Tolomatic, Inc. - Electric Linear Motion FAQs

Rodless screw-drive actuators range anywhere from 29 to 120 inches depending upon body style and screw/nut selection. Rod screw and guided screw actuators range from 12 to 60 inches depending upon body style and screw/nut selection. Belt-drive actuators range from 92 to 292 inches depending upon body style selected.

How do I add/subtract loads from a motion profile?

Select "Advanced Sizing," and from the Edit Motion Profile screen, select the move segment to be changed, and "Assign Additional Load/Force." Fill in the blanks on that screen.

I need a working stroke of 10 inches, what stroke should I use in sizing?

Tol-O-Matic, INC. recommends that actuators are sized two inches longer than the working stroke. This will allow room for end of travel switches and prevent actuator from bottoming out.

I am using external rails, what should I enter for the load?

Select "Load supported by external mechanism", and enter the weight of the load. You will also need to calculate the opposing force using the load weight and the coefficient of friction between the load and the external rails

Why doesn't the Axiom Drive auto tuning work?

The auto tuning will not work for some applications due to system variations and dynamic loads. Use the manual tune feature to tune these systems.

How accurate can I be with a linear LVDT or such analog type device?

Resolution = stroke (in inches) / 4,096. For example, for a 12 inch actuator, resolution is 12 / 4,096 = .0029". Call Tol-O-Matic for better resolution.

How can I decrease my gluing time cycle time and still follow my contoured pattern with a x-y axis?

Some gluing applications require high speed gluing. This sometime causes problems when applying glue into 90 degree corner or other type contouring patterns. By using a third axis (SSC3) and a analog gluing gun, you can scale your glue flow rate by using the 3rd axis analog command output signal on the SSC. This way you can rapidly glue linear sections at a high rate of speed and slow down the x-y axis for the contour moves and set the glue feed rate at a lower flow rate into the corners.

How can I run my program from my laptop and watch the I/O activate during my initial debugging?

You can see it through the display mode in the SSC software.

How can I query the controller serially to find out what position I am in real time?

From the terminal mode enter MG_TPX, X being the axis of the inquiry. Or simply use the display screen.

I have a light curtain for safety reasons to shut down the system instantly if someone sticks their hand in the work area. How can I have it be active all the time while my program is running?

Use the Execute command to start a separate thread to monitor that input or use the input interrupt subroutine.

If my end of travel switches fail due to dirty environment or cut wire, how can I use Software limits?

Software limits are included under System Limits. If a move ever commands the system to go outside of the software limits, the controller will recognize the error and not complete the move.

I have several patterns that use multiple x-y and z coordinates to define each pattern. (i.e. Each pattern varies from 50 to 250 x-y-z elements.) How can I develop a program easily without enteri

Variables can be used instead of exact values. If the patterns are based on incremental values, an array can be set up with the relative distance between points setup within the variables. For example, you could set up an array named xpos with 5 data points. Set xpos[1] to 6.0. Assuming an incremental value of 4, numbers 2 - 5 become 10, 14, 18, and 22 using a counting variable and a loop.

Upon motion, my actuator takes off and slams into the end cap in an uncontrolled motion. What could be the problem?

Your motor and/or encoder may be miss-wired.

How can I get more than 8 selectable programs via the 8 inputs?

The 7 analog inputs can be used with a voltage source and a switch. You can run additional programs based on the voltage value (for example > 4 volts or < 2 volts, instead of "ON" or "OFF" when using a 5 volt power supply).

What is the inertia ratio?

Inertia ratio is a comparison between the weight, or inertia, of the load to be moved and the motor. Industry standard is within 0.1 < Inertia Ratio < 10 for servos and 0.9 < Inertia Ratio < 10 for steppers.