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Quick Start Guide

1. Hardware Preparation

  • TA Series Actuators
  • USB-CAN Converter (included). If you want to use a different USB-CAN converter, you must follow the CAN Protocol and Serial Frame Conversion Rules. Otherwise, it will not function.
  • Power and Communication Cables (included). The power cable comes with banana connectors on one end for direct connection to a DC power source, and an XT30 female connector on the other end to connect to the actuator. The communication cable is a USB-Type C cable, accommodating users whose computers lack a Type C interface.
  • 24-48V DC Power Supply. A 5A bus current is sufficient to drive a single TA actuator.

2. Powering Up

  • Both TA11 and TA14 can be powered directly with 24-48V. For TA14, 48V is recommended; anything below 48V may limit its performance.
  • Turn on the power. The LED status indicator on the actuator's back will first flash red, then turn off, and finally turn solid blue, indicating the driver has rebooted. A Feedback0 packet will also be sent, containing the actuator's serial number and firmware version date.
  • Monitor the static current of the DC power supply. Normally, TA11 and TA14 should consume about 50mA in this state. If there is a significant difference (over 10mA), stop using it and contact technical support.
  • Due to variations in power supplies, a ±2mA difference is acceptable. Use a regulated power supply with 0.001A precision to observe current, as a 0.01A precision power supply introduces significant error.

3. Connecting the USB-CAN Converter

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  1. Properly connect the actuator to the USB-CAN converter and then to the computer.
  2. Open the Device Manager to check if the USB-CAN converter is recognized. If not, you might need the CH340 driver. Download the CH340 driver and reconnect the USB-CAN converter.

4. Download TA-Debugger

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  • TA-Debugger is the debugging software for TA actuators. It is feature-rich and user-friendly, currently supporting Windows only. Linux and macOS versions are under development.
  • Download TA-Debugger

5. Open TA-Debugger

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The date displayed at the bottom right represents the software version date.

  1. Select the correct COM port.
  2. Choose the baud rate. Currently, only 500K is supported. More options will be added via firmware updates.
  3. Select the correct CAN ID. The default factory setting is 0x05060000.
  4. Enter the mode selection.

6. Check Serial Number and Firmware Version

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  1. Verify whether the serial number and firmware version date are displayed. If empty, it means there is no communication between the actuator and the computer. Check the wiring and ensure the power is on.
  2. The firmware version number for the TA series is based on dates. The latest firmware version is currently 20241204. If it’s not the latest, follow the steps for a firmware update.

If the current version is the latest firmware (20241204), you can skip steps 7 (Firmware Upgrade), 8 (Factory Reset), and 9 (Motor Parameter Identification), and proceed directly to 10. Current, Speed, and Position Mode.

7. Firmware Upgrade

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  1. Select firmware update mode

  2. Enter the firmware update mode, after entering, the LED indicator changes to constant green light

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  3. Verify the password, the password is 88888888

  4. Jump to bootloader

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  5. After entering the bootloader, the LED indicator turns orange, after confirming the LED status is correct, Click to download the bin file and open the Bin file, and select the latest date version of the bin file, the bin file can be downloaded from the official link or contact the relevant technical personnel to send the bin file

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  6. After opening the bin file, please check the name and date of the file.

  7. When you click download program, it will start to download the program immediately, the process of downloading the program is represented by three different LED colors to indicate the progress, white means the program is being downloaded, purple means the program is being verified, and blue means the download is complete, please pay attention to be sure to observe the color of the LED on the actuator rather than the color of the font on the software!

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  8. When the download is complete, return to the main menu.

8. Restore factory settings

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  1. If updating the firmware changes the Jflash, it is necessary to restore the factory settings and motor parameter settings. If factory settings and motor parameter settings do not need to be restored, this will be explained in the name of the firmware file being updated.

  2. Please enter the selected mode after selecting restore factory settings, after entering, the LED indicator will change to constant green light.

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  3. After clicking Restore Factory Settings, if the restoration is successful, the message Restoration Complete will be prompted, otherwise the restoration fails. Please note that after restoring the factory settings, the CAN ID will be changed to the default 0x05060000, if the ID before restoring is not 0x05060000, you need to close the software and enter the correct CAN ID again to enter the software.

9. Motor parameter identification

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  1. After restoring the factory settings, the zero position of the encoder will be changed, which will cause the actuator to be unable to work, so it is necessary to enter the motor parameter setting mode to identify the motor parameters.

  2. After selecting the motor parameter setting mode, please enter the selected mode, after entering, the LED indicator will turn into constant green light.

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    • Please make sure there is no load on the output of the actuator at this time, otherwise it will fail to be recognized, and the failure will be shown as the value after recognition is empty or red.

  3. Make sure there is no load on the output of the actuator and read all the values first.

  4. Start the parameter recognition.

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    • Values that have not yet been recognized are red, values that have been recognized are black.

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  5. When the motor parameter identification is complete, the parameter identification is completed. 6.

  6. TA11 and TA14 AD intermediate value A/B/C recognized should be in the range of 2048 ± 100, otherwise it means that there is a hardware failure, please contact the relevant technical personnel to deal with!
  7. The number of motor pole pairs recognized by TA11 should be 7, and the number of pole pairs recognized by TA14 should be 10, otherwise, it means that there is a hardware failure, please contact the relevant technical personnel to deal with it.

10. current speed position mode

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  1. Let's start to rotate the actuator, using the current speed position mode as an example, this mode can control the motor current, motor speed and reducer/motor position at the same time.

  2. Please enter the selected mode, after entering, the LED indicator will change to constant green.

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  3. real-time digital information about the status of various actuators

  4. real-time power, duty cycle, current, speed curve information

  5. the mode control area

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  6. Here the default is to control the position of the reducer end, click zero, if the position of the reducer end is not 0, the actuator will run at a current limit of 3000ma, 1500rpm motor speed to the position 0 of the reducer end, if the position of the reducer end is 0, the actuator will not move.

    • The current limitation here affects the acceleration during non-blocking and the torque output during blocking

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  7. Try to enter position 5000 in this field and hit send, the reducer end then moves to position 5000.

    • For the time being, the value for one revolution of the gearbox end is 65535 (actually the magnetic encoder on the gearbox end has a resolution of 18bits, which will be updated in the firmware).

Additional Notes

Safety Precautions

  • Always ensure the actuator is properly secured before running any tests.
  • Monitor power supply parameters to avoid overcurrent or undervoltage conditions.

Debugging Tips

  • If the actuator does not respond, double-check wiring and ensure TA-Debugger is configured correctly.
  • Refer to the Error Codes section in the manual for troubleshooting common issues.

Troubleshooting

  1. No Communication:
  2. Verify the USB-CAN converter is properly connected and recognized by the operating system.

  3. Ensure the correct COM port is selected in TA-Debugger.

  4. Firmware Update Failed:

  5. Restart the actuator and try the firmware update again.

  6. Check if the firmware file is compatible with the actuator model.

  7. Actuator Not Moving:

  8. Confirm motor parameters have been identified correctly.
  9. Check the power supply and ensure the voltage is within the recommended range.