interpolation - Local memory buffer 3.3 Kb (250 commands ahead) - Interpolations for constant speed, for variable speed, for double ramps - Management of fast braking along multiple vectors - Override function for real-time control of speed - 12 inputs, 6 outputs plus the 8 Clock / Dir signals - Replaceable TTL buffers on output signals (mounted on sockets) - 10 bits analog input (input #8 with binary or analog read) - 10 A / 250 V integrated relay (output #5) with "on" connector - PWM output for spindle or hot wire control - Optional 0-10 v / 10 ma analog output, no external power supply required --4--

5 INTEGRATION The XY dimensions of the AxeMotion PulseMaker card are 100 x 80 mm and a thickness of about 25 mm (from solders to power relay). Unit : mm It is obvious that the card should not be mounted directly on a metal support that would shortcut the solders. Use an isolation sheet or, even better, screw the card at a small distance from the board so the solders do not touch the surface. Electrical wires and tapes must be soft enough to avoid bending that can create bad contacts. Also, a USB communication may be working badly if the cable is too close to a source of electrical noise (motors, power supplies, neon lights, etc.). Do not place the card itself in the neighbourhood of a possible source of electrical noise and, whenever possible, integrate it in an iron box or rack

6 WIRING Important: before operating any modification in the card wiring, always disco n- nect it from its power-supply (unplug the USB cable and cut the mains of the power stage and all peripherals). A poor quality wiring is the cause of recurrent errors. Please take great care of the integration and the electrical wiring of your AxeMotion card. The inputs of the PulseMaker card are default "pulled-up" to the +5 V. Consequenly, an input is triggered when connected to the ground (GND) of the card. Whatever its polarity can be, normally open or normally closed, a sensor must link the chosen input and the ground, any other wiring being wrong and not working. Inputs are dispatched on two connectors, the first one giving access to inputs 1-8 and the second one to inputs 9-12, each connector providing a GND pin. Please note that the input #8 can be read as 0-5 V binary input (instable state between 0.8 V and 2.4 V) or as 10 bit analog input. If you have a 0-5 V analog probe, its + pole should be connected to this inputs #8. The outputs provide a low state (0 V) by default, and a high state (+5 V) when activated. These outputs are dispatched on two connectors, the first one giving access to motor signals Clock / Dir, and the second to outputs that can drive peripheral devices, each connector providing a ground (GND) pin. Please note that the outputs #6 can be used as binary or PWM output (which controls the 0-10 V), and the output #5 is available on its connector but also triggers the power relay with its separate connector. The USB connection can be taken either from the classic USB-B connector, or on its neighbour pins. Please be careful with the signals. Reminder: inputs and outputs are not opto-isolated and accept 0-5 V TTL levels only. Furthermore, the outputs can provide a maximum current of 10 ma each, and a maximum of 50 ma for the whole set. Consequently, a bad connection or a too heavy load may damage the card, or even the host computer. So it is extremely important to make sure that the peripheral devices that the card will drive are correctly isolated and do not need too much current. AxeMotion provides the PulseMaker cards either with screw connectors (standard), or HE10 connectors (optional) for wire tapes

7 VERSION WITH SCREW CONNECTORS --7--

8 Important: connections differ for the AxeMotion PulseMaker version that is fitted with HE10 male connectors with double rows of pins and locator which require female connectors to be clipsed on wire tapes. Warning, the list of numbered signals on a wire tape will not be the same wether you have a HE10 or a screw connector. Inverting motor signals or outputs will not cause any damages to the card or the power stage, provided that this inversion does not concern the ground (GND pins). Simply, the connected motors or peripheral devices will not work. On the other hand, inverting the GND and a signal destroys the 74LS541 output circuit. Fortunately, this chip is mounted on a socket so you may replace it easily in case the wiring was wrong. Inverting the GND with the +5 Vcc on a peripheral may damage the host computer. Much less serious, inverting input signals, including with the GND pin, will not cause any damages except a simple malfunction of the management of the sensors or any peripheral devices that are presumed to return information to the card and its supervising software. If you do not wish to plug the communication cable directly in the standard USB-B connector because the card has been integrated in a cabinet, then you may use instead the neighbour 4-pin connector that reproduce the USB signals. In such case, it is very important to carefully check the wiring of these signals: a wrong connection on the USB signals may seriously damage the card and the host computer. To help you find the correct signals, the wire colours in USB cables are standard. Unfortunately, the connection plug on the board with only four pins cannot provide a locator. So, be very careful not to invert the connection

9 VERSION WITH HE10 CONNECTORS FOR WIRE TAPES --9--

10 VERSION WITH SCREW CONNECTORS CN1 : USB 1 - Vcc (+5 V) 2 - Data 3 - Data GND CN2 : Reserved CN3 : USB-B CN4 : Inputs 1 - input # input # input # input # 12 CN5 : 0 10V output V 2 - GND CN6 : Outputs 1 - Vcc 2 - output # output # output # output # output # output # GND CN7 : Motors 1 - GND 2 - Y dir 3 - Y clock 4 - X dir 5 - X clock 6 - Z dir 7 - Z clock 8 - A dir 9 - A clock 10 - Vcc (+5 V) CN 8 : Inputs 1 - input # input # input # input # input # input # input # input # GND CN9 : Reserved CN10 : Relay

