GECO Motion Getting Started Guide

Getting Started with TENET GECO Motion

The TENET GECO Motion controller provides a quick and simple solution for implementing motion control with LabVIEW.
Follow these steps below to quickly get up and running with your GECO Motion controller in LabVIEW.

Before you begin:

Before you begin, you’ll need the following hardware and software components readily available.

Software:

Windows 7/8/10 environment
LabVIEW 2015 or above. Any LabVIEW edition (base, full, professional, community, or evaluation) will work with GECO Motion.
LabVIEW Run-Time Engine 15.0 and NI CompactRIO 15.0, these are needed for the GECO Test Panel Utility.
All of the GECO Motion software and drivers are available from our downloads page.

Hardware:

GECO Motion controller
GECO USB interface
24V DC power supply
Flat-head screwdriver
Digital multimeter (optional, for debugging)
Pulse generator (optional, for debugging)

GECO Motion controller

GECO USB Interface

24V DC power supply

Software installation:

Download and unzip the GECO Test Panel from our downloads page.
Verify that the GECO Test Panel can be opened by double-clicking on the icon. The interface will look like the picture below. If you can see this Test Panel, great! Go ahead and close it for now. Note - On windows PCs, Windows Defender might block the Test Panel tool from opening. Please refer to this Microsoft document for adding exclusions to Windows Security.

GECO Test Panel

Download and install the GECO LabVIEW API Driver from our downloads page. After unzip, you can double-click on the VI package file, and the VI Package Manager will install the package automatically. (If you have multiple versions of LabVIEW installed, select the correct LabVIEW version you wish to use with GECO Motion.)

GECO LabVIEW API - VI Package file

VI Package Manager

Verify that GECO LabVIEW API has been installed by opening LabVIEW, and examining the tools palette. The GECO VIs will be available in the "GECO Driver" palette.

GECO Motion VI palette in LabVIEW

For connecting to GECO Motion using USB, download and install the GECO USB Windows driver from our downloads page.
(Instructions coming soon for connection to GECO Motion via ethernet.)

For more detailed information, please visit the GECO Motion product page.

Hardware installation:

For each axis, connect the control signals (STEP/DIR or CW/CCW) from GECO Motion to the motor drive.
If there is encoder feedback from the motor drive, connect the A, B, and Z signals to GECO Motion for each axis.
Connect 24V DC power supply to GECO Motion.
Connect one end of ribbon cable to GECO Motion, and the other end to the GECO USB interface.
Connect the USB cable from the GECO USB interface to the PC or laptop.

Below is an example of GECO Motion (USB) connected to a simple stepper motor drive and motor. Your stepper motor drive will be different, but the general concept is the same.

Example: GECO Motion connected to a simple stepper motor drive and motor

Verify motion control from GECO Test Panel

The GECO Test Panel is a great utility to make sure that GECO Motion can control the motor drives correctly, without any programming. Follow the steps below to verify your motor can be controlled correctly from GECO Motion.

IMPORTANT - Please verify If you get correct behavior in the GECO Test Panel first, before moving on to programming in LabVIEW.

Open the GECO Test Panel tool. If using USB, select the USB option (third option) from the GECO controller image.

Click on "Search USB" to open the search interface.

Copy serial number of the found GECO USB interface.

Exit the GECO Test Panel tool, and restart again. Select the USB option again, but this time select the "Motion" button.

Enter the serial number, and press "Connect". The empty space below should be populated with many options and buttons.

Check the "Axis Configs" tab and "Motion IO Configs" to see if these settings match your motor drive.

Use the velocity mode command in the "Simple Move" tab, to make motors turn. Default speed is 1000 steps/sec. Press the "Run" button on the right to start move, and "Stop" button to stop.

If you have connected other I/O such as limit and home switches, you can use your hand to block the sensors to see if there is a reaction in the Test Panel, in each axis status on the bottom of the test panel.

If you encounter any problems in these Test Panel steps, please refer to the "Troubleshooting" steps in the last section.

Programming in LabVIEW

The easiest way to start programming GECO Motion in LabVIEW is to start using the included LabVIEW examples with GECO Motion. There is an LabVIEW example for each supported function for the GECO Motion. These examples are installed when you install the GECO LabVIEW API Driver from our downloads page. You can access these examples in 2 ways:

1. Using the Example Finder in LabVIEW (Select Help » Find Examples). Toggle the "Browse according to:" radio button to "Directory Structure" and you will see all of the GECO examples under "WPC System Ltd".

2. Browse to your LabVIEW installation folder, and the examples will be located here: <LabVIEW folder>\examples\WPC Systems Ltd\GECO Driver\example

You can see the list of all examples in this picture. A good example to start with is the "GECO USB - Single Axis Move.vi"

This VI follows the "Initialize -> Configure Motion -> Start Motion -> Monitor Status -> Close" pattern. From the front panel, you can select the options that apply to your motor driver, and run the program to see if the motor will execute the expected behavior.

GECO USB - Single Axis Move.vi: front panel

GECO USB - Single Axis Move.vi: block diagram

Alternatively, you can use the GECO Motion Express VIs to build your application. The usage of these Express VIs are also very straightforward. They allow configuring the move through a dialog window, which is easier for LabVIEW beginners to understand.

Configuration window for "Single Axis Move" Express VI

Simple move with GECO Motion Express VIs

Congratulations! At this point, you are able to control your motors and define motion movements from LabVIEW. From here, you can use design patterns such as State Machine or Queued Message Handler to further build your LabVIEW motion control application.

Troubleshooting

If motor does not turn, first check the motor drive and motor.

Does the motor drive and motor have power?
Most servo motor drives (or advanced stepper drives) have an onboard jog or test function. Does the motor move with this function?
If the jog or test function works, you can try swapping the GECO Motion with another pulse generator. Use the pulse generator to drive a pulse into the STEP signal or one of the CW/CCW signals. If the motor turns, then your motor drive and motor should be OK.

Next, check GECO Motion.

Does it have 24V power connected? If yes, you should be able to see red LED on the GECO Motion board. You can also use digital multimeter to probe the power terminals on GECO Motion.
Make sure the settings in GECO Motion match the motor drive settings. For ex: if the drive is using STEP/DIR (1-pulse) mode, then GECO Motion should use STEP/DIR mode. If the drive is using CW/CCW (2-pulse) mode, then GECO Motion should use CW/CCW mode.
If the motor is turning in the wrong direction, or if encoder is displaying wrong direction, you can use the Inverse? function in Test Panel to correct this situation.