Linear encoders with Motion Assistant

Hello,
I recently ordered some SIKO MSK5000 linear encoders ( http://www.sikoproducts.com/viewProduct.cfm?productID=MSK5000 ) for a stepper motion application. I hooked one up as a test and according to the status LEDs it worked but Motion Assistant (1.3) seemed to not pick it up. Then I realized that I am not even sure what motion assistant should be doing! I can't find in the documentation what exactly should happen when I hook up an encoder so could someone help me out? We want to make sure they work before installing them (which will require lots of disassembly.)
Thanks!
Relevant hardware:
PCI-7334
MID-7604

Hello,
Hopefully I can get you going with with Motion Assistant. Basically the Motion Assistant is software that allows you to easily develop and test a motion control program through a fairly straight-forward API. You can create a set of moves, called a script, one step at a time to see the cumulative effects of these steps. This script can then be converted into LabVIEW code or several different text-based programming codes. Before you begin using the Motion Assistant, however, you need to configure you motor setup in Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX). In MAX you setup the properties of your specific motor, encoder, limit switches, control style, etc. Below is a link to a Motion Fundamentals tutorial on ni.com, and I believe the Configuration section should help you through configuring you motor in MAX.
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/conceptd.nsf/webmain/722ECF56222AAD5086256F7B007072C4?opendocument&node=1...
This link has a good tutorial on the Motion Assistant itself: http://www.ni.com/swf/presentation/us/motion/. Hope this helps.
Jason N

Similar Messages

Motion assistant 2.1 code generation...

HI all!
I have a problem generating labview code with motion assistant 2.1 ; My labview version is 8.2.1 and I've tried all manner of installs / uninstalls combinations trying to get it to generate labview code. It consistantly gives me the error: Labview templates not found when I try to generate...
Any info would be appreciated!

Hi,
Thank you for using the NI discussion forums. It sounds like the problem may be with the NI motion driver. Have you installed the NI-Motion driver? This is seperate from the motion assistant. Once this is installed then you should see that error go away. If you do have that installed what version are you using? Did you install NI Motion after LabVIEW? If you did it before installing LabVIEW you may have not included LabVIEW support, which can be corrected by modifying the installation. I hope this helps.
Have a great day,
GG

Loop in motion assistant specified number of times?

I was wondering if in motion assistant I can do a loop in my script so that each movement can be repeated many, many times without having to create a new 'step' for each movement? Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Nichole

Nichole,
Motion Assistant does not currently support loops in its environment. What I recommend is that you create your steps with just one pass and then add the loop in the code Motion Assistant generates.
Rodger S.

NI Motion Assistant LabVIEW Code Generation Error

Hello, the following is my current setup:
NI PCI-7334 motion control board
NI UMI 7774 splitter board
3 x NI P70530 Drives
3 x NI CTP12ELF10MAA00 Stepper Motors
3 x Power supply units for drives
LabVIEW 2010
NI Motion Assistant 2.6
Motion and Automation Explorer 4.7
I have built a three axis motion system that I am trying to configure with labview. After verifying that everything was set up correctly, I opened MAX, updated the firmware to my motion control board, and intitialized the controller. Since then, I have created many basic programs using the Motion Assistant Software to test the movement of my device. Everything works fine while using the Motion Assistant software (I have three axis movement, multidirectional control, and can perform various straight line and arc moves). My problems begin when I try to use the code generation feature.
When trying to use the code generation feature to output a labview diagram, I run into a problem where a dialog box pops up and says "Find the vi named ...."
Some examples of the names that come up are: Configure Vector Space.flx, Vector Space To Control.flx, Motion Error Handler.flx.
To be clear the program in Motion Assistant that I am trying to export to LabVIEW code is composed of two individual steps. One that tells X,Y, and Z motors to move forward 25 revolutions, and one step that tells them to move backwards 25 revolutions.
I have made many other programs in Motion Assistant that run fine, but I always receive similar errors when trying to use the code generation feature to export to LabVIEW. Is there something that I can do to solve my problem?
Thank you for your help.

