Labs · Motion control

Zaber serial axis (zaber.serial.ascii.AsciiAxis)

Zaber serial axis (zaber.serial.ascii.AsciiAxis), adapted from ksunden/zaber.serial. It reads position and status; runs home_axis, move_abs, move_rel, move_vel and 1 more. home_axis: send the native home command and wait until the axis reports idle. A hardware driver: the market serves its fake backend, so no instrument is needed.

hardwareRisk R1Apache-2.0contract_checkedserved on the fake backend
openai4s lab add labs/ksunden__zaber.serial

Install

Three ways to run this device. Each one serves its fake backend: no instrument, no simulator install and no upstream checkout.

OpenAI4S (one command)

shell
openai4s lab add labs/ksunden__zaber.serial

Installs the device into the OpenAI4S Lab on its fake backend and starts it. First time? See setup below.

Or, in the workbench, open the Lab tab → Market → Install.

Standalone MHS endpoint

shell
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/PKU-YuanGroup/OpenMHS.git && cd OpenMHS
PYTHONPATH=MHS/sdk/src python3 -m mhs serve labs/ksunden__zaber.serial --port 7400
# in a second terminal, from the same directory:
PYTHONPATH=MHS/sdk/src python3 -m mhs describe --endpoint http://127.0.0.1:7400

Serves the device as an MHS endpoint on port 7400 from an OpenMHS clone (Python 3.10 or later, standard library only); describe prints what it offers.

Any MCP host (Claude Desktop, Cursor, …)

mcp configuration
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zaber-serial": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": [
        "-m",
        "mhs",
        "serve",
        "labs/ksunden__zaber.serial",
        "--mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PYTHONPATH": "/path/to/OpenMHS/MHS/sdk/src"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add this server to the host's MCP configuration and replace /path/to/OpenMHS with the path of your OpenMHS clone. The host starts the server and talks to it on stdin and stdout.

What it does

Measures

  • position
  • status

Adjusts

Nothing declared.

Actions

home_axis
Send the native home command and wait until the axis reports idle
move_abs
Move the axis to an absolute native position in microsteps and wait until idle
move_rel
Move the axis by a relative distance in microsteps and wait until idle
move_vel
Start continuous motion at a native speed; call stop to end it
stop_axis
Stop the axis with the native stop command and wait until it reports idle

Names as the driver declares them. Units, limits and the safety declaration are in the package's REFERENCE.md.

First-time setup

The OpenAI4S workbench with the OpenMHS lab, from a source checkout:

shell
# OpenAI4S workbench with the OpenMHS lab (source checkout)
git clone --recursive https://github.com/PKU-YuanGroup/OpenAI4S.git
cd OpenAI4S && ./setup.sh && source .venv/bin/activate
openai4s lab add labs/ksunden__zaber.serial
openai4s serve        # open the Lab tab

The standalone endpoint and the MCP server need only an OpenMHS clone and Python 3.10 or later. More in the market's getting-started guide and on the OpenAI4S host page.

Source and evidence

Pinned commit
4bd9e1103f6a
Licence
Apache-2.0
Stars
1
Evidence
contract_checked on the fake backend
Backends
fake, hardware

The driver package MHS/drivers/labs/ksunden__zaber.serial wraps the upstream code at the pinned commit. Its REFERENCE.md documents the full contract: every value, action, unit, limit and the safety declaration.