Parker 6K4/ Gemini servo ??s

[ETCO]

First off I am very new to this so please be patient.

At our plant we built an applicator machine about a year ago and the engineer programmed the 6K4 also using a Linmot E210-VF and a Gemini Gv to drive our servos. We built another machine exactly like the one from a year ago, so I uploaded the program from the 6K4 (from the running machine) and down loaded it into the new machine. Went through all servo tuning and what not and the new machine will not run.
The 6K4 all the drives are dissabled. (drives 1-4 red light on)
The Linmot is in a disabled state.(green lights blinking)
I have checked the program in the 6K4 and I have it set to enable the drives in the program and I have the STARTP command. Also when I trouble shoot for errors the response in the terminal is NO ERRORS.

I am lost, any hints or help will be greatly apprieciated.

 

[mgvol]

Did a project with 4-axis motion with this product several years ago; we found both the hardware and software to be fraught with bugs. We experienced a similar problem with one of the four machines that used these controllers. We returned it to the factory and they discovered a broken solder connection on one of the mating pins for the removable terminal block on top of the 6K4. If it is still under warranty, it may be worth a shot to return that one and get another sent in.

 

[ETCO]

Did a project with 4-axis motion with this product several years ago; we found both the hardware and software to be fraught with bugs. We experienced a similar problem with one of the four machines that used these controllers. We returned it to the factory and they discovered a broken solder connection on one of the mating pins for the removable terminal block on top of the 6K4. If it is still under warranty, it may be worth a shot to return that one and get another sent in.

That is the kind of info I am looking for, Thanks. We have 3 machines running right now with bassically the same set up and this one is being a pain in the.....

I will look into this problem and you will see more posts from me.

Thanks guys/gals
PR

 

[ETCO]

well I checked some things tonight on the Linmot, pin #4 for axis A and pin #17 for axis B on the I/O connector should have 24V for the enable signal. And pin #21 ground should be connected to the devise supplying the outputs.

What I found.
Pins #4 & #17 had 0V unless I enabled the drives manually in the terminal (in the motion planner program) by typing DRIVE1111. Then they only had 3V not 24V. Whats up with that?

Pin #21 was hooked up properly.

Now I am even more lost. I will get ahold of Parker and Linmot on monday but I just wanted to try and get some feedback. (trying to learn as much as possible)

 

[ETCO]

still having some problems, cant get ahold of Linmot (waiting for call back) and boss is asking questions.

Any ideas guys?

 

[rsdoran]

Just so you know, I have no experience with that specific equipment.

What I found.
Pins #4 & #17 had 0V unless I enabled the drives manually in the terminal (in the motion planner program) by typing DRIVE1111. Then they only had 3V not 24V. Whats up with that?

It is common today for DC power supplies to be switch mode type, these are known not to blow fuses etc when a shorted condition occurs but you will see a drop in voltage.

With that said it looks like there is a problem with the dc voltage and the enable, it could be as simple as a shorted wire.

You may want to back up a little and disconnect everything and test them individually for working order, then reconnect and try again.

 

[ETCO]

Thanks man, I will go back a little and be sure.

 

[TimWilborne]

Unfortunately I have quite a bit of experience with Compumotor. Luckily I am getting rustier everyday

STARTP - This command is extremely tempermental. It is dependent on the position in the program, the name of your program, either, or perhaps both. Who knows. Looking at one of my programs I have it after the definition of my startup program (makes no sense but I finally got it to work), stuck erratically in the middle of a program, and at the end of all programs. Now I am actually going off of a 6250 controller since I haven't had to mess with a 6k controller in a while, but when you goto upload it ask you to select the programs that you wish to upload. Guess what is not included, the STARTP. You may have remembered to add it but...

Next thing, is the STARTP actually working. One simple way would to be to turn an output on at the beginning of the program but since you are trying to troubleshoot it I would suggest that you add TRACE1 at the beginning of your program assigned by the STARTP. This will allow you to see exactly what the controller is doing when you are in terminal mode. If you see nothing then the STARTP is not working. If you see a bunch of stuff scrolling across the screen tell us where it stops

Don't forget to to remove the TRACE1 from the program when you are done. Then of course don't forget to type TRACE0 in the terminal just in case the thing decides not to cooperate. In fact just but TRACE0 in your program just in case it forgets

 

[gosenbach]

I did a project several years back with a Gem6k and compumotor. After a year of trying to track down why it was not working properly, with several engineers at Parker/Compumotor working on it as well, we found a bug in the firmware that was causing the problem. Neither I nor the Compumotor guys could find a work around for my specific app and to my [font=&quot]knowledge[/font], they still have not fixed the bug.

