kolyur
Lifetime Supporting Member + Moderator
Has anyone used this? The idea is that you can connect your computer to the control module of the drive with a USB cable, and upload/download drive parameters. I really like the concept that the drive shows up as a removable drive on your PC, with the transfer utility already on it. No software installation required! Nice job Rockwell. It's a bummer that you can't edit individual drive parameters with the utility, but I'll take what I can get. My current project has about a dozen drives with identical configurations, so once I have one programmed I can easily transfer everything to the others.
What puzzles me is the position of the USB port. It's on the back side of the control module, and you can't access it unless you remove the module itself. Well it takes quite a tug to pull off the module, so unless your control wiring has lots of slack in it, you run the risk of yanking something out. (Yes I did it this morning.) I know the intended procedure is for the drive to be programmed before it's installed (i.e. "MainsFree") but who really does that? I realize there is a software package available to fully program the drive from a computer, but I'm fascinated with the idea that it can be done without more bloatware on my laptop. I'd like to see more manufacturers going this route.
What puzzles me is the position of the USB port. It's on the back side of the control module, and you can't access it unless you remove the module itself. Well it takes quite a tug to pull off the module, so unless your control wiring has lots of slack in it, you run the risk of yanking something out. (Yes I did it this morning.) I know the intended procedure is for the drive to be programmed before it's installed (i.e. "MainsFree") but who really does that? I realize there is a software package available to fully program the drive from a computer, but I'm fascinated with the idea that it can be done without more bloatware on my laptop. I'd like to see more manufacturers going this route.