Author Archives: Tero

Testing app almost done

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Testing procedure of Argon drives is ~80% done now. The testing system consists of:

  • Hi-pot tester which verifies insulations at 1.5 kV AC voltage
  • Testing hardware (artificial test load, various I/O testers, etc)
  • Testing software for the above hardware
  • Test functionality in firmware

The testing software is based on Granity with some modifications.

Argon testing application work in progress

Argon testing application work in progress. Most of the UI stuff will be ripped off from the polished testing version and instead provide only a simple “start test” button to eliminate human error.

I will start testing the first drives as soon as the test software fulfills it’s all technical requirements and bring first drives to market ASAP. Polishing the software for assembly house can wait couple of weeks as it will affect only next production batches.

Press photos

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Here are some fresh product photos of the Argon servo drive. Special thanks to Aki Korhonen for photography! Check out his blog for more amazing stuff.

Argon in all its glory. It's not a render!

Argon in all its glory. It’s not a render! © Aki Korhonen

A multi-axis setup with sinle SimpleMotion V2 link.

A multi-axis setup with sinle SimpleMotion V2 link. © Aki Korhonen

Only testing routine to go!

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More Argon drives have arrived. Mandatory parts of lab tests with the new hardware are done and everything is looking good hardware point of view!

More Argon drives

More Argon drives

The only thing remaining before the drives are placed on sale & ready for shipment is finalization of the testing routine. As mentioned in earlier posts, every aspect of the drives must be verified before they’re good to go. Nothing is left on chance.

Amounts of items returned is not just a number for us. We take testing & quality very seriously because we don’t want (and don’t have) many returns due to defects. Having >99% yield helps to save our time and also leads to reduced cost to customer. I think it’s also nice to buy hardware you can count on :)

New poll

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Please see the poll on the right side of this page. I’m pondering whether we should put mating connectors in the drive package. Screw terminals for J3 and J4 are included, but now I’m thinking whether or not to put also J1 (15 pin D-sub + hood) and J5 (26 pin IDC + ribbon cable) in the package.

In case of screw terminals the choice is easy as they’re always needed. But not everyone wants/needs to use the included J1 / J5 which may lead to partial waste.

Update 25.6.2013: ordered today D-sub connectors (without hood), 26 pin IDC connector (without ribbon cable) and emi suppression cores that will be included in the package. These should let people get started out-of-the-box. Thank you everyone sharing your opinions!

Today’s arrivals and Situation report

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Got some mail today including 500 pcs of Argon boxes and 60 pcs of SimpleMotion V2 USB adapters. Couldn’t spot any flaws in either of them!

A pallet of Argon cardboard boxes.

A pallet of Argon cardboard boxes. The boxes are very rigid and printing is sharper than expected making the artwork shine :)

A box of fresh USB SimleMotion V2 adapters

A box of fresh USB SimleMotion V2 adapters. Adapters are fully tested in the assembly house.

In the other news, I have been lately creating contents to the Argon user guide Wiki which must have the mandatory parts written and proof read before the drive can be released to market. As this will take some time (as well as finishing & packaging Granity software), we probably start sales & delivers for experienced users first (this probably means you, my fellow blog reader!). This can be done as hardware is final and rest of the materials are delivered over the Internet anyway.

Part of the documentation. Work in progress.

Part of the documentation. Work in progress.

The first of its kind!

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On Friday we received the first release candidate units of Argon servo drive completely assembled.

Argon final version. The very first of their kind!

Argon final version. The very first of their kind!


In initial tests everything has worked just flawlessly. We might be finally there :)

Blinking LEDs

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Argon has two programmable front panel LEDs that indicate the state of drive. Having just 2 LEDs is challenging as there are more than dozen different states that need to be distinguishable. The current solution looks like this.

The present way is to assign orange led solely for faults and green led for motor control sate. To fit large number of states in reasonably short and easy to read blinking sequences, we’re blinking them by combinations of short and long flashes. One state for example can be repeating pattern of short-short-long-pause and another long-long-short-short-pause.

LED blinking example. The sequence here is long-short-short-pause.

LED blinking example. The sequence here is long-short-short-pause.

The Wiki page (link above) has animated images from each combination making them hopefully easier to identify. What do you think about this approach (please leave a comment)? Another alternative I have been pondering is just flashing led certain number of times. Such as one state is 3 flashes, another 4 flashes. The problem is counting reliably something like 15 flashes.

Meanwhile in production: the first release candidate Argon batch should arrive any time now! Last week factory reported mistake of getting wrong type of bridge rectifiers which caused 2-3 days delay to planned schedule but drives should definitely arrive this week for final testing.

Final servo drive enclosures

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After a long wait, the first batch of final version of Argon servo drive enclosures have arrived! Some minor changes were made to the design and also manufacturing quality has been improved based on our feedback. In the prototype series there were paint burrs in threads and small bending inaccuracy making assembly some times bit challenging. All these are now gone and the outcome seems flawless!

Argon final enclosure corner detail

Argon final enclosure corner detail. Notice also hexagon shaped vent holes for minimal air flow resistance.

As Argon may be used for wide power range from 50 W to 1500 W, the cooling requirements will vary. To help high power users, we made mounting holes for standard low cost “half brick” heat sinks.

Enclosure heat sink side with additional heat sinks attached

Enclosure heat sink side with additional heat sinks attached

Tomorrow the enclosures will continue their journey to electronics assembly house where drive assembly will begin in just few days.

What to do with 1000 stickers?

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The first attempt of making Argon machine labels was not successful. The labels are otherwise fine but the manufacturer didn’t notice the requirement of chemical resistance. CE compliance standard requires that label must withstand cleaning with isopropyl alcohol. Guess what happened to the text on these labels? You guessed it right – it becomes blank.

Argon machine labels, first try

Argon machine labels, first try

The second revision of labels have been ordered already. Any ideas what to do with a lots of obsolete stickers? :)

Status

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Today we finished programming the Argon microcontrollers and sent them back to the assembly house. Production will start once all remaining components have arrived to the factory. We’re still waiting enclosures, should be less than a week away.

Chips being programmed in a clam shell socket

Chips being programmed in a clam shell socket. The chips are handled with a vacuum pen. The environment  is made ESD safe to prevent expensive errors.

Meanwhile I designed a testing procedure for the new kind of USB adapters that are produced same time with Argon drives. One SimpleMotion V2 USB adapter is necessary to configure drives and it may be also used to create PC based motion control applications for them.

SimpleMotion V2 USB adapter

SimpleMotion V2 USB adapter