Convert from Anilam Crusader M to EMC 2

Hello all.

I used to have a functional Anilam Crusader M controller. One day it decided not to wake up. A bad capacitor in one of the boards was taking down the power supply. That is now fixed, but after trying my best at diagnosing the problem (and not knowing for sure which board is the one that was bad, it seems that now is a good time to take the plunge and try EMC 2.

I have schematics that are close to the architecture of my machine, but it appears that they are newer than the make of my hardware, and so are not entirely correct. I deciphered it enough last night to keep the existing e-stop circuit, and the auto/manual switch. I believe I found the appropriate "servo-on" contact to bring to common, and did so (after unplugging all the servo drives). Next, I plugged back in the z-axis only, and the servo powered up and moved. I realized that I still had the signal plugged into the anilam dnc board, so unplugged it and the axis powered up and it held position nicely..

Next, I plan to confirm that all limit switches are still present in the circuit, and test the x and y axis as well. Finally, I plan to generate a reference signal and attempt to move all axis.

My goal during this upgrade will be to use all existing hardware. It appears that no-one has successfully done this, but I don't know why this shouldn't be possible. Anilam had a functional control after all. From reading other posts, my understanding is that drives get a tach feedback, and the motion controller gets (relatively low resolution) position feedback from "glass scales". I know of one successful Anilam to EMC via PPMC, although he had to add rotary encoders. I would like to avoid this, or at least understand why my current set-up won't work.

I am open to various motion control options at this point, my preference would go to whatever can drive my current hardware most efficiently for a reasonable cost.

Any tips/advice/suggestions on the above would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Do you know the linear scale resolution and type?

If they are Heidenhain scales you may need an interpolator box
to convert the sine/cosine signals to quadrature

Looks like I have Anilam A10's, which as far as I can tell are 10 micron (.0004"), but can't find the type yet.

I did find the following pin-out, which might display my ignorance as the type might be obvious from this.

Pretty sure most Anilam are quadrature square wave output. I'm 99% sure the A10 is.
It may or may not support a index too. What color is the name plate on the encoder ?

While this is not the same control it is an anilam and is an excellent write up:
code.google.com/p/sector67-sandbox/wiki/ProjectSheetCake

Chris M

Chris, the nameplate is red (see pic).

I will check out the write-up to see what applies to my machine. It seems very good.

They have converted a few machines and documented the process:
This should be some of the first things a first time integrator reads - just to get a feel for what they are getting into.

code.google.com/p/sector67-sandbox/w/list

Ahh yes the red one. This is definitely square wave TTL output. I have some of these. I just can't remember the resolution.
IIRC the color is a clue of the resolution (red orange and green I have)

While TTL output means it's easy to connect to, it also means you can't improve the resolution - aside from replacing them.

Chris M