Communicating With Your Drive

Before you can configure your drive, you must connect it to your PC and tell ST Configurator how to find it.

For these drives, you must use RS-232 communication.  

• STAC6-S, STAC6-Q, STAC6-Si
• ST5-S, ST5-Q, ST5-C, ST5-Si
• ST10-S, ST10-Q-Nx, ST10-C, ST10-Si
• STM17S-xAx, STM23S-xAx, STM24S-xAx
• STM17Q-xAx, STM23Q-xAx, STM24Q-xAx
• STM17C-xCx, STM23C-xCx, STM24C-xCx

For these drives, you must use four wire RS-485 communication.  While configuring, only one drive and the PC can be on the RS-485 network.

• ST5-Q-Rx, ST10-Q-Rx
• STM17S-xRx, STM23S-xRx, STM24S-xRx
• STM17Q-xRx, STM23Q-xRx, STM24Q-xRx

For these drives, you must use Ethernet communication.  The RS-232 port is inactive on Ethernet drives.

• STAC5-S, STAC5-Q, STAC5-IP
• ST5-Q-Ex
• ST10-Q-Ex
• STM23x-E

Connecting to the PC using RS-232

Locate your computer within 6 feet of the drive. 

Modern PCs often do not include a 9-pin serial port. As such, a USB-to-Serial adaptor is required. Two recommended options for such a converter are as follows: 8500-003 from Applied Motion Products or USB-COM-CBL from Byterunner.com.

Your drive was shipped with a cable that has a telephone style connector at one end and a larger 9 pin connector at the other. This cable may be replaced if lost, using part number 3004-189. Plug the large end into the 9-pin serial port of your PC or USB-to-Serial adaptor. Secure the adapter with the screws on the sides. Be sure to select the correct COM port in the ST Configurator software.

Always connect the drive to the PC using the following procedure, in order: 1) Launch the software, 2) Select the COM port, 3) Apply power to the drive. Failure to follow these steps, in this order, will result in a lack of communication.

STM drive+motors with the CANopen option provide RS-232 and CANopen connections on the same connector.  These products are shipped with a special RS-232 cable that is pre-wired to the appropriate connector.  Once the drive has been configured and is ready to be placed on the CAN network, the CAN connections can be added to this connector.

Connecting to the PC using RS-485

ST series drives that include the RS-485 option should be configured using the RS-232 port (please see above).  STM drive+motors with the RS-485 communication option do not include an RS-232 port and must be configured using a four wire RS-485 interface.  The connection must be made from the PC to a single drive.  Once all of the drives are individually configured, you can connect them all together on a network.

Given that we've never seen a Windows PC with a built-in RS-485 interface, you'll need an adapter.  We recommend purchasing the 8500-003 (USB-COMi-M) adaptor.

When you install your adapter, it will be automatically assigned a COM port.  You'll need to set ST Configurator's COM port to match.

Connect the STM RS-485 connector to the USB-COMi-M screw terminal connector:

 Set the USM-COMi-M switches this way:

 

Connecting to the PC using Ethernet

The easiest way to configure an Ethernet drive is to connect the drive to a switch on your office network using a standard CAT5 Ethernet cable.  By setting the rotary switch on the drive to setting F, it will obtain an IP address automatically from your server after you apply power to the drive.  You can then use ST Configurator's Drive Discovery feature (located under the Drive menu) to find your drive and establish communication.

For other options and more information about Ethernet communication, please refer to the eSCL Reference, located in Appendix G of the Host Command Reference.