1. SPiiPlus Training Class
MC4U Trainer Setup

2. Presentation Contents
Introduction
EtherCAT Configurator walkthrough
System Configuration Wizard walkthrough
System Information Viewer
Complete setup of a single axis on an ACS drive

3. Introduction
This presentation is a step-by-step setup of the MC4Unt trainer unit. It is meant to give a flavor of what a real system setup is like.
Setup in the presentation was done using SPiiPlus MMI Application Studio 2.10 software. The latest version can be found at acsmotioncontrol.com
There are three main setup tasks for the trainer unit:
EtherCAT network configuration
System configuration
Axis setup and tuning
The trainer unit has three axes. This presentation covers setup of one axis, the other two are up to you!

4. 1 4 3 MC4U Trainer Contents Controller Card
SPiiPlus NT-LT-8; 8 axis EtherCAT network master
Power Supply
PSM3U-320V-8kW
Drive
DDM3U /6A; 4 axis PWM Drive
Motors
Axis 1: 3ph BLDC w/ incremental quad encoder
Axis 3: 3ph BLDC w/ SINCOS encoder
Axis 4: Open-loop stepper 1 4 3

5. Establish Communication with Controller
Connect an Ethernet cable between the PC and the MC4U (J6-ETH1)
Open the MMI, and User Mode Driver (if not already running)
Set ‘Controller IP Address’ to and make sure your PC is on the same network, then click ‘Connect’
When connection is established, the workspace window shows a green LED next to the connected controller’s serial number

6. Add Components to Workspace
Right-click on the controller in the workspace window and select ‘Add Component’ to add the following:
Setup  Adjuster Wizard
Setup  System Configuration Wizard
Setup  EtherCAT Configurator
Utilities  System Information Viewer
Utilities  Communication Terminal
Application Development  Program Manager

7. EtherCAT Configurator
Double click ‘EtherCAT Configurator’ component in the workspace tree to open
Select ‘Scan System’ and the connected EtherCAT network will be displayed
Click ‘Generate Configuration’ to save to flash
Wait for controller to reboot
Close EtherCAT Configurator

8. System Configuration
Double click ‘System Configuration Wizard’ in the workspace tree to open
Select ‘Change System Configuration’ radio button, click next
Leave application details blank, click next
Click ‘Approve All’ at bottom of screen, click next
When prompted to save configuration to controller’s flash, select yes, and OK to reboot
Click next to skip COC and Print Reports. Click ‘Finish’ to close System Configuration Wizard

9. System Information Viewer
Double click ‘System Information Viewer’ in the workspace tree to open
Any relevant information about a system can be found using the System Information Viewer, as well as save/load system information

10. System Information Viewer
For instance, to view which IO are available: look under System Configuration  Network Units  Unit 0  Inputs/Outputs Assignment
Looking at the pane to the right, there are 8 digital I/O, and 4 analog I/O

11. Adjuster Wizard
Double click ‘Adjuster Wizard’ in the workspace tree to open
Specify you are working with Axis 3
Select ‘Setup New System or Controller’ option
Click next to get to ‘Initialization’
Leave user information blank, click next to get to ‘Axis Structure’

12. Adjuster Wizard: Axis Structure
Specify axis structure as ‘Single Motor’
Specify motor-load topology as ‘Rotary Motor and Rotary Load – Direct Drive’
Set feedback topology as ‘Single, on motor’
Apply user units to motor
Select ‘Degrees’ as rotary units
Press ‘Next’ button

13. Adjuster Wizard: Motor
Press the ‘+’ button to add a new motor
Enter the following motor data:
Click next
Motor Type
3-phase DC Brushless/AC Servo
Nominal Current
4.4 Amps (peak of sine)
Peak Current
8.48 Amps (peak of sine)
Maximum Velocity
7000 RPM
Number of Poles 6
Back EMF Constant
39 V/kRPM
Phase Connection
Star / Wye Phase
Phase Resistance
3.42 Ohm

14. Adjuster Wizard: Drive
Press the ‘+’ button to add a drive
The ACS drive will automatically be recognized except supply input voltage and/or frequency
Specify the input voltage as 110V
Specify frequency as 60Hz
Click next

15. Adjuster Wizard: Motor Feedback
Press the ‘+’ button to add a new motor feedback
Select the motor feedback type as ‘Incremental Quadrature Encoder’
Specify the resolution as 2048 lines per revolution
Set the external multiplier to 1
Click next

16. Adjuster Wizard: Calculate Parameters
Click ‘Calculate Parameters’
A list of all calculated parameters different from current values is shown
Click ‘Apply Changes’ to update all parameters to the newly calculated values
Click next

17. Adjuster Wizard: Safety and Protection
Skip to ‘Current Limits’ by clicking on it in the task pane
The adjuster sets current limits to prevent damage to the motor based on info entered in ‘Components’. It is important to verify it is correct
Click next to get to ‘Position Errors’
Position error parameters are set automatically too, but these may need to be relaxed temporarily for tuning purposes
!!! Important Safety Info !!!

