Adding a New Controller

Adding a New Controller

Recall that each Controller is represented by an actual, physical controller. Therefore, a new Controller cannot be added until a new motion controller has first been installed in the computer. After installation is complete, click on the Add Controller button on the toolbar of the Object Explorer to add a new controller.

Clicking on the Add Controller button displays the Add Controller dialog box. Enter the name of the new Controller in the Name field. This may be any alphanumeric label up to 27 characters long ("Controller 1," "XY Table," "Julie Ann," etc.). The Name does not need to be the same as the Controller Number, but many users find this less confusing.

There are three ways to address a new controller:

If only one controller is being installed on the host computer, simply assign a Name, then click on the OK button. The Controller number will be 0. This is the Default option.
Click on the Device if there is more than one controller card in the computer.
Click on the Client if the controller card resides inside a separate client computer (i.e., not in the same computer running Motion Console), linked across a TCP/IP network with it.
Click on the File to view a controller memory dump file, saved by VM3. Using Mocon to view the memory dump file allows you to see the configurations, positions, and other static data at the time the memory snap shot was taken. It will not allow you to simulate a controller or network, command actions, etc.

Device Settings

Device settings should be used whenever more than one controller card is in the host system.

Controller Number – the MEI-specific index, inside the device list, that is used by the computer to identify each controller. Although you may customize the name of the controller, you cannot customize the "Controller Number," because it is already preconfigured to coordinate with the appropriate controller board. For example, you can call a controller "Martha," but if the Controller Number is 3, Motion Console will be referencing the 3rd board installed on your system.

Client Settings

NOTE: Before a client-based controller can be added to the object tree, the client computer must be running the Server.exe utility. If you have not already done so, start the utility now before proceeding. Once server.exe is running, it can be "minimized" on the client computer's monitor and kept running in the background.

Client settings apply to controllers which reside on separate client computers (i.e., computers other than the one running the Motion Console utility). To access a client controller, its client computer must be networked with the host computer and be running the server.exe application.

Port – Socket connection to use for the client. In most cases this will be the same for host and client(s), and the default value (3300) can be used.

Server – IP address of the client computer serving the controller.

Error Messages

If error messages are encountered while adding a new controller, refer to the table below.

Controller Error Messages

	Error Message	Controller Type	Action
A	mpiControlCreate failed while creating (controller name)	Device	Recheck hardware installation, especially PCI bus socket.	A
B			Open the "Control Panel" and double-click "Devices." Find the "Motion Controller" device and make sure its status is "started."	B
C			Swap the SynqNet board with a reliable card in a reliable host computer. If card fails to respond, contact MEI.	C
D	mpiControlCreate failed while creating (controller name)	Client	Recheck client address.	D
E			Verify that client is running server.exe application.	E
F	mpiControlCreate failed while creating (controller name)	Device	Verify Controller Number field under the Device tab is different from existing controller(s).	F
G	MPIControlInit() returns 0x8603:Packet:communication error	All	Verify that client is running server.exe application.	G

Removing Controllers

Controllers may be removed quickly with the Object Explorer by highlighting the controller to be removed and clicking on the Remove Controller icon. A controller can also be removed by clicking on the Remove button for the controller on the Operations tab of the Controller Summary window.

A Note Regarding Synchronized Motion

Designers should bear in mind that Motion Console does NOT support synchronized motion between separate controllers. (For example, you cannot perform a precision, interpolated move between Controller 0 and Controller 1 using only Motion Console.) However, coordinated motion between controllers on the order of milliseconds is supportable from user-written applications. Please contact an MEI applications engineer.

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