Motor Controller Help

[Cre8ivdsgn]

The 8221 controller is really DEC's PDP11/06-23 or something like that.
The controller needs software, or an "executive". Its basically real time control software for the DEC and this was written by the folks at Universal Instruments (but for some crazy idea I think it all originally came out of IBM in either the late 60's or early 70's.
Although the 8221 had battery backup, the NiCads never lasted long. (The PDP/1104's would sometimes still have wire core memory and they retained executives indefinitly.)
You would need to fool the control software into thinking the appropriate software was attached (for example mimicing a VCD head down cylinder and clinch in/anvil up? too long ago!)

Perhaps just as important as the cards is the IO box which was basically a wire-wrapped bus. Without the IO box I think getting the cards to play would be very, very difficult. The cards you need at the minimum are: CIT, FIT (or MIT card which combined CIT and FIT), servo amp for each axis used by the software (!), DAC feedback for each axis, 16 input card, 16 output card, and a depth stop card (ancient memory here). And of course the executive. If you currently do not have all of these, and you do not have a resource (you can try ETTACO, and there are a few others that still deal in this stuff) I would strongly suggest scrapping the DEC route and going Arduino or some such.

It all depends on what you want to do with the platform. If you want to rebuild this as a VCD, thats one thing. If you want it as a motion platform for anything else, go the open source route!

To get it up and running as a UI machine would require some pretty steep background knowledge and I suspect there is little available on the web.

I think it would be fantastic to scrap the pancake motors and go with stepper drive. The machanicals are very low friction and the castings were dimmentionally robust. I should remind you that these things were incredibly dangerous in their day! (I suppose I am a bit sensitive - I was working on one once and an idiot sales guy was showing a customer around... I came THISCLOSE to being scalped!)

[jchalo99]

I have 2 IO boxes, i have all the cards with them both. one i know is for this machine the other is for the rest of the line i believe. im going to try this last ditch effort to get this machine running with the current hardware. i got the 8221 communicating, i get an '@' on the terminal emulator. im going to try to figure out what the command set is for it.

the reason that im thinking to keep the 8221 is because who else can say there 3d Printer/milling machine/laser cutter runs of a 30+ year old controller. but this is a HUGE undertaking, im taking notes of everything i find out.

if anyone is interested if i cant figure it out, ide be willing to sell the 8221 and the io boxes.

[KyleAdam]

Sophisticated AC motor controllers are commonly referred to as motor drives. They balance the signal type with the control signals.The motor controller comes into play to do just that. Control of the start up as well as the acceleration to an appropriate speed, then the monitoring of the motor to ensure it is operating within its power rating, and of course the stoppage of the motor.