Zaber T-joy User manual

T-JOY Joystick

User’s Manual

Firmware Version 5.00 and up

This manual covers only model T-JOY

Document Revision: 2006-11-23

Visit www.zaber.com for more recent updates

Zaber Technologies Inc.

2891 Steveston Hwy

Richmond, BC, V7E 2J1

Canada

1ZABER T-SERIES PRODUCTS....................................................................................................... 3

1.1 T-SERIES SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................................................ 4

1.2 T-JOY SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................................................... 4

2FIRMWARE VERSION INFORMATION...................................................................................... 4

3CAUTION............................................................................................................................................ 4

4INITIAL SETUP AND TESTING..................................................................................................... 5

5INSTALLATION................................................................................................................................6

6CONTROL THROUGH THE RS-232 PORT.................................................................................. 7

7COMMAND QUICK REFERENCE ................................................................................................ 8

8DETAILED COMMAND REFERENCE....................................................................................... 10

8.1 RESET (#0)................................................................................................................................. 10

8.2 RENUMBER (#2)......................................................................................................................... 10

8.3 SET ACTIVE AXIS (#25).............................................................................................................. 11

8.4 SET AXIS UNIT NUMBER (#26)................................................................................................... 12

8.5 SET AXIS INVERSION (#27) ........................................................................................................ 13

8.6 SET AXIS VELOCITY PROFILE (#28)........................................................................................... 14

8.7 SET AXIS VELOCITY SCALE (#29).............................................................................................. 15

8.8 LOAD EVENT-TRIGGERED INSTRUCTION (#30) .......................................................................... 16

8.9 RETURN EVENT-TRIGGERED INSTRUCTION (#31) ...................................................................... 20

8.10 CALIBRATE JOYSTICK (#33)....................................................................................................... 21

8.11 RESTORE /LOCK /UNLOCK SETTINGS (#36) .............................................................................. 22

8.12 SET DEVICE MODE (#40) ........................................................................................................... 23

8.13 SET ALIAS (#48)......................................................................................................................... 24

8.14 RETURN DEVICE ID (#50).......................................................................................................... 25

8.15 RETURN FIRMWARE VERSION (#51)........................................................................................... 25

8.16 RETURN POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE (#52) .................................................................................. 25

8.17 RETURN SETTING (#53).............................................................................................................. 25

8.18 ECHO DATA (#55)...................................................................................................................... 26

9REPLY-ONLY REFERENCE......................................................................................................... 27

9.1 REPLY #255 –ERROR................................................................................................................. 27

10 ERROR CODES............................................................................................................................... 28

11 LED INDICATORS.......................................................................................................................... 28

12 TROUBLESHOOTING................................................................................................................... 29

12.1 T-SERIES GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS............................................................................ 29

12.2 T-JOY SPECIFIC TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS................................................................................. 30

13 DATA CABLE PINTOUT DIAGRAM .......................................................................................... 31

14 WARRANTY .................................................................................................................................... 32

15 REPAIRS AND RETURNS ............................................................................................................. 32

16 EMAIL UPDATES ........................................................................................................................... 32

17 DISCLAIMER .................................................................................................................................. 32

18 TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND CONTACT .................................................................................. 32

Page 2 of 32

1 ZABER T-SERIES PRODUCTS

T-JOY Joystick Controller T-CON3 – Stand Alone Device Controller

Customers may use either of the above products or a computer with RS232 serial communications to

control various combinations of the devices below.

T-LA Series – Linear Actuators T-CD Series – 2 Phase Stepper Motor Controllers

T-LS Series – Linear Stages T-LLS Series – Long Travel Linear Slides

T-MM Series – Motorized Mirror Mounts T-NM Series – Steppers with built-in Controllers

For more information on any of these products or to sign up for our quarterly email newsletter with product

updates and promotions, please visit http://www.zaber.com.

Page 3 of 32

1.1 T-Series Specifications

The following specifications apply to all T-Series devices:

Power Supply: 12V nominal (10V to 16V acceptable) DC unregulated supply on 2.1 mm, center

positive power connector.

