MDCO Module

MDCO Module#

The MDCO module stands for Motor Drive CANopen and mainly hosts the MDCO class, which represents physical MDCO drivers using the CANopen communication layer instead of CAN-FD.

The CANdle now supports communication with drivers through the CANopen protocol.
This feature enables simpler and standardized integration into industrial or robotic systems that use CANopen as their primary protocol.

It can be included in your project via the header file:

#include "MDCO.hpp"

Installation#

Before using MDCO module you should migrate the motor driver in CANopen, cf: https://mabrobotics.github.io/MD80-x-CANdle-Documentation/md_canopen/TransitionProcedure.html. If you want to use candle features don’t forget to update your candle with the latest version available.

Main Features#

  • CANopen compatibility: Supports the CiA 301 standard communication profile.

  • SDO/PDO exchanges: Read and write driver object dictionary entries.

  • Node detection and management: Automatic identification of devices on the CAN bus.

  • Synchronization: Use of SYNC frames to align real-time communication.

  • NMT state management: Transition between Pre-operational, Operational, and Stopped modes.

  • EMCY management: Handling of emergency messages.

  • TIME-STAMP management: Handling of messages containing the TIME_OF_DAY object (cf. CiA 301).

  • Heartbeat management: Handling of heartbeat messages.

Code Examples#

All codes examples are available in python or c++

ID detection#

This is the simplest example to use and the recommended starting point.

The program displays the IDs of all motors connected to the CANdle via CANopen and makes the drivers’ LEDs blink one by one, allowing the user to identify which motor corresponds to which ID.

Read & write register#

This example demonstrates the different ways to communicate with the MD80 using the CANopen protocol.

  • Send SDO expedited transfer requests to write and read values contained in most registers.

  • Use PDOs for faster communication.

  • Use SDO segmented transfers for registers larger than 4 bytes.

  • Use NMT (Network Management) to easily manage the motor driver’s state machine (cf. CiA 301).

Speed loop#

This example shows how to run the motor using only SDO expedited transfers.

You must first configure the registers (Max current, Max torque, etc.). Once the registers are set, you can create a loop to run your motor at the desired speed.

Impedance#

This example shows a use case of the MD module where we connect to the CANdle device, scan the CAN network for MDs, set its mode to impedance (or any other available mode from the enum), and start the control loop.

Warning
Be careful using this mode, raw torque can be dangerous.

Heartbeat#

The Heartbeat protocol is used to monitor the nodes in the network and verify that they are alive.
A heartbeat producer (usually a slave device) periodically sends a message with its node ID (0x700 + node ID).

This example shows how to use the heartbeat protocol:

  1. The program first listens to the motor driver to check if it is sending heartbeats correctly.

  2. Then, a second test is performed where the motor driver is set as a heartbeat listener and the CANdle sends it heartbeat messages. After a few iterations, the CANdle stops sending heartbeat messages, and the motor driver should switch to stop mode in the NMT state machine.

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