Lynxmotion Tech Support

This thread will explain how to set up and use the Dual Lynx Arm Control software. The last post was getting to be very unorganized and chaotic so I'm moving all of the relevant information into a cleaner, easier to understand post.

First you need to download the two executables attached to this post. The .fsm source files are only for those who wish to dig into the flowstone program and really see how these programs work.

Installation Instructions:

1. Create the directory: C:\Users\FlowStone\Documents\Flowstone
2. Download the zipped file
3. Right click on the file and select 'extract all'
4. Double click on the extracted 'exe' file
5. Make sure to run the Calibration program FIRST

Calibration



In order for the control program to be able to effectively make use of your robots you must first calibrate the arm(s) you wish to use with the controller.

BEFORE YOU START: Make sure that your SSC-32 is connected to your computer via an available com port and is powered on.
The arms must be connected to the SSC-32 using the following pinout:

Arm 1 00-Base   01-Shoulder   02-Elbow   03-Wrist   04-Gripper   05-Wrist Rotate (Optional)   06-Spare A (Optional)   07-Spare B (Optional)

Arm 2 16-Base   17-Shoulder   18-Elbow   19-Wrist   20-Gripper   21-Wrist Rotate (Optional)   22-Spare A (Optional)   23-Spare B (Optional)

First open the exe titled "Lynx Arm Config V3_0_0.exe"

When you open the program it will search for all available com ports and add them to the drop down selection box from which you will need to choose the com port that your SSC-32 is connected to. Following the on screen instructions should guide you thought the entire process of calibrating your arm.

Note: The controller WILL NOT work properly with out the calibration file generated by this process. You MUST calibrate your arms!!!

Controller



The Dual Lynx Arm Controller is a sequencer in which you move the the arm into a position to teach the program the command.

When you open the Controller it will take a moment to search for available com ports and add them to the drop down selector labeled "Com Port". You need to select both the com port your SSC-32 is connected to and the Baud rate to use(115200 is selected by default).

The Panel Tabs

There are three tabs at the top left section of the program that with select which of the three types of commands you will be adding to the command list.

The Move Panel

The Move Panel is used by selecting the tab labeled "Move"

The Yellow buttons control the selected arm in real time along the Z and Y axis along with Base Rotate, Wrist Rotate, Gripper, and the spare channels.

The light blue / red button labeled '//R' is the Rapid button. When Rapid is turned off (light blue) the arm will move with a slow easily controlled pace that is useful for making small adjustments. When Rapid is turned on (Red) the arm will move faster for drastic changes.

The Green Buttons control the flow of the program.
-The < > buttons scroll through the list of commands.
-The = button replaces the command in the yellow highlighted box with the command in the Current Live Command Box.
-The + button inserts the Current Live Command directly under the yellow highlighted box in the command list.
-The X button deletes the command in the Yellow Highlighted box.
-The Play button will step through the entire list of commands without stopping.
-The Stop button will stop the playing list exactly where it's at and switch off the play loop feature.

The Play Loop switch when On will cause the playing list to continue at the top when it reaches the end of the command list.
-Switching off the Loop feature during a play loop will not stop the arms, instead it will allow the arms to finish the list and stop at the end of the command list.

Output Panel

The Output Panel is selected by clicking the tab labeled "Output"

The remaining sixteen channels on the SSC-32 not used by the two arms are taken advantage of by this output function.

Each channel has a box on the panel containing the options for that channel within the current command.
-The 'Use' checkbox allows you to either include or leave out a channel to make commands easier to read when channels are not needed.
-Each channel has two output types: either TL(for TTL output), or SP(for servo pulse).
>>TL is for HIGH or LOW output for controlling things like LED's. Check the SSC-32 user guide before connecting a bunch of led's concerning the current limitations of the board
>>SP is for 1300µS(LOW) or 1550µS(HIGH) for controlling battle switches or other components that use a servo pulse width for input.
-Each channel can either be set to HIGH or LOW via a toggle switch

Input Panel

The Input Panel can be selected by clicking on the tab labeled "Input"

The Input commands allow you to add a conditional hold timer to your program.

When the program comes to a conditional command in the sequence it will hold all further actions until the denoted input on the SSC-32 goes from a HIGH to LOW state.

The Options for the input command include:
-A drop down box to select which of the four inputs to use for that command.
-The Time parameter is how long the program waits AFTER the condition is met for the program to continue with the rest of the sequence.

THE INPUT MUST BE NORMALLY HIGH CHANGING TO A LOW STATE FOR THE PROGRAM TO WORK CORRECTLY

Saved Positions

The Saved Positions list enables the user to save any position for later use with a label of identification.

To Add the Current Live Command to the list click the 'Add' button. A name prompt will appear and you must type a unique name for the command. Clicking 'okay' will add the command with its label to the bottom of the list.

To insert a saved command simply click of the label of the position to insert it directly under the yellow highlighted box in the Commands list.

To Delete a saved command click 'Remove' and then select the command you wish to delete. A confirmation prompt will ask if you're sure and then remove the command and label from the list permanently.

The Rest of It

The program also has buttons for saving and loading command lists from anywhere in the system. Upon clicking 'Save' you will be prompted for the file path and name to save to. Both the Command List and Saved Commands will be stored in this save file.

Here's a great user guide that's a bit more detailed than this post:
http://www.lynxmotion.com/images/html/build174.htm

Well that's Everything that I can think of so be sure to let me know what you think of the beta!

_________________
Devon Simmons, Former Programmer for Lynxmotion.
I can try to help, but I can only offer you my best effort.