[thunderdork]

Hi,

I'm currently setting up my first servo build with gecko 320x drivers, US Digital E5 Single Ended encoders and a CNC4PC C11 breakout board.

I'm not connected to a PC yet. I have the motors power and encoders connected and all I'm getting is a green power light and a red fault light. I jumped Error/Reset (Terminal 5) and Enc+ (Terminal 7) but the red fault light doesn't turn off.

I checked the wiring 20 times. Switched A and B channels. Switched motor power leads. Nothing. One thing is that the encoders have a pin for "index" but there is nothing for it on the geckos.

My question is this: Are there any steps used to debug these types of drivers? I've run out of ideas so far. And is a pc connection necessary? I'm just testing the wiring right now.

[thunderdork]

UPDATE:

I tried flipping dip switch 6 to on for HEDS. I read in here somewhere that the US Digital encoders need this. Now the servo turns a quarter at a time by itself but then faults again. i'm assuming either my encoder wires are flipped or I need to set the encoder line count settings. Anybody's input would be greatly appreciated.

[thunderdork]

SUCCESS:

That seems to have done it! Seems the US Digital E5 encoders need to have HEDS switching on (dip switch 6) in order to work. Also, I have the ERR channel jumped to the 5v+ of the encoder (pin 5 to 7) to keep from having to reset every powerup. I also found this on the Gecko site:

Using HEDS Encoders - Servo Drives - Application Notes - Support

Its saying there should be a some capacitors and resistors added. Does anybody know if this is still true? My encoder looks different than the one showings so I'm assuming its newer.

EDIT: I'm assuming that I don't need the extra parts since this article says nothing about switching the HEDS switch. I'm assuming that means this is an older rev that didn't have it and the newer one handles it for you.

[Mariss Freimanis]

It's true. Very, very true.

The HEDS switch makes the G320X ignore the miserable signal problems from the ES5 encoder. What you give up is the G320X can no longer detect a disconnected encoder when this switch is on.

The application note says nothing about the HEDS switch because the app-note is limited in scope, it only addresses a work-around for the glaring E5S hardware short-comings.

USdigital has a much improved encoder (EM-1?) that completely overcomes all the drawbacks of the E5S encoders. It is an excellent encoder.

Mariss

[thunderdork]

Awesome, thanks Mariss. I've heard you are good at responding here! I'll have to check out the other encoders when I get a chance. For now, the geckos are humming along. Thanks again!

[Mslaterhk]

Hi all,
Newbie here with similar problem. I haven't done motor control for over 20 years now so please forgive if this is a real simple fix I should know.
I have motor wired up but no DIR STEP or COM at the moment.
When I power up I get both power and fault lights. I've tried resetting for 1 second (and longer) with 5 and 7 with no change.
Then I wired 5 and 7 and restarted power. Then I get the motor stepping about twice a second. Fault light still on, every time the motor steps the in-pos and warn lights flash.
I've put resistance test across port 1 through 2-5 and resistance looks ok as recommended to test for blown MOSFET.
There's no humming, noise or heat from any of the units when powered on.

Any ideas how to reset and remove fault light? Thanks!

Equipment:
Gecko G320X
KL23-130-60 motor
AMT102 CUI
Power: Toroidal 24v 200VA & 100VDC 22000uF cap. (Output 35v)

DIP SWITCHES:
1-5 ON
6,7 OFF
8,9 ON
10 OFF

Wiring to Gecko:
1 Capacitor NEG
2 Capacitor POS
3 Motor NEG
4 Motor POS
5 N/A
6 CUI GND
7 CUI 5v (measured)
8 CUI channel A
9 CUI channel B
10,11,12 not in use at present.

[RCaffin]

> Then I get the motor stepping about twice a second. Fault light still on, every time the motor steps the in-pos and warn lights flash.

Sounds as though the 320X is trying to go, but as soon as it starts to move it detects a fault and shuts down. The only place it is likely to see a fault is at the encoder inputs (unless the motor is short-circuited).
To me that suggests that either the encoder signals are just not working, or that the encoder A & B channerls are reversed.
Try rotating the motor by hand very slowly, while monitoring BOTH A & B channels. They should sequence properly at respectable TTL levels.
Then try reversing A & B.

Cheers
Roger