I'm new to motor control. I could not find a write-up as to what all the motor setup parameters do. Although there may be one, it's probably better for my understanding to create it myself. To that end, I read the default .xml file with a web browser (Firefox) and pasted it into a spreadsheet (Open Office). Sorting brought some discrepancies to light. It's certainly possible I'm missing something, or that it needs to be the way it is. Still, I wanted to bring it to the attention of the group. I found four categories of discrepancies:
1. Variables that appear in the .xml file for which I can't find a corresponding tab in VESC Tool 3.0.
sl_max_fullbreak_current_dir_change
l_max_erpm_fbrake_cc
2. Variables that are redundantly defined in VESC Tool 3.0 and appear in the .xml file once.
motor_poles (Additional, Motor General tab)
and si_motor_poles (Additional, Setup tabs)
3. Parameters that are configurable via VESC Tool 3.0, but do not appear in the .xml file.
(These are under BLDC, Advanced tab)
Current Controller Ramp Step Max
Duty Ramp Step Max
Current Backoff Gain
4. Identical parameters that are configurable under more than one tab in VESC Tool 3.0, but only appear once in the .xml file (and thus are confusing).
Sensorless ERPM (BLDC, Sensors and FOC, Encoder tabs)
Hall Sensor Extra Samples (General, Advanced and FOC, Hall Sensors tabs)
PWM Mode (BLDC, Advanced and GPD tabs)
Current Controller Gain (BLDC, Advanced and DC tabs)
I'd be happy to distribute my spreadsheet after it's as complete, correct and understandable as I can make it. However, ideally, a text document might be more accessible -- but I'm not sure how best to format it. (I'm also doing the same thing for App Settings, but since I'm only interested in the ADC configuration, it would not be generally useful.)
Unfortunately I started my spreadsheet about a week early. VESC Tool v3.01 added another 20+ variables versus v3.0.
Here are my findings regarding v3.01:
0. Adding the variable ConfigVersion to the .XML file was a very good idea!
1. The variables l_max_erpm_fbrake_cc and sl_max_fullbreak_current_dir_change occur in the .XML file but not in VESC Tool.
2. The variable motor_loss_torque was removed from VESC Tool, but is still in the .XML file.
3. The parameter Motor No Load Current is not in the .XML file but is under the Additional, Setup tab.
4. The parameter PWM Mode appears under both the BLDC, Advanced tab and GPDrive tab.
5. The parameter Current Controller Gain appears under both the BLDC, Advanced tab and DC tab.
6. The parameter Current Controller Ramp Step Max appears under both the BLDC, Advanced tab and DC tab. (Note word order is different: Step Max vs Max Step.)
7. The parameter Duty Ramp Step Max appears under both the BLDC, Advanced tab and and DC tab.
8. The parameter Current Backoff Gain appears under both the BLDC, Advanced tab and and DC tab.
9. The parameter Sensorless ERPM appears under both the FOC, Encoder and the FOC Hall Sensors tab.
10. The parameter Hall Extra Samples appears under both the General, Advanced tab and the FOC, Hall Sensors tab.
My biggest challenge is figuring out the best way to present the documentation I'm creating. The spreadsheet has been useful to me, but unfortunately I entered the VESC-Tool's Help text as comments. That method is too unwieldy for the more voluminous Help text. I think a downloadable document (probably pdf file) would be how I, personally, would prefer to learn about the setup parameters. But that may not be the best choice, and there is the matter of maintaining it going forward.
I use OpenOffice, but LibreOffice seems fairly compatible. Dropbox and Google Docs is how I've shared things in the past. I have did not see a way to attach a file to a post. Is there a method on this forum?
Comments Appreciated.
I have a first draft of a text document listing the configurable parameters in VESC Tool 3.01. Below is a sample entry. All parameters are listed in alphabetical order.
ABI Encoder Counts
Default Value: 8192
Units: integer
Tab: General, General
Number of counts for the A-B-Index encoder. This usually is the encoder resolution times 4, since every edge in the quadrature signal is counted. This setting only matters when using an ABI encoder.
There are a number of typographical (spelling, mostly) errors in the Help. These are easily noticeable via a spelling/grammar checker. So far I have not fixed any of them. I could make a list if anyone would be willing to act on it.
Sorry about the delay, I have been really busy...
The best way to help with this would be to edit the XML files using the editor in VESC Tool. Best is to use the beta version to keep in sync with the development. In VESC Tool, you can then go to Developer->Parameter Editor Mcconf (and/or Appconf) and edit the Long Name and Description for every parameter and make sure to not edit anything else as that will break the config. Also make sure to not connect to any VESC before opening the editor as it then will set all default values to what that VESC had. Then, when done, use the save button at the bottom and finally go to File->Save XML as... to export the file. I can then build the exported file into VESC Tool and get all the updates that way.