Hi Joe,
I am using Ni-Motion Assistant 2.6, Ni-Motion 8.1, and Motion and Automated Explorer version 4.7.
The code I posted is supposed to tell Axis 1 to move 40 revolutions at 400 rpm. It works fine in Ni-Motion Assistant but when I try to generate a LabVIEW diagram I receive the following error, "Find the VI named 'Motion Error Handler.flx'". I have had it search my directory, as well as the disk that I installed both LabVIEW and Ni-Motion but no luck. Thanks for your help.
Attachments:
1111.vi ‏9 KB
1 axis movement.zip ‏8 KB

Video blurry with motion when trying to create WMV video to share

I have a Sony HDR-cx350. I am currently using PE 9. In the past using my standard def camcorder and PE 7.0 when I wanted to share a video for online I would usually select "share - windows media" and use the LAN preset to create a WMV file that I would upload to photoshop.com and share with friends. Now with new camcorder and PE 9.0 using these setting any motion in the video become blurry/jagged. The only way to improve on this is to go into the advanced settings and increase the average video bitrate setting which make the file get large fast. I dot believe I am using the best project presets to use because PE changes it for me. But based on MEDIA info below maybe you can tell me what the best project presets would be. Please HELP my son's football season is starting soon and the coaches depend on me to shoot game film to share with the coaches. TIA FILE INFO using MEDIA INFO PROGRAM CompleteName :es\DCL video 2011\20110615103137.m2ts Format : BDAV Format/Info : Blu-ray Video FileSize/String : 71.7 MiB Duration/String : 53s 14ms OverallBitRate/String : 11.3 Mbps OverallBitRate_Maximum/String : 18.0 Mbps Video ID/String : 4113 (0x1011) MenuID/String : 1 (0x1) Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format_Profile : [email protected] Format_Settings_CABAC/String : Yes Format_Settings_RefFrames/String : 2 frames Format_Settings_GOP : M=1, N=30 CodecID : 27 Duration/String : 52s 986ms BitRate_Mode/String : Variable BitRate/String : 10.6 Mbps BitRate_Maximum/String : 16.0 Mbps Width/String : 1 440 pixels Height/String : 1 080 pixels DisplayAspectRatio/String : 16:9 FrameRate/String : 29.970 fps ColorSpace : YUV ChromaSubsampling : 4:2:0 BitDepth/String : 8 bits ScanType/String : Interlaced ScanOrder/String : Top Field First Bits-(Pixel*Frame) : 0.228 StreamSize/String : 67.1 MiB (94%) Audio ID/String : 4352 (0x1100) MenuID/String : 1 (0x1) Format : AC-3 Format/Info : Audio Coding 3 Format_Settings_ModeExtension : CM (complete main) CodecID : 129 Duration/String : 53s 56ms BitRate_Mode/String : Constant BitRate/String : 256 Kbps Channel(s)/String : 2 channels ChannelPositions : Front: L R SamplingRate/String : 48.0 KHz BitDepth/String : 16 bits Compression_Mode/String : Lossy Video_Delay/String : -67ms StreamSize/String : 1.62 MiB (2%) Text ID/String : 4608 (0x1200) MenuID/String : 1 (0x1) Format : PGS CodecID : 144 Duration/String : 52s 487ms Video_Delay/String : -67ms

I feel your pain. The Adobe forum software does some odd "stuff" with formatting, and once that happens, there seems to be nothing to do about it. I have been caught in that "trick bag," more times, than I can count.
As for Encoding to WMV, Adobe programs, are not known to do a good job of this, and that is both PrE and PrPro. For years, many users recommended Windows Media Encoder, which was free from MS, and to use that, one would Export/Share to an intermediate file, then use WME to do the WMV Encode. MS discontinued the old WME, but one user (Neale, IIRC) found a replacement. Unfortunately, I do not recall the name, but it was something like MicroSoft Media Encoder Live, or similar. That user tested the new, replacement utility, and thought that it also did a much better job, than PrE/PrPro.
Still, quality, and especially with motion (either subject, or camera) needs a good Bit-Rate to produce good results, however at the expense of large files. As all Encoders are not created equal, the best that one can do is to find one, that does a good job, and then experiment with the Bit-Rate to get highest quality at a manageable file size. This is the same "balancing act," that we all fight with.
Good luck, and maybe those, with better memories, can come up with the name of the MS WMV Encoder.
Hunt

