Editing Essential Basics

= Essential Basics = 
These basics are the most fundamental steps to get a motor running in order for an application to work properly. This page is intended as a checklist for people new to this kind of technology.

# Motor supply voltage (HV) can be higher than nominal motor voltage
#* Digital servo drives are practically sophisticated switching step-down voltage regulators, and the torque controller takes care that the current to the motor (and thus the voltage) is correct.
#* The HV can be at least five times the nominal motor voltage without any issues and reduced performance.
# The maximum current to the motor is not the maximum current of the PSU
#* Considered as a step-down regulator, the digital servo drive transfers power, not current to the motor. Because of this, the PSU's current rating affects maximum power that can be driven into a motor, not maximum current.
#* E.g. 48 V PSU with 10 A current rating can output 480 W power. If the required voltage to a motor to drive 24 A current is 20 V, the transferred power is the same what the PSU can supply.
# Encoder <b>must</b> be attached directly to the motor shaft
#* In practice, all gears and other similar mechanics have non-idelities such as play, torsion, and/or possibility of slipping.
#* Play and torsion will introduce delay to the feedback loop, and will cause oscillation due to which the tuning is impossible to get precise.
#* Slipping encoder will cause false angle data, which will cause the motor to either stall or run loose.
#* Encoder resolution must be exact for each rotation. Rounded data will also cause the magnetic angle to be lost, and the motor will stall or run loose after few turns.
# Torque tuning must be done properly
#* Poor torque tuning will result in excessive current spikes and at worst mechanical oscillation
# Testing motor and encoder wiring in torque mode
#* Before velocity or position tuning, the system must be tested without any load in torque mode to ensure proper functionality.
#* Follow the instructions here: [[Servo motor torque mode test]]