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1. The ”Motion Control State Machine” in “MCL layer Motion component” is removed and the motion control architecture has been transformed into an event-based architecture. Thus, the "Set Motor Speed", "Get Motor Speed" and “Get position” functions can be executed cyclically from the external application layer (such as ProfiDrive or EtherCat Motion) using hardware-assisted bus cycle (XCTRIGGERs) or logically defined timers. Thus, FOC works synchronously with the hardware-assisted bus cycle. This brings IRT mode support to FOC. (Operations such as Calibration and Coast Stop are called cyclically).

2. The HAL QEI (Quadrature Encoder Interface) capture position architecture has been modified to work properly with different bus-cycle periods. In the V1.0.0.0, the encoder position capture process was performed automatically with the timer interrupt which also drove the Motion Control State Machine. This timer was removed due to the change in the motion control structure and the need for flexible operation with different bus cycle periods. Now this capture function is indirectly triggered by using the Get Motor Speed function from the external application layer, thus positions are calculated according to the time elapsed between two consecutive capture functions.

3. MPWM synchronization support has been implemented. Thus, the PWM frequency is tuned dynamically and synchronization of MPWM with the hardware-assisted bus-cycle (XCTRIGGER) is ensured. So, the bus cycle jitter is compensated. As the MPWM frequency is compensated according to the bus cycle, the MPWM callback is always called at the same timeframe. This provides the deterministic operation required for IRT mode (see FOC Runtime Analysis).

4. Get position support has been added to FOC. The motor position feedback (currently encoder) information is get and processed. So this position information is provided directly to the external application layer thanks to the FOC API. It is currently being tested using the ProfiDrive AC4 example. However, it is designed to be universal and is expected to be compatible with EtherCat Motion (see FOC Position Interface Details).

5. Due to issues with the PLC in isochronous mode compatibility, the automatic encoder direction estimation algorithm has been temporarily removed. It will undergo reassessment in the next version, and a decision will be made regarding its future.

6. Motor calibration support is provided via the API function. Motor calibration can now be performed by setting calibration parameters externally (Motor self-calibration can pose a safety risk when the motors are linked to a mechanical mechanism because the drives begin to move).

Software Details

This chapter describes how the software is structured and how to configure it according to the requirements.

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