Motion assistant push button

Hi,
I am using Motion Assistant software and labview to control step motors. There is no problem about controlling the motors via Motion Assistant but I want to design a Graphical User Interface in order to control the motors via push buttons in labview. I have designed a GUI with labview (which is in the attachment). I want my motor to run at the input speed rate while the button is pressed and stop while the button is unpressed. But this algorithm doesn't allow this application. It stops and goes on running I don't want it to stop. I want it to run continuously.
Do you have any suggestions about this application?
Attachments:
pushbutton.vi ‏15 KB

Why don't you use the velocity mode ?
Attached is a basic template showing how I would do this.
Attachments:
Control motor template (LV2012).vi ‏19 KB

Motion Assistant and PXI-7354 PWM output

Hello,
I have a PXI-7354 Motion Controller in a PXI-1033 rack and I'm trying to prototype a product which has a digital motor controller IC, A3906 by Allegro. The IC is controlled with PWM signals by varying the duty cycle. Now, in the NI 7350 User Manual on page 5-17, it says that "These signals (PWM) are configured in software and are in no way associated with the PID servo control loop." My question is, can I programmatically associate the output of the control loop with a PWM output duty cycle?
I'm new to Motion Assistant and PXI motion controllers and I appreciate any input.
Regards,
Miika Lönnqvist
Electronics designer, CLAD
Biohit Oyj R&D

Miika,
thank you for the information, but there is no way for the 7354 to drive control signals directly in this fashion. So here are some alternative approaches that could help:
The 7354 outputs a +/- 10 V control signal. You could build your own circuitry to adapt this signal to the control input requirements of your drive (two voltage to PWM converters; one driven by positive voltage values, the other one driven by negative voltage values).
Replace the 7354 with an R-Series board. The FPGA on these devices can be programmed graphically with LabVIEW FPGA and it provides both, real-time control and complete flexibility in terms of I/O mapping and control algorithms. Motion control with special requirements is a typcial usecase for these devices.
You can select from a variety of R-Series boards with different FPGA sizes and I/O setups. If you don't need any analog inputs or outputs, the reasonable lowest cost entry point for your application is probably a PXI-7811R
Both approaches add some complexity to your current setup. While the first approach is hardware centric, the second approach adds some complexity on the software side. My personal preference is option two, as this provides the highest level of flexibility, which is typically very desirable for a prototyping system.
In any case I recommend to contact your local NI contact for a more detailed consulting.
Kind regards,
Jochen

Motion Assistant

Hi,
What is the defined behavior for Motion Assistant API contour mode
(NIMASetMoveParams) when it receives duplicated XY points?
For example, if I pass coordinates that define a square
0,0
10,0
10,10
0,10
0,0
this isn’t result in square because of the cubic spline. To force a discontinuity
(C2 and C1) I can replicate two times each point. For example:
0,0
10,0
10,0
10,0
10,10
10,10
10,10
This is valid in spline theory. What the API will do in this case?
Thanks.

Hi David,
I tried to feed Motion Assistant with replicated data. Neither Motion Assistant
application nor the API generates any kind of error. Based on the resulting
shape (not a square, but something that resembles a drop) I think that the
redundant data is being ignored.
You said
that after the acceleration, M.A. will keep the velocity constant. This is not
always the case as I discussed in e-mail support “(Reference#7107453) Motion
Assistant contouring behavior”. There are situations that the algorithm of the
contour mode (or smart contouring feature) implemented in M.A. changes the
velocity during the motion.
Another different
behavior is the M.A contour mode and the contour mode implemented in the PCI
7344 is that the board doesn’t ignore redundant data as is stated by S. Arves
S. in my post http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=240&message.id=3443#M3443
It will be
very helpful a detailed specification about the rules for the smart contouring implemented
in M.A. and the contoured mode implemented in PCI 7344. I’m sure that this will
help everyone do a better use of these products.
Thanks.

