Hey everyone! I have a NEMA 34 stepper that I wish to control using a serial connection with a stepper drive with a built-in microcontroller.
The problem lays with the fact that this stepper drive is very old and there isn't a clear guide available on using it. I did find the guide for the microcontroller which is built-in, in the drive and should probably accept similar commands to run the stepper.
I have a few queries, I wanted some comments by the community:-
1. Could a simple read/write program for VISA work? I plan to first test the drive+motor by sending a simple set of commands once through LabVIEW. Once that works, I would like to modify the program to run the stepper in jog mode (push a boolean button to move the motor until the button is pressed in the front panel and a toggle switch to choose b/w CW and CCW).
2. The stepper drive I have is a really old one with no instrument drivers or a manual available (except for the built-in microcontroller). I use it as it is available in-house and we don't need to buy a new drive for this small project.
So, based on the microcontroller manual (attached), the program should work if I write the commands in the same form in the write buffer?
Please provide some feedback on approaching this task. I know, this sounds like a very general topic but being a newbie with Labview, some comments would help.
I am attaching the sample block diagram which I intend to use for sending a single command.
Cheers!