PMAC2A PC/104 HOWTO

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Hardware setup
3. Communication with the host computer
4. Basic PMAC2 configuration
5. Moving motors

1. Introduction
The Delta Tau Programmable Multi-Axis Controller2 (PMAC2) is a high-
performance servo motion controller that can command up to 8 axes
simultaneously. It can run as a stand-alone controller or it can be
commanded by a host computer. Its uses include robotics, machine
tools, assembly lines, food processing, printing, packaging, camera
control, automatic welding, laser cutting and others.

The PMAC2 can be thought of as a computer, capable of stand-alone

operation with its own stored programs. It is a real-time, multi-
tasking computer, able to set task priorities.

Figure 1. Base
Board

The PMAC2A PC/104 system can be composed of 3 boards in a stack

configuration. The base board provides 4 channels of either DAC +/-
10V or pulse and direction command outputs. It is a 90 x 95 mm board
with:

- 40 MHz Motorola DSP563xx

- 128k x 24 internal zero-wait-state SRAM
- 512k x 8 flash memory
- RS232 serial interface
- 4 channel axis interface circuitry
- 50 pin IDC for amplifier/encoder
- 34 pin IDC for flags,
and offers PID/notch/feed forward servo algorithms.
PMAC2 has many modes for controlling motors. A major part of the
initial setup of a PMAC2 is the hardware and software configuration
to specify a mode of operation. In our case, direct-PWM control of
power-block drives is used.

2. Hardware setup
The following Delta Tau cards, to be used for the Bragg axis control
of the XAS monochromator, have been bought for a PMAC2 test-bench:
- PMAC/PC104 4 axes controller (the base board)
- ACC-2P high speed communication board with: on-board digital
I/O, 100Mbit/sec Ethernet port, USB port
- ACC-8FS 4 channel direct PWM stack
- ACC-34AA In/Out opto-isolated I/O (not used yet).

In order to set up the test bench, we also bought the following

devices:

- GPL012 Delta Tau Geo Amplifier Driver 2 Axes, 1.5A

- CABPWM-4 Amplifier PWM cable, 1.8 m, mini-D, 36 conductor, 1
axis
- CABKIT1B 2 axis cable kit (1 AC input cable, 24VDC power
cable, 2 shielded motor cables)
- GAR78 300W 78 Ohm regenerative resistor with thermostat
protection, including wire cable
- BLQ 23M, MAGNETIC brushless motor, 0.33 Nm, 8000 rpm.

The Delta Tau ACC-2P and ACC-8FS cards have to be mounted directly on
the base board. Order is not important. The ACC-34AA card will
probably be connected to the base board with a ribbon cable.

It is important to check that the base board jumpers for:

- clock configuration,
- reset,
- CPU configuration,
- communications,
- ADC configuration,
- encoder configuration

are set correctly. (See PMAC2A-PC/104 CPU hardware reference manual)

Also, the jumper configuration for the accessory boards should be
checked using the corresponding hardware reference manuals.

The PMAC2A PC104 and the ACC-2P cards each require a 1A, 5VDC power
supply for operation. In stand-alone configuration, the PMAC needs an
external 5V supply to power its digital circuits. An external supply
of +/- 12V will be needed when the digital to analog converter (DAC)
outputs are used. The power supply connection can be either on the
TB1 connector or on the JMACH1 connector. (See PMAC2A-PC/104 CPU
hardware reference manual)

Each channel of PMAC has 5 dedicated digital inputs on the machine

connector: PLIMn, MLIMn, HOMEn, FAULTn, USERn, that must be powered
from a supply of 5 to 24V. This power supply can be the same used to
power the PMAC & can be connected from the TB1 or JMACH1 connector.

PLIMn and MLIMn are direction-sensitive over-travel limits that must

conduct current to permit motion in that direction. If no over-travel
limits will be connected to the motor, the feature must be disabled
in the software setup using the PMAC I-variable Ix25, (x being the
motor number.)
Normally, closed-to-ground switches are required for the over-travel
limit inputs, while the home switch polarity can be either normally
close or normally open, as determined by the home sequence setup
variable I9x2, (x being the motor number.)

Cable connections for the amplifier and the motor should be made
according to the hardware manuals. (See PMAC2A-PC/104 CPU hardware
reference manual, Accessory 8FS hardware reference manual, Geo Direct
PWM Amplifiers installation manual, motor manual)

3. Communication with the host computer

The simplest way to communicate with the PMAC2 from a computer is
through a serial line. A special cable must be provided, with the
connection pins as shown in Figure 2.

