THORLABS MMR601 User manual

HA0117T
MMR601, MMR602
Modular Rack
User Guide
Original Instructions

Page 0
Contents
Chaper 1 Introduction .................................................................................................1
Chaper 2 Safety ...........................................................................................................2
2.1 Safety Information ..............................................................................2
2.2 General Warnings ...............................................................................2
Chaper 3 Overview ......................................................................................................3
3.1 Rack System Description ...................................................................3
3.1.1 Building Larger Scale Systems ............................................................... 3
3.1.2 Ease of Use ............................................................................................ 3
3.2 Kinesis Software Overview ................................................................4
3.2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 4
3.2.2 Kinesis Server ......................................................................................... 4
3.2.3 Software Upgrades ................................................................................. 6
3.3 Front Panel Controls ..........................................................................6
3.4 Rear Panel Controls ...........................................................................7
Chaper 4 Installation and Set Up ...............................................................................8
4.1 Installing Software ..............................................................................8
4.2 General Precautions ...........................................................................9
4.2.1 Siting ....................................................................................................... 9
4.2.2 Environmental Conditions ....................................................................... 9
4.3 Mechanical Installation ....................................................................10
4.3.1 Mounting ............................................................................................... 10
4.3.2 Blanking plates ..................................................................................... 10
4.3.3 Fitting a module .................................................................................... 10
4.3.4 Removing a module .............................................................................. 11
4.4 Electrical Installation ........................................................................12
4.4.1 Connecting the Rack and Controller ..................................................... 12
4.4.2 Connecting To The Supply ................................................................... 12
4.4.3 Bonding ................................................................................................. 12
4.4.4 Fuses .................................................................................................... 12
4.5 Selecting the Stage Type .................................................................13
Chaper 5 Preventive Maintenance ...........................................................................15
5.1 Safety Testing ...................................................................................15
5.2 Cleaning .............................................................................................15
Chaper 6 Specifications and Associated Products ...............................................16
6.1 Specifications ...................................................................................16
6.2 Associated Products ........................................................................16
Appendix A Using the APT Software ..........................................................17
Appendix B Regulatory ................................................................................22
Appendix C Thorlabs Worldwide Contacts ................................................23

Rev F Mar 2019 Page 1
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 1 Introduction
Thorlabs has an extensive range of one-, two- and three-axis controllers for stepper
motor and piezo actuator control. Increasingly, production of optoelectronic
components requires fully automated or semiautomated control of a large number of
mechanical stages. In such applications, it is often more convenient to use a modular
system of controllers to drive a modular system.
The Thorlabs Modular Motion Control System has been developed to meet the
challenges of the modern optoelectronic production environment and provides
unsurpassed ease of installation, reconfiguration, flexibility and upgradability.
The modular rack system provides a highly functional 12 channel platform within the
‘footprint’ of a 4U high, 19” wide enclosure. With a unified power supply and a USB
communications interface, the rack system is easily incorporated into larger custom
applications. The MMR601 Rack is supplied without a cover, ready for installation into
a standard 19 in. frame. The MMR602 is supplied with a cover and rubber feet for
benchtop use.

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APT Modular Rack
Chapter 2 Safety
2.1 Safety Information
For the continuing safety of the operators of this equipment, and the protection of the
equipment itself, the operator should take note of the Warnings, Cautions and Notes
throughout this handbook and, where visible, on the product itself.
The following safety symbols may be used throughout the handbook and on the
equipment itself.
The following safety symbols may be used throughout the handbook and on the
equipment itself.
2.2 General Warnings
Warning: Risk of Electrical Shock
Given when there is a risk of injury from electrical shock.
Warning
Given when there is a risk of injury to users.
Caution
Given when there is a risk of damage to the product.
Note
Clarification of an instruction or additional information.
Warning
If this equipment is used in a manner not specified by the manufacturer, the
protection provided by the equipment may be impaired. In particular, excessive
moisture may impair operation.
Spillage of fluid, such as sample solutions, should be avoided. If spillage does
occur, clean up immediately using absorbant tissue. Do not allow spilled fluid to
enter the internal mechanism.