Communications: RS232, 9600 baud, no parity, one stop bit on 6-pin mini din cable, male towards the

computer, female towards the next unit

1.2 T-JOY Specifications

The following specifications are specific to T-JOY devices

Current Draw: 50 mA

Joystick Controllable Axes: 3

User Configurable Buttons: 5

Visual Feedback: Power LED (green) and Com LED (yellow)

Dimensions: 200 x 122 x 102 mm (L x W x H)

Weight: 350g

Compatibility

Device Firmware version Compatibility

T-CON All None

All T-Series

except T-CON 1.00 to 4.99 None

All T-Series

except T-CON 5.00 to 5.03 Partial *

All T-Series

except T-CON 5.04 and up Full

* T-Series devices with firmware version 5.00 to 5.03 may be used with the T-JOY, however their

command set lacks two useful instructions that were added in version 5.04: Save Current Postion, and Go

To Saved Position. These instructions are particularly useful in conjunction with the T-JOY since any

button on the T-JOY may be programmed to issue these instructions to all connected units in order to store

and recall a position in 3 dimensional space.

2 FIRMWARE VERSION INFORMATION

The version of firmware installed on any Zaber T-Series device can be determined by issuing command

#51. A three-digit number will be returned. Assume 2 decimal places (ex a reply of 504 indicates firmware

version 5.04). This user’s manual applies only to T-JOY devices with firmware version 5.04 and up. This is

the most recent version as of this printing; however newer firmware versions may have since been released.

Due to the addition of new features, newer versions of firmware may not be 100% compatible with older

versions. For more information on firmware versions that may have been released since the printing of this

manual, please check the support section of Zaber’s website where user’s manuals for all versions of

firmware are posted for download.

3 CAUTION

Zaber devices are precision instruments and must be handled with care. Avoid using excessive force or

rapid motion when manipulating the joystick or buttons. Do not force the connectors; when properly

aligned, only a gentle force should be needed to achieve connection.

Page 4 of 32

4 INITIAL SETUP AND TESTING

When you first receive your T-JOY, you may wish to perform a few simple steps to familiarize yourself

with its operation. First you will need a power supply. If you did not order one with your device, you will

require a power supply with output voltage between 10 and 16V DC. The power input accepts a standard

2.1mm center positive connector. Most unregulated 12V AC-to-DC adapters output around 16V under light

current draw, dropping to 12V at their rated current. Some may output higher voltages and will not be

suitable. The chosen power supply must also be rated to handle the maximum total current draw of the

devices connected to it. For example, if you have one T-JOY joystick and 2 T-LA28A actuators daisy-

chained together with a single power supply, you will need at least 690 mA (50mA for the joystick and 320

mA for each actuator). The current draw of each device is given in the specifications section of the user’s

manual for the device. When powering long chains of devices, we recommend connecting a power supply

to every second or third device in the chain to reduce the current through the data cables.

Once you have a working power supply, you can test the operation of the T-JOY. Connect the power

supply to the joystick and ensure that the green LED turns on indicating power. Move the joystick from left

to right, forward and back, and rotate the handle counterclockwise and clockwise. Also try pressing the

buttons. As you perform each of these actions you should notice the yellow LED blinking indicating

communications are taking place. Each blink corresponds to a single instruction being sent by the joystick.

This is the extent of the testing you can perform without connecting other devices to interpret and execute

the instructions being sent by the T-JOY, or connecting a computer to communicate with the T-JOY.

Page 5 of 32

5 INSTALLATION

During normal operation, the T-JOY joystick does not need to be connected to a computer, however, it

must be connected to a computer initially in order to change it’s settings (for example to change button

functions from the defaults or to change what additional devices will be controlled by each axis of the

joystick). Devices that will be used with the joystick must also be connected so that the computer may issue

a renumber instruction which assigns all connected devices a unique unit number. This is necessary so that

the T-JOY can direct instructions to the appropriate device to control the correct axis of motion.

