RTC
®
5 PC Interface Board
Rev. 1.9 e
10 Commands And Functions
291
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Ctrl Command get_value
Function
returns the current value of the specified signal
Call
Value = get_value( Signal )
Parameter
Signal
desired signal type as an unsigned 32-bit value
Result
Current value of the specified signal as a signed 32-bit value
Comments
• The selectable signal types are identical to those of the
the comments there for the allowable value range, signal types and other information).
If the value for
Signal
is unallowed, then
get_value
will not read out a signal and will
return 0 (
r
eturn code
RTC5_PARAM_ERROR
).
• To observe the specified signal over a long time period, use
to start a corre-
sponding measurement session.
• When using an i
DRIVE
®
scan system (intelli
SCAN
®
, intelli
SCAN
de
®
, intelli
DRILL
®
,
intelli
cube
®
, intelli
WELD
®
, vario
SCAN
de
), after a reset or power-up of the scan system,
it can take around 5 seconds before valid data starts being returned from the scan
system. If the XY2-100 status word was selected for return transmission, then the oper-
ational readiness can be checked by monitoring bits 4 and 5: bit#4 = 1 and bit#5 = 0
(only) if returned-data transmission is valid.
• For
Signal
= 0,
get_value
returns the current laser status (LASERON signal) even when
list execution has already been finished.
• When you query data returned as status signals from the scan system to the RTC
®
5
(
Status<AX…BY>
), then be mindful of the returned data type’s value range when eval-
uating it (see the command description of
– Data types originally generated in the scan system as unsigned 16-bit values (e.g. the
XY2-100 status word or the serial number) and returned to the RTC
®
5 as unsigned
20-bit values (whereby bits #0…3 = 0) will contain the relevant information in bits
#4…19. Here, only bits #4…19 should be evaluated (see code example below). For
bits #20…31 of this data type,
get_value
returns to the PC not only zero, but some-
times (depending on bit #19 of the underlying 16-bit status value) even the value
one. So only evaluate bits #4…19.
– In contrast, data types returned to the RTC
®
5 as signed 20-bit values (e.g. actual
positions or actual speeds) can be safely evaluated as a complete signed 32-bit value
returned via
get_value
(also see code example below).
– Although Z values must be supplied as a 16 bit values in 3D command parameters,
SCANLAB Z axes and 3-axis scan systems (and correspondingly the
get_value
com-
mand) return Z values always as signed 20-bit values. If necessary, these returned Z
values must be converted (divided by 16) by the application program.