Motor Tuning

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Introduction

Click the button to open the Tuning & System Evaluation tool.

On the right-hand side of GDK, the Tuning & System Evaluation tool should now be open. Outside of Step-By-Step, this can be opened by pressing the Tuning & System Evaluation button in the top left vertical bar of GDK.

The tool is laid out into two main sections: inputs on the left and plots on the right. The inputs in the left are grouped into 3 panels: Filter/Control at the top, Tuning Algorithms in the middle, and System Evaluation at the bottom. The Filter/Control panel allows you to edit the parameters of the feedback loop. The Tuning Algorithms panel includes four algorithms, where each automatically adjusts the axis's feedback loop based on their respective criteria. The System Evaluation tool includes 4 tests that can be used to evaluate the performance of the axis's feedback loop. Each test will populate the plots on the right side with their results for visual inspection.

Safety

Any running tuning algorithm or evaluation can be immediately stopped by pressing the Abort button. This immediately stops the algorithm and any active moves, and it turns off the motors on all axes.

Each algorithm also has an "MO after tune" checkbox that turns off the motor after a tuning algorithm is complete, which is useful to prevent from overheating the motor if the tuning results in an unstable system, and the system is left unattended for some time.

Filter/Control

This panel contains all of the parameters used to characterize the feedback loop. Each parameter is displayed as two-letter DMC command, and the full name can be obtained by hovering the mouse over the command. The parameter descriptions can be found in each controller's respective command reference. This panel is used for manually tuning or adjusting the feedback loop.

Tuning Algorithms

This panel contains four different algorithms for tuning a single axis at a time, each with their own criteria. Each algorithm's description is revealed when hovering the mouse over the corresponding tab. Each algorithm can be executed by selecting the corresponding tab, then pressing the Run Tuner button.

Each algorithm has a "High Resolution" checkbox that adjusts the algorithm for tuning systems with high resolution feedback. The criteria for "high resolution" varies in each situation, but our guideline is that any axis with position resolution finer than 1 micron should be considered "high resolution".

System Evaluation

This panel contains four different tests for evaluating the axis's performance: Step Response, Profiled Move, Settle Time, and Frequency Analysis. Each test's description is revealed when hovering the mouse over the corresponding tab. Each test can be executed by selecting the corresponding tab and clicking the Run Evaluation button. They can also be executed at regular intervals by toggling the Repeat Evaluation button, which is useful when adjusting the tuning parameters for seeing their effect on the system performance.

Plots

The plots are populated with the results of the System Evaluation tests. There are several tools available for closer inspection of each plot: cursors for measuring differences along the horizontal and vertical axes, track points for inspecting the value of individual points, and carbon copy for keeping a copy of a plot for comparison against newer evaluation results.

Continue

If there are additional axes to configure, return to the motor setup axis selection page. Lastly, if you are finished setting up your controller, proceed to the save configuration page.

Axis Selection Save Configuration