Control and network system of force actuators for deformable mirror active optics in LAMOST

The reflecting Schmidt plate MA of LAMOST consists of 24 segmented hexagonal sub-mirrors. Each sub-mirror is 25mm thick and 1.1m in diagonal. There are 34 force actuators on the back of one sub-mirror which need to be controlled to offer precise load to create correct mirror deformation. This paper presents the control method and network configuration of force actuators for one sub-mirror. Master computer running Windows NT operation system and slave controllers running DOS operation system are connected together via Ethernet local area network (ELAN) by means of TCP/IP protocol. Adopting five slave controllers, 34 force actuators are combined into a distributed system. Master computer controls five slave controllers and five slave controllers operate 34 force actuators. Master computer communicates with slave controllers normally, which receives state of each force actuator from slave controllers and sends instructions to slave controllers via Ethernet LAN. Each slave controller operates 8 force actuators to offer correct load. Axial load capacity of force actuator is ±150N (pull and push) with accuracy RMS≤0.05N. Force sensor is used as close-loop feedback apparatus to detect the micro load of the actuator.