Custom firmware helps with smart motor programming

Moog Animatics has designed Class 5 SmartMotor firmware to accept DMX protocol and can use multiple SmartMotors on the same network as well as simplify programming with advanced motion control features.

June 4, 2013

Moog Animatics has designed custom Class 5 SmartMotor firmware to accept DMX protocol, which is designed to bring integrated motion control to the entertainment industry.

DMX512 is a standard for digital communication that’s most often used in entertainment to control lighting and stage effects. A single DMX controller has 512 8-bit channels (commonly called a universe) with each channel capable of controlling color, focus, intensity, on/off, pan and tilt and more. Custom DMX firmware allows the SmartMotor to be programmed by the user to read any range of channels and ignore channels not assigned. Multiple SmartMotors on the same network can read separate or overlapping DMX channels where multiple channel ranges can be read and data can be stored in variables to set parameters for motion.

The DMX capability simplifies programming with advanced motion control features such as phase offset, cubic spline interpolation and advanced gearing and camming can be triggered off of the DMX input. As fully integrated motion control benefits include smaller machine footprint and reduced cabling, the odds of DMX false triggers from electromagnetic interference or extensive cable lengths are greatly reduced. The entire motion control system becomes more compact with no control cabinet needed and axes can be easily added without the limitations of choosing a 4-, 6- or 8- axis controller. 

Moog Animatics

www.animatics.com 

www.moog.com 

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