Error Monitoring and Protection
The amplifier is protected against over-voltage, under-voltage, over-temperature, and over-current for brush and
brushless operation. The controller will also monitor for illegal Hall states (000 or 111 with 120° phasing). The
controller will monitor the error conditions and respond as programmed in the application. The errors are
monitored via the TA command. TA n may be used to monitor the errors with n = 0, 1, 2, or 3. The command will
return an eight bit number representing specific conditions. TA0 will return errors with regard to under voltage,
over voltage, over current, and over temperature. TA1 will return hall errors on the appropriate axes, TA2 will
monitor if the amplifier current exceeds the continuous setting, and TA3 will return if the ELO input has been
triggered.
The user also has the option to include the special label #AMPERR in their program to handle soft or hard errors.
As long as a program is executing in thread zero and the #AMPERR label is included, when an error is detected the
program will jump to the label and execute the user defined routine. Note that the TA command is a monitoring
function only, and does not generate an error condition. The over voltage condition will not permanently shut
down the amplifier or trigger the #AMPERR routine. The amplifier will be momentarily disabled; when the
condition goes away, the amplifier will continue normal operation assuming it did not cause the position error to
exceed the error limit.
Hall Error Protection
During normal operation, the controller should not have any Hall errors. Hall errors can be caused by a faulty Hall-
effect sensor or a noisy environment. The state of the Hall inputs can also be monitored through the QH command.
Hall errors will cause the amplifier to be disabled if OE 1 is set, and will cause the controller to enter the #AMPERR
subroutine if it is included in a running program.
Under-Voltage Protection
If the supply to the amplifier drops below 18 VDC, the amplifier will be disabled. The amplifier will return to
normal operation once the supply is raised above the 18V threshold; TA 0 will tell the user whether the supply is in
the acceptable range.
NOTE
: If there is an #AMPERR routine and the controller is powered before the amplifier, then the #AMPERR
routine will automatically be triggered.
Over-Voltage Protection
If the voltage supply to the amplifier rises above 94 VDC, then the amplifier will automatically disable. The
amplifier will re-enable when the supply drops below 90 V.
Over-Current Protection
The amplifier also has circuitry to protect against over-current. If the total current from a set of 2 axes (ie A and B
or C and D) exceeds 20 A, the amplifier will be disabled. The amplifier will not be re-enabled until there is no longer
an over-current draw and then either SH command has been sent or the controller is reset. Since the AMP-43040
is a trans-conductance amplifier, the amplifier will never go into this mode during normal operation. The amplifier
will be shut down regardless of the setting of OE, or the presence of the #AMPERR routine.
NOTE
: If this fault occurs, it is indicative of a problem at the system level. An over-current fault is usually due to a
short across the motor leads or a short from a motor lead to ground.
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DMC-40x0 User Manual