Galil DMC-13X8 user manual Command Syntax Ascii, Command Basics

Chapter 5 Command Basics

Introduction

The DMC-13X8 provides over 100 commands for specifying motion and machine parameters. Commands are included to initiate action, interrogate status and configure the digital filter. These commands can be sent in ASCII or binary.

In ASCII, the DMC-13X8 instruction set is BASIC-like and easy to use. Instructions consist of two uppercase letters that correspond phonetically with the appropriate function. For example, the instruction BG begins motion, and ST stops the motion. In binary , commands are represented by a binary code ranging from 80 to FF.

ASCII commands can be sent "live" over the bus for immediate execution by the DMC-13X8, or an entire group of commands can be downloaded into the controller’s memory for execution at a later time. Combining commands into groups for later execution is referred to as Applications Programming and is discussed in the following chapter. Binary commands cannot be used in Applications programming.

This section describes the DMC-13X8 instruction set and syntax. A summary of commands as well as a complete listing of all DMC-13X8 instructions is included in the Command Reference.

Command Syntax - ASCII

DMC-13X8 instructions are represented by two ASCII upper case characters followed by applicable arguments. A space may be inserted between the instruction and arguments. A semicolon or <enter> is used to terminate the instruction for processing by the DMC-13X8 command interpreter. Note: If you are using a Galil terminal program, commands will not be processed until an <enter> command is given. This allows the user to separate many commands on a single line and not begin execution until the user gives the <enter> command.

IMPORTANT: All DMC-13X8 or DMC-13X8 commands are sent in upper case.

For example, the command

PR 4000 <enter> Position relative

PR is the two character instruction for position relative. 4000 is the argument which represents the required position value in counts. The <enter> terminates the instruction. For specifying data for the X,Y,Z and W axes, commas are used to separate the axes. If no data is specified for an axis, a comma is still needed as shown in the examples below. If no data is specified for an axis, the previous value is maintained.

USER MANUAL Chapter 5 Command Basics • 55