KIM101 4 Channel K-cube Piezo Interia Motion Controller

May 1, 2023 • 4 min read

Github Link

KIM101 Inertial Motor

The Thorlabs KIM101 Inertial Motor can be controlled via USB communication.

Prerequisite

Please download and install the Thorlabs Kinesis Software, which installs .dll files necessary to communicate with the inertial motor. This means you'll also need a computer running on Windows OS. Make sure to choose the right 32-bit or 64-bit version.

Example

Below, we provide an example showing you how to communicate with your piezo inertia motion controller. The API is implemented as a wrapper on top of Thorlabs .dll.

import time
from tlkim101 import TLKIM101

def main():
    dll_path = "path/to/your/dll/file"  # # Replace with the folder path name where the Thorlabs Kinesis DLL files are located
    serial_number = "28000322"  # Replace with your KIM101's serial number
    channel = 1

    kim101 = TLKIM101(serial_number, dll_path)

    # Connect to the device
    kim101.connect(channel)
    print(f"Connected to KIM101 with serial number: {serial_number}")

    # Home the device
    kim101.home(channel)
    print(f"Homed KIM101 on channel {channel}")

    # Move the device to an absolute position
    position = 10
    kim101.move_absolute(channel, position)
    print(f"Moved KIM101 to position {position} on channel {channel}")

    # Wait for 2 seconds
    time.sleep(2)

    # Move the device relative to its current position
    step_size = 5
    kim101.move_relative(channel, step_size)
    print(f"Moved KIM101 by {step_size} relative to its current position on channel {channel}")

    # Wait for 2 seconds
    time.sleep(2)

    # Stop the device
    kim101.move_stop(channel)
    print(f"Stopped KIM101 on channel {channel}")

    # Disconnect from the device
    kim101.disconnect(channel)
    print(f"Disconnected from KIM101 with serial number: {serial_number}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

This example code does the following:

Imports the necessary modules and the TLKIM101 class from the tlkim101.py file provided.
Defines a main function that:
- Connects to the KIM101 with the given serial number.
- Homes the device for the specified channel.
- Moves the device to an absolute position for the specified channel.
- Waits for 2 seconds.
- Moves the device relative to its current position for the specified channel.
- Waits for 2 seconds.
- Stops the device for the specified channel.
- Disconnects from the KIM101.

Make sure to replace the dll_path variable with the correct path to your DLL file and serial_number with your KIM101's serial number. Typically the dll files are located in C:\Program Files\Thorlabs\Kinesis.