EtherCAT Motor Control System

This project implements a real-time EtherCAT-based motor control system with position control capabilities. The system consists of a main control program written in C++ and a Python-based angle simulation tool. The implementation has undergone 12 hours of long-term stability testing, ensuring reliable and consistent performance.

System Architecture

The system is composed of three main components:

1. EtherCAT Master Controller (C++)
2. TCP/IP Server for Position Updates
3. Angle Simulator (Python)

Key Features

• Real-time EtherCAT communication
• Position-based motor control
• Multi-threaded architecture for improved performance
• TCP/IP-based position updates
• Configurable motion parameters
• Position stability monitoring
• Error recovery mechanisms

Prerequisites

• Linux operating system (tested on Ubuntu 20.04)
• SOEM (Simple Open EtherCAT Master) library
• Python 3.6+
• Root privileges for EtherCAT communication
• RT-Linux
• CPU isolation

Installation

1. install eRob-SOEM-Linux

git clone https://github.com/ZeroErrControl/eRob_SOEM_linux.git
cd eRob_SOEM_linux
rm -r build
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make
sudo make install

2. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/ZeroErrControl/eRob_eCoder.git
cd eRob_eCoder
gedit src/erob_ros/CMakeLists.txt 

2.1 modify path

include_directories(/home/***/eRob_SOEM_linux/install/include/soem)
link_directories(/home/***/eRob_SOEM_linux/install/SOEM/lib)

3. Build the C++ program:

• The program's network interface name must be modified according to your system configuration.
• The 'SOEM library path' in the CMakeLists.txt file needs to be updated to match your local installation path.

colcon build

Usage

Starting the Motor Control System

1. Run the main control program with root privileges:

sudo ./install/erob_position_subscriber/lib/erob_ros/erob_position_subscriber

2. Start the angle simulator:

python3 src/erob_ros/src/eCoder_fake.py

Running in CSP Mode

1. Launch the position subscriber:

sudo ./install/erob_position_subscriber/lib/erob_ros/erob_subscriber_CSP

2. Start the angle simulator:

python3 src/erob_ros/src/eCoder_fake.py

Note on Motion Planning

Please note:

• The motion planning in CSP mode is implemented in a basic way
• Users are encouraged to implement their own motion planning algorithms
• This example code is not specifically optimized
• If you successfully optimize the code, you're welcome to submit your improvements
• Contributors may be eligible for reward coupons
• We welcome more participants to help optimize this project