ICD 1.6/1.10f

To monitor the status of the stepper-motor control modules;

To reset the stepper-motor control modules;

To handle the cabinet door interlock

• Four custom-built VME sensor-support boards:

To read out the NIFS OIWFS Hall-effect sensors;

• Two XVME-566 Analog Input Modules:

To read out the VME sensor-support boards for the NIFS OIWFS Hall-effect sensors;

• A XYCOM-490 serial I/O board:

To control the temperature controllers and the Omega CYD208 digital thermometer

• Two Oregon Microsystems VME8-8 Stepper-motor controller boards

To control the NIFS OIWFS stepper-motors.

Note that these boards will be shared between the NIFS OIWFS hardware and the NIFS hardware, and will perform other functions that are not listed above..

CAD/CAR records--System Commands

These commands affect the overall behavior of the NIFS OIWFS. Note, in particular, that itis not possible to reboot NIFS and the NIFS OIWFS separately..

OIWFS command CAD/CAR records--OIWFS components

The commands in See NIFS OIWFS CC command CAD/CAR records are the only ones that are used during routine observation.

OIWFS Engineering commands CAD/CAR records--OIWFS components

The following commands are used for engineering purposes, and are not expected to be used during normal observing. Note that, although these commands are connected to the OIWFS APPLY record, they are normally activated directly by the engineering user interface.

The following commands affect the overall behavior of the OIWFS but do not affect the science detector.

SIR record

The part of the name of the EPICS SIR record which follows the "nifs:sad" prefix..

Units

The units in which the quantity is stored. (Ustep refers to units of motor microsteps; "user units" or "real-world units" refer to the arbitrary units described by the Units SIR variable.)

Comments

A description of the item. The first paragraph of this will go into the SIR record description and also the comment field in the FITS header.

Note that only the type, units and comments are actually contained in the SIR records. The FITS keyword is provided by the DHS .

INIT

On receipt of this command, the OIWFS control software will execute its initialization sequence, in which it will: read its hardware setup files and lookup tables, and reset itself to the start-up state. The "initC" CAR record will go "BUSY" while the initialization is being carried out and go to "IDLE" if completed successfully or to "ERR" if the initialization fails. No mechanisms will be moved.

DATUM

The OIWFS CC will locate the datum (i.e. index, home or reference point) for all its mechanisms. The "datumC" CAR record will go "BUSY" while the datum search is being carried out and go to "IDLE" if completed successfully or to "ERR" if the datum searched fails.

PARK

On receipt of this command, the OIWFS will move its mechanisms to a configuration in which it can safely be switched off. It will utilize all the low-level CAD records dedicated to parking the individual mechanisms. The "parkC" CAR record will go "BUSY" while the mechanisms are being parked and go to "IDLE" if completed successfully or to "ERR" if any mechanism fails to park successfully.

REBOOT

On receipt of this command, the OIWFS control software will reboot its IOC and go through the same start-up procedure it would normally do when first switched on. The working system will reboot into the simulation mode NONE and debug mode NONE. The simulator will reboot into simulation mode FULL and debug mode NONE. There is no CAR record associated with this command because connection with the IOC will be lost while it reboots.

This command will also reboot the NIFS CC and IS. It will not reboot the GNIRS CC and IS.

DEBUG

On receipt of this command, the NIFS control software will change to the given debug mode (NONE, MIN or FULL). This mode determines the amount and frequency of information logged by the NIFS control software, as described in the "Debugging Modes" section of ICD 1a, See gscg.kkg.009, "ICD 1a -- The System Command Interface", Kim Gillies, NOAO.. The "debugC" CAR record will go briefly "BUSY" and then back to "IDLE".

Sel--Select Position by Name

This is the principal interface for all continuous mechanisms. It is provided as a convenience for discrete mechanisms. Note that for multi-axis components (e.g., the steering mirrors), there are commands that act on the combined components and on the individual mechanisms.

On receipt of this command, the NIFS CC control software will:

Ensure an observation is not taking place.

Translate desired position name into an engineering position with the aid of a look-up table.

Look up the expected value for the Hall-effect sensors at the desired position location.

