INTRODUCTION GENERAL
DESCRIPTION
MAXnet User’s Manual
1-1
1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION
1.1. INTRODUCTION
The OMS Motion, Inc. MAXnet family of motion controllers are high performance Ethernet products. The
MAXnet motion controller can manage up to 10 axes of open loop stepper, closed loop stepper or servo
systems, in any combination. The OMS MAXnet controller synchronizes all independent or coordinated
motion of up to 10 axes, while incorporating other critical signals, such as hard or soft limits, home, and
other digital and/or analog I/O signals, to provide the motion solutions to perform virtually any task. With
high level functionality, such as circular and linear interpolation, multi-tasking, custom profiling, etc., the
MAXnet can satisfy the needs of most any motion control application. See
Information” for specific MAXnet family models.
The MAXnet communicates as a “slave only” device and functions as a motion co-processor to the
Ethernet host. It utilizes patented and proprietary technology to control the trajectory profile, acceleration,
velocity, deceleration and direction of selected axes. In response to commands from the host computer
the MAXnet controller will calculate the optimum velocity profile to reach the desired destination in the
minimum time, while conforming to the programmed acceleration and velocity parameters. In addition,
the MAXnet can provide motion control information such as axis and encoder position as well as the state
of over-travel limits, home switch inputs, and done notification flags. The MAXnet motion controllers
utilize a PowerPC processor, configured to operate as an efficient and powerful co-processor with the PC
host via the Ethernet or RS-232.
The stepper control of the MAXnet produces a 50% duty cycle square wave step pulse at velocities of 0
to 4,194,176 pulses per second and an acceleration of 0 to 8,000,000 pulses per second per second.
The servo control utilizes a 16-bit DAC and outputs /- 10V or 0 to +10V. The encoder feedback
control can be used as feedback for the servo PID, position maintenance for the stepper axes or as
strictly a position feedback of any axis. The incremental encoder input supports differential or single
ended quadrature TTL signals at a rate of up to 16 MHz. The absolute encoder using SSI (Synchronous
Serial Interface) technology also supports differential or single ended inputs at a rate up to 4MHz. The
MAXnet motion controller has 2 general purpose analog inputs that utilize a 16-bit ADC, with a DC range
of –10 to +10 VDC
*
. There are six analog outputs that utilize a 16-bit DAC with a range of -10 to +10
VDC. Complete specifications for MAXnet can be found in
The MAXnet command set employs two or three ASCII character commands which can be combined into
character strings. Using virtually any programming language, these ASCII command strings can be sent
to the MAXnet Motion Controller over the Ethernet or RS-232. Refer to the Command Reference Manual:
MAX Family for the complete command reference.
1.2. SYSTEM
OVERVIEW
The MAXnet motion controller can manage up to 10 axes of motion. For 1 through 5 axes, the MAXnet is
a single board motion controller, and measures 6.5” x 4” x 0.75”. For 6 to 10 axes of motion, the MAXnet
utilizes a stackable expansion board, and when combined, measures 6.5” x 4” x 1.78”. The
communication interface is accessed through either the Ethernet or RS-232. The MAXnet receives power
(5V, +/-12VDC) from an external power supply and can be applied to either the MAXnet board (1 – 5
axes) or the MAXnet expansion board (6 – 10 axes).
The MAXnet utilizes an optimally configured PowerPC RISC based 32-bit micro-controller and FPGA
technology for extensive logic integration and flexibility. The firmware, which resides in flash memory
(2MB), can be upgraded through the communication interface without having to remove the controller
from the system. 32MB of system RAM is used for firmware and data storage.
Summary of Contents for MAXnet
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