Adding a 2200 RT Smart-UPS with AP9613 SmartSlot Card to a Stratasys Fortus 250mc 3D Printer

[Anonymous user]

Good afternoon everyone;

I'm brand new at this so, bear with me.

We’ve just added an APC, model 2200 RT Smart-UPS, with matching AP9613 SmartSlot Card to our new Fortus 250mc 3D Printer and I’m having trouble getting it to react the way I want it to. Please tell me if my expectations are correct:

It’s my understanding that the UPS will supply power to the 3D Printer for short periods of time during power outages and then, seamlessly revert back to supplying external, AC power and recharge itself when the power comes back “ON”. This part works fine, by the way. Adding the functionality of the SmartSlot Card is where the confusion begins.

The Card was installed and configured by one of our techs. During a power failure, the printer will finish its current cycle (block of code) and then move to the stand-by position. The printer's LCD screen will say “UPS Battery Low”. The machine will remain stationary in this state until the UPS battery depletes itself and then the whole thing shuts off instantly. Even if power is returned to the UPS, the 3D Printer never recovers from this state. The only option is to restart the machine and lose the program that was running at the time of the power outage.

My hope was that the machine would “PAUSE” during a power outage so that the UPS battery would last as long as possible. Then, when power was restored; the Printer would “RESUME” and finish the program. We haven’t been able to achieve this, though. I've contacted the machine vendor and the Mfr. and neither has been able to supply any kind of answer.

Does anyone here know the correct hardware and software configuration settings to achieve what I’ve described above or, am I expecting too much from this combination of equipment?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

Brian

[BillP]

Hi Brian,

Can you provide further information on the dry contact options/positions that the 3D printer offers and then clarify the current dipswitch configuration or custom configuration on the AP9613? The AP9613 offers many different configurations and perhaps a different one will work better for you. Also understanding what is wired between the two devices will be very helpful as well.

For instance, I am looking to better understand what dry contact output (or notification is being sent from the UPS and when) from the AP9613 is wired to on the 3D printer input (which typically would tell the 3D printer what to do). Knowing the physical connections and then what the 3D printer offers will help clarify where I could better make a suggestion. Maybe it is just a mis-configuration on one or both sides.

[Anonymous user]

Hi Angela;

I have contacted the vendor and their response was un-inspired. The Tech that called me opened with, "Let me start by saying that I've never used one of these units or even seen one hooked up." My confidence soared!

I've asked for a diagram of what each pin in the printer's connector does, though, and they're "working on it".

Here's what I've got at the AP9613 card.

DIP switches are set as-follows:

1- OFF

2- OFF

3- OFF

4- ON

Wired connections are:

COM.1 is jumpered to COM.2

N.O.1 shows continuity with Pins 7 & 8 of the printer's D-SUB connector.

N.O.2 also shows continuity with Pins 7 & 8 of the printer's D-SUB connector.

This confuses me as I would expect COM.1 and N.O.1 to be an open circuit when the board is un-powered but, it's showing continuity, which means it's closed. COM.2 and N.O.2 are the same.

The card's manual says that "the coils for the output relays are normally energized". Does this mean that the N.O.1 is only actually "open" when the card's plugged in and the UPS is "ON"?

The printer's manual only tells you to use pins 7 & 8 on the D-SUB connector but doesn't tell you what they represent to tyhe machine's control system. Hopefully, that information will be forwarded to us soon.

Brian

[BillP]

Well I can at least tell you I am the worldwide escalation lead on AP9613 and I have one at my desk so I hope that raises your confidence with us.

Anyways, OK, we've confirmed configuration # 1 on the AP9613. Good to know. And jumpering those together should mean if the UPS is ON battery AND has a low battery, then they would close since they are N.O.

I believe the message regarding the coils indicates what you've said that there is energy there holding them there in that state which is only available when the card itself is powered on but let me double check. The AP9613 can get power when the UPS is energized but the output is off so what you've said is not necessarily true about the UPS having to be ON. You could have your UPS plugged in and energized to use the AP9613 but have the output power turned off (which then it needs to be commanded on).

And yes, we'll wait for that extra info from the vendor. I also don't understand why those connections you described have continuity unless something on the printer's side is holding them closed since they should be open if the UPS is not on battery and in low battery state.

[Anonymous user]

In response to your last paragraph: My testing was done with the card removed from the UPS. I have since plugged the card back in and re-tested. Plugging in the UPS but not turning it "ON" gives a few small clicking noises from the unit, powering the card and causing the previously tested outputs to go "OPEN", as-expected. This makes more sense now.