Step 1. Plug the Mini-DIN to D-Sub serial adapter into your

computer’s serial port and plug the longer T-JOY data cable (male

end) into the adapter. You may need to use a cable extension to reach

your computer.

There is no need to power-down or reboot the computer. USB-to-

RS232 converters are available if you have no RS232 serial port.

Step 2. Connect at least one additional T-Series device to the shorter

T-JOY data cable (female end). Connect the power plug of your

power supply (2.1mm center positive) to the power connector of the

T-JOY. The green LED should light on the T-JOY and any connected

T-Series devices (note: not all T-Series devices have LEDs).

Depending on the number of devices connected, you may need to

connect additional power supplies. We recommend connecting a

power supply to every second or third unit to reduce current draw

through the data cables.

Step 3. Install a demo program from the included CD, or download

one from the support section of our website http://www.zaber.com.

Follow the instructions in the readme file to install and run the

program.

As a simple first test, try entering these instructions:

Unit Cmd Data Description

0 2 0 Renumber all units

2 1 0 Home unit number 2

Page 6 of 32

6 CONTROL THROUGH THE RS-232 PORT

Your communications settings must be: 9600 baud, no hand shaking, 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit.

The amber LED will light when there is activity on the RS232 lines. When the yellow LED on the T-JOY

blinks it indicates either the computer has sent an instruction, or the T-JOY has sent an instruction (due to

movement of the joystick or the buttons). We recommend using the sample Visual Basic 6 program

included with Zaber products. It also contains source code that you can use as an example for writing your

own code to control your specific system.

Important: After daisy-chaining new devices to the T-JOY, or rearranging the order of the devices, you

must assign each unit a unique identifier by issuing a renumber instruction after all the units in the chain are

powered up. You must not transmit any instructions while the daisy-chain is renumbering or the

renumbering routine may be corrupted. Renumbering takes less than a second, after which you may start

issuing instructions to the T-JOY and any additional devices in the daisy-chain.

All instructions consist of a group of 6 bytes. They must be transmitted with less than 10 ms between each

byte. If the unit has received less than 6 bytes and then a period longer than 10 ms passes, it ignores the

bytes already received. We recommended that your software behave similarly when receiving data from the

devices, especially in a noisy environment like a pulsed laser lab.

The following table shows the instruction format:

Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3 Byte 4 Byte 5 Byte 6

Unit # Command # Data (Least

Significant

Byte, LSB)

Data Data Data (Most

Significant

Byte, MSB)

The first byte is the unit number in the chain. After renumbering, unit number 1 is the closest unit to the

computer and unit number 2 is next and so forth. If an instruction is sent to unit number 0 (byte1 = 0) all

the units in the chain will execute the accompanying command simultaneously.

The second byte is the command number. Bytes 3, 4, 5, and 6 are data. How the data bytes are interpreted

depends on the command. Complete details are given in the command reference on the following page.

Examples: Renumber all units: 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0

Home unit number 2: 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0

If you are using Zaber’s demo software, you will only see 3 entry fields: Unit#, Command#, and Data. The

Unit# and Command# fields accept integer values while the value you enter into the Data field can be

signed. The value in the data field is converted by the software to generate bytes 3, 4, 5 and 6 and then all 6

bytes are sent to the unit in sequence.

Most instructions cause the unit to reply with a return code. It is also a group of 6 bytes. The first byte is the

unit number. Byte 2 is the instruction just completed or 255 (0xFF) if an error occurs. Bytes 3, 4, 5 and 6

are data bytes in the same format as the instruction data byte.

Page 7 of 32

7 COMMAND QUICK REFERENCE

The command quick references below provides a list of available T-JOY commands at a glance. A Detailed

description of each command is given in the following section.

Note that a computer may also be used to control additional units in the daisy-chain. For a list of

instructions applicable to other devices, please consult the appropriate user’s manual.

