RoboteQ AX3500 Inverted Operation, Special Use of Accessory Digital Inputs, General Operation

General Operation

The switch connection is described in “Connecting Switches or Devices to EStop/Invert Input” on page 61. The switch must be such that it is in the open state in the normal situa- tion and closed to signal an emergency stop command.

After and Emergency Stop condition, the controller must be reset or powered Off and On to resume normal operation.

Inverted Operation

For robots that can run upside-down, the controller can be configured to reverse the motor commands using a gravity activated switch when the robot is flipped. This feature is enabled only in the mixed mode and when the switch is enabled with the proper configura- tion of the “Input switch function” parameter. See “Programmable Parameters List” on page 178.

The switch connection is described in “Connecting Switches or Devices to EStop/Invert Input” on page 61. The switch must be such that it is in the open state when the robot is in the normal position and closed when inverted. When the status of the switch has changed, the controller will wait until the new status has remained stable for 0.5s before acknowl- edging it and inverting the commands. This delay is to prevent switch activation triggered by hits and bounces which may cause the controller to erroneously invert the commands.

Special Use of Accessory Digital Inputs

The AX3500 includes one general purpose digital inputs identified as Input F. The location of this input on the DB15 connector can be found in the section “I/O List and Pin Assign- ment” on page 58, while the electrical signal needed to activate it is shown on “Connect- ing Switches or Devices to Input F” on page 60. Note that other members of the Roboteq family of controllers have an additional digital input, Input E, which is not present on the AX3500

By default, these inputs are ignored by the controller. However, the AX3500 may be config- ured to cause either of the following actions:

•Activate the buffered Output C

•Turn Off/On the power MOSFET transistors

These alternate modes can only be selected using the Roborun Utility (see “Control Set- tings” on page 185. Each of these modes is detailed below.

Using the Inputs to Activate the Buffered Output

When this setting is selected, the buffered Output C will be On when the Input line is pulled to Ground (0V). The Output will be Off when the Input is pulled high.

This function makes it possible to drive solenoids or other accessories up to 2A at 24V using a very low current switch, for example.

Using the Inputs to turn Off/On the Power MOSFET transistors

When this setting is selected, the controller’s Power MOSFET transistors will be active, and the controller will be operating normally, only when the input is pulled to ground.

52 AX3500 Motor Controller User’s Manual Version 1.9b. June 1, 2007