18. Adjuster Wizard: Verification
Skip to ‘Switches’ under the ‘Verification’ heading by clicking on it in the task pane
Verify upper and lower limit switch functionality and inverse logic if necessary
Click next to get to ‘Stop, Alarm and Brake’
Verify Hardware Emergency Stop functionality and inverse logic if necessary
Click next
!!! Important Safety Info !!!

19. Adjuster Wizard: Axis Setup and Tuning
The Axis Setup and Tuning process is covered in detail in the ‘SPiiPlus Time Domain Tuning’ presentation, but in general involves:
Current loop tuning
Motor commutation
Velocity loop tuning
Position loop tuning

20. Adjuster Wizard: Axis Setup and Tuning
ACS utilizes a cascaded control loop structure, ideal for motion control applications:
Current loop
Velocity loop
Position loop
The position loop generates a command to the velocity loop
The velocity loop generates a command to the current loop

21. Adjuster Wizard: Axis Setup and Tuning
Tuning rules of thumb:
For current and velocity loops:
Begin by setting proportional and integrator gains low (usually 10 is fine for both)
Start by doubling proportional gain until response is noisy, then reduce by half
Keep proportional gain fixed and begin doubling integrator gain until roughly 10-15% overshoot is observed
For position loop:
Start low (usually 10) and begin doubling until position error is minimized.
Make sure position error while moving at constant velocity is not noisy.

22. Adjuster Wizard: Current Loop Tuning
Set both SLIKP and SLIKI = 10 (start out low)
Default current level is 10% with 4ms pulse width. These values are fine, do not change.
Click ‘Scope Autoset’ and ‘Run’
Double SLIKP until high frequency effects (noise) or overshoot are present, then reduce by half.
Typical values: 50 – 500
Changing SLIKI should not require returning the change SLIKP
Double SLIKI until overshoot is excessive, then reduce by half. Overshoot should be roughly 10-15%
Typical values: 1000 – 10,000

23. Adjuster Wizard: Current Loop Tuning
SLIKP = 25, SLIKI = 10 Not responsive enough
SLIKP = 100, SLIKI = 10 Too aggressive (excessive overshoot)
SLIKP = 75, SLIKI = 10 Okay
SLIKP = 75, SLIKI = 1000 Not responsive enough
SLIKP = 75, SLIKI = Too aggressive (excessive overshoot)
SLIKP = 75, SLIKI = Well tuned

24. Adjuster Wizard: Commutation
Commutation is the process of keeping current vector perpendicular to motor magnetic field vector.
Handled automatically in brush DC motors, and not necessary in steppers operating in micro-stepping mode.
At controller startup the magnetic field orientation of a BLDC motor is not known and needs to be found. The adjuster has a facility for finding it and setting the commutation angle.
Once found, the commutation angle is kept track of using motor feedback (encoder)

25. Adjuster Wizard: Commutation
Adjuster based commutation only needs to be done once during initial axis setup.
Once axis is properly setup and tuned, ACSPL+ COMMUT command can be used instead.
COMMUT command pings motor three times and finds commutation angle with very little physical motion.
If motor is equipped with hall sensors, commutation angle is based on first hall state transition, and COMMUT command is not necessary.

26. Adjuster Wizard: Commutation
In the commutation dialog, click the ‘default’ button to tailor the commutation process for this particular axis
Click ‘Start Commutation’
On top of finding the commutation angle, a number of magnetic pitches will be measured and checked against encoder feedback to verify settings
On successful commutation, click next twice to skip to ‘Position and Velocity Loops’

27. Adjuster Wizard: Position and Velocity Loops
Select ‘Velocity Loop’
Click ‘Motion Manager Autoset’, and ‘Scope Autoset’
The only variables you need to be concerned with in velocity loop tuning are Proportional Gain (SLVKP), and Integrator Gain (SLVKI)
Start SLVKP, SLVKI low and use a similar tuning approach as in current loop
In Motion Manager, click ‘Enable Motor’ and ‘Start Motion’

28. Adjuster Wizard: Position and Velocity Loops
SLVKP = 100, SLVKI = 10 Not responsive enough
SLVKP = 2300, SLVKI = 10 Too aggressive (noisy)
SLVKP = 400, SLVKI = 10 Okay
SLVKP = 400, SLIKI = 200 Not responsive enough
SLVKP = 400, SLVKI = 2000 Too aggressive (excessive overshoot)
SLVKP = 400, SLVKI = 700 Just right

29. Adjuster Wizard: Position and Velocity Loops
Select ‘Position Loop’
Click ‘Motion Manager Autoset’ and ‘Scope Autoset’
Enter the following settings in the Motion Manager:
Click ‘Enable Motor’ then ‘Start Motion’

30. Adjuster Wizard: Position and Velocity Loops
The only variable you need to be concerned with in position loop tuning is Proportional Gain (SLPKP)
Start SLPKP low and double until position error is minimized while making sure it is not noisy at constant velocity.

31. Adjuster Wizard: Position and Velocity Loops
SLPKP = 1 Not responsive enough
SLPKP = 500 Too aggressive (noisy)
SLPKP = 100 Position error minimized

32. Adjuster Wizard: Save to Flash
Once all previous steps are complete the system is now setup and tuned. Save to flash so it will be available on controller startup.