Motor stage UI

Offers both a terminal and graphical user interface for the Mercury motor controller. Motor stages can be arranged in daisy chains.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/SiLab-Bonn/motor_stage_ui
cd motor_stage_ui
pip install -e .

Usage

Configure your specific stage setup in motor_stage_ui/configuration.yaml. Check the baud rate, address, USB connection, and any potential logic active low settings for the individual motor stage controller. Set a motor stage name (e.g., x_axis), type, and step size according to the hardware specifications of the motor stage.

Start the motor stage GUI:

motorgui

or control the stage through the terminal:

motor COMMAND arguments

The COMMAND can be move or stop, and the arguments consist of a move value and the motor stage name. The motor stage UI accepts move values in various units (mm, cm, deg, rad, etc.) and converts them automatically.

The motor stage velocity is set during the initialization step. To avoid unwanted behavior (especially if the default motor speed is too slow), ensure to initialize the motor stage even when using the terminal.

motor init MOTORNAME

Configuration

The step size of a specific stage is given in um for translation stages and deg for rotation stages and can be obtained from the 'Design resolution' in e.g. PI precision position and motion control.

Configuration	Description	Type
stage_type	Type of the motor stage (translation or rotation)	String
address	Address of the specific motor controller (set on the motor controller)	Integer
step_size	Step size of the motor stage (given in um for translation and deg for rotation stages)	Integer
unit	Default unit of the motor stage	String
port	Serial port to connect to	String
baud_rate	Baud rate of the motor controller (set on the motor controller)	String

Commands

Terminal Command	GUI Command	Description	First Argument	Second Argument
init	Init.	Initialize motor stage. Powering and resetting the motor. Set motor move speed in the PIStageInterface.py function.	motor_name (str): name of the motorstage	-
move	Input rel.	Moves the motor stage a relative amount, positive values for ahead, negatives for back. Accepts string inputs with units (4cm, -2mm...). If no unit is given, the motor moves the default unit amount.	motor_name (str): name of the motorstage	a (str): Move amount
moveto	input abs.	Moves the motor stage to an absolute position. Accepts string inputs with units (4cm, -2mm...). If no unit is given, the motor moves to the default position unit.	motor_name (str): name of the motorstage	a (str): Move to position
pos	-	Logs the current position of the motor stage.	motor_name (str): name of the motorstage	-
stop	Stop	Immediately stops all movement of the stage	motor_name (str): name of the motorstage	-
sethome	Set Zero	Sets the current position of the stage as new origin	motor_name (str): name of the motorstage	-
gohome	MV. Zero	Goes to origin of the stage	motor_name (str): name of the motorstage	-