Motion Assistant 1.2 move constraints issue

Hello,
I have a contoured motion profile that I want to run using Motion Assistant 1.2 but I don't want to apply move constraints. So I have loaded my data points into a contoured move step and checked "Do not apply move constraints to the curve" option. But even with option enabled, Motion Assistant is applying the values of the Move Constraint tab.
I'm used to this on a previous version of Motion Assistant.
Is there an additional step in this version or is bug ?
Thanks.

Hello,
I have a contoured motion profile that I want to run using Motion Assistant 1.2 but I don't want to apply move constraints. So I have loaded my data points into a contoured move step and checked "Do not apply move constraints to the curve" option. But even with option enabled, Motion Assistant is applying the values of the Move Constraint tab.
I'm used to this on a previous version of Motion Assistant.
Is there an additional step in this version or is bug ?
Thanks.

Motion Assistant Contour Array Points - Optimal Array Size?

I am working with the NI Motion Assistant API and plyaing around with the Contour Move generation where I feed a set of X, Y target points to the Set Contour Move Properties.
One of the inputs is Profile Calculation Constraint - Array Size, Constraint Value (which would be the array size to use).
I am wondering if there is a way to calculate the "optimal" array size for any particular move? I know I can have too few - can I have too many points in an array (being reasonable here and not planning to use the whole 2^32 size allowed).
Thanks.
Ryan Vallieu
Automation System Architect

Hi Ryan,
Unfortunately, I'm not so sure I have a good answer for you. I'll evaluate some of the pros and cons below and then ultimately make a recommendation:
Constraint Type: Array Size
Pros
You always have a fixed sized array of setpoints. If you are using a 73xx card, this simplifies setting up your contour buffer. It also avoids using a lot of memory.
Cons
For long moves, you could have a long time and large distance between position setpoints. The motion card will do a spline interpolation to smooth the move, but the splining algorithm is only so good.
If you are sending the contour setpoints to a motion card, you don't know the interval between setpoints (although this isn't difficult to obtain).
Constraint Type: Sampling Time
Pros
Regardless of the move, you always have a fixed time between setpoints. As long as your sampling time isn't too large, even fast moves should execute accurately.
Cons
For a long move, you could generate a lot of setpoints that consume a lot of memory.
Setting up contouring buffers can be trickier.
Conclusion
It depends on what you expect the end customer to be doing. I prefer using the sampling time constraint since it is more robust for fast, long moves (and still good for slow, short moves). It will make creating contour buffers more difficult, but there is an example (Two-Axis Smart Contouring.vi) that shows how to dynamically update the buffer. Ultimately, I think it is better to focus on accurate moves than minimizing memory consumption.
If you decide to go with the sampling time method, I would start with a constraint value of .01, since 10msec is the shortest interval when configuring a contour buffer. Try and generate some position profiles to see how big the arrays are. For optimizing, it is just a tradeoff between array size and the accuracy of the generated motion profile.
Thanks,
Paul B.
Motion Control R&D

I am having problems with migration assistant (windows pc to Mac 2011) When I get to the 'Quit other applications' box and click continue, nothing happens. There are no other apps running - any ideas, please?

I am having probems with migration assistant. Trying to transfer data from a windows laptop to iMac 2011. It was working fine when I did the set-up yesterday, but it was going to take hours to transfer some videos so I quit the process with the intention of doing it again at a later stage. However today I find that everytime I get to the 'Quit other applications' box on the Mac and click 'continue', nothing happens. Have checked mission control and confirmed no other apps running. Tried several times with the same result every time. Migration Assistant running on my laptop with the 'Waiting for mac to connect' box displayed. Mac is connected to wi-fi OK as able to use Safari and access internet. Any ideas, please?

Thanks for your suggestions. Have managed to get Migration Assistant working but now have a new problem, i.e. where does it save the transferred files?!! Searched a few forums and it seems it saves it under your old username, or suchlike. Anyway I tried logging on as a new user using my old user name but there were only a handful of files there, couldn't locate the majority of stuff from my old laptop. Anyway I don't intend to go through any more hoops with MA - will just save the important stuff to an external drive and transfer it that way. Not impressed with MA at all. I thought it was supposed to be a user-friendly tool to simplify the transfer from pc to Mac - not my experience, I'm afraid!

