Baldor NextMove ST, Installation Manual

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5-6 Operation MN1929
5.3 Configuring an axis
The NextMove ST is capable of controlling up to four stepper axes. This section describes the
basic setup for these axes. Commands typed in the Command window have immediate effect
- they do not need to be separately downloaded to the NextMove ST.
5.3.1 Selecting a scale
When controlling stepper motors, MintMT defines all positional and speed related motion
keywords in terms of steps. The number of steps is divided by the
SCALEFACTOR allowing
you to use units more suitable for your application. The unit defined by setting a value for scale
is called the
user unit (uu).
Consider a motor with a 1.8° step angle. The NextMove ST operates in half step mode, so
there will be 400 steps per revolution. If
SCALEFACTOR is not set, a MintMT command that
involves distance, speed, or acceleration may need to use a large number to specify a
significant move. For example
MOVER=1600
(Move Relative) would rotate the motor by 1600
steps - only four revolutions. By setting a SCALEFACTOR of 400, the user unit becomes
revolutions. The more understandable command
MOVER=4
could now be used to move the
motor four revolutions.
In applications involving linear motion a suitable value for
SCALEFACTOR
would allow
commands to express values in linear distance, for example inches, feet or millimeters.
1. In the Toolbox, click Setup , then click
the Parameters icon.
2. Click the Scale tab.
3. Click in the Axis drop down box to select the
axis. Each axis can have a different scale if
required.
4. Click in the Scale box and type a value.
5. Click Apply . This immediately sets the
scaling factor for the selected axis, which will
remain in the NextMove ST until another
scale is defined or power is removed from the
NextMove ST. See section 5.6 for details
about saving configuration parameters.