Initialization functions

The board must be initialized before any commands can be sent. After the board is initialized, each motor must be initialized individually. Motor initialization creates a motor instance (e.g. MCR.focus) that gives access to all movement and configuration functions for that motor.

Initialization sequence:

1. MCRControl() — open the board connection and initialize the controller sub-class
2. focusInit(), zoomInit(), irisInit(), IRCInit() — initialize each motor sequentially
3. close() — release the connection when done (unless done automatically when the program is terminated)

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Class Initialization

MCRControl(serialPortName, moduleDebugLevel=False, communicationDebugLevel=False, logFiles=True)

Top-level class for all interactions with the MCR600 series boards. Opens the serial port and confirms the connection by reading the board firmware version. The controllerClass sub-class is created automatically as MCR.MCRBoard.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
serialPortName	str	—	Serial port name (e.g. 'com4' or '/dev/ttyAMA0')
moduleDebugLevel	bool	False	Set True to enable DEBUG-level console logging (default is INFO)
communicationDebugLevel	bool	False	Set True to print all serial port traffic to the console. Implies moduleDebugLevel=True. Not recommended in production.
logFiles	bool	True	Set True to write log files to the user's local application data directory

Class variables

Variable	Description
MCRInitialized	True when the class is successfully initialized (logging started)
boardInitialized	True when this board instance is initialized and the COM port is open
boardCommunicationState	True when the COM port is open and the board is responding
boardCommunicationRestarts	Count of times the COM port has been automatically reconnected

Sub-classes

Sub-class	Access	Description
motor	MCR.focus, MCR.zoom, MCR.iris, MCR.IRC	Motor movement and configuration (created by each motor init function)
controllerClass	MCR.MCRBoard	Board-level commands (firmware revision, serial number, communication path)
MCRCom	internal	Serial port communication — not for direct use

Example

import TheiaMCR as mcr

MCR = mcr.MCRControl('com4')
if not MCR.boardInitialized:
    print('Board not found. Check the COM port.')
else:
    print(f'Board initialized: {MCR.MCRInitialized}')

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Motor Initialization

focusInit

focusInit(steps, pi, move=True, accel=0, homingSpeed=-1) -> bool

Initialize the focus motor. Creates the MCR.focus motor instance. Must be called after board initialization.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
steps	int	—	Maximum number of steps for the full focus range
pi	int	—	Step position of the photo interrupter (PI) limit switch
move	bool	True	True to move the motor to the home (PI) position during initialization; False to initialize without moving
accel	int	0	Motor acceleration steps. See firmware documentation for support (not currently supported v.5.3.1.2.0).
homingSpeed	int	-1	Speed (pps) to use when homing. Uses the default speed if set to -1 or out of range. Defaults to 1200pps.

Returns True if initialization succeeded, False otherwise.

Example

# TL1250 lens
success = MCR.focusInit(steps=8390, pi=7959)

# Initialize without moving to home
success = MCR.focusInit(steps=8390, pi=7959, move=False)

# Set a custom homing speed
success = MCR.focusInit(steps=8390, pi=7959, homingSpeed=800)

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zoomInit

zoomInit(steps, pi, move=True, accel=0, homingSpeed=-1) -> bool

Initialize the zoom motor. Creates the MCR.zoom motor instance. Must be called after board initialization.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
steps	int	—	Maximum number of steps for the full zoom range
pi	int	—	Step position of the photo interrupter (PI) limit switch
move	bool	True	True to move the motor to the home (PI) position during initialization; False to initialize without moving
accel	int	0	Motor acceleration steps. See firmware documentation for support (not currently supported v.5.3.1.2.0).
homingSpeed	int	-1	Speed (pps) to use when homing. Uses the default speed if set to -1 or out of range. Defaults to 1200pps.

Returns True if initialization succeeded, False otherwise.

Example

# TL1250 lens
success = MCR.zoomInit(steps=3227, pi=3119)

# TL410 lens (PI near step 0)
success = MCR.zoomInit(steps=4073, pi=154)

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irisInit

irisInit(steps, move=True, homingSpeed=-1) -> bool

Initialize the iris motor. Creates the MCR.iris motor instance. The iris motor does not have a photo interrupter limit switch; it uses a hard stop at step 0 (fully open) for homing. Must be called after board initialization.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
steps	int	—	Maximum number of steps (fully closed position)
move	bool	True	True to move the iris to the fully open (home) position during initialization; False to initialize without moving
homingSpeed	int	-1	Speed (pps) to use when homing. Uses the default speed if set to -1 or out of range. Defaults to 100pps.

Returns True if initialization succeeded, False otherwise.

Example

success = MCR.irisInit(steps=75)

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IRCInit

IRCInit() -> bool

Initialize the IRC (IR cut filter) motor. Creates the MCR.IRC motor instance. The IRC motor is a DC motor and is controlled differently from the stepper motors: it is driven for a fixed activation time rather than a step count.

At the default speed of 1000 pps, each step corresponds to approximately 1 ms of activation time. The maximum of 1000 steps gives 1 second of activation.

Returns True if initialization succeeded, False otherwise.

Example

success = MCR.IRCInit()

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Closing the Connection

close

close()

Close the serial port and release all resources held by the MCR board instance. After calling close(), the MCR instance cannot be used again — create a new instance to reconnect.

Example

MCR.close()

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Complete Initialization Example

import TheiaMCR as mcr

# Initialize board
MCR = mcr.MCRControl('com4')
if not MCR.boardInitialized:
    print('Board not found')
    exit()

# Initialize motors (TL1250 lens)
MCR.focusInit(steps=8390, pi=7959)
MCR.zoomInit(steps=3227, pi=3119)
MCR.irisInit(steps=75)
MCR.IRCInit()

print(f'Focus at step: {MCR.focus.currentStep}')
print(f'Zoom at step:  {MCR.zoom.currentStep}')

# ... use the motors ...

MCR.close()