Can't partition HD with Bootcamp Assistant on brand new iMac

I just got a 27" 1TB brand new iMac three days ago. After copying over all my files from my previous computer (PC), installing some software packages and configured the Mac the way I want it, yesterday I wanted to partition 80GB out of remaining 330GB with bootcamp assistant to install Windows 7. After one hour it stopped with an error message that it wasn't able to move some files and I would need to re-format the HD and start again.
Is there really no other way? It took me two days to get to where I am.

It should only take less than a minute.
So just use OS X software to clone what you have to another hard drive, then do an erase and restore.
And backup before starting is at the top of the list of things to do to prepare.
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp - re-read the pdf guide linked at the top and other tech articles.
And you really do want bootable clone image of Mac OS anyway, in addition to or in place of TimeMachine, so no loss in doing so. It isn't as if you will lose or have to redo.
It needed contiguous free space and no files at the end of the disk. But installers and updates do scatter files and fragment free space a lot and can leave files locked where they can't be moved.
SuperDuper
Carbon Copy Cloner
iDefrag
iPartition
Apple Disk Utility Restore
And you can have OS X on multiple hard drives, plus it really helps for doing the type of maintenance and repairs needed for updates and proper running.

Is it possible to create DVD Templates with Motion for burning Blue Ray DVDs from Final Cut Pro X?

Is it possible to create DVD Templates with Motion for burning Blue Ray DVDs from Final Cut Pro X?

As far as I know, motion templates can only be used with DVD Studio Pro. FCP X only lets you add a background image to the DVD menu.

My new iMac with FCPX crashes when rendering complex templates and crashes when exporting with Motion 5

My new iMac with FCPX crashes when rendering complex templates and crashes when exporting with Motion 5
Using Motion 5.0.6 and Final Cut Pro X 10.0.7 on New iMac (December 2012) Mountain Lion,
Intel Core i7 quad-core a 3,4GHz, Turbo Boost fino a 3,9GHz
32GB di SDRAM DDR3 a 1600MHz - 4 x 8GB
Fusion Drive da 3TB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5
During the rendering of complex FCPX mac crashes and I have to force a restart.
I also happens when I try to export movies with Motion 5.
Does anyone have the same problem with my new iMac?

Problems such as yours are sometimes caused by files that should belong to you but are locked or have wrong permissions. This procedure will check for such files. It makes no changes and therefore will not, in itself, solve your problem.
First, empty the Trash.
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it, then drag or copy it — do not type — into the Terminal window:
find . $TMPDIR.. $ -flags +sappnd,schg,uappnd,uchg -o ! -user $UID -o ! -perm -600 -o -acl $ 2> /dev/null | wc -l
Press return. The command may take a noticeable amount of time to run. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear.
The output of this command, on a line directly below what you entered, will be a number such as "35." Please post it in a reply.

How do I make interactive DVD/Blu-Ray menus with motion?

So, adobe doesn't support Encore anymore which means I can't use dynamic link to AE to create interactive DVD/Blu-Ray menus with motion.... or can I? Is there something I'm doing wrong? While in Encore, I go to dynamic link and boom, dynamic link to AE is not highlighted. If I can't make an interactive menu with motion using adobe, then what can I use? This is causing a major problem for me and my clients. (if i over looked the answer to this in another post, my apologies)

You can use the "Create After Effects Composition." This prompts you to create an independent version of the Encore PSD menu file, and opens the layered file in AE CC and creates a new composition with appropriate settings. AE no longer has mpeg export, so you export from AE to AME.
There were some workflow options that I did not play with much, but they were never what I saw as the basics for using AE to create the motion background.
You need to understand these two help pages:
Adobe Encore * Menu timing and looping
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/encore/cs/using/WSF49EA5DB-3743-49c2-9831-F66328B192F8.html
Adobe Encore * Using After Effects to enhance menus
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/encore/cs/using/WSA5513911-0AD1-440c-BDAD-2E0E806B425E.html
I'm not sure what you mean by "interactive" unless you just mean creating navigation.

Linear encoders with Motion Assistant

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