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Multiple MDrive Motion Control System (Party Mode)
In systems with multiple controllers it is necessary to communicate with the control modules using party mode (PY=1) of opera-
tion. The MDrive Motion Control nodes in the system are configured in software for this mode of operation by setting the Party
Flag (PY) to True (1). It is necessary for all of the nodes in a system to have this configuration selected. When operating in party
mode each MDrive Motion Control in the system will need a unique address, or name, to identify it in the system. This is
accomplished by using the software command DN, or Device Name. For example, to set the name of an MDrive to “A” you would
use the following command: DN=65 or DN=”A” (65 is the ASCII decimal equivalent of uppercase A). The factory default name is
“!”. The asterisk character “*” is used to issue global commands to every device in the system. See Appendix A for ASCII table.
In setting up your system for party operation the most practical approach would be to observe the following steps:
1. Connect the first MDrive Motion Control to the Host PC configured for Single Mode Operation.
2. Establish communications. Using the command DN name the MDrive Motion Control. This can be any upper or
lower case ASCII character or number 0-9.
3. Set the party flag PY=1. Remove power.
4. Connect the next MDrive Motion Control in the system, set the party flag to true.
5. Establish communications with this module using the factory default name “!”. This name cannot be reused.
Rename and save the new name. Remove power.
6. Repeat the last two steps for each additional MDrive in the system.
Figure 2.3: RS-485 Interface, Multiple MDrive Motion Control System