In our workshop we have a Lenze i950 servo drive that has an EtherCAT bus and CiA402 compatibility. The WAGO is PFC200 750-8212 and as per documentation it has built-in license for SoftMotion Light functionality. It is not capable of supporting the full SoftMotion functionality like gearing and synchronizing.
I added the EtherCAT esi files from Lenze and the EtherCAT master does see the drive, then I added a SoftMotion Light Axis object. The problem is that I can only energize the axis, I cannot execute any other commands. I set the positive and negative torque limits from the PDOs to 200% and when I try to move the axis by force it does not move back to its original position.
I use the SML function blocks from the PLCOpen library and the error from the function blocks is that the op mode cannot be changed.
Then I tried using a standard SoftMotion axis object and everything works fine, except the MC_Home function block. The axis moves back to its position when forced out of it.
According to the Lenze i950 documentation you linked in your post, none of these modes are supported. Not even Homing Mode which explains why MC_Home does not work even with the full SoftMotion.
The full SoftMotion uses Cyclic Synchronous Position Mode (CSP) but still uses Homing Mode (HM) when using MC_Home.
You can monitor PDO 0x6060 (Mode of Operation). When using SoftMotion Light you will see it set to 1 (PP) for a MC_MoveAbsolute_SML and MC_MoveRelative_SML and to 3 (PV) for MC_MoveVelocity_SML and to 6 (HM) for MC_Home_SML.
When using the SoftMotion instructions, it will pretty much always be set to 8 (CSP) except when using MC_Home, then it will be set to 6 (HM).
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
basically the i950 drive support CiA402 Basic and CiA402 Advanced modes. I attached pictures of both mode supported functions. It also support CSP, VL, CSV and CST modes.
It seems the homing mode is in CiA402 Advanced mode but how can you not have the homing mode in both modes? It is a vital part of any servo system.
If I use the SoftMotion standard demo mode, I can move the servo absolute and relative but cannot home it.
But in SoftMotion Light mode, I cannot execute any motion function.
I don't have time to go through the whole manual but as I said earlier, the servo drive does not support any of the modes needed for SoftMotion Light to work.
If you want to use the full SoftMotion, you could use SMC_Homing function block to do the homing. This function block does not use the Homing Mode. It still uses the CSP mode and does the logic in Codesys runtime instead of in the servo drive. Read the documentation about it to see if it fits your needs.
But if your controller only supports SoftMotion Light, I am afraid you will not be able to use the i950.
I do a lot of motion stuff with different servo brands. Some support all the modes needed for SoftMotion Light and some don't. You really need to make sure the modes are supported before choosing a brand over another.
I tend not to use brand specific controllers in order not to be limited by their supported features. I usually choose a PC (Linux or Windows) and install the Codesys runtime and licences myself. This is the most flexible way to use Codesys in my opinion.
Depending on how many axes are needed in your project, a full SoftMotion license may not be more expensive than SoftMotion Light because SoftMotion is available as Application based license whereas SoftMotion Light is not. But of course, SoftMotion is harder on the CPU than SoftMotion Light.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Hello,
In our workshop we have a Lenze i950 servo drive that has an EtherCAT bus and CiA402 compatibility. The WAGO is PFC200 750-8212 and as per documentation it has built-in license for SoftMotion Light functionality. It is not capable of supporting the full SoftMotion functionality like gearing and synchronizing.
I added the EtherCAT esi files from Lenze and the EtherCAT master does see the drive, then I added a SoftMotion Light Axis object. The problem is that I can only energize the axis, I cannot execute any other commands. I set the positive and negative torque limits from the PDOs to 200% and when I try to move the axis by force it does not move back to its original position.
I use the SML function blocks from the PLCOpen library and the error from the function blocks is that the op mode cannot be changed.
Then I tried using a standard SoftMotion axis object and everything works fine, except the MC_Home function block. The axis moves back to its position when forced out of it.
I follow this guide from Lenze - Lenze i950 CODESYS V3
What could cause this issue with the SoftMotion Light axis object?
Best Regards
Konstantin Kolev
Last edit: konstantin 2026-02-11
In order to use SoftMotion Light, a servo drive needs to support CiA 402 operating modes: Profile Position (PP), Profile Velocity (PV) and Homing Mode (HM).
https://content.helpme-codesys.com/en/CODESYS%20SoftMotion%20Light/_sm_light_requirements.html
According to the Lenze i950 documentation you linked in your post, none of these modes are supported. Not even Homing Mode which explains why MC_Home does not work even with the full SoftMotion.
The full SoftMotion uses Cyclic Synchronous Position Mode (CSP) but still uses Homing Mode (HM) when using MC_Home.
You can monitor PDO 0x6060 (Mode of Operation). When using SoftMotion Light you will see it set to 1 (PP) for a MC_MoveAbsolute_SML and MC_MoveRelative_SML and to 3 (PV) for MC_MoveVelocity_SML and to 6 (HM) for MC_Home_SML.
When using the SoftMotion instructions, it will pretty much always be set to 8 (CSP) except when using MC_Home, then it will be set to 6 (HM).
Hello,
basically the i950 drive support CiA402 Basic and CiA402 Advanced modes. I attached pictures of both mode supported functions. It also support CSP, VL, CSV and CST modes.
It seems the homing mode is in CiA402 Advanced mode but how can you not have the homing mode in both modes? It is a vital part of any servo system.
If I use the SoftMotion standard demo mode, I can move the servo absolute and relative but cannot home it.
But in SoftMotion Light mode, I cannot execute any motion function.
Here is the official manual for i950 servo drive - i950 Documentation
Best Regards
Konstantin Kolev
Last edit: konstantin 2026-02-13
I don't have time to go through the whole manual but as I said earlier, the servo drive does not support any of the modes needed for SoftMotion Light to work.
If you want to use the full SoftMotion, you could use SMC_Homing function block to do the homing. This function block does not use the Homing Mode. It still uses the CSP mode and does the logic in Codesys runtime instead of in the servo drive. Read the documentation about it to see if it fits your needs.
But if your controller only supports SoftMotion Light, I am afraid you will not be able to use the i950.
I do a lot of motion stuff with different servo brands. Some support all the modes needed for SoftMotion Light and some don't. You really need to make sure the modes are supported before choosing a brand over another.
I tend not to use brand specific controllers in order not to be limited by their supported features. I usually choose a PC (Linux or Windows) and install the Codesys runtime and licences myself. This is the most flexible way to use Codesys in my opinion.
Depending on how many axes are needed in your project, a full SoftMotion license may not be more expensive than SoftMotion Light because SoftMotion is available as Application based license whereas SoftMotion Light is not. But of course, SoftMotion is harder on the CPU than SoftMotion Light.