In addition to the DAC and encoder interface to a 3rd party amplifier, there are other related digital I/O signals that must be connected in order to properly sequence the amplifier power. Also, there are standard DIO signals, such as home and over-travel switches, that may be required for the operation of an axis.
3.1. Amplifier Enable, Amplifier Fault & Error Block
The amplifier enable signal is a dedicated digital output line from the controller to the amplifier that signals the amplifier to turn power to the motor ON or OFF. The amplifier fault signal is a dedicated digital input line from the amplifier to the controller that signals when a fault condition occurs. Both of these signals are connected through the "Analog Output" connector, and optionally through the “Auto/Manual Daisy Chain & 2-DAC” connector. These I/O signals are 24V, active high only! For specific pin out information and wiring examples for these signals, please see the Controller Hardware, Hardware Reference section.
During the enable motor power sequence, after the amplifier enable is asserted the external amplifier must clear its amplifier fault signal in a timely fashion. During this period the controller must ignore any amplifier fault indicators. This is achieved by setting an error block time as follows.
|
DataID |
Parameter Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
10606 |
Error block time configuration |
Set to code number that specify the period of time that errors are ignored. The following timing configurations are available: |
3.2. Amplifier Fault Clearing
There is no dedicated digital output signal for clearing an amplifier fault condition. It is expected that the amplifier will automatically clear any fault condition when the enable signal is first asserted. However, if your 3rd party amplifier requires a separate signal, you may optionally configure a general-purpose digital output signal for this purpose. It may be configured as one per axis, or one for all axes, or any combination as you see fit.
|
DataID |
Parameter Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
10629 |
Auxiliary clear amp fault DOUT signal |
Set to the channel number for a general-purpose digital output signal. |
By setting the DOUT signal value to either a positive or negative channel number, the signal can be changed to either active high or active low. The general-purpose digital outputs can be wired to be either sinking or sourcing and, if sourcing, output a 24VDC signal.
3.3. Brake Release
A single dedicated brake release signal is provided that is automatically controlled by the controller's power sequencing software. This brake signal is related to the 3rd integrated amplifier but is available on all of the motor connectors to simplify the motor wiring. If you want a separate brake signal for another amplifier or if your controller does not have any integrated amplifiers, you may optionally utilize a general-purpose digital output signal to control the brake for any axis.
|
DataID |
Parameter Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
10625 |
Auxiliary brake release DOUT channel |
Set to the channel number for a general-purpose digital output signal. |
By setting the DOUT signal value to either a positive or negative channel number, the signal can be changed to either active high or active low. The general-purpose digital outputs can be wired to be either sinking or sourcing and, if sourcing, output a 24VDC signal.
3.4. Home, Over-travel Switches
The home, positive over-travel and negative over-travel switches are optional digital input signals that the controller can utilize during the homing process and to safe guard that an axis does not move too far. There are two different ways that you may access these signals. These methods are described in the following sections.
3.4.1. This set of three signals can be configured to be available via dedicated digital input lines in the encoder connectors. This is convenient but there are two issues to consider: (1) these pins may not available if you need to connect to more than four encoders since these same signals can be configured as single ended encoder inputs, and (2) these signals are 5VDC only. If neither of these constraints is a problem for you, these signals can be configured as follows.
|
DataID |
Parameter Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
10108 |
Dedicated DIN's selection |
Set equal to "3" for any required motor channel. this also disables the use of general-purpose DIN as defined by DataID's 10105-10107. |
By default these signals are active high. However, you may configure them to active low by accessing the following parameter.
|
DataID |
Parameter Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
10104 |
Axis configuration word |
Axis configuration word. The following bits are defined for the dedicated DIN: |
3.4.2. The other way to configure the home and over-travel switches is to use general purpose DIN’s. In this case, the dedicated DIN’s provided through the encoder connection are freed up, and may be used for other purposes, such as additional encoder inputs. For this configuration, the following should be set.
|
DataID |
Parameter Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
10108 |
Dedicated DIN's selection |
Set to a value other than "3". |
|
10105 |
Home switch DIN signal |
Digital input channels for the home, positive over-travel and negative over-travel signals. Active high signals are indicated by positive channel numbers and active low signals are indicated by negative channel numbers.
|
|
10106 |
Positive overtravel DIN signal |
|
|
10107 |
Negative overtravel DIN signal |
3.5. Configuration Completed
At this point, all of the startup and run-time configuration that is special for interfacing to a 3rd party amplifier using the DAC signals has been completed. Please see the standard controller setup instructions for additional information on configuring your controller.