XMatrix API-SDK: put motion control inside your program

What it does

The development package turns the connect, jog, home, and status read of the commissioning software into functions you call from your own program. The PC finds devices with raw frames on the network adapter. You do not enter an IP. The motion logic stays on the controller.

• Connect, disconnect, and read the version.
• Open the official commissioning window and the parameter window.
• Read status text, position, limits, and I/O.
• Home by block, move by pulse or percentage, and emergency-stop.

How this differs from the XMatrix Command Interface

The XMatrix Command Interface sends text commands. The API-SDK calls functions inside a program. One device can use both.

First run

1. Request the development package from technical support and place the library next to the executable. The process width must match the library (a 64-bit program needs the 64-bit library).
2. Install WinPcap on this PC and connect Ethernet to device NET1 (a switch is fine). Do not configure a device IP, and do not ping.
3. MSP_Connect() , then loop MSP_Get_Connect() until it is not 0. The package searches for devices on the adapter itself.
4. Commission the motor on site: MSP_Debug(); change parameters: MSP_Dialog_Config().
5. If it has not been homed, call MSP_Block_T(0) first, then MSP_Block_A_Percent() to move by percentage.
6. On exit: MSP_DisConnect(), then MSP_Exit().

Shared configuration, commissioning, and parameters

This software function shares the MSP device foundation with the other XMatrix entries. Configure groups, axes, and motion modules, check home, limits, direction, and homing, then set speed, acceleration, travel, and protection. Enter the software mode on this page only after that foundation is done.

Published function groups

Full signatures follow the header in the development package. Only the groups and the common names are listed here. Request the SDK and the full API from technical support.

Examples in several languages

• C / C++: extern "C" header plus the import library, or load the entry dynamically as the current desktop build does. Calling convention cdecl. Strings are Unicode (wchar).
• C#: DllImport declares CallingConvention.Cdecl, and strings are marked CharSet.Unicode. Put windows on the UI thread of a local program that has an interface.
• Python: ctypes.CDLL (do not use WinDLL), and declare restype as c_wchar_p.

# Python 3 · minimum example (ctypes; 64-bit Python with the 64-bit library; the file name follows the package you receive)
import ctypes, time
dll = ctypes.CDLL(r"sdk.dll")          # the file name follows the package you receive
dll.MSP_Get_Connect.restype = ctypes.c_int
dll.MSP_Get_SPC.restype = ctypes.c_wchar_p

dll.MSP_Connect()
for _ in range(50):
    if dll.MSP_Get_Connect():
        break
    time.sleep(0.1)

print(dll.MSP_Get_SPC(0, 1))           # percentage status text
dll.MSP_DisConnect()
dll.MSP_Exit()

Matching hardware

The SDK calls the same underlying functions, so “which function” and “what is wired on site” line up one to one.

The item-by-item map is in XMatrix Features × MSP Hardware. Accessory categories and models are in Accessories and matching parts.

Common questions