Lord MicroStrain 3DM-GX4-15 User manual

LORD USERMANUAL
3DM-GX4-15™
Miniature Inertial Measurement Unit and Vertical Gyro

© 2014 LORDCorporation
MicroStrain®Sensing Systems
459 Hurricane Lane
Suite 102
Williston, VT 05495
United States of America
Phone: [phone]
Toll Free: 800-449-3878
Fax: [phone]
http://www.microstrain.com
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Copyright © 2014 LORD Corporation
IEPE-Link™, Torque-Link™, 3DM-RQ1™, Strain Wizard®, DEMOD-DC®, DVRT®, DVRT-Link™, WSDA®, HS-
Link®, TC-Link®, G-Link®, V-Link®, SG-Link®, ENV-Link™, Watt-Link™, Shock-Link™, LXRS®, Node
Commander®, SensorCloud™, Live Connect™, MathEngine®, EH-Link®, 3DM®, FAS-A®, 3DM-GX1®, 3DM-
GX3®, 3DM-GX4™, 3DM-DH®, 3DM-DH3™, EmbedSense®, MicroStrain®, and Little Sensors, Big Ideas.®are
trademarks of LORD Corporation.
Document 8500-0046 Revision A
Subject to change without notice.

3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Mesurement Unit User Manual
Table of Contents
1. System Overview 6
2. Sensor Overview 7
2.1 Components 8
2.2 Interface and Indicators 9
3. Basic Setup and Operations 10
3.1 Software Installation 11
3.2 System Connections 12
3.3 Software Interface 13
3.3.1 Interactive Help Menu 13
3.4 Sensor Communication 14
3.5 Sensor Settings 15
3.5.1 Saving Configurations 17
3.6 Data Monitoring and Recording 18
3.7 Viewing Data 21
4. Sensor Measurements 22
4.1 Direct Sensor Measurements (IMU Outputs) 23
4.2 Computed Outputs (Estimation Filter) 25
4.3 Sensor Reference Frames 27
4.3.1 Geodetic Frame 27
4.3.2 NorthEast Down (NED) Frame 28
4.3.3 Sensor Frame 29
4.3.4 Platform Frame 30
5. Performance Optimization 32
5.1 Gyroscope Bias 32

3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Mesurement Unit User Manual
5.2 Heading Drift and Compensation 33
5.3 Angular Rate and Acceleration Limits 34
5.4 Bandwidth 34
5.5 Platform Frame Transformation 34
5.6 Estimation Filter Operation 34
5.7 Estimation Filter Convergence 35
5.7.1 Initial Convergence 35
5.7.2 Bias Convergence 36
5.7.3 Output Uncertainty 36
5.8 Vibration Isolation 36
5.9 IMU Sensor Calibration 36
5.10 Temperature Compensation 37
6. Sensor Installation 38
6.1 Sensor Mounting 38
7. OEMSystemIntegration 39
7.1 DataCommunications Protocol (DCP) 39
7.1.1 Packet Builder 40
7.1.2 Sensor Direct Mode 41
7.2 Sensor Wiring 42
7.3 Sampling on Start-up 43
7.4 Connecting to a Datalogger 43
7.5 Using Wireless Adapters 43
8. Troubleshooting 44
8.1 Troubleshooting Guide 44
8.2 Repair and Calibration 48
8.3 Technical Support 49

3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Mesurement Unit User Manual
9. Maintenance 50
10. Parts and Configurations 51
10.1 Standard Configurations 51
10.2 Accessories 53
10.3 Warranty Information 54
10.4 Sales Support 55
11. Safety Information 56
12. References 57
12.1 Reference Documents 57
12.2 Glossary 58

3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Mesurement Unit User Manual System Overview
6
1. System Overview
The LORD MicroStrain®3DM-GX4™family of industrial grade inertial sensors provides a wide
range of triaxial orientation measurements and computed navigation solutions. In all models, the
Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) includes direct measurement of acceleration, angular rate, and
atmospheric pressure. Sensor measurements are processed through an Extended Kalman Filter
(EKF) to produce high accuracy computed outputs. The computed outputs vary between models
and include: pitch and roll in the 3DM-GX4-15™model, the full attitude solution (pitch, roll, and
yaw) in the 3DM-GX4-25™AHRS model, and the full PVA (position, velocity and attitude) solution
in the 3DM-GX4-45™GPS-INS model. The Kalman filter provide Adaptive EKF technologies to
compensate for magnetic and linear acceleration anomalies, as applicable to the model. It also
provides sensor bias tracking, auto-zero update options (ZUPT), and user adjustable sensor noise
factors. All sensors are fully temperature compensated and calibrated over the full operating
temperature range
The use of Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) technology allows for small, lightweight
devices. Sensors are integrated into customer systems using serial communication protocols such
as RS232 and USB. The LORD MicroStrain ®MIPMonitor software can be used for device
configuration, real time measurement monitoring, and data recording. The LORD MicroStrain®
MIPData Communications Protocol that is used to communicate with LORD MicroStrain®inertial
sensors is also available for users who want to develop customized software solutions. Because of
the unified set of commands across the sensor family, it is easy to migrate code from one inertial
sensor to another.
Common applications of LORD MicroStrain ®inertial sensor products include vehicle health
monitoring, platform stabilization, down- hole and drilling operations, and inertial navigation
systems such as unmanned air and ground vehicles and personal navigation systems.

