AKD Drive Ethercat Torque Mode

[MrFisher]

I know that similar questions have been asked before without a satisfactory answer (thread), but we are trying to operate an AKD drive in torque mode over an EtherCat interface using a cRIO-9022.  I have located and been testing PaulRB's workaround (link), but we seem to have a problem.  

When attempting to use "Test App.vi" to run my drive, I receive the error "Error -70228 occured at Axis when executing 'Power' on Axis 1 at Invoke Node in Test App.vi".  Labview seems to think that the drive is not enabled, but I have checked that the hardware enable is active (works in Kollmorgen Workbench).  Additionally, I can get the drive to move using the Interactive Test Panel in Labview using the built-in AKD axis binding.  I am using:

• LabVIEW 2012
  
• LabVIEW Real-Time 2012
• NI SoftMotion Standard 2012
• NI RIO 12.0.1
• NI Industrial Communication for EtherCAT 2.4

It is unclear to me if this problem is related to the fact that we are using Softmotion Standard 2012 instead of Softmotion Premium 2012, or is something else entirely.  Our group is currently on a tight budget and I would hate to advise them to upgrade the Softmotion module only to have this problem persist (or discover some other issue).  

Assuming that the Softmotion module is the problem, is there a way for us to evaluate the Softmotion Premium module before I recommend an upgrade?

[Kilometers]

Hi MrFisher,

I don't think it's likely that upgrading to Softmotion Premium will solve your issue, but if you would like to test this you can download the Softmotion evaluation. When you download the evaluation from National Instruments it should be the premium version. 

As for this error, I've seen it pop up for two reasons. One is if the drive enable input is not connected. The second is if the emergency disable has been triggered or manually turned on. Do you think either of these could be the case in your system? 

[MrFisher]

Thanks for the reply.  If I'm understanding you correctly, we have the drive enable input (HW enable, Digital Input 😎 connected through a stop switch to +24V.  This seems to work, since we can get the drive to move using this setup in both Kollmorgen Workbench and in Labview using the default axis binding.  

The software enable, in theory, should be turned on by PaulRB's code.  So far as I can tell, this does not seem to be happening.  PaulRB explicitly states that Softmotion Premium is needed in the documentation for his workaround, but it is not clear how this would affect the enable sequence.

I will try out the evaluation version in the meantime to see if this can resolve the issue.

[Kilometers]

Ah ok, I did not notice PaulRB specifically call out Premium. Premium offers additional customization options. It is possible that PaulRB took advantage of some of these options in order to allow for torque mode control. Let me know how your testing goes.