Messages

31

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: August 17, 2018, 06:00:24 PM »

Craig/Mick

I'd only spent 5 minutes  or so with the manual  before writing my last post. Mick had previously asked about the 5V and that seemed pretty obvious as there was no 5V input line on the drive, or if there was then I missed it.

I agree totally that one would not want different 0V systems for the CSMIO and the drive. Excessive common mode levels could cause erratic behaviour or even physical damage in the worst case. CSMIO has 0V outputs on the encoder connector which should of course be tied to the ground reference for the  ESM drivers. I do this with my Kincos. But with Mick's drive I wasn't at all sure where this connction would best me made and need more time to see if the manual clears this up anywhere. It was not obvious to me at first sight. There is also the question of what signals are within the made up ESM cable to the CSMIO and whether these include 0V.

Allan

32

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: August 17, 2018, 03:53:32 PM »

Mick

Thanks.

The 6 ESM outputs are RS422 line drivers, which is the desired differential form at at nominally 5V levels. You can and should connect these directly to the CSMIO encoder inputs of the same name. You should use twisted pairs, preferably screened. 24awg (1/0.2mm2)Screened Cat5 cable is convenient for this.

I cannot see that any +5V connection from the CSMIO is needed, though I've just had a quick peep so far.

Craig

You just beat me to it. Yes, RS422 is ideal for the CSMIO.

Allan

33

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: August 17, 2018, 02:10:56 PM »

Mick

Sorry, with page after page devoted to the spindle drive,  I got a bit muddled as to what you decided to use for the axis. Could you re-post the link for the actual axis drive you have purchased?

Allan

34

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: August 17, 2018, 07:54:08 AM »

I suspect the pairs of outputs, A+ and A- for example, are the collector and emitter of a phototransitor

I would hope that they would be differential 5V signals, e.g. from a line driver or similar. That would allow a direct connection to the CSMIO. This is the case with my Kinco drives.

If they are photo transistors, some external logic, if only pullup resistors, will be required, which rather messes up the wiring.

Allan

35

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Subrutine file not found

« on: August 15, 2018, 06:59:21 AM »

Oops. I failed to notice that you were unable to run the code as a single monolithic program, so my reference to your file name is irrelevant. 

I was running it on my office PC using the Simulator and had no issues. If you are unable to do that, it sounds as if your installation may be bad for some reason.

Allan

36

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Subrutine file not found

« on: August 15, 2018, 05:44:33 AM »

Works here using version 3805.

You haven't slipped in a zero in place of O, or added an extension to the file name?

Allan?

37

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: August 01, 2018, 05:26:13 PM »

Mick

I purchased the Kinco drives and motors from Zap Automation in the UK.

Allan

38

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: July 31, 2018, 05:51:07 PM »

Mick

If you ultimately switch to ac drives, one thing is very important: use matched drives and motors from the same manufacturer. In that way, the drive will be pre-programmed with all of the salient motor parameters.

I have found the Chinese Kinko drives to be of good quality, well designed and reliable. I use their CD422A drives, which can be paired with servos up to 750W. Motors are equipped with decent circular connectors and good quality cables of 3m and 5m lengths are available for this connection. These drives are very flexible and can be programmed either from their panel or via a free PC application. One caveat: you need to be adept at fine soldering as there is a minature 36 pin I/O connector that needs to be soldered.

Allan

39

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: July 31, 2018, 03:37:45 PM »

Mick

Sounds like the repair is your cheapest option, at least in the short term.

I'm not sure if you realise that ac servo drives would typically be mains powered, so would not require a complex power chassis like the one you currently use.  You would only need a +24V logic supply for the CSMIO and the drive logic circuits. Drives can be programmed for either analogue +/-10V or step and direction inputs. The former would allow you to use the CSMIO that you already have. I personally prefer the screened construction and 24V logic of the CSMIO to the bare board presentation and 5V levels of the cheaper alternatives.

Allan

40

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: July 30, 2018, 05:37:08 PM »

Hi Mick

You are certainly having some bad luck.

As you know, both Craig and I are converts to ac servos, and without doubt that would be the ideal solution if money needs to be spent. But I appreciate that this would involve greater expense and more work, both electrical and mechanical,  than simply replacing the analogue drive.

As to the suggested analogue alternatives, I'm not sure that the lack of tacho feedback would matter greatly. The tacho integrates motor torque to provide velocity feedback which effectively makes the motor speed proportional to the voltage applied at the command input. An equivalent function could be provided within the new drive, for example by taking feedback from the armature voltage. The same function can be provided by the Kd term within CSMIO. Crudely speaking, all these options boil down to the same thing in the end. In practice, you will probably need some re-tuning of the PID loop but I cannot see why you should not expect an acceptable performance if the drives have a similar specification.    

Allan