Getting Started
MN1258V4 08/2000
57
4.7 Mint
Mint is a structured form of Basic which has been custom designed for motion control applications.
The Mint language has been written to allow users to get started quickly with simple motion
programs and also provides a wide range of more powerful commands for complex applications.
Mint is used in thousands of applications worldwide, servicing many high demand industries such as
textiles and packaging. Applications range from simple single axis applications to complex multi-
axis, multi-controller applications via a host-controlled link. It is Mint's flexible and powerful
command set that is able to provide a solution to the vast number of industrial motion control
applications.
In addition to usual Basic type commands such as
PRINT, FOR..NEXT
and
IF..THEN
, Mint
has a number of keywords dedicated to motion control and input/output.
Mint also provides full control over basic motor control parameters such as servo loop gains in
addition to all the digital and analog I/O on the controller.
Mint splits motion keywords into 2 categories; motion variables and motion commands. Motion
variables are keywords that set axis parameters. These can be read or written (although not
necessarily both). Motion commands initiate motion. For example:
SPEED[0,1] = 10,20 : REM Set slew speed on axes 0 and 1
ACCEL[0,1] = 100,200 : REM Set acceleration on axes 0 and 1
MOVER[0,1] = 50,100 : REM Load positional moves
GO[0,1] : REM Start motion
The use of the square brackets controls 2 axes in the system, where axis 0 is the first axis followed
by axis 1 and so on. The use of the square brackets is optional as Mint is very flexible in its multi-
axis syntax. In this example, axis 0 is set up with a speed of 10 units/s, acceleration of 100 units/s
2
and a relative move of 50 units. Axis 1 is set up with a speed of 20 units/s, acceleration of 200
units/s
2
and a relative move of 100 units.
SPEED
,
ACCEL
and
MOVER
are all motion variables. The
motion command
GO
is used to initiate motion. Most motion keywords can be abbreviated to 2 or 3
letters, for example,
SPEED
can be replaced with
SP
and
MOVER
replaced with
MR
. This saves both
on code space and typing. The example above could be abbreviated to:
SP[0,1]=10,20 : REM Set slew speed on axes 0 and 1
AC[0,1]=100,200 : REM Set acceleration on axes 0 and 1
MR[0,1]=50,100 : REM Load positional moves
GO[0,1] : REM Start motion
The utility called Squash within Mint WorkBench enables programs to be compressed by replacing
keywords with their abbreviated counterparts.
At any time during motion, the position of the motor can be printed using:
PRINT POS.0 : REM Print position of axis 0
Position can also be monitored using the WatchWindow in the Mint WorkBench.
See the Mint v4 Programming Guide for more details on Mint syntax.
Summary of Contents for NextMove BX
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