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Use Beckhoff

TwinCAT

System Manager

to configure EtherCAT

masters for control

of ABB MicroFlex e150 servo drives

Introduction

IntroductionIntroduction

Introduction

The TwinCAT software is used to configure Beckhoff PLCs and can also allow for configuration of

a PC as a real time control unit. The MicroFlex e150 servo drive uses EtherCAT for real-time

control. A Beckhoff PLC or a PC with a suitable EtherCAT network adapter (“a soft PLC”) can be used as an EtherCAT master to

control one or more MicroFlex e150 drives.

This application note will cover how to use TwinCAT System Manager to define the hardware setup suitable for a MicroFlex e150

drive connected either to a PLC or a soft PLC over EtherCAT. It will also show how the TwinCAT System Manager can be used to

perform moves on the drive.

PrPr

Pre

-requisites

requisitesrequisites

requisites

You will need to have the following to work through this application note:

• Mint Workbench build 5704 or later (see www.abbmotion.com for latest downloads and support)

• A MicroFlex e150 drive with build 5707.7.0 firmware or later

• A PC or laptop capable of running the TwinCAT software v2.11 or later (check out the TwinCAT website for details on

system requirements).

• Either a Beckhoff PLC or a PC suitable for use as a soft PLC (check out the TwinCAT website for details on system

requirements).

This application note assumes that you have already commissioned the MicroFlex e150 drive. That is to say you have been through

the commissioning wizard to define the motor and application settings (ensuring that the drive is setup for ‘Real-time Ethernet’

mode of operation) and have then auto-tuned (and fine-tuned if necessary) the control loops for the drive. Details on commissioning

the drive can be found in the MicroFlex e150 installation manual MN1961WEN.

MicroFlex e150 set

MicroFlex e150 setMicroFlex e150 set

MicroFlex e150 set-

-up and ESI

up and ESI up and ESI

up and ESI file

filefile

file

An EtherCAT Slave Information (ESI) file contains the identity and features of the drive, and can be used by EtherCAT configuration

tools such as TwinCAT to describe a device to the manager. A different ESI file is required for each MicroFlex e150 firmware

version. If you update to a previously unused firmware version you will need to save the new ESI file to the correct location. The

correct ESI file can always be uploaded from the drive being used and is saved in an .xml format.

Launch Mint Workbench and select the ‘EtherCAT’ icon in the toolbox (seen in the bottom left of the screen). After a

few seconds the EtherCAT screen will appear. On the ‘Summary’ tab click the ‘Save As…’ button in the ESI File

section. Give the file a name (it is best to include the drive’s firmware version in the name somehow) and save the file

to the following location: C:\TwinCAT\IO\EtherCAT.

The TwinCAT software will need restarting if you already had TwinCAT System Manager running at this point. This is so that it can

load the new ESI file for the MicroFlex e150.

Motion Control Products

Application note

Using TwinCAT

with the MicroFlex e150

AN00203-001

Summary of content (7 pages)

PAGE 1
Motion Control Products Application note Using TwinCAT® with the MicroFlex e150 AN00203-001 ® ® Use Beckhoff TwinCAT System Manager ® to configure EtherCAT masters for control of ABB MicroFlex e150 servo drives Introduction The TwinCAT software is used to configure Beckhoff PLCs and can also allow for configuration of a PC as a real time control unit. The MicroFlex e150 servo drive uses EtherCAT for real-time control.
PAGE 2
Application note Using TwinCAT with the MicroFlex e150 AN00203-001 System manager manager (TwinCAT hardware setup) If TwinCAT is installed on your PC you should see an icon in the notification area like this click the icon and select System Manager to launch the application (It can also be launched by going to Programs>TwinCAT System>TwinCAT System Manager). If you have used TwinCAT System Manager before it will open up your last project, go to File>New to start a new project.
PAGE 3
Application note Using TwinCAT with the MicroFlex e150 AN00203-001 Highlight the PLC and click OK. You should now see the previous TwinCAT screen (above) but the info in the bottom right hand corner will indicate you are connected to the PLC in config mode. If you have any problems with these steps please refer to the TwinCAT documentation or contact Beckhoff for technical support.
PAGE 4
Application note Using TwinCAT with the MicroFlex e150 AN00203-001 Axis settings settings The next thing to configure is the axis settings including scale factors and user units. Click on ‘Axis 1’ and then select the Settings tab from the window on the right. Select the user units required, the default is mm, mm/s, etc. Next expand ‘Axis 1’ by clicking on the + symbol and click on ‘Axis 1_Enc’, then select the Parameter tab in the window on the right.
PAGE 5
Application note Using TwinCAT with the MicroFlex e150 AN00203-001 Now click on ‘Axis 1’ and select the Parameter tab in the window on the right. Under the Velocities section of the list you can enter suitable speed values for the axis. Reference velocity is used when performing a position type move. The fast and slow Manual Velocities are used to set the speed for the fast and slow jog buttons (we will see these later). The Dynamics section allows you to set accel and decel rates.
PAGE 6
Application note Using TwinCAT with the MicroFlex e150 AN00203-001 Activate configuration Once all these settings are correct we need to activate the configuration. This requires that we click 3 buttons: From left to right we click ‘Generate mappings’, then ‘Check configuration’ and finally assuming no errors occurred after the previous two button presses click ‘Activate configuration’.
PAGE 7
Application note Using TwinCAT with the MicroFlex e150 AN00203-001 /F5 and /F6 are go and stop buttons respectively these are used in conjunction with the target position and target velocity boxes to move to a given position at a given velocity. ®/F8 is the reset button and can be used to clear errors on the drive. /F9 is used to perform a homing sequence. Please refer to the TwinCAT documentation for details on available homing methods.