SqNode Objects

SqNode Objects

SqNode objects are the connected nodes on a SynqNet network. SynqNet supports up to 32 nodes supporting up to 32 motors on one SynqNet network.

Configuration Attributes: "Config" Tab Page

User Label – User-defined label for the object.

Binary Download – Downloads a binary file to the node which allows communication for normal operation between the controller and the node. Unless the Drive vendor has already installed the .sff file at the factory, an appropriate binary file will need to be downloaded. To determine which .sff file is appropriate for your node, please refer to the Node FPGA Images: Identification Table. Multiple files may be downloaded to multiple nodes/drives. See Downloading Binary Files for more information.

Save to Flash – Pre-selects the current settings for saving to flash memory. For more information, please see the Save to Flash section.

View Sub-objects – Shows all sub-objects for this object. For more information, see Object Summary Windows.

Clear Status – Clears node CRC errors on all ports, clears node Packet errors, clears node ioAbort state, and resets SqNode events.

Alarm Configuration Attributes

The Alarm configuration attributes configure the trigger conditions for the Node Alarm output bit. See MEISqNodeConfigAlarm for more information.

Alarm Mask – One bit per drive/motor. Configures the node alarm output to trigger when the Amp Fault dedicated input of the motor is TRUE.

Alarm Not Cyclic – Specifies whether or not a node can receive an alarm when it is not in cyclic mode. When checked, a node alarm can be asserted in any mode. Otherwise, a node alarm can only be asserted in cyclic mode.

Alarm ioAbort – Specifies the effect an IO abort will have on the node alarm output. When checked, an I/O abort will trigger a node alarm.

Node Packet Error Rate Attributes

The following attributes specify the limit conditions for SynqNet node packet rate errors. See MEISqNodeConfigPacketError for more information.

Upstream Err. Fault Limit – Packet error rate limit on the IN port to generate a fault.

Upstream Err. Fail Limit – Packet error rate limit on the IN port to generate a failure.

Downstream Err. Fault Limit – Packet error rate limit on the OUT port to generate a fault.

Downstream Err. Fail Limit – Packet error rate limit on the OUT port to generate a failure.

User Fault Configuration Attributes

The User Fault configuration attributes specify the trigger conditions for a user fault. See MEISqNodeConfigUserFault for more information.

User Fault Address – The controller address to trigger off of.

User Fault Mask – A bit mask ANDed with the value at the controller address.

User Fault Pattern – A bit pattern compared to the masked value at the controller address. When the masked value equals the pattern, the user trigger is TRUE.

Configuration Attributes: "IO Abort" Tab Page

The I/O Abort configuration attributes specify the trigger conditions for a user fault. See MEISqNodeConfigIoAbort for more information.

SynqLost Enable – When checked, the controller will generate an I/O Abort Action when a SynqNet node drops out of SYNQ (cyclic) mode to SYNQ_LOST mode.

SynqLost Invert – When checked, the controller will invert the trigger polarity.

NodeDisable Enable - When checked, the controller will shutdown the node via IoAbort when the node disable is active.

NodeDisable Invert – Inverts trigger polarity of the signal. When not checked, it will have normal polarity. If checked, it will have inverted polarity.

PowerFault Enable – An input bit to the SynqNet node. The power fault circuit is node-specific, but is usually connected to an analog power monitor. Typically, when the DAC power or other analog component power is either too high or drops below a threshold, the power fault is triggered.

PowerFault Invert – Inverts trigger polarity of the signal. When not checked, it will have normal polarity. If checked, it will have inverted polarity.

User Fault – The controller will generate an I/O Abort Action when the User Fault is triggered. The conditions for generating a User Fault are configured on the Config tab page.

Configuration Attributes: "Info" Tab Page

Node Name – A string that represents the SynqNet node type. See MEISqNodeInfoId.

Exact Match – "Yes" when all ID components have been matched to a supported configuration. See MEISqNodeInfoId.

Unique ID – The SynqNet node manufacturer determines this unique value to track a single product. See MEISqNodeInfoId.

Drive Count – The number of drives interfaces that the SynqNet node supports.

Motor Count – Number of motors mapped to the node.

Motor Offset – The starting number for the first motor on the SynqNet node. Example: If Node 0 has three motors (Motor 0-2), then the Motor Offset for Node 1 will be 3 because Motor 3 is the next available motor.

Type – This is a unique identification number that can be used to identify the type and manufacturer of the node.

Option – The product option code within a product series. See MEISqNodeInfoId.

Switch ID – If a node/drive has an address switch on its faceplate, Switch Id will be the value to which the switch is set. If an ID switch is not supported by the node, this value will be set to -1 (0xFFFFFFFF). See MEISqNodeInfoId.

FPGA Type – There are two FPGA Types that are used, Boot and Runtime. For more information about these FPGA types, please see the Binary Images section under SynqNet Technology. See MEISqNodeFpgaType.
                Boot - The FPGA that is initially used when the SynqNet network is initialized for the
                          first time. It enables the node to communicate with the controller. A runtime
                          image will need to be downloaded before any motors can move.
                Runtime - The FPGA that is used for normal operation.

