Spindle Control

Spindle Control 

The spindle control logic in the provided iCube Engineer project for use with Compass includes simple reference M-Code commands, both as an example of M-Code integration and as a starter for integrating specific spindle control into the Compass solution. 

• Spindle control is performed in 2 distinct steps:
  • Spindle Start / Stop commands (M-codes) is included in the base starter project
  • Connections to specific hardware of the machine's controls can be made using these M-Codes as the base
    • This is dependent on the actual hardware used for controlling the spindle

• Spindle Start / Stop commands by default are utilized using M-codes.
  • M3 - Start Spindle clockwise direction
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    • S argument used with M3 / M4 sets spindle RPM
    • P argument sets a delay (ms) for the spindle to reach the target velocity before acknowledging the M-code.
  • M4 - Start Spindle counterclockwise direction
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    • S argument used with M3 / M4 sets spindle RPM
    • P argument sets a delay (ms) for the spindle to reach the target velocity before acknowledging the M-code. 
  • M5 - Stop Spindle.
    • No arguments are generally needed for the command
    • Machine specific desired behaviors and logic must be considered alongside this
      • E.g., If it is desired for the spindle to stop at the end of files automatically, during a feed hold, and other machinery related stop conditions
  • Note:
    • Control logic to start and stop the spindle hardware is not provided, and is dependent on the interface used for the spindle drive (e.g., analog, EtherCAT, Modbus, etc.)
    • These M-Codes are generally expected by G-Code files to be closed loop commands, where they wait till the target speed is reached from the feedback
      • This accounts for variations in tooling, variation over time, and specific spindle options on a machine

Example

• M-code command samples:
  • M3 S2500 P2000 - Spindle start CW, 2500 rpm,  2000 ms delay.
  • M4 S18000 - Spindle start CCW, acknowledge immediately
  • M5 P1000 - Spindle stop, 1000 ms delay.
• M-code logic samples:
  • The logic executing M3 / M4 / M5 commands is setting and resetting appropriate VFD_Start, spindleStartCW, spindleStartCCW, spindleSpeed variables to be used in an actual spindle drive control logic. 
  • The logic below is a sample logic and is intended to be modified by the customer to match their specific application and machinery requirements
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• Spindle hardware control using Yaskawa GA series drives:
  • The drive is controlled directly using CiA402 communication standard.
  • A minimum necessary data needed for this control is:
    • Status word input
    • Control word output
    • Target velocity output
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  • Example of interlocking with other parts of the machine's control system
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  • Drive direction control is performed by negating the Target velocity value:
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  • The communication with the Yaskawa GA series drive is utilizing YaskawaVfdInterface function block which uses a state machine to directly enable CiA402 standard control word bits and monitor the status word:
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