Archived:Program a Maxon EPOS Motion Controller Using LabVIEW

Updated Nov 22, 2023

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Reported In

Hardware

  • PCI-CAN
  • PCI-CAN/2

Software

  • CANopen Library Toolkit

Driver

  • NI-Industrial Communications for CANopen

Other

Maxon EPOS Motion Controller

Issue Details

How can I use LabVIEW to communicate with my EPOS (Easy Positioning System) controller from Maxon?

Solution

In order to communicate with an EPOS Controller from Maxon, you have two options:
  • CANopen: If you use the CANopen Library you need to know the commands and address that will lead to the specific action you desire. For example the value xF x0 and the address x6040 resets the Power Up Error when you turn on the EPOS. The online manual should have more information about the operations and their parameters.
  • EPOS Instrument Driver: The EPOS2 Instrument Driver, which you can easily unzip to the instr.lib folder. With this library you can use high level commands to set a new position, new velocity, new trajectories or to read information. 

Additional Information

Note: It is important to set the correct PID Parameters when working with the Current, Position and Velocity Loops. You can do this using EPOS Studio, a tool which is free with any EPOS device. The latest version is available from Maxon Motor.

To communicate with the EPOS you need a HighSpeed CAN Device from National Instruments. See the Related Links section below.

Related Links

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