Command Reference for the T-JOY:

# Command Data Bytes Reply Data Page

0 Reset Ignored None 10

2 Renumber* 0 or desired Device Address Device ID 10

25 Set Active Axis* 1, 2, or 3 or 0 to select all Echo of Command Data 11

26 Set Axis Unit Number* Unit number to control Echo of Command Data 12

27 Set Axis Inversion* 1, -1, or 0 to toggle 1 or -1 13

28 Set Axis Velocity Profile* 1, 2, 3, or 0 to toggle 1, 2, or 3 14

29 Set Axis Velocity Scale* Maximum Velocity

0 to disable axis Echo of Command Data 15

30 Set Key Trigger* Trigger number Echo of Command Data 16

31 Return Key Trigger Trigger number Stored function (the

complete command) 20

33 Calibration* 0, 1, or 2 Echo of Command Data 21

36 Restore Default Settings* 0 Echo of Command Data 22

40 Set Device Mode* Mode Configuration (see

below) Echo of Command Data 23

48 Set Alias* Alias Unit Number Echo of Command Data 24

50 Return Device ID Ignored Device ID 25

51 Return Firmware Version Ignored Firmware Version 25

52 Return Power Supply voltage Ignored Power Supply Voltage 25

53 Return Setting Setting Number Setting Value 25

55 Echo Data User defined Echo of Command Data 26

* The settings for these commands are saved in non-volatile memory, i.e. the setting persists even if the

device is powered down. To restore all settings to factory default, use command 36.

Page 8 of 32

Command #40, “Set Mode” Options for the T-JOY:

Data Bits Option Name Effect

0 (1s) Disable Auto-reply Disable ALL replies except to command 50 and

higher.

1 (2s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

2 (4s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

3 (8s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

4 (16s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

5 (32s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

6 (64s) Enable Logical Channels

Communication Mode Enable the Logical Channels Communication

Mode (see manual for more details).

7 (128s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

8 (256s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

9 (512s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

10 (1,024s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

11 (2,048s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

12 (4,096s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

13 (8,192s) Reserved This bit is reserved. Do not modify.

14 (16,384s) Disable Power (Green) LED Disables the power LED during operations.

15 (32,768s) Disable Serial (Yellow) LED Disables the serial LED during operations.

Reply-Only Reference for the T-JOY:

Reply # Data Bytes Reply Data Page

Error 255 N/A. Reply-only. Error code 27

Page 9 of 32

8 DETAILED COMMAND REFERENCE

Note that these commands apply only to T-JOY series firmware versions 5.00 and up. To determine which

version of firmware you have simply issue the “return firmware version” (command 51). Many of the

commands described below will work with other firmware versions, however behavior may differ. See the

appropriate user’s manual for the version of firmware on your device.

8.1 Reset (#0)

Firmware Version: Version 5.00 and up

Command Number: 0

Data Bytes: Ignored

Reply Data: None

This sets the device to its power-up condition. It has the same effect as unplugging and restarting the unit.

All non-volatile settings (i.e. Unit Number, Joystick Calibration, etc.) are saved and are not affected by

reset or power-down.

8.2 Renumber (#2)

Firmware Version: Version 5.00 and up

Command Number: 2

Data Bytes: If issued to all units: Ignored.

If issued to a single unit: new number.

Reply Data: Each unit affected replies with its device ID after renumbering.

Note: The unit number is stored in non-volatile memory and will persist after power-

down or reset.

If issued with a 0 in Byte 1, the data bytes are ignored and all units will renumber. The unit closest to the

computer becomes number 1. The next unit becomes number 2 and so forth. If issued with a number other

than 0 in byte 1, the specified unit will reassign itself the unit number specified in the data bytes.

Renumbering takes less than a second during which time the computer must not send any further data. The

unit number is stored in non-volatile memory so you can renumber once and not worry about issuing the

renumber instruction on each power-up. Even if the order of devices in the daisy-chain is physically

changed, the unit numbers most recently assigned to each device will persist.

Page 10 of 32

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Zaber T-JOY User manual

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