RPA Kit Installation Manual
Manual Overview
This manual provides the necessary hardware and software installation instructions required to
assemble the RPA kit and exercise its basic functionality.
Contents
The following components are provided with each RPA subsystem:
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RPA Kit pointing unit containing the Risley prism pair and captive interface cable
RPA Kit driver card with captive power and interface cables
RPA Kit controller unit consisting of the TMDSF28335 Experimenter’s Kit
A 5V power supply
A RS232 interface cable
CD (containing documentation, software demonstration GUI, and LabVIEW drivers)
The RPA and the supporting control electronics are a mated set. This is because information relative to
the relationship of the prism orientation to the encoder reference mark, as well as information
describing pointing angles as a function of prism relationship, is contained in memory resident on the
controller board. The RPA and electronics board are clearly identified by serial numbers.
System Overview
Figure 1 shows the relationship between the mechanical mounting features and the beam pointing
coordinate frame.
RPA System Coordinate Frame Mechanical Reference
Back of Unit
Front of Unit
3X Mounting Hole
Pin
Slot
2
2
1
Pin
1
Slot
3
Laser Input Side
Laser
direction
t
ALT
ψ
3
i
OpticAxis
1
2
3
Figure 1 – RPA System Coordinate Frame Relationship to Mechanical Mounting Features
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Mechanical interface drawings are attached to the back of this manual. Refer to the appropriate
drawing for the RPA system being integrated.
System Description
Mechanical Interface Drawing
RPA Kit
1-1621-2
Setup and Installation involves a two-step process of first assembling the hardware components of the
OPTRA RPA Kit system then installing the necessary software components to interface with the
hardware making it operational for use.
Hardware Installation
Figure 2 depicts an interface diagram for the RPA Kit system.
Risley Pointing Unit
RS232 Interface Cable
Controller Unit
Driver Card
5V Power Supply
Figure 2 – RPA Kit Connection Diagram
Please follow these steps to setup the system for operation.
1. Place all the delivered components on a clean working area
2. Connect the 16-wire captive ribbon cable from the Pointing Unit to the 16-pin header labeled J2
on the Driver Card. Note that the cable can be connected in two ways. Please keep the red wire
side of the ribbon cable connected to pin 16 on the header. (This is contrary to the normal
convention of connecting the red wire on a ribbon cable to pin 1).
3. Connect the two captive cables on the Driver Card to the two headers on the Controller Card.
a. Connect the black and red power connector to the three pin header
b. Connect the white wire connector to the two pin header.
c. Note that both connectors are keyed and can only be connected one way.
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4. Connect the RS232 Interface cable from J3 on the Controller Unit to a RS232 cable from a laptop
or PC (cable not provided). Note that this connector can be connected two ways. Please
connect the cable such that the:
a. White wire is connected to the pin labeled “Rx”
b. Yellow wire is connected to the pin labeled “Gnd”
c. Purple wire is connected to the pin labeled “Tx”
5. Verify that Switch SW1 on the Controller Unit is in the “USB” state (OFF State)
6. Connect the 5V Power Supply to the power connection on the Controller Card
7. This completes the hardware setup of the system
Software Installation
An LabVIEW-based RPA demonstration GUI is provided on the included CD. The following instructions
install this GUI onto the user’s PC and allow the user to exercise the basic functionality of the RPA via
the user serial interface.
1. Place the included CD into the control computer’s CD drive.
2. Navigate to and double click on file labeled setup.exe.
3. Click “Next” or navigate to the desired directory for software installation and then select “Next”.
4. Read through the license agreement. When finished, select the “I accept the License
Agreement” option and press “Next”.
5. The ‘Start Installation’ window will appear. Press “Next” to begin installation.
6. When the installation is complete, press the finish button.
Additionally OPTRA provides the LabVIEW source code for this demonstration GUI for the user to
potentially incorporate into their own system development. These software “drivers” can be installed in
two ways, either embedded into the LabVIEW software development system or into any directory on
the user’s system.
To place the example code into the LabVIEW software development system, copy the ‘LabVIEWSW’
directory on the delivered CD into the user.lib directory in your LABVIEW installation (for example:
C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2011\user.lib). Rename the directory from
‘LabViewSW’ to ‘OPTRA RPA’ to be more specific. The user can then access the vi’s directory from the
‘Function->User Libraries->OPTRA RPA’ Palette in LabVIEW. Alternatively, place the directory anywhere
on the system and use the ‘Function->Select a VI’ to browse and access the vi’s. The following is a
description of the LabVIEW vi’s provided:
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SendRPACommand – This VI allows the user to send all the command messages described in
Table 2-3 of the RPA Controller Technical Description.
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GetRPAStatus - This VI receives all the status messages described in Table 2-4 of the RPA
Controller Technical Description.
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RPADemo – This vi demonstrates the proper usage of SendRPACommand and GetRPAStatus
and can be used to provide a template for the user’s application.
For more information on the message structure used to communicate with the RPA, refer to the RPA
Controller Technical Description document included on the CD (section 2.1.1, Command Port). Note
that velocity command mode is not applicable for the RPA Kit system.
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System Operation Procedure
Complete the following procedure to power and begin use of the OPTRA RPA Kit system:
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Turn switch SW1 on the Controller Card to the ON position. Note that the LEDs on the Driver
Board will blink through a predetermined sequence for approximately 8 seconds.
Execute the OPTRA RPA Demo software from the Program Files menu and follow the described
steps to initialize and run the RPA Kit system
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