Technical information

77
Software Setup and Operation
Note
For the next two steps, refer to the Installation chapter for more information.
2. On a multi-axis system make sure that the baud rate setting on each drive is the same.
3. On a multi-axis system, make sure that each positioning drive has a unique axis
identifier.
4. Power to all FX drives must be on.
Figure 59: Establishing Serial Communications in a Multi-drop system
On-line Operations (COM1 - COM4)
The On-line Operations options require serial communications between the personal
computer and the FX drive. When you select On-line Operations options for the first time,
PCX will attempt to communicate by transmitting a character and then receiving the echo.
When the echo is the same as the character transmitted then communications have been
established.
PCX tries this procedure with all the possible baud rates (300 to 19,200). Once PCX has
established communications, the program will continue by displaying the On-line Operations
options. This procedure will not be called again unless communications are disrupted.
When you have established serial communications with the FX drive, the On-line Operations
menu will be presented on the screen. The axis identifier, drive model and application module
(if applicable) are displayed after the screen title at the top of the screen.
When PCX is communicating with an FX drive, a busy message appears in the upper left hand
corner of the screen. A small “pinwheel” rotates as serial commands are sent and received by
the computer. This feature is here to let you know that PCX is operating and transferring data
with an FX drive.
MULTI-DROP CABLE FROM
SERIAL 2A (DRIVE 1) TO
SERIAL 1A (DRIVE 2) (DD-XXX)
HOST CABLE TO SERIAL 1A
(TIA-XXX OR TIX-XXX)