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Messages - dbt3000files

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1
Mach4 General Discussion / simplest rotary setup for reference
« on: October 08, 2023, 10:19:37 PM »
Hi all, I was just looking for some advice about setting up a rotary encoder with Mach4.
There is a thread feeding device on one of my machines (as in cotton thread, not screw thread) and I need a way for the machine to check if it is feeding properly.
If I have a rotary encoder on the spool of thread, I can just have a macro check its position before and after an operation.
I have never set up a rotary encoder with Mach4, so I am not sure what the best way to go about it is. I am using 6 axes, and I am assuming I don't want that encoder associated with any of these axes, or does that matter?

Using: Mach4, Pokeys57CNC, PoOptoIn, PoExtBusOC16, and Clearpath motors

Any advice is welcome!
Thanks,
David

2
Does anyone know if the MB3 has built in pull-up resistors? I noticed that the ClearPath manual suggests attaching an external pull-up resistor in the circuit.
I have been experiencing a false signal in the inputs connected to my HLFBs every once and a while and I am trying to get to the bottom of the problem. If anyone has a circuit drawing specifically for the ESS and MB3 that they know to be correct, I would really appreciate seeing it!
Thanks for any help!

3
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 freezes up while running
« on: July 10, 2021, 02:39:04 PM »
Thanks for your replies. I am using Mach4 4612

I was thinking the same thing about running out of data, but after checking the log report (pasted below) I get a message saying that the estop is active as soon as it freezes up. Since the estop is not active, and still works when I hit it, (Mach4 stops being frozen, goes into disabled state, stops the spindle etc.) I am confused as to what that means. My estop is only wired into an input on the ess and not hardwired to any power sources or anything else.

I am pasting kind of a big chunk of the log report just in case, but the estop message is at the end, and continues as long as Mach 4 remains "frozen".

Quote
2021-07-10 11:59:14.026 - SoftSync()! Clearing planner. gcodeexec.cpp:168
2021-07-10 11:59:14.191 - SoftSync()! Clearing planner. controlset.cpp:210
2021-07-10 11:59:14.191 - API: mcCntlGcodeExecuteWait(inst = 0, commands = 'g0 z0
') (unknown caller)
2021-07-10 11:59:14.310 - SoftSync()! Clearing planner. gcodeexec.cpp:168
2021-07-10 11:59:14.464 - SoftSync()! Clearing planner. controlset.cpp:210
2021-07-10 11:59:14.464 - API: mcCntlGcodeExecuteWait(inst = 0, commands = 'f2000
g1 x-3.8100 y-5.0500
g1 z-.84
') (unknown caller)
2021-07-10 11:59:14.581 - SoftSync()! Clearing planner. gcodeexec.cpp:168
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Waiting on planner to drain before waiting on SetStill... runcanon.cpp:92
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Waiting on SetStill...
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Controller::RunCanonBuffer called AddStopReportRequest() runcanon.cpp:101
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Requesting a stopped report for axis 0 motors.
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Requesting a stopped report for motor 0.
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Requesting a stopped report for axis 1 motors.
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Requesting a stopped report for motor 1.
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Requesting a stopped report for axis 2 motors.
2021-07-10 11:59:15.528 - Requesting a stopped report for motor 2.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - API: mcMotionSetStill(inst = 0, motor = 0) (Called by ESS)
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - SetStill(): Motor 0 last position reported = -7620.0000 controller.cpp:1400
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - Axis 1 reports that it is still moving! controller.cpp:1407
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - >>>--- ESS: Reporting Stopped: Motor 0 -7620.000000   #B
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - API: mcMotionSetStill(inst = 0, motor = 1) (Called by ESS)
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - SetStill(): Motor 1 last position reported = -10100.0000 controller.cpp:1400
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - Axis 2 reports that it is still moving! controller.cpp:1407
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - >>>--- ESS: Reporting Stopped: Motor 1 -10100.000000   #B
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - API: mcMotionSetStill(inst = 0, motor = 2) (Called by ESS)
2021-07-10 11:59:16.048 - SetStill(): Motor 2 last position reported = -1680.0000 controller.cpp:1400
2021-07-10 11:59:16.049 - All motors marked as still.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.049 - >>>--- ESS: Reporting Stopped: Motor 2 -1680.000000   #B
2021-07-10 11:59:16.049 - Waiting on SetStill is Done!
2021-07-10 11:59:16.100 - SoftSync()! Clearing planner. controlset.cpp:210
2021-07-10 11:59:16.100 - Signal id 1058, (Output #8), changed from LOW to HIGH.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.101 -        ESS: Activating output Port1-Pin14 - puff
2021-07-10 11:59:16.401 - Signal id 1058, (Output #8), changed from HIGH to LOW.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.401 -        ESS: Deactivating output Port1-Pin14 - puff
2021-07-10 11:59:16.401 - Signal id 1051, (Output #1), changed from LOW to HIGH.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.402 -        ESS: Activating output Port2-Pin1 - p and p vert output
2021-07-10 11:59:16.402 - Signal id 1054, (Output #4), changed from LOW to HIGH.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.402 -        ESS: Activating output Port2-Pin17 - p and p vac output
2021-07-10 11:59:16.511 - Signal id 5, (Input #4), changed from HIGH to LOW.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.644 - Signal id 7, (Input #6), changed from LOW to HIGH.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.704 - Signal id 1051, (Output #1), changed from HIGH to LOW.
2021-07-10 11:59:16.704 -        ESS: Deactivating output Port2-Pin1 - p and p vert output
2021-07-10 11:59:16.910 - Signal id 5, (Input #4), changed from LOW to HIGH.
2021-07-10 11:59:17.005 - Signal id 1142, (Spindle Fwd), changed from LOW to HIGH.
2021-07-10 11:59:17.005 -        ESS: Activating output Port1-Pin17 - shaper spindle
2021-07-10 11:59:17.005 - API: mcCntlGcodeExecuteWait(inst = 0, commands = 'g0 z0
g0 x-.875 y-3.160
g0 z-1.51
') (unknown caller)
2021-07-10 11:59:17.124 - SoftSync()! Clearing planner. gcodeexec.cpp:168
2021-07-10 11:59:19.107 -    !!!!!! ESS: ESTOP signal is ACTIVE!
2021-07-10 11:59:21.173 -    !!!!!! ESS: ESTOP signal is ACTIVE!
2021-07-10 11:59:23.232 -    !!!!!! ESS: ESTOP signal is ACTIVE!
2021-07-10 11:59:25.289 -    !!!!!! ESS: ESTOP signal is ACTIVE!
2021-07-10 11:59:27.347 -    !!!!!! ESS: ESTOP signal is ACTIVE!
2021-07-10 11:59:29.407 -    !!!!!! ESS: ESTOP signal is ACTIVE!
2021-07-10 11:59:31.465 -    !!!!!! ESS: ESTOP signal is ACTIVE!
2021-07-10 11:59:33.523 -    !!!!!! ESS: ESTOP signal is ACTIVE!

