1010101012101 / ur_track

Code, Manuals, and References for using our linear track with URSA

Operating the UR Track

Code, Manuals, and References for using our linear track with URSA

• Getting Started
  • Connecting the Track to the Track Control Box
  • Setup Details
• Servo Motor and Drive Information
• Tutorials
  • Jogging the Track
  • Teaching Absolute Positions
• Troubleshooting

Getting Started

Connecting the Track to the Track Control Box

How to hook everything up

1. Connect the cables labeled MOTOR POWER and ENCODER from the motor to the track control box

   • The female end of the cable connects to the motor, and the male end connects to the control box
   • Align the pins, gently push, and screw the connectors onto their receivers

2. Connect the LIMIT SWITCHES cable to the track control box

3. Connect the EMERGENCY STOP EXT. cable to the track control box

   • Right now, we don't have a button for this external e-stop; we just have a jumper wire closing that circuit (which sometimes comes loose). When troubleshooting the track, be sure to check that this jumper wire is still hooked up ¯_(ツ)_/¯

4. Connect the USB cable at the back of the control box to your PC.

   • This powers and communicates with the internal arduino that (currently) drives the track.

5. Connect the three-pin plug at the back of the track's control box to the bottom of the robot's control box.

   • This is a very important safety feature. This cable connects the e-stops of the track with the e-stops of the robot: so if the robot is malfunctioning and you hit its e-stop, the track will also trigger an e-stop (and vice-versa).
     • You do not need to connect this if you're not using the robot (e.g., if you are testing/programming the track)

6. Power the track control box by connecting the power cable (the plug with three horizontal blades) from MAIN POWER to the external Step Up & Step Down Transformer (power inverter).

   • The track requires 220V power: the power inverter to steps up the 110V power from a wall outlet to 220V for the track. Do the following for safe use of the inverter:
     • When getting power from a wall outlet, make sure that the INPUT VOLTAGE switch on the back of the inverter is set to 110V
     • Connect the track's power cable into a OUTPUT 220V plug on the front of the inverter (bottom row of plug)
     • Flip up the blue switch to turn the power inverter ON

7. Flip the horizontal switch above the MAIN POWER plug ON

   • You should see the green light on the switch light up. If not, see the Troubleshooting section.

8. Press the ENABLE button

   • You should see the button light up green. If not, see the Troubleshooting section.

9. The track should now be ready to run the HOMING ROUTINE

   • You must run the HOMING ROUTINE before sending any position commands
   • See position_trigger.ino or position_trigger.gh in the original-code directory for running the routine.

Setup Details

You can send the robot to a HOME position and 8 pre-programmed positions along our 4 meter track.

• The HOME position is on the opposite end of the track motor
• Position 0 P0 is closest to the HOME position
• Position 7 P7 is closest to the track motor
• The 8 pre-programmed positions are spaced 500mm apart, with P0 being the world origin.
  • The 8 Position Control points were last calibrated on: Sunday February 24, 2019

Servo Motor and Drive Information

The servo motor and drive for the track are from Automation Direct (see links to their motor and drive webpages for more info)

Servo Motor Model Number: SVL-201B
Servo Drive Model Number: SVA-2100

More information on the servo motor and drive can be found in the reference folder of this repo.

Tutorials

Instructions: Jogging

To 'manually' jog the track motor through the Sureservo drive:

1. Power on and enable the track

2. Remove the lid of the track control box, and find the motor drive (the big thing with the LED display).

3. Press MODE

4. Press NEXT until you see P4-00 on the display

5. Press the UP arrow until you see P4-05

6. Press ENTER

7. The number you see displayed now is the SPEED

   • Be sure to slow your speed if you're near an End-Stop limit switch. The robot will pick up a lot of momentum and you can damage the switches, the track, and potentially the robot if you crash into them.
     • 1000 is a good medium-to-high speed for jogging
     • 500 slow-to-medium speed for jogging
     • 10 is super slow, but precise — good for dialing in an exact encoder count

8. Press the UP/DN arrows to set your desired speed

9. Press ENTER

10. Press the UP/DN arrows to jog

    • The UP arrow moves the robot AWAY from the home position.
    • The DN arrow moves the robot TOWARDS from the home position.

Note The motor WILL NOT jog if the arudino inside is not externally powered (i.e., plug the arduino into your PC).

For more detailed instructions, see page 73 of the Sureservo Manual

Automation Direct also has a step-by-step youtube tutorial for How to Jog the servo Motor

Instructions: Teaching Absolute Positions

The Sureservo drive has 8 programmable positions that can be externally triggered (currently by an arduino micro in the track's control box). You program an absolute position for the track in terms of motor REVS (revolutions) and COUNTS (encoder counts):

1 REV = 10,000 COUNTS

For example:
46.5 revs = 46 revs + 5,000 counts

For our track, we have estimated that 46.6666 revs = 1 meter of travel distance.

Automation Direct has a great step-by-step youtube tutorial for How to Use Sureservo's Position Register Mode.

You navigate the Sureservo drive interface similarly to the Jogging tutorial above:

1. Press MODE

2. Press NEXT until you see P1-00 on the display

3. Press the UP/DN arrow until you see P1-15

   • This is where you input the REV for the 1st recorded postion

4. Press ENTER to save or MODE to go back

5. Press MODE

6. Press the UP/DN arrow until you see P1-16

   • This is where you input the COUNT for the 1st recorded postion

7. Press ENTER to save or MODE to go back

8. Press MODE

9. Press the UP/DN arrow until you see P1-17

   • This is where you input the REV for the 2nd recorded postion

10. Repeat for Position Command Parameters P1-15 to P1-30

For alternative instructions, see page 74 of the Sureservo Manual

Troubleshooting

The Track Control Box Isn't Turning On

1. Check that the MAIN POWER plug is still firmly plugged into the power inverter. It sometimes comes loose and then the track looses power.
2. Check that the jumper wire at the end of the EMERGENCY STOP EXT. cable is pushes in. If the wire comes loose, it will trigger and E-STOP.

The Track Isn't Moving

1. Is the BRAKE REALEASE button lit up, but the ENABLE button not? Press the ENABLE button to make it go green.
2. Make sure the Arduino in the back of the track control box is plugged into your PC (or at least powered). The motor disabled unitl it's connected.
3. Mechanical Issue? Make sure there's nothing physically obstructing motion. In the past, the angle brackets connecting the track to the ground were placed too close to the robot's pedestal, blocking its movement.
4. ALE06 Overload Alert: The motor has a brake and the brake has not been released. The way to release the brake is to apply 24 Volt though a relay with the help ofthe yellow and orange wires on the power cable. Polarity is not important. (see Automation Direct FAQ's)