11 VERSION WITH HE10 CONNECTORS FOR WIRE TAPES CN1 : USB 1 - Vcc (+5 V) 2 - Data 3 - Data GND CN2 : Reserved CN3 : USB-B CN4 : Inputs 1/3/5/7/10 - GND 2 - input # input # input # input # N.C. CN5 : 0 10V output V 2 GND CN6 : Outputs 1 - output # output # output # output # N.C. 6 - output # N.C. 8 - output # Vcc (+5 V) 10 - GND CN7 : Motors 1 - Z dir 2 - X clock 3 - Z clock 4 - X dir 5 - A dir 6 - Y clock 7 - A clock 8 - Y dir 9 - Vcc (+5 V) 10 - GND CN 8 : Inputs 1/3/5/ /15 - GND 2 - input # input # input # input # input # input # input # input # 1 CN9 : Reserved CN10 : Relay

12 INSTALLING THE DRIVER When the AxeMotion PulseMaker module is plugged for the first time on the USB port of a PC under Windows, the system needs to install a driver to allow dialoguing with this new peripheral. A message "New Hardware detected" is followed by a "Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard", allowing you to tell Windows how this driver should be installed. To the first prompt "Can Windows connect to Windows Update to search for software?", answer "No, not this time" and then click on button "Next >" at the bottom of the dialog box. The next dialog box remains you that you are about to install the software driver for the "USB AxeMotion PulseMaker". If you have got a CD provided with the card, please insert it in the drive: Windows will then seek for the driver on that CD. Otherwise click on "Install from a list or specific location" then down on button "Next >"

13 If you have downloaded the driver from the AxeMotion website and have saved it somewhere on your hard disk, then click on option "Include this location in the search" and use the button "Browse" to find the directory on the disk where the uncompresssed driver has been stored. Once you have found it, click down on button "Next >". Once Windows has found the location of the driver to be installed, from the CD-ROM or from your hard disk, depending on your Windows version you might get a warning message which indicates that the driver found does not have any Windows certificate and therefore recommends to stop installing. Do not worry about this warning and skip to button "Continue Anyway" at bottom. Normal installation of the driver is then in progress, copying system files to Windows directory. This usually takes a few seconds but may be longer depending on the computer and Windows version. Once the installation is completed, a last message "The wizard has finished installing the software" ends the process. Click on button "Finish" at bottom. The AxeMotion PulseMaker driver is now installed on your computer

14 UNINSTALLING THE DRIVER In case you encounter system configuration problems or experience communication failure with the AxeMotion module, you might want to uninstall your PulseMaker driver from your computer. In Windows "Start" menu, click on "Parameters" then on "Control Panel" (also available from the Windows File Explorer). Double-click on the "System" icon or line. In the multiple page dialog box this pops up, open the "Hardware" section tab and then click on button "Device Manager". The list of devices that are already installed on your computer is displayed in a new window. Double-click on line "Universal Serial Bus controllers" to see the USB peripherals that are connected. The module "USB AxeMotion PulseMaker" should appear in that sublist, if it is still alive seen from the computer. Click on its line using the right mouse button and, in the context menu that pops up, click on option "Uninstall" and confirm that you want to remove the device. Your AxeMotion driver is then suppressed from your computer. If you wish to re-install it, just plug the module again and return to the normal installation procedure

15 PARAMETERS IN GALAAD Galaad integrated software for CAD-CAM-CNC is compatible with the AxeMotion PulseMaker module that it can drive in optimal conditions. In Galaad or one of its related modules, call the menu command "Parameters / Machine / Full data". The page "Table" allows you to select the AxeMotion modules and also the number of axes of the machine, the screw pitches and the number of pulses per motor revolution (microstepping). Please enter here the values that correspond to your machine. Click then at top on the tab that correspond to the page "Controller" and indicate here that the communication runs on a USB port. Important: it is necessary to tell Galaad where the machine zero position is located (generally lefthand side and either the front or the back of the table). This is going to define the orientation of the machine

16 Now you must setup the internal data of the PulseMaker card. Still in this "Controller" page of Galaad machine parameters, click on the small button "More " at top-right aside the controller type. This pops up a sub -window that provides access to all special parameters for your card. The status of outputs at boot allows you to enable some output as soon as the card is powered on, before it is communicating with Galaad, for example to trigger a safety device or the power stage. The parameters for Start/Stop frequency and the acceleration depend on the mechanical characteristics of your machine (inertia, motor power, axis reductions). So it is not possible to indicate standard values here. You must try different settings. Let us say at least that the Start/Stop frequency is the initial starting speed of the motor (instant passing from still to motion and reciprocally). If your motor "knocks" when starting to move, then you should reduce the value. On the other hand, if the acceleration starts from too low, you must increase it. The acceleration indicates the speed slope, from the Start/Stop frequency. If your motor is unable to drag up the speed, then reduce the value. If the acceleration is too soft, increase it. The enable signal from power stage says on which input the information is received for knowing if the power stage is ready. If not, Galaad will warn the user to power-on the stage. The current per phase is for power stages with digital potentiometers (AxeMotion option) so you can set the current directly from Galaad. If you do not have such connection, this parameter is useless. The error or stop signal defines a critical input that will stop the motion and abort the automatic process when triggered. That can be for example the Drag Error bit of a servodrive

