Step 5: Motor Configuration

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure you have:

• ✅ Motor IDs configured (Step 1)
• ✅ CAN interface configured (Step 2)
• ✅ Basic communication tested (Step 3)
• ✅ OpenArm CAN library built (Step 4)

Overview

We now need to complete the motor setup process. This involves three key tasks:

• Configure motor baudrate to match your CAN device for reliable communication
• Set the zero position for all motors
• Test motor communication to verify everything is working correctly

All the necessary scripts are located in the setup folder.

Step 1: Set Motor Baudrate

warning

• Be sure to use the CAN interface on 2.0 during the baudrate setup regardless of your target baudrate. Configure it back to your target baudrate after this step is finished.
• Motor parameters has a 10000 time write limits, it should not be run frequently in scripts.

Set the baudrate for each motor (replace 1 with your motor CAN ID and 5000000 with desired baudrate):

Set temporarily:

python3 change_baudrate.py --baudrate 5000000 --canid 1 --socketcan can0

Save permanently:

python3 change_baudrate.py --baudrate 5000000 --canid 1 --socketcan can0 --flash

Important: After completing the baudrate configuration, reconfigure your CAN interface to match the motor's new baudrate setting for proper communication if necessary.

Supported Baudrates:

Option	Baudrate	Description
0	125000	125 kbps
1	200000	200 kbps
2	250000	250 kbps
3	500000	500 kbps
4	1000000	1 mbps
5	2000000	2 mbps
6	2500000	2.5 mbps
7	3200000	3.2 mbps
8	4000000	4 mbps
9	5000000	5 mbps

Step 2: Set Zero Position

warning

Physically position the motors to your desired zero position before setting it, especially if you have already assembled the arm! For grippers, the closed position is used as zero.

Set the zero position for a specific motor:

./set_zero.sh can0 001

Or set zero position for all motors (IDs 001-008):

./set_zero.sh can0 -all

Step 3: Verify Motor Communication

Run the motor check executable, replace 1 and 17 with your motor's send and receive CAN IDs. The motor-check executable should be available in the build directory from the library compilation. If it's missing, rebuild the project. Note: CAN ID 17 is the decimal representation of 0x11

For CAN 2.0

cd openarm_can/build
./motor-check 1 17 can0

For CAN FD mode:

./motor-check 1 17 can0 -fd

The output should display the motor's receiver ID, baudrate, and status information.

Verification steps:

1. Check baudrate: Verify the displayed baudrate matches what you configured earlier
2. Test permanent settings: If you used --flash, power cycle the motor and run the check again to confirm the settings persisted
3. Troubleshoot: If the baudrate doesn't match, switch your CAN interface to 2.0 and re-run the baudrate change script

warning

It is important to get the motor-check working before running the demo.

Troubleshooting

• Check CAN interface is UP
• Verify motor is physically connected and powered, set with the correct ID
• Verify can connection is stable (important!)
• Use candump to monitor the traffic
• Check CAN interface baudrate matches motor's current baudrate
• Verify send/receive CAN IDs are correct. Common pairs: 1→17, 2→18, 3→19, etc.