Logging
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Logging

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User Manuals

Motion keeps logs that contain useful information for troubleshooting. This is useful for an operator, if you need to track back and work out the exact sequence of events that led to an issue. They also contain information that is useful for Absolute Motion Control when diagnosing issues with your system.

Log entries include information about:

  • Hardware Button Presses
  • Cue Information
  • Axis Information
  • Communications
  • Application Events

Viewing Logs

To view the logs within Motion:

  • If you haven’t already, exit Motion back to the main Menu.
  • Tap the Logs button.
    • The menu, showing the logs button
    The menu, showing the logs button
  • Select the daily log file you want to review from the “Available Logs” dropdown.
    • The Available Logs dropdown
    The Available Logs dropdown

You can now review the information that has been stored in that day’s log:

  • The Time column shows the timestamp (HH:MM:SS,MS) for each log entry.
  • The Description column shows the information for each log entry.

To view the logs from Windows:

  • Use Windows File Explorer to navigate to: “C:\AMC-HMI\Logs”
  • This folder contains all the log files.
    • The current log file for today is named: “Application”
    • Archived logs are named: “Application.Log.YYYMMDD”
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To view the logs in chronological order, sort the logs by name.
  • Open the required log in a text editor like Notepad.
  • You can also copy these log files to USB for sending to Absolute Motion Control, if required.
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The text file is divided in to three columns.

  1. The Log Entry Timestamp (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS,MS)
  2. The Log Entry Type
  3. The Log Entry Description

Log Entries

This is an overview of the entries that you will see in the log.

Entries include log messages which contain Axis/Node/Cue/Button names, shown in red in this manual; IO Names, shown in green in this manual; and variable values (position, status, error messages etc.), shown in blue in this manual.

The log message formats are shown in below italics. Text appearing within square brackets is replaced with the relevant information in the actual log entry.

Application Entries

Application entires contain application events and database events:

  • Application Level
    • Application Started
    • Home Window Initialised
  • Database Level
    • Load Database Objects
    • Database Settings Loaded
    • Database Users Loaded
    • Database Nodes Loaded
    • Database Playbacks Loaded
    • Database Units Loaded
    • Database Axis Loaded
    • Database Deads Loaded
    • Database Cues Loaded
    • Database Cue Data Loaded
    • Database Moves Loaded
    • Database IO Loaded

Communication Entries

Communication entries contain system communication events - detailing how and when Motion starts or stops communicating to nodes/PLC’s:

  • clsComms instantiated
  • clsComms Disconnect() Called

Nodes Entries

Node entries contain information about specific system nodes and their communications with Motion:

  • [Node Name] Offline
  • [Node Name] Disconnect() called
  • [Node Name] Online
  • [Node Name] nodeComms dispose called
  • [Node Name]: clsPLCCom Connect() end of sub

Axis Entries

Axis entries contain information for a specific axis, including Axis Status and Drive Diagnostics.

Axis status change messages are logged any time they change.

  • [Axis Number (Axis Name)] status changed: [axis status]

Axis Drive Diagnostic Messages are logged every time they change:

  • [Axis Number (Axis Name)] Drive Diag Message: [axis drive diag message]

Axis entries can also contain additional information, such as the state of any axis IO (Low Ultimate, Low Initial, High Initial, High Ultimate, Estop), the value (True or False) and finally (and most crucially), the position at which this log entry occurred at.

  • [Axis Number (Axis Name)] [IO Name]: [True / False] at position [position]
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Usually, if the IO bit is good or OK, the value will be True. If the IO bit is signalling something bad, or not OK, the value will be False. However the exact configuration of each IO bit is specific to the application and can differ from production to production.

IO Entries

IO Entries contain the state of any IO, as configured in System Setup.

The log entries use the IO Name and Good/Bad Message text that is configured in System Setup.

The message corresponds to the state of the input bit (True or False, or 1 or 0 for example). They are also the same as you see within the RUN screens within Motion.

  • IO: [IO Name] - [Good Message / Bad Message]

Hardware Button Press Entries

Hardware Button Press Entries contain information about physical button presses. This can be useful to diagnose when a button was brushed quickly, or determining exactly when a Start button was pressed to initiate a move.

  • [Button Name] [pressed / released]

Cue Change Entries

Cue Change Entries contain information about a cue when it is selected, either by clicking on the cue list, or using the Next and Previous buttons on the console.

  • Cue [Cue Number] selected