Applied Motion

ST Stepper Drives with Ethernet, Part 1

Eric Rice — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:29:29 +0000

The ST series step motor drives come with a variety of communication options including RS-232, RS-485, CANopen, and now Ethernet.

Part 1 of 3 provides an overview of the ST series stepper drives, the connectors on the Ethernet version, and how to download software from our website.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

For more information on the ST series stepper drives visit the series page.

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ST Stepper Drives with Ethernet, Part 2

Eric Rice — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:27:15 +0000

The ST series step motor drives come with a variety of communication options including RS-232, RS-485, CANopen, and now Ethernet.

Part 2 of 3 shows where to download hardware manuals from our website, how to wire a step motor and power supply to the drive, and how to connect the drive to an Ethernet network.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

For more information on the ST series stepper drives visit the series page.

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ST Stepper Drives with Ethernet, Part 3

Eric Rice — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:23:04 +0000

The ST series step motor drives come with a variety of communication options including RS-232, RS-485, CANopen, and now Ethernet.

Part 3 of 3 shows how to configure the drive using the ST Configurator™ software and how to create a simple indexing program with the Q Programmer™ software.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

For more information on the ST series stepper drives visit the series page.

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Jeff's Wining Again - Wine and the Movies

Jeff Kordik — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:03:00 +0000

With that title, you might be expecting a story about taking a flask to a theater, or which wine pairs best with Casablanca (Bogart's characters would likely prefer whiskey or gin). In fact, we'll be exploring several aspects of the long relationship between wine and filmmaking.

Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola owns two wineries, including the historic Inglenook estate in Napa Valley, which was purchased with the proceeds from The Godfather and Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's a beautiful chateau to visit and the wines are exemplary. Like most Napa establishments, they focus on Chardonnay and big Cabernets.

The list of current actors who own wineries or vineyards includes Kyle MacLachlan (Pursued by Bear, Washington State), Dan Aykroyd (Aykroyd, Ontario), Antonio Banderas (Anta Banderas, Spain), Emilio Estevez (Casa Dumetz, Malibu) and Fess Parker. Parker's vineyard in Foxen Canyon, near Santa Barbara, is worth a visit. The Pinot Noir and Syrah are excellent and the tasting room features wine glasses with a coon skin cap etched onto them. For those too young to remember, Fess Parker played Davy Crocket, an early 19th century American wilderness man who wore a raccoon skin cap.

Wine itself can be prominent in film, but sometimes it just drops in for a cameo, as in two of my favorite Roy Scheider films. In Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman stars as an NYC grad student whose life is consumed by his studies and marathon training. When his worldly brother (Scheider) visits with a great French Bordeaux in hand, he searches the kitchen for wine glasses before settling on two water glasses of questionable cleanliness.

The tables are turned on Scheider's character Chief Brody in Jaws, the 1975 Spielberg thriller. This time it is he who disrespects a fine bottle of Burgundy that shark expert Matt Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss) has brought for dinner. Brody, severely stressed after losing a second citizen to a shark attack, grabs the freshly opened bottle, fills a tall glass and starts gulping as Hooper attempts to protest "you should really let that breathe".

Wine takes center stage in Sideways, the Alexander Paine comedy about the last romp of a groom and his oenophile buddy who takes him tasting, and adventuring, around Foxen Canyon and the Santa Ynez Valley. They even stop at Fess Parker. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church are terrific in this film, so if you haven't seen it and you like wine and laughs, put it in your Netflix queue.

Another great film that is wholly about wine is Bottle Shock, the story of Chateau Montelena's improbable victory in the "Judgment of Paris", a 1976 international wine competition that helped propel Napa to the forefront of the wine universe. Bonus points: it stars Chris Pine, who played young Captain Kirk in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie.

There is much more to this story than we can fit in these pages, so you'll have to continue the journey through wine and film on your own. Bon voyage.

For any questions, write to WineGuy@applied-motion.com.

Did You Know? Joystick Mode

Mike Fahey — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:02:00 +0000

Using a joystick to control the speed and position of a motor is an intuitive solution in many applications. Joystick operation is available with many Applied Motion drives, both stepper and servo.

Many joysticks are potentiometer based, which is the type to choose. A 10 kilohm potentiometer will work well. For steppers use the ST Configurator™ software to set up the drive for joystick operation. For servos use the Quick Tuner™ software.