FPGA Vendor/Device – The unique indentification number of the FPGA. For more information, please refer to the Node FPGA Images: Identification Table. See MEISqNodeInfoFpga.

FPGA Version – The version of the FPGA. See MEISqNodeInfoFpga.

FPGA Default Version – Indicates if the default version of the SqNode FPGA image is loaded on this node. See MEISqNodeInfoFpga.

Model Number – The model number of the node (if available). See MEISqNodeInfoId.

Serial Number – The serial number of the node (if available). See MEISqNodeInfoId.

In Port Next Object – Name of the next network object connected to this object on the In Port.

Out Port Next Object – Name of the next object connected to this object on the Out Port.

Configuration Attributes: "Info" Tab Page

Digital In – The number of digital inputs on a SynqNet node. See MEISqNodeInfoIo.

Digital Out – The number of digital outputs on a SynqNet node. See MEISqNodeInfoIo.

Analog In – The number of analog inputs on a SynqNet node. See MEISqNodeInfoIo.

Analog Out – The number of analog outputs on a SynqNet node. See MEISqNodeInfoIo.

Segment Count – The total number of segments on a SynqNet node. See MEISqNodeInfoIo.

Max Wait – This is the maximum amount of time between when the output bit is set in software and the hardware state takes effect. See MEISqNodeInfoIo.

Status Attributes: "Status" Tab Page

SqNode status attributes display read-only data of each node. These are non-configurable.

Packet Errors

For more information on Packet Error Rates and Counters, see MEISqNodeStatusPacketError.

Upstream Err. Rate – Number of upstream packet errors per cycle.

Upstream Err. Count – Number of upstream packet errors.

Downstream Err. Rate – Number of downstream packet errors per cycle.

Downstream Err. Count – Number of downstream packet errors.

CRC Errors

For more information on the CRC Error Counters, see the CRC Error Counters section.

CRC Err. IN 0 – CRC error counter for the IN 0 port.

CRC Err. OUT 0 – CRC error counter for the OUT 0 port.

Events

For more information concerning the following Events, see MPIEventType / MEIEventType.

IO Abort – Generated when the node I/O Abort is activated. See MEIEventTypeSQNODE_IO_ABORT.

Node Disable Input – Generated when the Node Disable input signal transitions from inactive to active. See MEIEventTypeSQNODE_NODE_DISABLE.

Node Alarm Output – Generated when the node alarm output signal transitions from inactive to active. See MEIEventTypeSQNODE_NODE_ALARM.

Analog Power Fault – Generated when the node's power failure input bit transitions from inactive to active. See MEIEventTypeSQNODE_ANALOG_POWER_FAULT.

User Fault – Generated when the node's user configurable fault is triggered. See MEIEventTypeSQNODE_USER_FAULT.

Node Failure – Generated when a node's upstream or downstream packet error rate counters exceed the failure limit. To recover from a node failure, the network must be shutdown and reinitialized. See MEIEventTypeSQNODE_NODE_FAILURE.

Downloading Binary Files

Follow the procedure below to download binary files to SynqNet nodes.

Click on the Binary Download button for the node on the SqNode Summary.
If you are downloading the same file(s) to multiple nodes, then you can select the nodes (Ctrl + click) and click the Binary Download button.
NOTE: All nodes in the selection must already have the same default FPGA file in order for the Binary Download button to be enabled.
After clicking the Binary Download button, the “Download Binary Image To SqNode(s)” dialog box pops up. In this dialog box, it is possible to select multiple files to download to the node. One FPGA file can be selected, as well as (possibly multiple) Drive Processor firmware files. The number of drive processors is dependent on the type of node. A node with two drive processors is shown below.

If the file is labeled “Unspecified”, then no file will be downloaded to that item. To specify a file for an item, click on the item to select it and then click on the Browse button. The default FPGA file will usually be pre-specified for the FPGA item. To “unspecify” a file for an item, select the item in the list and click the Clear Selected button. Click the Clear All button to “unspecify” a file for every item.
After all the binary files are specified, click the Download button. The “Downloading Firmware” dialog box will pop up:

The item selected in the list indicates which item is currently being downloaded. The status bar at the bottom indicates the download progress for the current item. If there is no error for any item in the list, then the dialog box will close automatically. Otherwise, an error message will be displayed in the Error column. The dialog box is left open to allow the user to read the error. Click on the “Close” button to exit the dialog box.
Downloading cannot be interrupted once it starts, but it is possible to cancel downloading after the current download is complete. To cancel the download, click on the “Cancel after this action completes” checkbox.
Once the download is complete and the “Downloading Firmware to SqNode(s)” dialog box is closed (either manually or automatically), close the “Download Binary Image To SqNode(s)” dialog box.

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