You might want to check and see if your new setup has a different version of firmware from your working units, and if so, install a firmware version that matches one of your other machines and give it a shot.

 

[TimWilborne]

Also atleast for the 6250 and th 6k unless they fixed it which I doubt they have, the following must be put before your first program because of a "firmware glitch". Sometimes it will work without it and sometimes it doesn't

SCALE
SFB
SCLA
SCLD
SCLV

 

[ETCO]

I am thinking wiring maybe?

I put my 6K4 into trace mode and ran my SET UP program and my MAIN program, both had DRIVE111 and still all drives are in the disabled state.

My STARTP command is at the end of my SET UP program (just like the other two machines currently running) I will try adding more STARTP to the program to see what happens.

Is there a way for me to tell if it is software related or wiring related?

 

[TimWilborne]

So you saw DRIVE111 come across the screen in terminal mode?

Was any error echoed?

Save your terminal text and post

Put the STARTP at the end of your last program(after the END statement)

 

[ETCO]

!K

TRACE1

TRACE

*TRACE1

MAIN

*PROGRAM=MAIN COMMAND=GOSUB SETUP



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=FOLMAS0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=FOLEN00000000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=DRIVE0000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=AXSDEF1110



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=DRFLVL0000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=DRFEN1110



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=KDRIVE000X



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=DRES,,,25000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=PULSE,,,0.3



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=DSTALLXXX0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=SFB1,1,1



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=ERES4000,2540,2540



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=SMPER4000,2.000,2.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=EFAIL000X



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=ENCPOL000X



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=ENCSND000X



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=ESTALLXXXX



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=ESKXXXX



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=ENCCNTXXXX



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LH0,0,0,0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LHAD100.000,100.000,100.000,100.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LHADA100.000,100.000,100.000,100.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LS0,0,0,0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LSAD100.000,100.000,100.000,100.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LSADA100.000,100.000,100.000,100.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LSNEG0,0.000,0.000,0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LSPOS0,0.000,0.000,0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMA10.000,10.000,10.000,10.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMAA10.000,10.000,10.000,10.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMV1.000,1.000,1.000,1.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMAD10.000,10.000,10.000,10.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMADA10.000,10.000,10.000,10.000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMBAC1000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMZ1000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMDF1000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMVF0.100,0.100,0.100,0.100



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=HOMEDG0000



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=LIMLVL000000000000XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=SGP11.5,50.0,40.0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=SGI0.1,0.2,0.5



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=SGILIM0,0,0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=SGV6.5,7.5,7.8



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=SGVF0.0,0.0,0.0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=SGAF0.0,0.0,0.0



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=ERRORP CRASH



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=ERRORXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX



*PROGRAM=SETUP COMMAND=END



*PROGRAM=MAIN COMMAND=DRIVE1110



*PROGRAM=MAIN COMMAND=GOSUB PLCP1



*PROGRAM=PLCP1 COMMAND=VARB1=BXXX0



*PROGRAM=PLCP1 COMMAND=IF(IN.4=B1)



*PROGRAM=PLCP1 COMMAND=NIF



*PROGRAM=PLCP1 COMMAND=OUT(VARB1)



*PROGRAM=PLCP1 COMMAND=VARI1=3PE



*PROGRAM=PLCP1 COMMAND=END



*PROGRAM=MAIN COMMAND=PCOMP PLCP1

 

[TimWilborne]

A quick glance on it looks good. Added statement to check the enable inputs after DRIVE1110 and make sure the status of these is on. If it is I think you need to go back to Rsdoran's suggestions about your wiring

 

[ETCO]

Well Now I F'ed up.......
I was checking the voltage on my encoder wires (from the 6K4 to the Linmot)on my running machine (not the one I have been asking about, a production machine) and there should be 24v at pin #4 DRIVEA: ENABLE IN and at #17 DRIVEB: ENABLE IN.....yes 24V. There is a wire from my Auxiliary Connections +24VDC PWR (on the 6K4) to pin #8 6V..24V DC I/O SUPPLY....I go to check the voltage on this pin and slip and hit #9 DRIVEA: ENCODER OUT A+. I dont know if I hit the pins (#8&#9) at the same time or just #9 but the machine no longer functions!
All drives on the 6K4 are red lit (disabled state), it does not even know there is a touch screen hooked up, it does not even know my laptop is plugged into it.

HELP, I have mess on my hands!