PCI-7332 Runs Away

[Brian_Beal]

We have several systems that use the 7332 for 2-axis steppers.  I noticed early on that I needed to kill power to the drives before I shut down the computer, or the axes would take off and hit the end stop.  Our IT guy changed the computer settings to lock everyone out of the admin settings, and now if the PC sits idle for about 15 minutes, the axes will take off.  This week, it happened again and we busted an end cap off of a ballscrew assembly.  IT guy says that the computer is not set to hibernate.

What in the 7332 would cause this?

[Vivek_N]

Hello Brian,

There is nothing in the 7332 that should cause the motor to move when the card sits in an idle PC. Do you have a program running on the PC that controls the motor? If so, what happens if you restart the PC and let the PC be idle without running any motion control progam? 

With some more information, I might be able to suggest what is possibly happening on your side. 

[Brian_Beal]

Hi Vivek-

This is the same problem that happens if I shut down the PC with the drives powered.  It has been like that from day one(6 years+) on all 6 machines that use this card.  The Labview program may or may not be running when this happens.  If it is, it is only polling the card for position.  Maybe it is a drive issue.  If something isn't actively holding the step input at a given state, maybe noise takes over and the axes run away.

Regards,

Brian

[Vivek_N]

Hi Brian,

I would simply try disconnecting the cable from the motion controller card. If you still see the motor moving, there is definitely a voltage that is output from the drive regardless. If that is the case, I would try checking the confiugration of the drive. It could possibly be a faulty drive as well.