Rev F Mar 2019 Page 3
Chapter 3 Overview
Chapter 3 Overview
3.1 Rack System Description
3.1.1 Building Larger Scale Systems
The unrestricted configuration flexibility offered by the rack allows any combination of
the 2-channel stepper motor controller, piezoelectric driver and NanoTrak control
modules to be fitted for specific nanopositioning and alignment applications. For
example, a system configured to operate our MAX683 6-axis nanopositioning stage,
which has six stepper motors and six piezoelectric actuators with displacement
sensors, would require 12 channels of motion control. Using three stepper motor
modules, each with two channels, provides the motor control; using two piezoelectric
controller modules and one NanoTrak controller module would power all 6 of the
piezoelectric actuators while also taking advantage of the position sensors.
Additionally, the NanoTrak module provides the full range of features offered by a fully
operational auto-alignment system. All this functionality fits into the single chassis that
measures just 4U in height.
Please see the documentation supplied with the various module products for further
details.
3.1.2 Ease of Use
The rack system architecture, hardware and software has been skilfully engineered
to provide an efficient and effective solution to complex high channel count
applications.
The rack presents a clean, uncluttered front panel, with six rear mounting bays for the
plug-in modules. The backplane of the rack connects all modules and the control PC
via a standard USB bus. This arrangement greatly simplifies the cable management
issues that arise as the number of channels expands.
A flexible and energy efficient integral power supply powers all of the modules
allowing for an adaptable, “mix-and-match” choice of module type, location and
combination. These features greatly enhance ease-of-use, and provide an
unparalleled flexibility for future system upgrades or reconfigurations. Each module is
equipped with an on-board DSP embedded processor; as modules (channels of
operation) are added, processing power is also added, hence the system is able to
maintain maximum operating efficiency even when fully loaded.
Due to the inherent architecture of the system, additional racks can be added to the
USB bus as required, thus allowing multiple, fully automated 6-axis positioning
stages to be combined into a single unified motion control system.
The PC based software that is used to drive the system operates from the same
multithreaded server code and associated suite of high level user applications used
to drive our range of stand-alone bench top controllers. This makes it possible to offer
effortless code-porting and concurrent control of bench top and rack controllers.

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The software is rigorously engineered using modern object oriented techniques,
ensuring programming environment independence and compatibility with a large
number of third party development tools.
All key high level commands, settings and
system parameters are exposed through a set of software functions. These exposed
functions allow the modular electronics system to be 'driven' from applications written
by the user without the need to understand or alter the core system software.
The following sections detail the operation of the rack using of the Kinesis software.
For details using the legacy APT software please see Appendix A.
3.2 Kinesis Software Overview
3.2.1 Introduction
The controllers fitted in the MMR601 rack share many of the benefits of the Thorlabs
range of motor, piezo and auto-alignment controllers. These include USB connectivity
(allowing multiple units to be used together on a single PC), fully featured Graphical
User Interface (GUI) panels, and extensive software function libraries for custom
application development.
The Kinesis software suite provides a flexible and powerful PC based control system
both for users of the equipment, and software programmers aiming to automate its
operation.
The User Interface allows full control of all settings and operating modes enabling
complete ‘out-of-box’ operation without the need to develop any further custom
software. It provides all of the necessary system software services such as generation
of GUI panels, communications handling for multiple USB units, and logging of all
system activity to assist in hardware trouble shooting. The Kinesis server is also used
by software developers to allow the creation of advanced automated positioning
applications very rapidly and with great ease.
3.2.2 Kinesis Server
Kinesis controls are re-usable compiled software components that supply both a
graphical user interface and a programmable interface. Many such Controls are
available for Windows applications development, providing a large range of re-usable
functionality. For example, there are Controls available that can be used to
manipulate image files, connect to the internet or simply provide user interface
components such as buttons and list boxes.
With the Kinesis system, .Net Controls are deployed to allow direct control over (and
also reflect the status of) the range of electronic controller units, including the BSC201
series controllers. Software applications that use .Net Controls are often referred to
as 'client applications'. A .Net Control is a language independent software
component. Consequently the controls can be incorporated into a wide range of
software development environments for use by client application developers.
Development environments supported include Visual Basic, Labview, Visual C++,
C++ Builder, HPVEE, Matlab, VB.NET, C#.NET
and, via VBA, Microsoft Office
applications such as Excel and Word.

