[Neo20X]

Hi,
I have a big problem. I like to test a galil card DMC1740 to use with mach3.
For this I need the wsdk32 tuning software or the galil suite. I can´t find a download and the new versions are all password protected because you have to buy it. But therefore I need to know if the card is working.
I want to test the card, the amplifiers and the servos.

Maybe somebody can help me! :stickpoke

THX

[Al_The_Man]

I have the S/W, but I believe the DMCTerminal is still available free, this allows sending small programs and/or single commands to the Galil for test purposes, drives, encoder etc and also allows manual tuning.
Al.

[Neo20X]

In the dmcterminal i think its not possible to set the dro's. I want also test the card from mach3. The plugin is installed and the card is also found. And when i read the instruction from the plugin there its necesarry to tune the axis from wsdk first.

[Al_The_Man]

Not sure what you mean by 'Set the DRO' anything you can do in Mach you can do in Galil native commands using DMCTerminal?
The only difference is that the display is in encoder counts, which is sufficient for testing purposes?
Also the tuning can be done manually and get quite close, the procedure is in the 1700 manual.
Al.

[Lohmeyer]

GalilTools-Lite should do some of what you want, though not the main feature you need - the servo tuning scope feature, which is I believe what you are looking for. For that, you really need to buy the $200 software. I strongly recommend buying it. Servo tuning is hard enough with the scope feature. If you don't buy it, you'll need to find another way to "see" how well your servos are working. WSDK has this feature as well, but GalilTools (and now GalilSuite) are better. With either, you can enter a step movement (move X 1 inch to the left) and view the overshoot, or error in movement, adjust the PID values, rinse and repeat. GalilTools has an auto tune feature to help you get in the right ball park. WSDK does not have the auto tune feature if I remember correctly.

SmartTERM will let you enter programs and commands to move the axis for the purpose of this testing, but SmartTERM won't show you the result in a scope like graph. Also, GalilTools is better in that it gives you watch lists, and the ability turn GPIO's on and off more easily (as opposed to using Galil commands in SmartTERM). Of course, GalilTools (and WSDK) has a terminal function, so SmartTERM is really a subset of GalilTools. WSDK does the same, but I'm not sure if it has the scope or watch features, or at least they aren't as nice as GalilTools.

I bought GalilTools and when I asked, they gave me access to WSDK for free. But GalilTools did the job - I didn't need WSDK - unless your ISA based DMC1740 is not supported by GalilTools. GalilSuite may not support the older cards either. I haven't used GalilSuite. I suggest calling Galil and just asking them. They are very helpful over the phone.

But, there are caveats. If I remember correctly the Mach3 Galil driver needs the older drivers installed with DMC SmartTerm. So, if you install GalilTools (or maybe WSDK), you must uninstall it and install SmartTERM to use Mach3. There are ways you can install both and manually switch the drivers using Windows Hardware Manager (I believe) but I haven't tried that. I just did my servo tuning in GalilTools, uninstalled it, installed SmartTERM and ran Mach3.

Sorry, perhaps not the answer you wanted to hear. It boils down to your time vs. money. Servo tuning isn't easy when you are new to it (and not even when you are experienced). Having the right tools (GalilTools) can really make the difference.

Regards,
Mike

[Neo20X]

Hi Mike, maybe i will buy the software but actually i got everything to work now with the SmartTerm. I can test the motor in the smartterm and i can also jog the motor in mach3. What i don´t understand is how the closed loop will work under mach3. I tried to start a small programm in mach3 und run through, then i blocked the motor so the encoder does not count in mach3 but the programm is still running to end and won´t. Are there special settings in mach3 or am i wrong and there is no closed loop under mach3??

My Setup:
Elmo SimpleIQ Digital Amplifier
400W AC Servo Motor Encoder+Hall
DMC1740
Mach3

regards
Markus

[Lohmeyer]

Markus,

Mach3 was originally designed for an open loop system using stepper motors through the PC Parallel port. By adding the right driver/hardware and a DC or AC Servo motor system with encoders or linear scales, you can get a closed feedback loop. That is what you have using the Galil card of course. But, the feedback loop is from the Galil card to the motor/encoder and back to the Galil card. Mach3 isn't directly involved in the feedback loop. Mach3 only commands the Galil card to move to a position, and the Galil card does all the feed back monitoring to make sure it gets there. Mach3 only queries the Galil card to see when (if) the movement has finished.

So, when you run Mach3, it enables/disables various control signals to allow the machine to work through the Galil card (releases the brake on a Z axis for example), and then issues commands to the Galil card. This is exactly what you do when you use SmartTERM to issue commands to the Galil card. You and Mach3 are doing exactly the same thing.

I'm a little confused what you mean by "blocked the motor" and the "program is still running to end and won.t." Did you not finish that sentence? Blocking the motor to prevent the encoders from counting would cause the Galil card to either try harder to reach it's commanded position (i.e. increase driving voltage, or run the motor indefinitely), or it would fail with an excessive following error (if you have the right error checking enabled such as the ER command - Error Limit - setting configured). All this is managed by the Galil card, not Mach3, or Mach3 sets these paramters, but the Galil card acts on them. Following error means the Galil card commands a destination, and the motor is moving so sluggishly that there is a large difference between the expected position while moving, and the actual position while moving. This is all heavily influenced by servo tuning and Galil settings (look up Galil commands AC, DC, KI, KP, KD, SP).

So, if Mach3 continues to run a program even after you block the encoders from counting, then something isn't connected or configured correctly. My understanding is if the encoders are not providing feedback to the Galil card, then the first movement command in Mach3 should stall, or fail. So maybe I should ask you to explain more how you have things hooked up. Right now, it's too much an open ended question.


There are several great app notes on the Galil website that may help you understand how a Galil card works, and how to configure and tune it. Check them out here: Application Notes - Galil: We Move The World A login or "user account" may be required to access all of them. They also have some videos on configuration and servo tuning, but I can't find them right now. Or perhaps move this discussion to the Mach3/Galil forum topic as the problem may just be a simple Mach3/Galil driver configuration issue.


Regards,
Mike