Checking the Motor Position
Checking the Motor Position
There are several ways to check the motor position:
l
Report the position using commands from the Terminal window
l
View the position in the Motor View tool
These two methods are described in the following sections. You can also view the position in the
Monitor or Chart View software tools. For details, see SMI
Software Features in the
SmartMotor™
Developer's Guide
.
This procedure assumes that:
l
The SmartMotor is connected to the computer. For details, see Connecting the System on page
35.
l
The SmartMotor is connected to a power source. (M-style motors require separate control and
drive power.) For details, see Understanding the Power Requirements on page 33 and
Connecting the System on page 35.
l
The SMI software has been installed and is running on the computer. For details, see Installing
the SMI Software on page 27.
l
The SmartMotor has been detected and addressed. For details, see Detecting and Addressing
the SmartMotors on page 51.
l
The overtravel limits and fault bits have been cleared. For details, see Checking and Clearing
the Status Bits on page 59.
Viewing the Motor Position with a Report Command
To report the motor position, in the Terminal window, issue the RPA
(Report Position Actual)
command:
RPA
The terminal responds with the current position of the motor:
RPA
3593657
NOTE:
The position is reported on the same line as the command; there is no line feed or carriage
return for "report" commands.
The RPA
command reports the actual motor position at the time the command was issued. Therefore,
it is just a "snapshot"—if the motor is moving, the reported position is not dynamically updated.
Viewing the Motor Position with the Motor View Tool
The Motor View tool provides another way to view the motor position. The advantage of using this tool
is that the position is dynamically updated when the motor is moving.
Moog Animatics Class 5 SmartMotor™
Installation and Startup Guide,
Rev. I
Page 64 of 76
