Service
Instructions/
Troubleshooting
Forging Position Feedback
RIT Senior Design Group 2012-2013:
Shimona Gorelick, John Knight, Nick
Perrotte, and Min Han Zhao
Table of Contents
Hardware ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Cable ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Laser .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
ILR Tool.......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Software ........................................................................................................................................................ 6
Helpful Links .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Hardware
If it is a hardware issue, the first step is to determine if it is a problem with the laser or the
cable. Try to switch out the cable for one you know works. If it still doesn’t work, try to switch
that cable to another laser.
Cable
Use a multimeter to check continuity between the laser connector and the power connector.
Power and ground have broken for Cables 1 and 3 and were re-soldered. The connections for
the custom-made cables are shown below:
Laser Connector (Image Credit: http://binder-usa-datasheets.s3.amazonaws.com/99-5630-7512.pdf):
G: Power
(+24VDC)
L: Ground
J: Signal
Ground
B: RxD
A: TxD
Power Connector on Laser side (not power adapter side). (Image Credit: http://binder-usadatasheets.s3.amazonaws.com/09-0123-89-06.pdf)
6: Power
(+24VDC)
1: Ground
If there is a laser outside of its enclosure, it is easy to verify that power is being transmitted
through the cables. When plugged in, the green light on the back of the laser will light up. If
that light doesn’t turn on, there is very likely an issue with the power or ground wire.
Female DB9 Connector (Image Credit: http://www.siongboon.com/projects/2006-0306_serial_communication/DB9%20female.gif)
3: RxD
2: TxD
5: Signal
Ground
Laser
Use the ILR Tool (described in its own section below).
Use of HyperTerminal or another terminal program (I’m biased towards RealTerm) is described
in the laser manual. Be aware that even though the manual says the baud rate is 9600, use
38400. Also, in whatever terminal program you choose to use, it is very helpful to turn on Local
Echo or Half Duplex or whatever capability allows you to see the characters you send in the
display. The commands are listed right below the HyperTerminal directions. The most
commonly used were DT (enter) for continuous distance tracking and DM (enter) for a single
distance measurement. The ESC key stops distance tracking.
Truthfully, the ILR Tool is more helpful. The graph in the measurement program that shows the
trend in distance tracking values provides more insight than the decimal values spit out in the
terminal.
If the Laser connectors twist around too much in the enclosure, there is a chance some of the
internally soldered wires will pop off. Take the laser out of the enclosure and check the wires if
it gets to the point where it is a likely issue. As seen in the assembly diagrams, the enclosures
are quite a hassle to assemble/disassemble. If a wire did indeed come unsoldered, simply
remove the old heat shrink, put more on, re-solder it, and shrink the heat shrink with a lighter
or heat gun.
ILR Tool
1) Open the ILR Tool and change the language (sprache) to English.
2) Enter the Sensor Configuration Mode. (Can also be accessed through the Measurement
tab.)
3) File > Refresh COM list. Connect to the laser. Make sure the baud rate is set at 38400. If
it is not, it will say: Error interface cannot be opened: There is no compatible device at
the selected port, or it is already in use.
4) To restore to factory defaults, click Restore Factory Defaults in the lower left area of the
screen. The laser defaults to units of meters. Make sure you change that back to inches
on this screen (Distance unit dropdown menu on the left side) if you do restore the
factory defaults. There is a separate dropdown on the next screen in the Measurement
program that indicates graph units. That must be changed back to inches as well.
5) If you make any changes to the laser configuration, you must click Write Configuration
to Sensor.
6) To enter the measurement program, click Switch to Measurement Program, right below
Restore Factory Defaults. To avoid accidentally resetting the laser and causing yourself a
fun amount of problem-chasing, you can also switch to the measurement program from
the Measurement tab on the top left, next to File.
7) From the measurement page, you can Start and Stop Distance Tracking (continuous
measurement) and Distance Measurement (single pulse).
Software
For the software, make sure the COM ports are correct. In order to determine the COM ports
used in the program:
Start > Devices and Printers
The COM ports used will be identified as the Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port.
Check the upper part of the code (around Line 100, about 1/8 of the way down) to make sure
the COM ports declared match the ports used in Devices and Printers.
Helpful Links
Laser Manual: http://www.micro-epsilon.com/download/manuals/man--optoNCDT-ILR-1181-1182-en.pdf
Micro-Epsilon Site with all available documentation: http://www.micro-epsilon.com/displacementposition-sensors/laser-distance-sensor/optoNCDT_ILR_1181_1182_1183/index.html