4
Mach4 General Discussion / Mach4 freezes up while running
« on: July 08, 2021, 05:57:34 PM »
Has anyone had the issue of Mach4 freezing up while running g code? I have several machines that every couple of days or so will just stop moving, but behave in every other way as if they are still running a program. These machines are just running the same code over and over, so it's clearly not a problem with the g code. They also seem to freeze at random points regardless of whether they are running g code from within macro or not.
I am using Windows 10 with Mach 4470 and an ESS.
I will try moving everything to a newer version, but if anyone has any insight as to what might be happening I'd really appreciate it!

5
Ok, that's pretty interesting. That gives me a lot of things to experiment with at least. Thanks!

6
I decided that my post might be unnecessarily confusing, so maybe I'll just explain my application:
I have a motor that winds and unwinds a spool of sandpaper. I need to keep the speed of the sandpaper constant, so I need to:
1 Accelerate to the sanding speed.
2 Begin the sanding routine with the y and z axes
3 Gradually decelerate the spool as it fills up while the y and z axes are doing their thing. (to maintain constant sandpaper speed)
4 Decelerate the spool to stop and rewind to its starting point.

I have it all working ok using xyz and a as coordinated axes, but it is far from an ideal solution.

7
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: a axis not working for cv mode
« on: February 24, 2021, 11:25:35 AM »
Thanks Brian! That makes sense.
So my solution has been to add some "creep" to another axis while a is moving. Kind of silly, but it works ok.

What would be much better would be if I could switch back and forth between using the a axis as a spindle and an axis. It seems like mach3 might have had that ability? I posted that question as a new topic: https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=44433.0

8
I am having a really hard time getting smooth motion control out of my a axis, and I think that I should probably use it as a spindle for part of the operation. However, I need to keep track of its absolute position, and be able to return to zero after running it as a spindle.
Using it as an OB axis may be a possibility, but I need to be able to continuously control its speed during other axis moves.
 
I don't need to know its exact position during the operation, but after each cycle it has to be able to return to its original position.

Is swapaxis still a thing with Mach4? I couldn't find it in the CoreAPI file.

Any ideas?
Thanks!

9
Mach4 General Discussion / a axis not working for cv mode
« on: February 20, 2021, 11:50:02 PM »
I am having problems with the a axis not moving smoothly between coordinates. The following example code works fine:

g64
g93
g1
a1 y1 f600
a2 y2 f600
a3 y3 f600
a4 y4 f600

When I remove the y coordinates and try to run the following code, the a axis stops at every point:

g64
g93
g1
a1 f600
a2 f600
a3 f600
a4 f600

I apologize if this is a g code error, and therefore in the wrong forum, but I am assuming it is a problem with my Mach4 setup.
Any help would be really appreciated!


10
Mach4 General Discussion / new to OB axes
« on: February 05, 2021, 04:39:04 PM »
Hi,
I am trying to control a spool motor and the best way to do it is by using step and direction. It needs to operate independently during the g code runs of the main program so I am thinking I need to operate it as OB1.
The problem is, that the spool needs to change velocity during (and independently of) the running of the g code so I can't just turn it on like a spindle.
I am thinking that I probably would not be able to run the spool program as a macro because (I assume) it would just wait until the jog commands for the spool were done before starting the g code. I am not sure where to implement it though.

At this point I am stuck at square one, because I can't seem to get the jog function to work at all.

I am running the following program in a macro with a copy of Mach4 only on the computer, not hooked up to the ESS. I get no movement from any axis, and the message says -18.0.

function jogtest()
   local inst = mc.mcGetInstance()
   local rc
   rc = mc.mcJogIncStart(inst, 0, 1.0)
   if rc ~= mc.MERROR_NOERROR then
      wx.wxMessageBox(tostring(rc))
   end
end

Thanks for any help!

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