Detailed description
The full user manual for DivisionMaster can be viewed in PDF form (~200K file) by following this link
DivisionMaster
has five basic operating modes, Setup Mode, Jog Mode, Division Mode,
Degrees Mode, and Continuous Mode, all selectable and controllable from
the keyboard, and a sixth mode, Driver Mode, that is selected at
startup. The descriptions of these operating modes follow:
Setup Mode
This mode allows the operating parameters of the unit to be established. These are:
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The motor current (0.1-2.0 amps per phase)
-
The motor idle current (as a percentage of the motor current)
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The drive ratio of the dividing head or rotary table (any value from 1:1 through 5000:1)
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The default direction (CW or CCW) for "+ve" moves
-
The default number of divisions when operating in "Division Mode" (any number of divisions from 1 to 9999)
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The default angle of movement when operating in "Degrees Mode" (up to 360.000 degrees)
-
The
starting and maximum feedrates for two speed ranges, Fast and Slow can
be set in the range 3 to 9999 motor steps per second. "Degrees Mode",
"Division Mode", and "Continuous Mode" can make use of both speed
ranges; "Jog Mode" uses only the slow speed range.
-
The ramp rate used to accelerate/decelerate the motor. Separate ramp rates are available for the Fast and Slow speed ranges
-
The number of motor half-steps to be used for backlash compensation (0-999)
-
Four
different sets of configuration parameters can be stored, allowing the
controller to be quickly swapped between different rotary devices with
different configuration needs.
Jog Mode
This
mode allows the rotary axis to be jogged into its starting position.
The "+ >" and "< -" keys will cause the axis to be moved in
increments of 1/100th of a degree, CW or CCW; the "1" and "3" keys on
the numeric keypad give + or - 1/10th of a degree increments, the "4"
and "6" keys give + or - 1 degree increments, and the "7" and "9" keys
give + or - 10 degree increments. The display shows the desired
position (as requested via the keypad) and the actual position (as
approximated by the motor moving to the nearest half-step), as seen in
the next photo.
The
desired position is 0.06 degrees; the actual position is 0.063 degrees,
representing 5 motor half-steps using a 72:1 drive ratio.
Division Mode
This
mode allows the operator to set any number of divisions in the range 1
through 9999, including all of the divisions that often cannot be
easily achieved using a conventional division plate approach, for
example, 43 or 127...etc., or 19 as shown in the following example:
Each
stroke of the "+ >" and "< -" keys will cause the axis to be
moved CW or CCW to the next division, using the fast speed range. Each
stroke of the "3" and "1" keys will cause the axis to be moved CW or
CCW to the next division, using the slow speed range. The following
picture shows the display after completing two moves of 19 divisions,
equivalent to an angular position of 37.895 degrees:
The
display shows the step number (2), the total number of
divisions (19) and the actual position, which is shown as 37.9
degrees, within a half-step of the desired position.
Degrees Mode
Thhis
mode allows the operator to set any angle in the range 0.001 through
360.000 degrees as the angle of movement, 12.345 degrees is selected in
the following example:
Each
stroke of the "+ >" and "< -" keys will cause the axis to be
moved CW or CCW by the specified increment, using the fast speed range.
Each stroke of the "3" and "1" keys will cause the axis to be moved CW
or CCW by the specified increment, using the slow speed range. The
following picture shows the display after completing one move of 12.345
degrees:
The
display shows on the first line (from left to right) the desired
position and the number of degrees per move, and on the second line,
the actual position.
Continuous Mode
In
Continuous Mode, the controller can drive the rotary axis
contionuously, either anticlockwise or clockwise, using either of the
two speed ranges. When the operator wishes to stop the continuous
drive, the motor speed is ramped back down before stopping the motor.
Emergency Stop
In
Jog, Division, Degrees, and Continuous modes, pressing the STOP key (or
holding the corresponding contact closure input low - see below) will
cause any move that is currently in progress to stop. When this
happens, the unit remembers and displays its current actual and desired
positions, and subsequent use of the "<-" and "+>" keys
operate using these as a starting point. This allows a sequence of
moves to be interrupted and then continued without loss of position.
For example, if the unit was being used to make CW moves (using the
"+>" key) and was interrupted during a move by use of the
STOP key, the rotary axis can be restored to its position prior to
the interrupted move by pressing "<-" once.
Driver Mode
Driver
mode is entered if the unit is powered on while the "STOP" key is
depressed, or if one of the input pins is held low. In this mode, the
keyboard and the other operating functions are disabled, and the unit
operates purely as a "slave", following step-and-direction signals from
an external controller. This allows the unit to be used as a rotary
axis in conjunction with another CNC machine, taking its drive
signals from the CNC machine's controller.
External Connections
The rear panel has 3 sockets:
-
The
leftmost socket is a standard 2.1mm power jack socket. The unit is
supplied with its own external switch-mode power supply, capable of
delivering 2.9 amps at 24 volts.
-
The middle
socket is a 9-pin "D-Type" female connector, which carries +5V and
ground pins, plus external interfacing signals that allow:
-
The functions of the "STOP", "+ >" and "< -" keys to be replicated by external contact closures;
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The unit to drive a higher power external motor drive stage, for driving motors that require more than 2A/phase;
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The unit to be driven from external step-and-direction signals generated by another CNC machine;
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An external machine to be notified when the unit starts and ends a move.
-
The
motor drive connector is a 4-pin female XLR socket, which is more
robust than the 6-pin DINsocket used on the earlier "plastic case"
version of the controller, and incorporates a locking device to help
prevent accidental disconnection of the motor during use.
Please note that we reserve the right to change the specifications of our products without notice.
