I am replacing the control system on a machine with a DMC1740, an X-Y-Z glass cutting table. The machine is using amps made by WestAmp, and I'm told they are out of business or otherwise not supporting these amps. The amps have built-in compensation and tuning circuits, adjusted using multi-turn potentiometers. We have designed the upgrade to allow the customer the option of falling back to the old system should there be a failure in the new system. We are investigating the cost to replace the amps with current technology, but until then, I need to get this phase of the project completed. It appears I could set all the tuning parameters to zero on the DMC1740, and let the legacy amps do their thing. Has anyone had success doing this? Have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Larry
BarbaraW on 03/15/2001 - 10:08
Yes, you can turn off the PID filter on the Galil controller by setting KP, KI, and KD to zero. However, this means sending a command signal will be a little different. You will have to use the offset command (OF) to send a voltage out the motor command line. A couple things to consider here:
1) The controller will still track feedback position, and without a command signal sent by the PID filter, any move (even though it is set using the OF command) will appear as an error. To turn off our error limit, set ER to -1. This will ensure you will not jump into #POSERR, have the red light come, or prohibit motion on that axis.
2) Galil modes of motion will not work in this system. This means commands such as PR, PA, JG, VP, and LI (along with any other moves I may have left out) will not generate any output signal.