Serial Communication
Spirit200a User’s Manual Rev J
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6-1
Section 6 Serial Communication
Initializing the Spirit System
The Spirit system uses an RS-422 serial communication port located on the rear
of the automatic gas console to receive and respond to commands that are
transmitted from an x/y controller. The communications ground is isolated to
prevent ground loops. System initialization is simple. Apply power, wait until the
automatic gas console (AGC) has finished booting, then transmit the desired
material type, material thickness, and optionally the process (cutting or marking)
and the system will be ready for operation. All other parameters will be set to
their default values and may be changed at any time.
Transmitting Parameters to the Spirit System
To transmit parameters to the Spirit, convert the following hex strings to 8 bit
binary arrays (AA = 10101010) and transmit them using a 9600 baud RS-422
serial communication port. The port settings should have a start bit, one stop bit,
and no parity. A table can be found in this section that lists the RS-422
commands and their descriptions. This table contains the necessary hex strings
for sending different commands and parameters to the system. For example, to
switch the material type from mild steel to stainless steel, look up the command
for setting material type in the table. You will see the following table entry:
Command
# Hex String
Additional Information
Set Material Type
1 AA nn FA 01 00 -- 0D 00 = Mild Steel – Hot Rolled
01 = Stainless Steel
02 = Aluminum
03 = Other
04 = Mild Steel – Cold Rolled
Note that spaces in the command string are shown for clarity only and should not
be sent as part of the command. A command string always begins with the value
AA hex. The “nn” is the net node (communication node) of the Spirit system that
is to receive the command. The net node value of a system is set via the Set
Communication Node selection on the maintenance screen. See Section 5 for
detailed information on setting the net node. The value FA hex is the Spirit
identifier. The value 01 hex is the value that signifies the Set Material Type
command. The value 0D hex is the end of command character. In the above
example, the following hex string would need to be transmitted to switch the
material type to stainless steel for a Spirit system on node 1:
AA 01 FA 01 00 01 0D
