Topics

1

Brains Development / Toggle MPG mode with simple brain

« on: May 10, 2012, 11:36:50 AM »

I have a 4 axis MPG but my machine is 3 axis. I want to be able to toggle the MPG from Velocity mode to Step mode using the 4th axis switch since it is unused. This saves having to make the selection from the screen while you're looking at your machine. Every time the switch is pressed, the mode switches.The brain looks at the state of the Velocity and Step LED's and decides which mode button to push based on their state. These LEDs are not in the drop down list but if you just type in the number in the dialog box, the brain editor takes them and they seem to work just fine! You can use this idea to toggle any button with a LED, just need to know the proper codes (see Mach WIKI on OEMButtons and OEMLEDs) I hope this helps out if you need it.

2

General Mach Discussion / Port 2 with pci card causing pulse jitter

« on: April 13, 2012, 03:49:15 AM »

Hi all,

I've been using mach3 with an XP computer with one parallel port running a 3 axis mill. Works great for me. I wanted to add a second parallel card for more inputs and a MPG. I popped in a pci parallel port card that came with proper drivers for win 2000, XP, etc. Problem is when I enable the second port, even with all port pins disabled, my max pulse train going out to the motors is quite unstable. Low speed motion seems OK but high speed is very bad. When port 2 is disabled, the problem is gone (the card is still installed).

kernel is set to 25 kHz, max motor pulse frequency is 13.3 kHz. Dell Optiflex 1GB ram, 3 MHz processor, I've tried faster kernel frequencies but no change in the issue.

I bought the pci parallel card at Office Depot, I don't know the brand but I can pop the hood to get that info if it makes any difference.

Any ideas or suggestions to fix this would be most welcome. The other option is to go with MODBUS but the cards I've seen for MODBUS are expensive, I just need inputs for a nice MPG like what's for sale at CNC4PC.

Thanks for your time!