Q3 ControlPaQ-FW

Data Acquisition & Amplifier System

User's Guide
Version 1.0

Another Quality Product by Quanser Consulting

How to contact Quanser Consulting: (905) 940-3575 (905) 940-3576 119 Spy Court Markham, ON Canada L3R 5H6 http://www.quanser.com mailto://info@quanser.com Telephone Facsimile Mail Web General information

Q3 ControlPaQ-FW Data Acquisition & Amplifier System User's Guide

Q3 and Q3 ControlPaQ-FW trademarks of Quanser Consulting,Inc. MATLAB is a registered trademarks of The MathWorks, Inc. Other brands and their products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be noted as such. 2008 Quanser Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright holder, except under the terms of the associated software license agreement. No part of this manual may be photocopied or reproduced in any form. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc. in this publication, even if the former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone. Printed in Canada.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

Setting Up the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW System.........................................................1 Connecting the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW.......................................................1 Power..........................................................................................................2 Fuse Replacement.....................................................................................3 Installing the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW Driver..............................................3 Using the Q3 Terminal Board................................................................................5 Digital I/O..................................................................................................5 Encoder Inputs..........................................................................................6 Analog Inputs............................................................................................7 PWM Outputs...........................................................................................7

Setting Up the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW System Setting Up the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW System

This chapter describes how to set up the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW system. Setting up your Q3 ControlPaQ system involves connecting the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW device to your PC or laptop. The Q3 ControlPaQ-FW comes with a 6-pin to 6-pin IEEE 1394 cable as well as a power supply for the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW. The installation is very simple, but it is important that the instructions in this document be followed carefully. Note: within this document, the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW and Q3 are synonymous.

Connecting the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW

The Q3 ControlPaQ-FW is susceptible to damage from static electricity. Always ground yourself when connecting the device to your computer! The Q3 ControlPaQ-FW is depicted in Figure 1. There are two 6-pin IEEE 1394 connectors and one power switch on the back of the device. 1. Read all instructions before proceeding. 2. Turn on the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW using the power switch located on the back of the device and make sure the power is on by viewing the LED labelled POWER on the front of the device. 3. Connect the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW to the computer using the supplied IEEE 1394 cable. Note that it is important to only use the supplied IEEE 1394 Firewire cable to connect the Q3 to your PC; failure to do so may result in damage to the computer and/or the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW. Quanser cannot take responsibility for mishandling of the device. If the equipment is used in a manner not specified by the manufacturer, the protection provided by the equipment may be impaired. Do not position the equipment so that it is difficult to operate the on/off switch. The Q3 ControlPaQ-FW devices are made to be used with Quanser designed experiment kits that have particular actuators. Use caution if the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW is being used with your own actuator.

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Connecting the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW

FRONT

BACK

Figure 1 Q3 Data Acquisition System front and back.

Figure 2 Q3 Terminal Board (front). Encoders inputs are numbered 0, 1, 2, and motor outputs are numbered 0, 1, 2.

Power
Power to the Q3 is supplied from a built-in power supply with the specifications listed in Table 1. Use the power switch located on the back of the Q3 to turn the Q3 on or off. Make sure the Q3 power cord is plugged into a 3-pin Type B North American socket.
Input Voltage Input Frequency Rated Input Current Nominal Power Consumption 100-240 VAC 47 to 63 Hz 1.6A (rms) for 115 VAC 1.0A (rms) for 230 VAC 29 W

Table 1: Q3 Power Supply Specifications

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Fuse Replacement Fuse Replacement

In case the fuse needs replacing, there is a fuse panel located on the back of the device beside the input power plug as shown in Figure 1. The Q3 uses the following fuses for input voltages of 230VAC or 115VAC: 230VAC: 1A Slow blow 3AG 115VAC: 1.6A Slow blow 3AG

Installing the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW Driver

QuaRC version 1.1 or later is required to run the Q3. Before connecting the Q3, ensure QuaRC has been installed since it also installs the drivers needed for the Q3. To install the Windows driver for the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW, simply connect the card to your computer as per the instructions above. When Windows identifies the card and asks where to search for drivers, check the "Install software automatically" option. Continue with the installation until Windows has installed the driver for the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW. The Q3 ControlPaQFW device shows up in Device Manager under the "Hardware-in-the-Loop Cards" section. If Windows does not automatically identify the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW, you can force a scan for it by right-clicking in the Windows Device Manager list and selecting Scan for hardware changes.

