Galil Releases GalilTools Version 1.3.0.0

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Galil Releases GalilTools Version 1.3.0.0

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Galil Releases GalilTools Version 1.3.0.0

GalilTools is a software package that allows easy set-up and analysis of Galil control systems. The full version of GalilTools includes helpful tools including:

Scope tool for looking at real-time data such as position and speed.
Tuner tool for automatically adjusting PID servo parameters.
Watch tool for displaying controller status such as I/O and motion.
Terminal tool for sending and receiving Galil commands.
Program Editor tool for writing controller programs.
Communication Library for use with programming languages such as VB, C#, C++, LabView™ and more.

The latest release of GalilTools, version 1.3.0.0, provides many new features including the ability to save projects, an enhanced scope, an enhanced watch window, and support for Ethernet interrupts.

The new Projects feature allows the user to save the current workspace. Upon opening a new instance of GalilTools, the software will open the program, watch window, and scope with the same settings as defined in the previously saved project file. By saving project files for specific tasks, the user can save set up time for specific watch window and/or scope settings. Some common projects might be a project for tuning, a project for troubleshooting, and a project for developing.

The scope tool in the full version of GalilTools has been packed with many new features. Narrowing in on the data you want to see becomes easier with the new auto-zoom feature or with the recently added click-and-drag feature. Measurement of the data is now easier with the addition of cursors which are used just like a standard oscilloscope. Performing calculations on the data captured in the scope is simpler with the addition of the import and export options. The user can export data captured in the scope to a .CSV file and use Microsoft Excel to manipulate it. Comparing current traces to past traces can be accomplished with the new scope overlay feature. This can be particularly helpful when tuning a system as it allows the user to see the performance of a move before and after adjusting a tuning parameter, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Using the overlay feature the old capture is shown in lighter colors and the new capture in bold colors. In this example changing the PID parameter's significantly lowered the position error.

The final feature added to the scope is the ability to change the source information for the horizontal axis. Time is still the default for the horizontal axis, but now the user can change the source to any data available in the scope. This is useful for many reasons, including graphing vector motion. By graphing the A axis encoder position on the X axis of the scope and the B axis encoder position on the Y axis we can graph all vector motion, including circles. See Figure 2.

Figure 2: Graphing _RPB vs _RPA allows the user to view 2D moves such as the circle shown.

Enhancements have been added to the watch window as well. These include the ability to rename data points along with scaling and adding an off set to the value. An example of using these new features would be to create a watch window with descriptions and units your repair technicians can understand as shown in Figure 3. Support for Ethernet interrupts has also been added to the latest GalilTools release. More information about this feature can be found in the "New Features in the Accelera Command Set" article in this issue of ServoTrends.

Figure 3: The new watch window allows the user to change the description and user units to something specific to their system.

For further information on GalilTools version 1.3.0.0 enhancements please see the GalilTools product page at http://www.galilmc.com/products/galiltools.php or contact a Galil Applications Engineer at 1-800-377-6329.