Skip to content

Home

Jump to bottom
Kevin Balthaser edited this page Apr 27, 2023 · 2 revisions

Usage Guide

Home Menu

screenshot_21984

From this screen you may select the main functions. Options are selected by pressing the encoder button once. Rotate encoder to navigate.

  • Wash
  • Spin
  • Dry
  • Settings

Wash

The Wash cycle performs an agitation of the basket by spinning it in alternating directions.

Spin

The spin cycle rotates the basket in one direction. This is used to help remove extra solution from the basket before moving to the next step.

Dry

The dry cycle activates the heater and cooling fan. It rotates the basket at a low speed. The fan may continue running when the cycle ends.

screenshot_41068

When a cycle is running, the selection cursor will be locked to the active icon on the screen. You may cancel the running cycle by pressing the encoder button. If a large number of rotations are being used in a wash cycle, there may be some lag in the stop occurring, as the firmware prefers to allow the active motion to complete, rather than abruptly stopping.

Settings Menu

screenshot_126607

Navigation through the settings menu is done via the encoder knob and button. To navigate "up" a menu (or back to home) you will rotate the knob such that the topmost item is selected, and displays [...] Some options are toggled just by pressing the button, others will allow you to turn the knob to change values, and press again to confirm.

** Do not spin the knob quickly to change values, this can cause the value to change erratically, this warning will be removed when the bug is fixed **

  • Settings take effect immediately without restart with the exception of Encoder Inversion.
  • Settings are saved to EEPROM once per minute if there are changes that need to be saved.

Main Settings Options

  • Backlight
    • Sets the backlight level for the display. Values are 1 - 8 , 1 being lowest level, 8 highest

Wash Settings

screenshot_160182

  • Time
    • The total time in minutes that the Wash cycle should be active.
  • Rotations
    • The number of rotations the basket should spin per half cycle. The basket will rotate this many times before reversing direction.
  • Speed
    • The Maximum allowable speed, in RPM, that the basket should rotate.
    • If a low number of rotations is set along with a low acceleration, the basket may not hit this speed due to not having enough time.
  • Accel
    • The maximum amount of acceleration to be used by the motor controller. Lower values equate to a slower acceleration ramp. Higher values equate to a much faster ramp.

Spin Settings

screenshot_179590

  • Time
    • The total time in minutes that the Spin cycle should be active.
  • Speed
    • The Maximum allowable speed, in RPM, that the basket should rotate.
  • Accel
    • The maximum amount of acceleration to be used by the motor controller. Lower values equate to a slower acceleration ramp. Higher values equate to a much faster ramp.

Dry Settings

screenshot_212488

  • Time
    • The total time in minutes that the Dry cycle should be active.
  • Speed
    • The Maximum allowable speed, in RPM, that the basket should rotate.
  • Cooldown
    • Activates heater cooldown mode. When turned on, the fan will continue to run for the configured amount of time after the heater has been turned off. This helps cool the heater element, and continue to evaporate any fluid which may have collected in the bottom of the drying chamber.
  • Cool Time
    • The amount of time, in minutes, that the fan should continue to run after the end of a dry cycle.

Advanced

screenshot_230369

These options should only be changed if absolutely necessary. Changing these without knowing what you are doing may cause erratic operation, or possible machine damage.

  • Invert Encoder
    • Allows user to change the direction of the encoder if they do not like the current setting. Will swap "left" and "right".
    • Requires the machine to be restarted to take effect. Please wait at least 1 minute before doing restart to allow setting to be saved to EEPROM.
  • Global Scaler
    • Controls the amount maximum amount of current that the TMC5160 will send to the stepper motor. Configured so that IRun of 31 is the desired maximum current.
    • This must be calculated using the equations provided by Trinamic, there is a calculation spreadsheet in the code that can be used to calculate new values.
    • Default value of 148 allows a maximum of 1.77A RMS to be used by the controller.
    • Setting this incorrectly can allow the stepper motor to be sent too much current which may cause the motor to fail. This is configured for the default stepper motor for the KiwiCleaner
  • IRun
    • Sets the actual amount of current sent to the stepper motor. 31 is max current allowed by GlobalScaler.
    • Ideally we want this value to be as low as possible while retaining proper operation.
    • Recommended value is 17. Change in small increments.
  • PWM Threshold
    • Configures the rotational speed at which the stepper controller switches between StealthChop and SpreadCycle operation. Some motors do not tolerate StealthChop up to the maximum desired speeds we are using. When this occurs, this value may be increased to find a point where the motor operates as desired.
    • This is expressed as a unit of time per microstep. Lower values mean a higher transition speed.
    • Setting the transition speed too high will result in a motor jerk, and loud noise, as the motor phasing may be out of sync. If you find yourself needing to switch to SpreadCycle, this value should be set rather high for smoothest operation.
Clone this wiki locally