Motion Commander Foundation

THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Delta Tau’s new Power PMAC NC 14 is based on the Motion Commander Foundation (MCF)
.NET framework for machine control applications.
• Sophisticated and reliable
Power PMAC and Turbo PMAC
support
• Modern WPF graphics
• Explorer-style view of data
• Extensive Diagnostic Tools
• Foreign Language Translation
• MTConnect agent
MCF enables the developer to focus on the process logic and UI of the machine.
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
How to Create an MCF Application
Step 1: New Project Templates
Step 2: Machine Definition
Step 3: Operator Panels (WPF or WinForms)
Step 4: Wire Up the Operator Panels
Step 5: Integration and Test
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Step 1: New Project Templates
“MCF Application for Delta Tau” project templates create new C# and Visual Basic machine
control applications for Power PMAC and Turbo PMAC. The templates include a simple
Machine definition and an example operator panel that is ready to build and run.
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Step 2: Machine Definition
The Machine is a hierarchy of PMAC variables and other data required by the application.
Data types include floats, integers, bools, enum lists and strings – as well as more
complex objects such as files and alarms. Descriptions, units, min/max, update rates
and other information is specified in the member definitions.
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Machine View
Machine View is an Explorer-style view of the live data during runtime.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Navigate between Machine View and the User Interface.
Move the User Interface to a Separate Window.
Open/Close Communications and control the update cycle.
Toggle Full Screen mode.
Open the About Box for version information.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Open the member page in a Separate Window.
Log changes in value to the Message Log.
Open the time-stamped list of changes in value.
Edit the program Settings.
View the Message Log.
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Step 3: Operator Panels
Create your Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) or WinForms operator panels in
Visual Studio in the normal way, then add them to the application as shown below.
Your operator panels will appear next to Machine View in the left edge tabs.*
* Machine View and the navigation tabs are only visible to technician-level users and above.
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Step 4: Wire Up the Operator Panels
Operator panels obtain references to members defined in the Machine, then use their
Value properties to set and get values.
Machine members raise “Changed” events when their values change. Operator panels
use event handler methods to update their displays.
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Step 5: Integration and Test
MCF includes a comprehensive set of diagnostic tools for viewing live data during
application development and integration.
• Terminal for PMAC Commands
• Linux Terminal to Power PMAC
• Log Changes in Variable Values
• Strip Chart Plotting Tools
• Low-Level Data Logger
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Internationalization
Add internationalization support to your WPF Pages with only a few lines of code!
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Power PMAC or Turbo PMAC
MCF-based applications work with the two controllers via a very similar interface.
They both respond to commands and download motion programs (conventional and
rotary buffer). Differences are handled down at the driver level. For example, SFTP
file transfers for Power PMAC and PcommServer downloads for Turbo PMAC.
This feature enables machine control applications to be written to work with both
controllers for a convenient migration path from Turbo to Power!
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Reliable and Proven Communications
• Power PMAC via secure SSH and SFTP protocols
Conventional and rotary buffer downloads, block queries
• Turbo PMAC via the Delta Tau PcommServer driver
DPRAM register access, binary rotary buffer downloads, block queries
• Modbus TCP Master Driver for integrating additional I/O
Holding registers, input registers, coils and discrete inputs
• MTConnect Agent for publishing live process data to supervisory systems
• Source code samples for adding additional device support
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Machines running MCF-based applications can publish live process data to supervisory
systems via the MTConnect standard. MTConnect Agent support can be added to
MCF applications with one line of code. Process data to be published is specified in a
configuration file.
MTConnect is a read-only standard, meaning that it only defines the extraction
(reading) of data from control devices, not the writing of data to a control device.
However, the Motion Commander Foundation MTConnect agent includes an
extension to the standard that allows commands to be sent to the application via
HTTP. For example, this capability would enable part programs to be loaded remotely
over a secure network.
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
Since 2012…
•Milling crowns
• Aerospace drilling
• Device testing
• Fly cutting
• 3D printing
• EDM
THE
Bruce Greene
Power
of Motion
Motion
Commander Foundation
.NET framework for machine control applications
• Compatible with Windows 7 or newer (64-bit or 32-bit)
(MCF apps will run on Windows XP at reduced performance.)
• Visual Studio 2010 or newer (Express or Professional)
• C# or Visual Basic, WPF or WinForms
• Dropbox distribution, NuGet updates, GitHub collaboration
• The framework is stable (used for projects since 2012) and
is being actively innovated (used for Power PMAC NC 14)
• $3,000 for a developer’s license and $245 for runtime licenses
• Training and contract development services are available
www.MotionCommander.com

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