USER MANUAL Chapter 2 Getting Started • 17
Installing the DMC-13X8
Installation of a complete, operational DMC-13X8 system consists of 8 steps.
Step 1. Determine overall motor configuration.
Step 2. Install Jumpers on the DMC-13X8.
Step 3. Install the DMC-13X8 in the PC.
Step 4. Establish communications with the Galil controller.
Step 5. Determine the Axes to be used for sinusoidal commutation.
Step 6. Make connections to amplifier and encoder.
Step 7a. Connect standard servo motors.
Step 7b. Connect sinusoidal commutation motors.
Step 7c. Connect step motors.
Step 8. Tune the servo system.

Step 1. Determine Overall Motor Configuration

Before setting up the motion control system, the user must determine the desired motor configuration.
The DMC-13X8 can control any combination of standard servo motors, sinusoidally commutated
brushless motors, and stepper motors. Other types of actuators, such as hydraulics can also be
controlled. Please consult Galil for more information.
The following configuration information is necessary to determine the proper motor configuration:

Standard Servo Motor Operation:

The DMC-13X8 has been setup by the factory for standard servo motor operation providing an analog
command signal of +/- 10V. No hardware or software configuration is required for standard servo
motor operation.

Sinusoidal Commutation:

Sinusoidal commutation is configured through a single software command, BA. This configuration
causes the controller to reconfigure the number of available control axes.
Each sinusoidally commutated motor requires two DAC's. In standard servo operation, the DMC-
13X8 has one DAC per axis. In order to have the additional DAC for sinusoidal commutation, the
controller must be designated as having one additional axis for each sinusoidal commutation axis. For
example, to control two standard servo axes and one axis of sinusoidal commutation, the controller
will require a total of four DAC's and the controller must be a DMC-1348.
Sinusoidal commutation is configured with the command, BA. For example, BAX sets the X axis to
be sinusoidally commutated. The second DAC for the sinusoidal signal will be the highest available
DAC on the controller. For example: Using a DMC-1348, the command BAX will configure the X
axis to be the main sinusoidal signal and the 'W' axis to be the second sinusoidal signal.
The BA command also reconfigures the controller to indicate that the controller has one less axis of
'standard' control for each axis of sinusoidal commutation. For example, if the command BAX is
given to a DMC-1348 controller, the controller will be re-configured to a DMC-1338 controller. By
definition, a DMC-1338 controls 3 axes: X,Y and Z. The 'W' axis is no longer available since the
output DAC is being used for sinusoidal commutation.
Further instruction for sinusoidal commutation connections are discussed in Step 5.