Flash Memory

Every SynqNet motion controller contains flash memory. Flash memory is a non-volatile (preserves its contents when the power is removed) memory technology that can be reprogrammed without removing it from the controller. The XMP controller family uses the flash memory to store:

The firmware that the processor on the motion controller card uses. The configuration of each of the objects.
The configuration held in flash is the configuration that each object starts with once the controller is powered on.

The Controller methods Controller.FirmwareSaveToFile and Controller.FirmwareLoadFromFile allow the complete firmware image and configuration to be uploaded from or download to a .bin file on the host. This allows the firmware to be changed in the field with needing to physically touch the card.

Each object has a FlashSave method that saves the current configuration of that object to flash memory. After an object's FlashSave method has been called every time the controller powers up or the Controller object's Reset method is executed, the object will have the same configuration as when the FlashSave was originally executed. For example, all an axis objects gains are preserved.

The Controller object has the FlashSaveAll method that allows the complete configuration of the Controller object and all its axis and motion objects preserved to flash memory.

See Also