Messages

21

PoKeys / Re: pokeys vs DL06 PLC?

« on: March 10, 2010, 11:18:00 AM »

Thanks for all the input.  This might be wishful thinking, but I wonder if anyone has posted a program for a tool changer anywhere.  I haven't done ladder logic in forever.  I know I would have to edit it, but that always seems way easer than starting from scratch.

Best,

Bill

22

PoKeys / pokeys vs DL06 PLC?

« on: March 09, 2010, 07:32:36 PM »

Hi,

I have been doing a retrofit for way longer than I would like to admit and purchased an Automation Direct DL06 and all the necessary breakout hardware for doing a lot of the i/o on a vertical machining center with a tool changer.  I am just now getting to the tool changer and was thinking about maybe using the pokeys for the i/o instead.  It seems like it might be easier to program it with a brain or macro rather than having the plc handle some of the i/o and the smoothstepper I am using handle the rest. 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Bill

23

General Mach Discussion / Re: Drive Reccomendation?

« on: March 03, 2010, 03:06:12 PM »

Thanks,

Bill

24

General Mach Discussion / Drive Reccomendation?

« on: February 08, 2010, 06:11:27 PM »

I am thinking about doing a retrofit of a gang style lathe that has 2 100 Volt DC servo drives rated at 6A continuous and 36A peak current.  I was thinking of doing it with a smooth stepper and replacing the drives.  Does anyone know of cost-effective drives that would work well for this application?  I am hoping to find something that has position following error detection.

Thanks,

Bill

25

Galil / Re: Mach3 + Galil

« on: May 30, 2008, 08:19:39 PM »

I've started a Galil installation and don't know what to do next. 
I have the galil talking to mach and can make the dros move (which seems wierd since I don't have any motors or encoders hooked up to it yet).
After trying to find all the Galil related posts, it seems like I should use the Galil tools to tune the motors. 
I have no idea how to configure the i/o using the Galil plugin? 

Is there a step-by-step tutorial type thing somewhere? 

Thanks,

Bill

26

dspMC/IP Motion Controller / Re: Welcome to the dspMC/IP board

« on: May 26, 2008, 03:41:05 PM »

I am going to be doing a retrofit of a machine very soon.  I have a galil 2180 that I've had for quite a while, but for support reasons and  since I don't want to rely on ebay for replacements in the future and expect to do another retrofit soon, I am considering the dspmc option... So, I am wondering how far along people are.   Any parts made yet?  What is it looking like?  It looks like the dspmc is going to ge a great option for the future, but I want to be making parts in two-three weeks.  Is that possible with the dspmc?

Thanks,

Bill

27

General Mach Discussion / wierd behavior

« on: April 11, 2008, 11:51:49 PM »

Hi,

I was running a program when the machine started a x axis move before reaching the correct y axis point.  I checked the program which is correct.  There were also no missed steps.  I don't know what caused this.  Is there anything that could make mach not complete a line before moving to the next?  I have turned off the screen saver.  Should I also turn off the 'auto off' function for the monitor? 

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

28

General Mach Discussion / Re: M5, M3 and Estop issues

« on: April 01, 2008, 07:08:33 PM »

Cool!

I have figured out another solution, but that will be awesome for other stuff.  I think I'm going to try out the auto tool height macro.

Thanks a lot!

Bill

29

General Mach Discussion / M5, M3 and Estop issues

« on: April 01, 2008, 03:17:58 PM »

Hi,

This Shizouka I am retrofitting has a built in motor control panel consisting of a number of relays.  It is designed to take momentary M3, M4, and M5 commands.  So when mach outputs a steady signal for M3 and M4, and no signal for M5, it causes some issues.  My first step in dealing with this was to use a normally open, normally closed relay between the mach signal and the motor control panel.  This works for controlling the motor, but screws up the estop circuit (built into the motor control panel) which is a normally closed circuit.  I purchased some interval relays to change the signals going from the relay to the motor control panel to momentary and am going to try that.  Is there a way to change the way mach sends out M3 and M5 commands to momentary signals on separate pins?

Thanks,

Bill

30

General Mach Discussion / Re: missing steps???!

« on: March 18, 2008, 11:27:00 PM »

I'll give it a try.

Thanks,

Bill