Check to insure that protective interlocks are not set.

Wait until the number of active mechanisms drops below the number of mechanisms that the power supply can support.

Move the mechanism to the engineering position corresponding to the desired position.

Verify that the expected sensor value matches the measured value.

Ensure an observation is not taking place.

Check to insure that protective interlocks are not set.

Wait until the number of active mechanisms drops below the number of mechanisms that the power supply can support.

Move the focus mechanism to the engineering position corresponding to the desired focus.

For some mechanisms, compute the expected values for the Hall-effect sensors.

For some mechanisms, verify that the final hall effect sensors match the expected values.

Ensure an observation is not taking place.

Check to insure that protective interlocks are not set.

Wait until the number of active mechanisms drops below the number of mechanisms that the power supply can support.

Move the mechanism to its parking position.

Verify that the expected sensor value matches the measured value.

The park command is not needed for most NIFS components, and is provided for uniformity. The single exception is the focus stage. The focus stage must be parked before disassembly.

Ensure an observation is not taking place.

Check to insure that protective interlocks are not set.

Wait until the number of active mechanisms drops below the number of mechanisms that the power supply can support.

Move the mechanism and search for its datum.

Set the hardware datum position.

Ensure an observation is not taking place.

Check to insure that protective interlocks are not set.

Wait until the number of active mechanisms drops below the number of mechanisms that the power supply can support.

Move the mechanism to the specified engineering position.

The Hall-effect sensors will not be used for confirmation.

Ensure an observation is not taking place.

Check to insure that protective interlocks are not set.

Wait until the number of active mechanisms drops below the number of mechanisms that the power supply can support.

Move the mechanism and search for its datum.

The hardware datum position will be left unchanged. This command returns a value in the RdtmVal record for this mechanism.

This command is not supported by the pupil viewer or the window cover, because those mechanisms use a home-finding algorithm which is incompatible with this command.

Ensure that an observation is not taking place.

Check to insure that protective interlocks are not set.

Wait until the number of active mechanisms drops below the number of mechanisms that the power supply can support.

Move the mechanism and attempt to verify that the motors and Hall-effect sensors are operating.

If an error is detected, the diagnose command will fail and will return an error code in its CAR record.

name

This record contains a string constant describing the name of the instrument. For NIFS this record will contain "NIFS WFS".

state

This record will take the values BOOTING, INITIALIZING, RUNNING and CONFIGURING and reflect the state of the NIFS control software while it is initializing. The activities corresponding to these states are

• BOOTING -- the state during IOC Init and while any database default values are being set.
• INITIALIZING -- the NIFS control software will be checking its own hardware and reading its hardware configuration files during this phase.
• RUNNING -- the NIFS control software is ready to accept commands.
• CONFIGURING -- the NIFS control software is ready to accept commands but it is busy configuring and unable to make observations.

health

This record will reflect the overall health of the OIWFS. Expected values are GOOD, WARNING or BAD. If the overall health is BAD then the NIFS control software will be unusable. If the Health is set to WARNING then the OIWFS control software will be able to execute some functions but not perhaps to specification.

Datumed

This record indicates that a component has been datumed. For multi-axis components, this flag will only be set if all mechanisms have been datumed. This record takes on the following values:

• 0 = Datumed
• 1 = Not Datumed

EngCyclic

This record indicates that a mechanism may be set to a location beyond its physical limits (convenient for circular mechanisms like filter wheels). Note that this only affects the higher level commands; the low-level software may choose to ignore any invalid requests. This record takes on the following values:

• 0 = Limits can be exceeded
• 1 = Limits may not be exceeded

This record is for internal use by the NIFS software. Its value should not be changed. It is documented here only for completeness.

EngMax

This record contains the maximum position that the mechanism can be moved to, in engineering units (motor microsteps).

EngMin

This record contains the minimum position that the mechanism can be moved to, in engineering units (motor microsteps).

EngName

This record contains the engineering name of the current mechanism position. This represents a physical configuration of a component, and will never change (unlike the "Name" record which may change, if filters or other optical elements are replaced or rearranged). The names of the positions are:

• park;
• home;
• pos00, pos01, pos02, ... , up to the maximum number of positions;
• INVALID (if not in a standard location).

