NEWS

We've packed a mountain of new features into one gigantic release. This time, we've focused on features that can help you build more complex systems.

Before you upgrade, please read our migration guide from v4 to v5. We have made some fundamental changes between these two versions to achieve better standards compliance and introduce new features that required some API changes. Don't worry: the migration won't be too difficult.

DIGITAL IO AND HOMING

The configuration options for the digital IO have been significantly expanded. You can now configure a GPIO pin in many new ways, including setting the default voltage for hardware that supports it.

The following configuration options are available for the input:

• General, readable by the master
• Home switch (active high or low)
• Limit switch (positive or negative, active high or low)
• Interlock (blocks operation or an error is triggered) - can be used to prevent operation if a door is open or the laser is blocked
• Error reset - deletes an error on a rising edge
• Timestamp on rising edge

The outputs can be configured accordingly as:

• General purpose, adjustable by the master
• Mimics the value of several bits of the statusword
• Triggered output with a timestamp
• Position-triggered output (pulse when a position is reached)

Of course, home and limit switches are also fully supported in the firmware. This means that all defined homing modes from 1 to 37 are now supported!

We hope that most of them are self-explanatory, but our documentation can help you with configuration and use cases.

REGULATORY CONDUCT

Car tuning has found its way into the torque controller! This time we have built it directly into the drive itself. Settling time and damping ratio can be adjusted to determine the performance of the current controller. We have also introduced dynamic integrator limiting to improve performance at the controller's limits.

Oversampling of the encoder and improved low-pass filtering of the encoder signal should provide a cleaner position and velocity feedback signal. This can improve control performance, allowing you to achieve better motion control tuning.

MONITORING

The "External scaled measurement feature" can now output an error if it exceeds some defined limits and a warning if it is close (95%). We have added a filter to allow cleaning of the signal. As this feature is often used in conjunction with a motor temperature sensor, this can help prevent overheating. We have added similar error messages and warnings for the drive and core temperature values.

MECHANICAL POWER LIMIT

If you need to push your servo drive or power supply to the limits of its rated power, you may struggle with the protection mechanisms not kicking in and shutting everything down. Simultaneous operation at high speed and high torque can be tricky without exceeding these limits. Therefore, we have introduced the Power Limit function and the Max power object (0x200B) to allow you to surf the limits and get the maximum power out of your axis.

COMMUTATION OFFSET RECOGNITION

We have added three different methods to cover many more situations where you need a valid offset:

1. Similar in behavior to those in version 4.4, the motor rotates at a constant speed to find the offset within 1.5 pole pairs (usually less), and measures the angle to find the offset. This is the most accurate of the methods and works instantly, without adjustment.
2. With this method, the field is moved very quickly to the current position and the offset is measured. This method can be very fast and accurate and requires a small amount of movement, but a controller must be tuned for excellent performance. This method is well suited for execution during the creation of a machine where these tuning parameters are known.
3. Allows the motor to be completely blocked by a brake; no movement is required. This method sends a special signal through the motor windings and measures the response to estimate the offset. It is less accurate than others, and the accuracy depends on the design of the motor, but can be very useful for suspended loads where the brake cannot be released.

SINGLE TURN OFFSET

When mounting a singleturn absolute encoder on an axis that cannot physically rotate a full revolution, it can be helpful to ensure that the singleturn position value does not overflow within its range of motion. But knowing where this encoder overflow will occur during mounting is tricky. For this reason, object 0x21FF can be used to compensate for this singleturn overflow location. The position is adjusted internally and the physical mounting of your encoder does not need to be adjusted.

GET STARTED AND UPDATE FIRMWARE

There are other things we could mention, such as the fancy new logo in our ESI file. But since this article is already getting quite long, visit the OBLAC Drives firmware update feature and get started! Our documentation should point you in the right direction, and you can always contact our support team if you need help.

We look forward to seeing what you build!

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