So, you are correct that the card has to be installed and the unit at least plugged in, to get the basic,expected results.

Brian

[BillP]

Ok, makes more sense now. So the card was just sitting on a bench or something and completely unpowered?

[BillP]

I asked for some feedback from our engineering team. Here is their feedback with a few comments from me.

One common use of these cards is in Building Management Systems. In that context, the strategy is that if the card failed or lost power, rather than being silent, every contact would go to the alarm state. The previous generation, the AP9610 did this, so we wanted the new card to keep the same paradigm.

As previously noted, UPS doesn't need to be "ON" (by which you probably meant powering the load or at least having mains power), it just needs to not be "brain dead". The card would continue to be powered (the UPS brains stayed alive) for some period of time (about 9 minutes) after low-battery shutdown; at which time the brains and the card would also turn off to avoid killing the battery.

Regarding your main problem: There are two cases:

(1) mains power returns before low-battery shutdown, so the the printer never loses power. By pausing the printer, you extends this to cover a greater percentage of power failures.

(2) An extended power failure where the UPS goes into low-battery shutdown and the printer does lose power.  In this case it is more understandable that the printer would lose its programming state and be unable to resume, even though it was in stand-by mode when power was lost.

If case (1) doesn't work, there may be a solution.  If case (1) works but case (2) doesn't work, it may be fundamental to the printer.

If case (1) is the problem: It appears you have it wired so the printer goes into pause mode if either the UPS is on-battery OR low-battery [Angela: as opposed to me saying AND prior].  The subtilty is that low-battery probably persists for a while once mains returns, until the battery has a chance to recharge to some level. [Angela: there are a few options with this at least i.e. minimum return battery capacity if this is an issue] -- this might be your only possible problem -- you didn't wait long enough. 

Assuming you waited long enough [Angela: I assumed you did and UPS was not still in a low battery state when you checked continuity]: What you need to know is what other command inputs the printer has. You says that the printer does pause; which presumably saves power. What you want is for the printer to go into the lowest power mode possible without losing its programming state. You also say that the printer does not resume, even once power returns, assuming you waited long enough for the battery to attain adequate level of charge. This probably means the printer needs a "resume" command, which perhaps could be the opposite of the pause command. The need for a resume command is speculation, and one would expect that manual intervention would also be possible; we need more information rather than speculating.

[Anonymous user]

Here's my latest reply from the vendor and my response:

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Case #98967 has been updated.		Case Priority: Medium Case Number: 98967 Case Subject: APC UPS on Fortus 250mc Customer: First-Light USA, LLC Contact: Brian Reed Creation Date: 8/7/2013, 2:20 pm (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) Case Type: 3D Printing Case Status: Closed Updated By: Licari, Jr., Nicholas Solidworks SR: Solidworks SPR: Date Updated: 8/14/2013, 8:57 am

       Last Message

  Brian,

Stratasys has reviewed the configuration file and indicates that the UPS is acting correctly

Please take a moment to evaluate our technical support services by completing the following online survey:

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OK, I don't doubt that the UPS is acting correctly but the question I asked you still stands:

What do each of the pins in the machine’s DSUB connector do? (The “pin-out”)

Here’s what I want:

1. If there’s a power outage; the machine finishes its current block of instructions (code) and then goes into “PAUSE”.
2. If the power stays out long enough, the UPS signals the 3D Printer to do a controlled shutdown.
3. If the power comes back “on” before the scenario described in step 2, above; The UPS signals the printer to “RESUME” and recharges itself.

This is what I’d call a “Smart UPS” and a feature that I would think everyone with one of these machines would want. What good is a UPS that only stops the printer during a power failure and doesn’t allow for any kind of re-start/recovery? You might as well just have the 3D Printer plugged directly into the wall outlet and stop wasting money on the UPS.

This UPS, with SmartSlot Card, has the capability to accomplish this sequence. What do we need to do to upgrade our 3D Printers to be able to take advantage of it?

Brian

BRIAN REED

Certified SolidWorks Professional

Director of Product Development

FIRST-LIGHT USA

reed@first-light-usa.com

1. www.first-light-usa.com

[BillP]

[Anonymous user]

Yep.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Such an amazing informational thread. I really appreciate it. Please keep sharing more informational reviews. Keep it up. Well done. 

Please tell me which printer is best. 2200 RT vs Fortus 250mc 3D Printer.