Adept SmartMotion - Manual (Page 23)

Adept sMI6 Hardware Configuration
Adept SmartMotion Installation Guide, Rev. C 23
2.5 Proper Wiring and Electrical Design Practices
Designing a high-performance servo system requires attention to electrical design. Adept
SmartMotion is designed to respond to high-resolution encoder inputs, up to 32 MHz
count rate. Most drive amplifiers, DC power supplies, and brush-type motors are
potential sources of high-frequency electrical noise. Other equipment in the workcell can
also generate noise. Proper system wiring, and especially grounding, is very important to
a successful installation. The function of proper grounding is two-fold: first, to reduce the
risk of electrical shock from faults in your high-voltage equipment; and second, to help
shield from electro-magnetic and radio frequency interference (EMI and RFI).
All connections of Adept SmartMotion signals to user-supplied hardware are made via
connectors on the three MP6 panels. For proper operation, you must use good wiring
practices. Follow the general guidelines presented below. In addition, observe all
applicable local and national safety codes.
Be sure to:
• Verify that all equipment, including motor drives (amplifiers), the robot
mechanism, and the SmartController and sMI6 chassis, are properly grounded.
• Ensure that all three MP6 Ground terminals are connected to the user-supplied
ground point.
• Ensure that the MP6 DIN-mounting rail is connected to the user-supplied ground
point.
• Use only one ground point (star ground system) and keep all ground wires as
short as possible. For best results, use braided ground straps for ground
connections. (Braid has lower high-frequency impedance, for a given
cross-sectional area.)
• Use shielded twisted-pair cable for all encoder connections and analog drive
signals, and preferably for all signals.
• Use separate cables for every encoder and motor drive. Route digital signals,
motor power, and encoder signal cables separately from one another.
• Locate noise inducing devices away from the controller and other Adept
SmartMotion hardware.
• Provide noise-free regulated power for all Adept SmartMotion hardware.
• Maintain the integrity of optical isolation by using power sources other than the
Adept controller to power all signals from user-supplied equipment.
• Size all wire according to recognized electrical standards and applicable codes.
• Use proper arc suppression devices on all relay and solenoid coils.
• Adept recommends using power line filters to help prevent electrical noise from
the drive amplifiers “contaminating” the AC power lines, and vice-versa.