3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Mesurement Unit User Manual Sensor Overview
7
2. Sensor Overview
The 3DM - GX4 - 15 ™is a high- performance, miniature vertical gyroscope and Inertial
Measurement Unit (IMU) that combines micro inertial sensors for use in a wide range of industrial
grade applications such as unmanned vehicle navigation, robotic control, platform stabilization,
motion tracking and analysis, vehicle health monitoring, and device aiming.
The 3DM-GX4-15™utilizes the strengths of integrated multi-axis gyroscopes and accelerometers
in combination with temperature, and pressure readings to provide high accuracy inertial
measurements. Each of the integrated sensors is especially good at certain tasks, and it is the
weighted combination of their outputs that provides the best estimations outputs. All sensor
measurements are temperature compensated and are mathematically aligned to an orthogonal
coordinate system. The combination of sensors, environmental compensation and dual on-board
processing with an Adaptive Kalman Filter (AKF) allow the 3DM-GX4-15™to perform well in a
wide variety of applications that require low noise, drift, gain, and offset errors. Uncertainty
monitoring, and bias estimation outputs are available, and settings for sensor filtering, sensor
noise, sensor bias, and more offer many adjustments for specific application needs.
The 3DM-GX4-15™communicates through a serial communications cable and is monitored by a
host computer. Sensor measurements and computed outputs can be viewed and recorded with
the LORD MicroStrain®MIPMonitor software that is provided with system starter kits, and also
available as a free download from the LORD MicroStrain®website. Alternatively, users can write
custom software with the LORD MicroStrain®open source data communication protocol. The
data is time-aligned and available by either polling or continuous stream.
Figure 1 - 3DM-GX4-15™Sensor

3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Mesurement Unit User Manual Sensor Overview
8
2.1 Components
The 3DM -GX4 -15™can be purchased by itself or in a starter kit that includes everything
needed to begin using it. The starter kits include the 3DM-GX4-15™inertial sensor, a serial
communications cable (either RS232 or USB), a power supply with country plug adapter
(RS232 kits only), and all software, drivers, and documentation. This manual covers all items
included in the starter kits. For a complete list of available configurations, accessories,
additional system products and ordering information see Parts and Configurations on page 51.
Item Description Quantity
A3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Sensor 1
BCommunications cable (USB or RS232) 1
CPower supply and country plug adapters (for RS232 only) 1
-- MIPMonitor Software Suite 1
-- User Manual, Quick Start Guide and Calibration Certificate 1
Table 1 - Components List

3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Mesurement Unit User Manual Sensor Overview
9
2.2 Interface and Indicators
The 3DM-GX4-15™sensor interface is a dual use communications and power input connector.
The sensor is mounted using the mounting and alignment holes as needed (see Sensor
Mounting on page 38).
The indicators on the 3DM - GX4 - 15 ™include a device status indicator and the device
information label. Table 2 - Indicator Behaviors describes the basic status indicator behavior.
The device information label includes the sensor frame diagram (axis orientation) which will be
critical during device installation (see Sensor Frame on page 29).
Figure 2 - Interface and Indicators
Indicator Behavior Device Status
device status
indicator
OFF no power applied
rapid flash streaming data
slow pulse idle mode, awaiting commands
Table 2 - Indicator Behaviors

3DM-GX4-15™Inertial Mesurement Unit User Manual Basic Setup and Operations
10
3. Basic Setup and Operations
To acquire sensor measurements and computed outputs, the 3DM-GX4-15™is used with a host
computer capable of serial communication, and a software interface. The LORD MicroStrain®
MIPMonitor software is provided with the system and includes all functions needed for sensor
configuration and data acquisition. Users may also utilize the LORD MicroStrain ®MIPData
Communications Protocol to write custom software applications with expanded or specific feature
sets needed for the application. MIPMonitor includes a message building tool that can be used to
streamline this process. For more information see OEMSystemIntegration on page 39.
In this section hardware and software setup is described, including an overview of the MIPMonitor
software menus required to configure a sensor and begin data acquisition. It is intended as a quick
start guide and is not a complete demonstration of all system or software features and capabilities.
Figure 3 - Acquiring Sensor Data with MIPMonitor