Rev F Mar 2019 Page 5
Chapter 3 Overview
Consider the control supplied for the MST602 stepper motor control module.
This Control provides a complete user graphical instrument panel to allow the stage
to be manually operated, as well as a complete set of software functions (often called
methods) to allow all parameters to be set and motor operations to be automated by
a client application. The instrument panel reflects the current operating state of the
controller unit to which it is associated (e.g. such as motor position). Updates to the
panel take place automatically when a user (client) application is making software
calls into the same Control. For example, if a client application instructs the
associated stage to move, the progress of that move is reflected automatically by
changing position readouts on the graphical interface, without the need for further
programming intervention.
The Kinesis Controls collection provides a rich set of graphical user panels and
programmable interfaces allowing users and client application developers to interact
seamlessly with the Kinesis hardware. Each of the Kinesis controllers has an
associated .Net Control and these are described fully in the handbooks associated
with the controllers.
Fig. 3.1 System Architecture Diagram

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Refer to the main Kinesis Software online help file, for a complete programmers guide
and reference material on using the Kinesis Controls collection. This is available
either by pressing the F1 key when running the Kinesis server, or via the Start menu,
Start\Programs\Thorlabs\Kinesis\Kinesis Help.
3.2.3 Software Upgrades
Thorlabs operate a policy of continuous product development and may issue software
upgrades as necessary.
3.3 Front Panel Controls
Fig. 3.2 Modular rack front panel
Power LED - Indicates that power is applied to the unit.
Channel Keys - Used to enable/disable channels of the modules fitted in Bays 1 to
6. The associated LED is lit when the channel is enabled. In the case of the motor
controllers, disabling the channel allows the motor actuator to be operated manually.
Disabling channels on piezo and NanoTrak controllers sends their respective HV
outputs to zero volts. See Fig. 3.2 for information on associating channel keys with
bay locations.
ModularRack
apt
APT Rack viewed from the rear
Bay 1 Bay 2
Bay 3 Bay 4
Bay 5 Bay 6
Bay 1
1 2
Bay 2
1 2
Bay 3
1 2
Bay 4
1 2
Bay 5
1 2
Bay 6
1 2
modular rack modular rack
aptapt
Power

Rev F Mar 2019 Page 7
Chapter 3 Overview
3.4 Rear Panel Controls
Fig. 3.3 Modular rack rear panel
Bonding Point - used to electrically bond one or more racks together (or with other
equipment) to eliminate circulating earth (ground) currents. Do not connect to the
main power supply ground.
USB - USB port for system communications with a host control PC.
USB
Fuse Rating
T10A H250V
Antisurge Ceramic
Power Input
1500 VA
85 - 264 V~
47 - 63 Hz
bonding point
EXT IN (-)
PIEZO IN USER I/O
DRIVE CHANNEL 1 DRIVE CHANNEL 2
PIEZO IN
EXT IN (+) HV OUT EXT IN (-)EXT IN (+)
EXT IN (-)
USER I/O
ANNEL 1 DRIVE CHANNEL 2
PIEZO IN
EXT IN (+) HV OUT EXT IN (-)EXT IN (+)
DRIVE CHANNEL 2
MOTOR I/O
L1
L2
Model No.
MST601
Model No.
MNA601
Model No.
MPZ601
USB port

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Chapter 4 Installation and Set Up
4.1 Installing Software
DO NOT CONNECT THE STAGE TO YOUR PC YET
1) Download the software from www.thorlabs.com.
2) Locate the downloaded setup.exe file and move to a suitable file location.
3) Double-click the setup.exe file and follow the on-screen instructions.
Caution
If your PC becomes unresponsive (e.g due to an operating system problem,
entering a sleep state condition, or screen saver operation) for a prolonged
period, this may interrupt communication between the Software and the
hardware, and a communications error may be generated. To minimize the
possibility of this happening it is strongly recommended that any such modes
that result in prolonged unresponsiveness be disabled before the software is
run. Please consult your system administrator or contact Thorlabs technical
support for more details.
Caution
Some PCs may have been configured to restrict the users ability to load
software, and on these systems the software may not install/run. If you are in
any doubt about your rights to install/run software, please consult your system
administrator before attempting to install.
If you experience any problems when installing software, contact Thorlabs on
[phone] and ask for Technical Support.