EngPos

This record contains the current position of a mechanism, in engineering units (motor microsteps).

Label

The FDSC field of this record contains a text string which describes a component. This is convenient in providing a title string for edd/dm screens.

Max

This record contains the maximum position that the mechanism can be moved to, in real-world units. A text string describing the real-world units may be found in the Units record. For mechanisms such as a filter wheel in which there are no appropriate units, the position will typically be given as a position number, i.e., position 0 is 0.0, position 1 is 1.0.

Min

This record contains the maximum position that the mechanism can be moved to, in real-world units. A text string describing the real-world units may be found in the Units record. For mechanisms such as a filter wheel in which there are no appropriate units, the position will typically be given as a position number, i.e., position 0 is 0.0, position 1 is 1.0.

Name

This record contains the name of the current component position. This name typically describes a filter or other optical element and will be redefined if filters or other optical elements are replaced or rearranged (unlike the "EngName" record which describes a component's physical configuration). The current names are listed in @@@.

Note that for multi-axis components, there will be a Name record for each individual mechanism, as well as for the component as a whole.

Parked

This record indicates that a component is in a parked state. For multi-axis components, this record will be set only if all mechanisms are parked. This field takes the values:

• 0 = All mechanisms parked;
• 1 = Not all mechanisms are parked.

Pos

This record contains the current position of a mechanism, in real-world units. A text string describing the real-world units may be found in the Units record. For mechanisms such as a filter wheel in which there are no appropriate units, the position will typically be given as a position number, i.e., position 0 is 0.0, position 1 is 1.0.

RdtmVal

This record contains the result of the last redatum command, in engineering units (motor microsteps). (The redatum command returns an estimate of the how far the current mechanism datum position is from the actual datum position; it is useful in diagnosing hardware problems.)

Reject

This record contains a combination of the values of all CAD records for all mechanisms that make up a component. It contains the following values:

• -1 = At least one CAD record is in a reject state;
• 0 = No CAD records are in a reject state.

This record exists as a convenience for the user interface. There is no reason for the OCS to use it. It is documented here only for completeness.

State

This record contains a string which describes the current state of the mechanism-support code.

This record is for debugging the NIFS software. The possible values that this record may take may change, without notice. It is documented here only for completeness.

Units

This record contains a text string which describes the real world units (e.g., "mm" or "arc sec")

DatumHealth

This record reports "WARNING" if a mechanism (or if any mechanism of a multi-axis component) is not datumed. It is cleared by successful execution of a datum command.

HallHealth

This record reports "WARNING" if a Hall-effect sensor has been disabled. (The sensors can only be disabled from the engineering user interface, and are normally disabled only to deal with a failed sensor.)

This record reports "BAD" if both sensors of a Hall-effect sensor pair have been disabled. Note that a mechanism is still usable if both sensors are disabled, but cannot be datumed. (The sensors can only be disabled from the engineering user interface, and are normally disabled only to deal with a failed sensor.)

Health

This record reports the most severe error value of all other health records.

ModuleHealth

This record reports "BAD" if the stepper-motor driver module has entered a fault state. This normally indicates a serious hardware problem. It may be possible to clear the error state by issuing a driver-reset from the engineering user interface. If it is not possible to clear the error, then the stepper-motor driver module or other related hardware has failed, and must be repaired.

PosErrHealth

This record reports "WARNING" if a mechanism (or if any mechanism of a multi-axis component) has been moved in such a way that proper backlash correction has not been made. In this case, the reported mechanism position may not be the actual mechanism position. This situation can arise if a movement command has been canceled while a motion is in progress; if a movement command failed to complete correctly, if certain low-level engineering commands are executed, and immediately after the control software has been rebooted. It is cleared by successful execution of any motion command.

SnlHealth

This record reports "BAD" or "WARNING" if the underlying mechanism support code detects an error while a mechanism is in motion. The only situation which is likely to arise is "WARNING", if an operation takes longer than expected.