Topics

1

Galil / Problem overriding a tripped limit switch

« on: May 08, 2011, 05:37:49 PM »

Hello, I asked this in the general forum and they thought I should ask here too as it may be a Galil problem.

Alright, I recently wired up all my homes and limits. During testing I intentionally ran into a limit, Mach went to EStop and the servo drives went in to standby. Great so far. Then I hit the "Override Limits" button and reset Mach. The servos enabled BUT Mach never came out of EStop. The servos are active, Mach is in EStop mode and there is no way to move the axis or disable the servos without powering down and manually moving the axis off the switch.

So, that's the problem I have. Any help would be appreciated.

Here's a quick video of what I explained above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIeQWPUctU

2

General Mach Discussion / Limit and home coordinates questions

« on: May 08, 2011, 12:21:21 AM »

A few questions maybe someone can help me with??


1) When I trigger a limit switch (intentionally-for testing purposes), I cannot get Mach to let me move off the switch. I tried checking the "Auto limits override" and the "Manual override" but neither seem to work. Mach will not let me reset after a limit trips until the limit is manually deactivated.

2) I trip a limit switch and Mach goes into reset as expected. At this point if I hit the reset button my servos are enabled but Mach still is in a RESET mode and will not come out of reset.

3) How do I get Mach to automatically set my coordinates after a REF ALL? I have my Y axis home switch in the far positive position and would like Mach to set coordinates appropriately for the Y axis (it should be at machine coordinates +34.00 not 0.00)

I"m running Mach 3.043.022 and the Galil Plugin with a DMC1856

thanks

3

General Mach Discussion / Z axis brake - how to get Mach to control it???

« on: January 24, 2011, 06:10:36 PM »

So, I find myself needing to install a brake on the Z axis to stop it from dropping when motor power is off. I do not have a brake built into the motor, so I will build a spring loaded pneumatic actuator to press on the motor coupling. This will work just like a normal servo brake, holding the motor when power is released and releasing the motor when power is applied (via pneumatic cylinder)

I'm just not sure how to implement this electrically speaking? I am using a Galil Controller. Should I let the Galil controller handle the signal or let Mach handle the signal? Do I need a Brain or VB code or something to de-actuate the brake during run?

Appreciate any help...

4

Galil / Help! Anyone good at tuning Servos in Torque Mode???

« on: September 23, 2010, 09:52:33 PM »

Man!!! I am not having any luck tuning my servos thru Galil.

I have the Galil Tools program with the scope. I can get good movement if I set the servo drives up in Velocity Mode, but in Torque Mode (recommended by Galil for positioning systems)  I get bad oscillations no matter how I setup the PID.

Anyone have any pointers? What are the best signals to watch in the scope? I have been using Reference Position vs Encoder Position and tuning till I get a nice crisp rise with a little overshoot and quick settling out. Have the movement set to 2000 increments in 300ms. I can get a good tune in Galil, then when I go to Mach and run the axis it may be ok moving fast but oscillates badly moving slowly - or vice versa.


Should I just leave it in Velocity Mode? It does seem to overshoot about .003 before settling in Velocity mode. Maybe I could tune that out, I haven't tried.

5

Galil / Wiring limits

« on: August 26, 2010, 10:21:06 PM »

First off, Please excuse my complete lack of understanding of electronics   Well, I understand some basic stuff but I'm very unsure of myself and don't want to destroy a very expensive Galil card and ICM 2900.   

Ok, I need to start the wiring on my mill project and I'm having some questions about some basic stuff. I have a ICM 2900 and want to wire the limit and home switches.

Questions...  Should the wiring for the limit and home switches be hooked directly to the Galil ICM 2900 or is there some sort of optoisolation that needs to be placed in between the ICM2900 and the actual limit switch circuit? If hooked directly to the ICM, is there any built in protection to the Galil card or the computer? Do I need to provide the limit switch circuit with a external power source? Do I provide power through a pull up resistor? And if so, how is that wired into the limit switch circuit?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

6

General Mach Discussion / question about spindle control

« on: July 08, 2010, 09:16:55 AM »

I have a Galil card I will be using for the mill I am building. The Galil card can handle 5 axis, however I don't want to have to run another 100pin cable from the computer to the mill and add an additional  i/o board just for one axis. So I would like to stick with only 4 axis's total.


So, with only 4 axis's available, I need three for x, y and z and I want to be able to do tapping (with a tension/compression tap holder) and also have a 4th rotary axis for parts I have a commitment to make for my job.

So, my question is, can Mach control the spindle speed and direction without it being an axis or would it just be wise to get the extra cable and i/o board and use the 5th axis in the Gaili card for spindle control?

Thanks

7

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / 2nd Build - Steel Tube, Gantry Style, Mill / Router

« on: April 20, 2010, 10:58:50 PM »

Several years ago I built my first cnc router. It started as a plasma machine and evolved into a plasma/router/light duty mill. It never really was built to mill metals.

So, I decided it was time to build a new machine. This one will be much heavier then the first one. Hopefully it will mill aluminium and steel without too many problems.

The drive system will be AC servos run through a 1856 Galil card and Mach3. As far as speed goes, the goal is 600+ IPM on rapids.

Pictured is the gantry. 6x8" steel tubing, 1/2" thick wall, 70" long. Weighs about 300# with the flat bars welded on. Add the z axis and a spindle and the "mass in motion" will be over 500#!!

more to come...

8

Galil / Galil parameters thru Mach

« on: March 25, 2010, 10:31:16 PM »

Hello everyone.

First off - this is my first post so... Hello everyone. Been using Mach for a home built router for the last few years. The router is powered with steppers and it works ok. But as many of you know, this cnc thing can be very addictive! So, I picked up a few items on ebay. Got a Galil card and some ac servos. I am going to use the ac servos on a home built gantry style mill I just started working on today. (I'll start a build thread soon for those interested)

So, my question...

I would like to use the same computer with the Galil card installed in it on a few different cnc machines. Eventually I will have a Mill, Plasma table and small Lathe. Each machine will require different PID tuning for it's motors. These settings are set on the Galil card. Since I don't see anywhere in Mach that I can pre-program parameters for the Galil card does that mean when I switch machines I will have to make changes thru Smarterm before I run in Mach?

Also, Is there anyway to parse info from the Galil card thru Mach? I would like to use the TE (Tell Error) function to monitor any errors in position while Mach is running - like a DRO that shows the position error from the Galil card.

Thanks
Rob