Using the ACC-2P, the computer can communicate with the PMAC2 by USB
or Ethernet using standard cables & connectors. For the latter, a cat
5 crossover cable must be used for direct PMAC2-PC connection and a
straight cable for connecting to a network hub or switch. It must be
noted that network hubs or intelligent network switches can add
delays of at least 15 msec to the PMAC2 communications.

The ACC-2P comes with a default IP address of 192.6.94.5, stored in

an on-board EEPROM. It can be changed to the desired address using
either the PEWIN 23 Pro manufacturer's software, or a custom program
that implements the PMAC2 Ethernet protocol.(See ons for the
amplifier and the motor should be made according to the hardware
manuals. (See PMAC2A-PC/104 Communications Board ACC-2P hardware
reference manual)
 Figure 2. RS232 Connection

The PC also has to be configured (standard Ethernet interface) for

communication with the PMAC2. The client programs will connect to the
PMAC2 server using port number 1025 for normal communication and
ports number 5,6,7 for firmware updates.

4. Basic PMAC2 Configuration

First & foremost, you must have/find the following information about
your system:

- encoder counts per revolution of each motor (counts per inch

in case of a linear motor)
- current ratings, continuous and instantaneous, for the motors
as well as for the amplifiers
- if you have an induction motor, the rated speed and rated
frequency
- if you have a stepper motor, the desired pulse frequency.

You should search through your hardware manuals for the necessary
information. You will have to use it in order to configure the
following:
1) the PMAC2 digital current loop
2) the PMAC2 position loop.

The PMAC2 behavior is software-configurable through I-variables.

Detailed description of the I-variables can be found in the
PMAC/PMAC2 Software Reference Manual.
As we are supposed to use the PMAC2 for the digital current loop, the
variable Ix82 must be set to 1 for all your activated motors, (x
being the motor number.)

There are 2 options for configuring the control loops:

a) using the Delta Tau Pewin32 Pro software assistant

b) using the corresponding PMAC2 I-variables, following the
steps described in the PMAC2 User Manual.

In either case, a number of I-variables will have to be set up:

- I900 for PWM control on machine interface channels 1-4

- I901 for Phase Clock generation
- I902 for Servo Clock Frequency
- per channel variables:
- I9x0 to decode commutation encoder properly
- I9x6 to specify number of PWM output pairs
- I9x7 to specify if PWM output signals are
inverted or not

- motor operation parameters:

- Ix01 to have PMAC2 perform the phase
commutation for motor x
- Ix02 to specify output command address for
motor x
- Ix82 to specify current feedback address for
motor x
- Ix84 - mask word giving the bits of the
register specified by Ix82 to be used in the current-loop algorithm
- Ix66 - PWM scale factor for the output command
values
- Ix70, Ix71 - size of the commutation cycle
(electrical cycle), in encoder counts
- Ix72 - commutation phase angle
- Ix83 - commutation position feedback address

- basic current loop operation (PI control):

- Ix61 - integral gain term
- Ix62 - forward path proportional gain
- Ix76 - closed loop proportional gain

- position loop PID:

- Ix30 - proportional gain
- Ix31 - derivative gain
- Ix32 - velocity feed forward gain
- Ix33 - integral gain
- Ix34 - integral mode
- Ix35 - acceleration feed forward gain
- Ix29 - DAC offset (if you have it)
- Ix69 - DAC limit (if amplifier has more power
than motor can handle)
- Ix60 - servo cycle extension
- Ix68 - friction feed forward gain
- Ix11 - fatal following error limit.
5. Moving motors
Once the PMAC2 has been properly configured, motor movements can be
tested using either on-line commands or PLC-s and motion programs.
Some of the most used on-line commands that are:

$ - reset motor, feedback & phasing

HM - perform homing routine for motor
K - kill output for current motor
J+ - jog motor indefinitely in positive direction
J- - jog motor indefinitely in negative direction
J/ - stop jogging motor / restore position control
J=<constant> - jog motor to specified position
J:<constant> - jog motor <constant> distance from current
commanded position
J^<constant> - jog motor <constant> distance from current actual
position
P - get motor position
V - get motor velocity
F - get motor following error
? - get motor status words (hex)
Ixxx - get value of I variable no. xxx
Ixxx=<constant> - set I variable no. xxx to value <constant>
DATE - date of firmware version used
TYPE - type of PMAC
VERSION - firmware revision level
$$$ - global reset

All the PMAC2 commands are described in the PMAC/PMAC2 Software

Reference.