17 Important: for the inputs, an "Enabled" polarity corresponds to a normally open (N.O.) circuit or switch; while a "Disabled" polarity corresponds to a normally closed (N.C.) circuit. Galaad receives from AxeMotion the eventual corrections or updates of the firmware (the card internal program) for their CNC modules. Consequently, a Galaad update may induce an automatic firmware update if the option is ticked. You may also force the reload of the firmware if necessary. The data transfer corresponds to the USB flow speed to the card. It should be set to "Very fast". That speed should not be change unless you experience communication breakdowns due to electrical problems (noise generated by big motors, neon lights, etc.). Also the buffer overflow error trigger should be set to medium or low sensitivity. This error raises up when the automatic milling goes faster than the transmission and therefore the buffer gets drained. The zero-end switches correspond to the reset of the absolute co-ordinates, i.e. the machine zero, using a reference run. This reset is managed by Galaad which must know the inputs that are connected to the end switches and their polarity (normally closed or normally open). Important: if you do not know the inputs that correspond to the end -switches, the command "Parameters / Machine / I-O Test" may help you find which switch or sensor is connected to which input with which polarity. A normally dark input that lights up when the switch is triggered corresponds to an "Enabled (NO)" input. Reciprocally, if the input is normally light and darkens when the switch is triggered, then the polarity is "Disabled (NC)"

18 TROUBLESHOOTING - The computer does not detect the card Please check the USB connection and the correct installation of the driver that corresponds to the card (see previous pages). The system must react when the card is plugged or unplugged, and must display "AxeMotion PulseMaker" in the list of available USB peripherals. If it is not the case, it is better to uninstall the driver and reinstall it. - The motors vibrate when the card is plugged The card ground is probably not connected to the power stages, so their inputs receive an erratic signal. - A motor does not turn, or no motors are turning Please ensure first that the motor gets blocked when the power stage is act i- vated. If not, the motor does not receive current and the problem comes from the power stage. Then check accurately that the Clock input (or Pulse, or Step) of your power stage is connected to the corresponding Clock output of the PulseMaker card, and that the ground is also well connected. If other motors turn, try to swap its Clock and Dir signals with another motor that works, to see if the problem comes from the card or from the power stage. If no motors turn, first check that the GND pin is indeed connected to the pin of each input of the power stage. It may also occur that the power stage requires an enable signal for activating the motor current. Then you must connect this "Enable" signal to a card output and set the corresponding parameter in the s oftware. You may also unplug the Clock wire from the card and make a manual contact with a Vcc (+5 V) pin. If the motor reacts at each pulse, then the Clock signal does not work anymore. Try to swap the two 74LS541 output circuits. If the motor now turns, then we can consider that the integrated circuit was damaged and must be replaced. - A motor turns in the wrong direction Please invert the axis direction in the software parameters (or invert the dire c- tion on the power stage whenever possible). With bipolar stepper motors, just swap a pair of a motor coil and one only to flip the direction. Be careful not to swap a wire with one of another coil, this mistake is usually destructive for the power stage

19 - A motor always turns in the wrong direction The Dir signal is not carried to the power stage. Please check that this signal is not swapped with one of another axis, and that the ground is well connected to the Dir input (or Direction, or Sense) of the corresponding power stage. - An axis makes its reference run toward the wrong direction If the motion is fast, then the axis is completely inverted an dits direction must be changed from Galaad parameters or from the power stage or from the motor. On the other hand, if the motion is slow, then probably the zero-end switch input is wrongly set, i.e. the corresponding input is not the right one or its polarity is reversed. Then the software tries to release the axis from the switch though it is not triggered. It is important to find the right numbers and polarities for the inputs that correspond to the end switches. If you are using Galaad software, then check the function "Parameters / Machine / I-O test" as previously described. - The axis does not stop during the reference run The input that actually corresponds to the zero-end switch is not the one that has been parametered, or the switch is not working, or is not triggered by the axis, or the connection wire is cut or unplugged. - The spindle does not start The power relay corresponds to the output # 5. Please check that this is the actual output in the software. If the spindle is under control of the PWM output or the 0-10 V analog output (associated to the PWM), then check that this has been accurately set and calibrated in the software

20 AxeMotion / 106 rue de la placette / Cipieres / France RCS Grasse / SIRET Copyright 2007 AxeMotion / All rights reserved