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Using the Q3 Terminal Board Using the Q3 Terminal Board

The Q3 terminal board offers a convenient and flexible system for connecting your experiments to the Q3 data acquisition system. The Q3 supports two analog inputs, three encoder inputs, three PWM outputs, two digital inputs and one digital output. These IO connectors are all available from the terminals located on the front of the Q3 device.

Digital I/O
The Q3 supports one digital output channel and two digital input channels. The digital output and input channels are available through two 16-pin connectors. Standard 16-pin ribbon cable connectors may be used to connect to the digital I/O channels. For both input and output signals, 0 volts represents logic 0 and 5 volts represents logic 1.

Signal GND GND GND GND GND GND

Figure 3 Digital Output Connector

Pin 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15

Pin 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Signal DO0 -

GND GND

Table 2 Digital Output Connector Pin Assignment

Figure 3 depicts a top-view of the digital output connector. The even-numbered pins are the signal pins, and the odd-numbered pins are all ground pins. The pin assignments are enumerated in Table 2.

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Digital I/O

Signal GND GND GND GND GND GND

Figure 4 Digital Input Connector

Pin 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15

Pin 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Signal DI0 DI1 -

GND GND

Table 3 Digital Input Connector Pin Assignment

Figure 4 depicts a top-view of the digital input connector. The even-numbered pins are the signal pins, and the odd-numbered pins are all ground pins. The pin assignments are enumerated in Table 3.

Encoder Inputs
There are three single-ended encoder inputs on the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW. The encoder inputs are labeled ENCODERS 0, 1, 2 in Figure 2 on page 2. Single-ended encoders use two signals to supply a bidirectional count: an A channel, and a B channel. The round 5-pin DIN connectors on the terminal board are used for the encoders.
Pin 1 2 3 4 5
Figure 5 Encoder DIN Connector

Signal GND Not used A 5V B

Table 4 Encoder Pin Assignment

The pin assignments for the round DIN connector are illustrated in Figure 5. The pins are also enumerated in Table 4. There are no complementary signals for single-ended encoders. Note that the pin numbering of the round DIN connector is not intuitive. The pins are

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Encoder Inputs
not numbered sequentially in a clockwise direction.

Analog Inputs
The Q3 ControlPaQ-FW supports two analog inputs. The range of each analog input is 10V. Do not exceed the voltage range of the analog inputs. Quanser does not guarantee proper operation of the analog inputs after the maximum voltage range has been exceeded.
Pin 1 2 3 4 5
Figure 6 Analog Input DIN Connector

Signal -12V S2 GND GND S1 +12V

Table 5 Analog Input Pin Assignment

The two analog input channels are connected to the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW using a 6-pin mini DIN connector. Using a 6-pin mini-DIN to 6-pin mini-DIN cable, plant sensors such as potentiometers and tachometers can be connected to the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW. The pin assignments for the 6-pin mini-DIN connector are illustrated in Figure 6. The pins are also enumerated in Table 5.

PWM Outputs
The Q3 ControlPaQ-FW supports three PWM outputs. The PWM outputs have a 1.6A range, but the total cumulative current from all three channels (absolute value) cannot exceed 3.5A. If more than two PWM output channels are being used, saturators should be used to ensure the total cumulative current does not exceed 3.5A. The PWM outputs are available on the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW as 6-pin DIN connectors. The PWM outputs are labeled MOTORS 0, 1, 2 in Figure 2 on page 2. Typically, 6-pin DIN to 4-pin DIN connectors are used to connect the Q3 ControlPaQ-FW PWM output signals to the experiments. The pin assignments for the 6-pin DIN connector are illustrated in Figure 7. The pins are also enumerated in Table 6.

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PWM Outputs
Pin 1 2 3 4 5 6
Figure 7 PWM Output DIN Connector

Signal MotorMotorMotor+ Motor+

Table 6 PWM Output Pin Assignment

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