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motors:

This is a config file reference. Click for instructions.

This page is reference material which explains every setting and option for this section of an MPF yaml config file. See the instructions for config files for formatting and other details. See our guide to config file examples for more examples of real configs in action.

Valid in
machine config files YES ✅
mode config files NO 🚫

The motors: section of your config is where you configure motors with position switches.

MPF supports two types of motor devices:

  1. Motor can only move into one direction. The device mechanically changes the direction or moves in cycles.
  2. Motor can move in two directions.

Motors devices are controlled using digital_outputs which can map to either light or driver outputs.

Device which can only move in one direction

This is an example for a motorized drop target bank which is mounted to a camshaft. When the motor is running it constantly moves up and down. Two position switches are used to detect the current position.

switches:
  s_motorized_drop_target_bank_position_up:
    number:
  s_motorized_drop_target_bank_position_down:
    number:
digital_outputs:
  c_motorized_drop_target_bank_run:
    number:
    type: driver
motors:
  motorized_drop_target_bank:
    motor_left_output: c_motorized_drop_target_bank_run
    position_switches: !!omap
      - up: s_motorized_drop_target_bank_position_up
      - down: s_motorized_drop_target_bank_position_down
    reset_position: down
    go_to_position:
      move_bank_up: up
      move_bank_down: down

Device which can move in two directions

The slimer in Stern Ghostbusters is an example for a motor which can move in two directions. Both digital outputs are connected to light outputs. Again two position switches are used to detect the current position. In this setup the first and last switches are also considered as limit switches and the motor will stop once it hit one of them.

switches:
  s_slimer_home:
    number: 8-1
  s_slimer_away:
    number: 8-2
digital_outputs:
  c_slimer_motor_forward:
    number: 8-3
    type: light
  c_slimer_motor_backward:
    number: 8-4
    type: light
motors:
  ghostbusters_slimer:
    motor_left_output: c_slimer_motor_forward
    motor_right_output: c_slimer_motor_backward
    position_switches: !!omap
      - home: s_slimer_home
      - away: s_slimer_away
    reset_position: home
    go_to_position:
      slimer_home: home
      slimer_away: away

Another example of such a device would be the claw in Stern Batman DK (or also Stern Batman 66). It has more position switches but the mechanics are similar:

switches:
  s_claw_home:
    number:
  s_claw_position1:
    number:
  s_claw_position2:
    number:
  s_claw_position3:
    number:
  s_claw_position4:
    number:
  s_claw_position5:
    number:
digital_outputs:
  c_claw_forward:
    number:
    type: driver
  c_claw_backward:
    number:
    type: driver
motors:
  batman_claw:
    motor_left_output: c_claw_forward
    motor_right_output: c_claw_backward
    position_switches: !!omap
      - home: s_claw_home
      - pos1: s_claw_position1
      - pos2: s_claw_position2
      - pos3: s_claw_position3
      - pos4: s_claw_position4
      - pos5: s_claw_position5
    reset_position: home
    go_to_position:
      stop_claw: home
      go_pos1: pos1
      go_pos2: pos2
      go_pos3: pos3
      go_pos4: pos4
      go_pos5: pos5

Required settings

The following sections are required in the motors: section of your config:

position_switches:

Ordered list for one (or more) sub-settings. Each in the format of string : string name of a switches: device

Ordered map of name of the position and the switch which becomes active once this position is reached.

For example:

position_switches:  !!omap
    - home: s_claw_home
    - pos1: s_claw_position1
    - pos2: s_claw_position2

home, pos1 and pos2 are the names of your positions (you can choose them freely). s_claw_home, s_claw_position1 and s_claw_position2 are the switches to detect the position.

The order is important when the motor can move in two directions. For instance, if the device is at home and should move to pos1 it will move right. However, if it is at pos2 it will move left.

The same position logic applies when working with a motor that has a "home" position on the right instead of the left:

position_switches:  !!omap
    - pos2: s_claw_position2
    - pos1: s_claw_position1
    - home: s_claw_home

If it is not at any position and also does not know its previous position it will move left until it reaches a known position and may then change its direction again (usually this should not happen since it will move to a known position during reset).

reset_position:

Single value, type: string. Defaults to empty.

The position the device should move to on reset (as defined in position_switches).

Optional settings

The following sections are optional in the motors: section of your config. (If you don't include them, the default will be used).

go_to_position:

One or more sub-entries. Each in the format of string : string

A mapping of events to positions. Once an event in the mapping is posted the motor will move to the corresponding position.

For instance:

go_to_position:
    stop_claw: home
    go_pos1: pos1
    go_pos2: pos2

If you post stop_claw the motor will move to the position called home (as defined in position_switches).

Single value, type: boolean (true/false). Default: true

Whether the motor should be included in ball search.

motor_left_output:

Single value, type: string name of a digital_outputs: device. Defaults to empty.

Digital output to enable to move the motor left. You need to configure at least motor_left_output or motor_right_output if you motor can only move in one direction or both if it can move in both directions.

motor_right_output:

Single value, type: string name of a digital_outputs: device. Defaults to empty.

Digital output to enable to move the motor right. You need to configure at least motor_left_output or motor_right_output if you motor can only move in one direction or both if it can move in both directions.

reset_events:

List of one (or more) device control events (Instructions for entering device control events). Default: machine_reset_phase_3, ball_starting

Events on which the motor should move to its reset_position. You usually do not have to configure this.

console_log:

Single value, type: one of the following options: none, basic, full. Default: basic

Log level for the console log for this device.

debug:

Single value, type: boolean (true/false). Default: false

Set this to true to see additional debug output. This might impact the performance of MPF.

file_log:

Single value, type: one of the following options: none, basic, full. Default: basic

Log level for the file log for this device.

label:

Single value, type: string. Default: %

Name of this device in service mode.

tags:

List of one (or more) values, each is a type: string. Defaults to empty.

Not used.

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