Hello. We have 2 SmartMotor 2340D units with firmware 415C that aren't responding correctly. One is receiving power because the LEDs are illuminated on the motor. However, it doesn't run the power-up program and it doesn't respond to commands from the SmartMotor Playground.
The other does move, however, not in the intended way. Our application effectively sends a command like 'ZS MV ADT=800 VT=600000 Gr' except VT is a variable. While our application is running, the SmartMotor responds with a surgy/stuttering rotation -- slow for a bit and then fast for a bit.
We are currently in the field and are wondering if there are any diagnostics/repair/resetting we can do to try to restore expected behavior.
Thank you.
Try the communications lockup wizard to establish a connection, then clear the EEPROM. If you get comms working, use the playground and put it in torque mode with just enough torque to move, but low enough were you can stop the shaft with your fingers. Rotate the shaft while holding and check for notches or jerks. It's normal to feel some detent when it passes the hall sensors and fires the FETs. If it's not smooth, you may have a damaged or failed FET. If that's the case the motor would need to come back for repair.
Note: I'm traveling today and all posts have to be approved before they appear, so don't worry if your post doesn't show up right away. I'll approve any new ones when I'm able to get back online.
Hello again. Thank you for you reply while traveling. We tried your suggestion with the motor that is wholly unresponsive. We re able to connect (and have been). We used the Connection Lockup Wizard anyway and cleared the EEPROM. In Torque Mode, the shat only turned a small fraction of a rev. and then there is a Peak Overcurrent flag. Claring the flags (ZS) returns the LED to green, but as soon as we start moving the slider, the LED goes red and the Peak Overcurrent flag is set again. Is this recoverable?
Thank you again for your help while traveling.
As a follow-up, here are the details for the motor that is not responding to movement command:
Model: SM2340D
Firmware Version: 415C
Serial Number: E44355
Encoder Resolution: 2000
Ship Date: 10/25/2005
I had submitted a trouble ticket to Technical Support coincident with registering for this forum. Here is their response FYI.
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Hi Jeff,
The one that will not move at all, what is the error reported in the playground when you try and make it move?
The first one sounds like either the motor drive stage has burnt out, or the motor itself is out.
It sounds like the second one has a failed encoder which allows it to run in torque mode, just not closed loop modes. The running full speed is a symptom of not having a limit on the position error, so the motor will max out its drive power while trying to reach a position it will never achieve.
Ultimately I do not see a way to get both of these up and running without replacing components.
Regards,
Andy
Andrew Barrett
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Tech Support Request
Customer Provided Information
Name Jeff Anderson
Referral we've been using smartmotors for years.
Application the motors are used for auv thrusters.
Product Name smartmotor
Model Number 2340d, circa 2005
Description we have 2 smartmotors that are running firmware version 415c that are not responding as commanded. one receives power, but the smarmotor playground can't make any movement occur. the other has movement, that is most reliable in torque mode, but our application requires velocity mode. in that mode, it operates inconsistently. occasionally continuing to run when told to stop, occasionally running at higher speeds than commanded. we are currently at sea so we are wondering if there's any field diagnostics/repairs we can implement to get these motors reliably functional again.
This email was sent to support@animatics.com.
Sorry to say, but I agree with Andy's reply. Both motors will need to go back to the Milpitas, CA facility for repair. You may want to purchase two new motors (same model and firmware... or our newer Class5 motors) while you send the others in for repair, if downtime is critical.
Hello again. Thank you for your latest reply and for providing the second, concurring opinion. Based on that preliminary assessment, is there any value in swapping the electronic back end from one motor to the servo front end of the other to try to cobble 1 working motor out of the two malfunctioning ones we have here? As I mentioned, we are in the field. What I neglected to mention is we're on a ship in the middle of the ocean. There likely will be orders/RMAs upon our return, but definitely if there's any chance to cobble something together here, we'd like to try.
Thank you again. Take care and have a great day.
Okay. SM34 motors aren't to tough to take apart. Remove the 4 screws on the connector end of the motor and gently separate the drive stage. The encoder will remain with the motor. If you have a good encoder and motor, you can mount the working drive. Just be careful to not bend any header pins. Put the screws back in, power it up and see if it works. Good luck... and let me know how it goes!
Hello again. Well, the great swap surgery has begun and already there’s an interesting finding. The motor that was stuttering, that you supposed had a bad encoder had a lot of marine salt and metal corrosion dust in that part of the motor, including on the disk. I mentioned we’re at sea and our application has the motors in water-proof housings. I don’t think the housing with this motor flooded. Rather, it probably is just an accumulation of 8 years of use in marine humidity.
So the question now is, is there anything special/sensitive about that disk? Can we clean it with compressed air and alcohol? Can that cruddy disk be swapped with the one from the other motor?
Thank you again for all your help. Take care and have a great afternoon.
I would try just hot water and compressed air at first.
Hello again. How are you? An update from the field, there is no joy. We tried keeping the original dirty encoder and electronics together and it connected to SMI, but there was no movement in the Playground. We also swapped the electronics and motors, and the symptoms were green LEDs but no movement in Playground.
We tried. Thank you again for your assistance. Take care and have a great day.
Sorry it didn't work for you. The only other thing you might try is swapping the encoder read head.... the little brown slotted part with 2 Phillips head screws. They can fail sometimes even if the disk is good. For a replacement, you should consider the SM34165M-IP67 motor. It would survive better at sea. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Hello. Thank you for your ongoing suggestions. We'll try swapping the encoder read head as well.
On the topic of alternate motors, another piece of survey equipment aboard has a SM23375DT-BRK-A01. Unfortunately, it is about 3/4-1" too long to fit in our housing. I noticed this motor has an additional module between the motor and the electronics module we're used to with the 2340D. We haven't disassembled this 23375 motor, but I'm wondering if that middle module can be removed and the motor will still work?
Thank you again for all your timely support and suggestions. Take care and have a great day.
Sorry, but the BRK motor has different screws, bolt hole locations, etc. You won't be able to swap those, and taking the BRK motor apart and putting it back together is a pain and usually results in having to send it back to the factory.
Hello. How are you? Hopefully all is well. Thank you for your ongoing timely suggestions. I'm glad we didn't rush-in and try to make the BRK motor work for our application. As it turns-out, replacing the encoder reader did the trick! Putting the clean encoder reader on the motor that had been previously stuttering, as well as cleaning the disk with compressed air and lightly dabbing remaining spots with a Kimtech wipe and alcohol, resulted in a responsive motor again!
Thank you again for all your timely support and suggestions! I understand this may not have been your typical support dialog/path, and I really do appreciate your responsiveness. It saved us several days of productivity while at sea. Please feel free to share this with your management team as well so they know your efforts were appreciated.
Thanks again. Take care and have a great day.
Excellent!! Thanks for letting me know you were successful.