Both the ST Configurator™ and Quick Tuner™ software applications can be downloaded from the software section of our website. The example below uses a stepper drive and the ST Configurator™ software. Here's how it works:

Step 1) From the home screen click on the Motion button.

Step 2) Click on Velocity (Oscillator) Mode.

Step 3) Uncheck the box "Use X1/STEP input as Run/Stop command " and check the box "Speed proportional to analog input". Then click Advanced Settings.

Step 4) Set the Offset to 2500 mV.

Step 5) Return to the home screen (by clicking OK) and download the settings to the drive. Then wire the joystick to the analog input of the drive. The center position of the joystick is stopped, while the ends of the joystick are full speed in either direction. There is no easier setup on Earth!

Looking Ahead to the New Year

Don Macleod — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:01:00 +0000

I’d like to take a moment to say thank you to our customers, partners and dedicated employees. Thanks to you 2011 has been a year of solid progress.

Looking ahead to the New Year, our hard work continues to pay off as we gear up for significant expansion! Our engineering teams in California and Shanghai have been working diligently on an exciting range of new products which significantly expand the scope and depth of our drive and motor lines. In addition, we have forged several strategic partnerships giving us greater access to advanced electromechanical modeling and machining capability. This additional resource allows us to serve our customers in ways that allow us to develop the most innovative and effective solutions possible.

Meanwhile, we will be announcing new products on a regular basis. I look forward to working with all of you in the coming year, it is an exciting time to be in the motion control business.

Video Tutorial: ST Stepper Drives with Ethernet

Morgan Spenla — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Learn more about our ST series stepper drives and Ethernet communications through this informative three-part video. The video offers a detailed introduction to the ST series stepper drives and walks you through wiring and setting one up.

We've made it easy to work with our latest Ethernet technology and we're very excited to add one more informative video to our growing collection. Find the current videos offered at any time by visiting the Videos section under the Support menu of our site.

www.applied-motion.com/support/videos

Website Feature: Distributor Listing

Eric Rice — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Applied Motion is supported by an international network of highly qualified distributors that specialize in industrial automation and motion control products. These distributors provide regional points of sale, technical expertise and value-added services to Applied Motion end users and OEM customers around the world. They are a critical part of the value that Applied Motion brings to our customers.

To take advantage of local support and service for your next project, locate the nearest distributor by visiting the Distributor Listing section of our website (from the main navigation bar go to Contact >> Locate a Distributor). The distributors listed in this section have received training on Applied Motion Products and its technologies, and are able to assist you with all aspects of your next machine or motion control application.

Did You Know? Easy Servo Tuning

Jim Amos — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:01:00 +0000

When your application calls for a closed loop servo system you must take into consideration the requirements for tuning. For many systems the load inertia is the primary factor in setting the tuning parameters. Embedded in our Quick Tuner™ software are tuning files for all recommended motor-drive combinations. When choosing a motor file you will have the option of using a predetermined inertia load as indicated by a suffix in the file name. For instance, V0300-212-B-X5.svt is a tuning file for a V0300-212-B motor driving a load with 5 times the motor’s rotor inertia.

These pre-characterized tuning files very often provide a well damped, stable solution. If your system requires additional adjustment a jerk filter can be added. This provides an “S” shape to the acceleration and deceleration ramps and can result in a smoother motion profile. We also provide a simple-to-follow, step-by-step advanced tuning procedure in the Quick Tuner™ manual. Our virtual oscilloscope in Quick Tuner™ makes simple work of plotting your tuning results.

Introducing 50 Watt Power Supply

Morgan Spenla — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Applied Motion Products is pleased to announce the addition of a 50 watt power supply to join our current family of DC power supplies. The PS50A24 is ideal when paired with one of our DC powered drives and a NEMA size 17 or smaller motor.

Features of the PS50A24 include:

50 watt output: 24 volts, 2.1 amps DC
Universal input voltage
Regulated output voltage

The PS50A24 power supply, along with the PS150A24 (24VDC, 150W) and PS320A48 (48VDC, 320W) power supplies, are UL listed, CE certified and RoHS compliant, and have current overload capability making them an excellent choice for use with motor drives.

All models accept 90-264 VAC and are available from stock.