Motion Control from Control Techniques

[d.gelman]

Hello,

I am in the midst of a project over the summer, and I have been given an Epsilon EP-P Motor Driver as well as a Exlar GSX30 Series Actuator.  I have the hardware and given software (PowerTools Pro 5.1v) working just fine and I figured out communication within the system. 

I want to have this under a LabVIEW environment along with other aspects of the project.  Communication to the system is via Ethernet.  I was wondering incorporating this system into LabVIEW is a possibility. 

I haven't been able to find instrument drivers for LabVIEW within these products.

Thank you,

[Cole_R]

Hi d.gelman,

Even though there isn't currently a driver available for the device, you can still communicate with the device by TCP/IP.  This is essentially what the drivers would be doing anyway, you would just be programming it yourself.  Unfortunately doing so means more work and you will need to have an understanding of the command set, but it is completely possible.  

Check out this link for some basics on TCP/IP communications:

http://www.ni.com/white-paper/2710/en

There are also several examples in the example finder that demonstrate communication with TCP/IP.  Hope this helps!

[d.gelman]

Hello Cole,

Thank you for your guidance.

I have read the your mentioned link and I am trying to understand where to start and how to communicate with said system.  Many concerns I have such as, where can I find my port number.  These basic conerns of mine show that I am not strong in TCP/IP communication.  Where can I find some basic of TCP/IP communication to a driver and motion system?

Also the link you showed me contained a VI.  Do you mind sending it to me? I don't believe there is a link to it.

Thank you,

Danny

[Cole_R]

Hi Danny,

First off, start by getting the IP address of the device and see if you can ping using command line.  In doing so, you can verify that the device is available on the network and can respond to TCP commands.

I think the best place for you to start off with your code is by examining some of the examples in the example finder.  Specifically, I would start with the 'TCP Communicator - Active' and 'TCP Communicator Passive' examples.  While these are not written for communication with an instrument, they do a great job in showing the basics.

Then you can apply that knowledge and send commands to the controller.

I'm not sure which port particular device will use, but you can see all open ports on your computer by typing 'netstat -an' into a command line on your computer.  I hope that gets you started!

[d.gelman]

Hey Cole,

I have been doing some snooping around and I finally connected my device using MAX.  I established a TCP/IP Network Device using "Create New...".  Via Manual Entry using Sockets, I put in my address and port number and received the following message after validating.

==================================================​==========

Successfully opened a VISA session to TCPIP0::192.168.1.42::502:: SOCKET"

==================================================​==========

Now when I am trying to communicate to the instrument, do I use VISA VIs or TCP VIs? To open/close/read/write?

Also, I need a language or messaging system to communicate with the servo drive. Do you possibly know what messaging system the Epsilon EPP uses?

Thanks,

Danny

[AnalogKid2DigitalMan]

You should go to the source for the programming manual:

http://www.emersonindustrial.com/en-EN/controltechniques/products/servodrives/epsilonep/Pages/epsilo...

-AK2DM

[Cole_R]

I would recommend using the VISA API for your application as this will take care of some of the lower level programming for you.  As already mentioned, you will need to learn the command set by looking in the device's manual.  Best of luck going forward!

[Alex2129]

Hi my name is Alex , I'm from Puerto Rico recently I'm working in a final proyect and I need to integrated labview in a epsilon EP-B for create a vibration table using a servomotor and I dont have any idea 

[Poolean]

This is an old thread. Could you please create a new post on your issue? This is a good spot to do so: http://forums.ni.com/t5/Motion-Control-and-Motor-Drives/bd-p/240

In your new post, please try adding some more detail to your original post such as more information about your application, software and hardware you're woking with. Please include both NI and 3rd party products. This will allow other people to better understand your situation, give you suggestions and point you to helpful resources.

Thanks!

-Mike