Customizations

Galil partners with customers to help them solve their most challenging motion control applications. If you cannot find exactly what you need in a standard Galil controller, we can customize one to meet your specific application requirements, including cost and performance. Let Galil show you how convenient and cost-effective our custom solutions can be.

For example, hardware specials such as modified board size, custom connectors, different communication, or additional I/O are typically completed within a 12-week period with engineering charges as low as $5000. Firmware specials can be written for an unlimited number of requirements and are typically complete in 2 weeks with engineering charges as low as $400.

Speak with Galil applications for more details

Common Customizations

Alternative Feedback/Encoder Options

Standard Feedback modes are incremental encoder using Quadrature or Step/direction or absolute feedback with Analog. Some standard options are BiSS, SSI and sine/cosine (1V peak to peak). The following are common customizations.

EnDat
Parallel
Yaskawa
Resolver
Load cell
Distance coded index

Communications

Standard Communications include PCI bus, Ethernet, RS232, USB, ModBus TCP, and EtherCAT. The following are common customizations.

Unique RS-485
Custom Ethernet Protocols such as Ethernet/IP
Custom Data Record
Custom Data Logging

Motors

Compatible motors are steppers, brushed, brushless, 2 phase brushless, ceramic, piezo, voice coil, galvonometer, and hydraulic.

Control of air-bearing spindle with tight speed control
Multi-pole direct-drive motors
Fluid pump control

Laser Control

Standard laser control includes 1-D laser trigger and analog output for laser power.

PWM Output
Frequency and Duty Cycle Modulation
FIFO Pulse Control
Coordination with Vector Motion
Pulse Window Control
Pixel Generation

Compensation

Standard compensation is PID with velocity feedforward, two sets of PID, spring compensation acceleration feedforward, and gain scheduling.

Anti-Resonance Profiling
Backlash and Lead Screw Error Compensation

Amplifiers

Standard includes single-axis and multi-axis servos, low power stepper, microstepping, and two phase and three phase brushless servos.

Custom Gains
Special Voltage Range
Special Current Output
Custom Microstep Resolution
Stepper/Servo Mix

System Parameters

High-Resolution Gearing
Increase CR radius up to 100 million counts (16 times greater than current limit)
Custom default values

Software

Standard software includes Windows, Linux, Apple libraries/drivers, and EPICS driver.

Private Label
Custom APIs
Custom Tuning algorithms

Profiling

Standard modes of motion include point-to-point, linear and circular interpolation, gearing, electronic cam, contouring, Position, Velocity, Time (PVT), position tracking, teach and playback, and helical.

Coordinate Transformation
S-curve Velocity Profile
Modular Moves

Safety

Standard safety includes encoder failure detection and Electronic Lockout (ELO).

Custom ELO functionality

Hardware

Customized I/O Count
Customized Dimensions
Customized Packaging
Customized Connectors
Customer Logo

Other

Custom Default Parameters

Examples of Customizations

H-Bot Firmware

Description: Kinematics of motion for an H-Bot style robot implemented in firmware. Allows the first two axes of the controller to be used for profiled and non-profiled planar motion. Modifications to the control loop and safety features to accommodate a coupled system.

Usage: Systems using the H-Bot style robot for planar movement.

Limitations:

Currently only offered with internal servo amplifiers.
H-Bot axes must be either internal or external servo's.
Contact Galil for use with other motors or internal drives.

One-time setup charge: $800

Controller: DMC-40x0

Additional Information: See the H-Bot article for a video demonstration and more details.
Introducing Galil's New H-bot Firmware

Absolute Encoder

Description: Possible options available for connecting to absolute encoder devices include: Parallel, BiSS, SPI, and Resolver. Both single turn and multi turn options are available. Contact Galil for more information.

Usage: For absolute position

Limitations: Must be used with appropriate I/O expansion hardware.

One-time setup charge: Contact Galil

Additional unit cost: This option requires extended I/O hardware. Contact Galil for additional hardware requirements.
See Techtalk Article on Alternative Feedback Options

Backlash and Leadscrew Error Compensation

Description: This option consists of two independent parts. The first part, the backlash compensation, adds or subtracts a programmable number of n counts to the commanded position. The polarity of the correction is the same as the polarity of the commanded velocity. The second function corrects for Leadscrew error. A correction table allows the user to describe the error as a function of the absolute position. The table consists of 257 elements per axis, and linear interpolation is used between table points. The correction may be defined in 1-D for error induced by the axis itself, as well as the addition of 2-D correction factors which are induced by the position of another axis.

Usage: To compensate for backlash and leadscrew errors. Commonly used in machine tool applications. Note that the correction is open loop in nature. For rotary table applications - please contact Galil.

Limitations: This method causes discontinuities in the command signal when direction is reversed. May require the elimination of the ECAM table or a reduction in array space or in application program space.

One-time setup charge: $800

Additional unit cost: none

Controller: DMC-40x0, DMC-41x3

Anti Resonance Profiling

Description: The motion trajectory can be filtered to remove all frequency components at a resonance frequency or its harmonics.

Usage: For faster settling time, especially effective for system with low frequency structural resonance.

Limitations: Extends motion time by an increment equal to the period of the slowest resonance frequency.

One-time setup charge: Contact Galil

Controller: DMC-40x0, DMC-41x3, Optima

High Resolution Gearing

Description: The normal ratio of the gearing function is within +/-127.9999 with a resolution of 0.0001. With high resolution gearing, the resolution is increased to 1/10,000,000.

Usage: application requiring high resolution gearing, such as winding machine systems.

Limitations: none

One-time setup charge: $800

Additional unit cost: none

Controller: DMC-40x0, DMC-41x3, Optima

Increased Radius

Description: The largest radius allowed in circular move is 6,000,000 counts. This feature allows increasing the radius to 100,000,000 counts.

Usage: Where large radius is required

Limitations:

Since the product of Radius * Delta-Theta is limited to 4.5 * 108, as the radius is increased, the allowed angle, Delta-Theta is reduced.
The angle resolution is 1/65,536 of a degree. This may cause discontinuities in the profile.

One-time setup charge: $400

Additional unit cost: none

Controller: DMC-40x0, DMC-41x3, Optima

Closed Loop Stepper

Description: Position monitoring via encoder feedback is now available as a standard feature for new controllers.

Note: -2PB Option on the DMC-3x01x

See Application Note #2445 - Stepper Motor Position Maintenance Mode

Laser Control

Description: Galil can provide precision generation of the laser control signal. Hardware acceleration and firmware integration provide high performance control that is accessible to the standard motion features of the Galil command set. See Article on Laser Control Options

Usage: Galil Laser Control options focus around a group of specific application requirements found primarily in laser marking, inscribing, raster imaging, and intensity control.

Coordinate Transformation

Description: The controller performs the coordinate transformation required to perform motion in the cartesian coordinate plane. SCARA or other type of robots can be handled. Contact Galil to review your application requirements.
See Article on Coordinate Transformation Options

Usage: Typically used for non-cartesian robots, where motion must be specified in cartesian coordinates

Communications

Description: Galil can implement custom communication protocols involving RS-485, Ethernet, modified Data Record, and Data Logging

Usage: Anywhere that a custom communication protocol is needed.