Messages

41

General Mach Discussion / Re: 2nd Parallel port with all pins at 5v ?

« on: September 23, 2012, 05:39:46 PM »

Tried that at least twice as I couldn't get it sorted the same day so definitely restarted the following day and, I'm sure, rebooted as a matter of course when I fitted the thing.
Anyway, one more question answered so I'll move on to the next!

Thanks ...Sweep

42

General Mach Discussion / Re: 2nd Parallel port with all pins at 5v ?

« on: September 23, 2012, 02:49:53 PM »

Seems a bit odd answering my own question, but this is how I solved it.
I tried the card in another PCI slot on the same PC and another PC and still all pins were measured at 5V.
As i was using this card as the 2nd LPT and mainly inputs it was difficult to get any response as feeding 5v to a pin that had 5v did nothing.
As a last resort I swapped the addresses of LPT1 & 2 which allowed me to 'push' data from the computer out of the card instead of looking for inputs. With the change of address it now meant that this new card was feeding output signals to all 3 axis for step & direction.
It seems that this 'push' of information got everything aligned internally (?) to where it should have been and the thing now works perfectly.

43

General Mach Discussion / 2nd Parallel port with all pins at 5v ?

« on: September 20, 2012, 05:38:56 PM »

A couple of years ago I bought a Sweex PU005 parallel port card for my PC to give me a 2nd set of IO's
Whilst I installed it in the PC I never got round to using it as I had plenty of capacity on LPT1.
Now that I have run out of space on LPT1 I started connecting to it and have found, curiously, that all signal pins, except Pin 17 (?) measure 5v to the ground pins. It doesn't matter if I have pins 2-9 set as inputs the results are the same.
I have changed the port address to dff0 as per the View by Resource field in Device Manager but nothing changes, or is there a way to automatically find the correct adddress?

Any ideas?

thanks ...Sweep

44

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Triggering a user reset

« on: September 20, 2012, 02:00:13 PM »

Hi TP,

Just located your post and attachment from 19th July 2011 which seems to suggest you are correct ...but you knew that anyway 
Reading through the attachement it does seem quite a step above my 2 days experience of programming, and I will need to understand what the ATC return strings mean and if they are tool number dependent etc., but is definitely something that I will be looking at.
For now I will probably experiment with relying on the relays as that is a only switched when the ATC has finished its cycle and is something my 'mechanical' mind can visualise.

Many thanks ...Sweep

45

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Triggering a user reset

« on: September 20, 2012, 03:26:50 AM »

Not sure why I can't edit my last post, but I can't so adding further comment here:

Hi TP.
It would make better sense to use Serial input strings from the ATC than relying on approximate Sleep times to step through the program, but according to page 107 of the Macro Programmers Guide, Serial Output Functions Grouped Alphabetically, it says "Serial input is not supported in Mach3 v3."
If there is a way for Mach to deal with serial input, or my info is out-of-date, please advise where I can get some info as this would potentially give a better solution.

Hi Gerry.
I noticed the 1021 button but misunderstood it being just to "reset" a fault condition but I guess it actually toggles between fault and reset.
Lots to learn!

thanks ...Sweep

46

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Triggering a user reset

« on: September 20, 2012, 01:57:55 AM »

Thanks for your responses guys.
I am sure that the ATC did originally use the serial port 'handshake' as you describe TP but I was under the impression that Mach can only send via the serial port  and not act on incoming data strings.
Fortunately for me the Denford ATC also has two relays that change state depending on the toolchanger condition: one opens its contacts when the ATC is in motion, whilst the other only changes state if the ATC receives a bad, unintelligible, string of data.
These two relays were originally also connected back to the Denford motherboard by DIN plugs and cable so must have performed a similar function.
I will try the 1021 button tonight Gerry.

Many thanks to you both ...Sweep

47

VB and the development of wizards / Triggering a user reset

« on: September 19, 2012, 04:04:15 PM »

Still experimenting with my first bit of code, RAH, to allow me to interface my ATC.
I have wired Mach input #1 to one of the onboard relays of the ATC that changes state whilst the ATC is in motion. My thought was that if I Sleep the RAH code for the longest period it takes to datum the ATC carousel, i.e. rotating all the way from station 6 to station 1, and then IsActive input #1 I can either continue through the program or initiate a user reset.
What I am not happy with is the DoButton(3) stop command as it doesn't seem correct as Mach isn't running any Gcode at this point so can't stop anything. I would like to initiate an Estop type of condition where the system prevents any further action until the reset button is pressed but I can't figure out what command is needed.
Please feel free to comment on the code in general for mistakes as I am still learning (guessing!) so I expect there are plenty.

thanks ...Sweep

DoButton( 24 )
DoButton( 23 )
DoButton( 22 )
DoButton( 25 )

Sleep(100)
While IsMoving()
   Sleep(100)
Wend

SendSerial("B0000133E167R25")
Sleep 2000
If IsActive(INPUT1) Then
   SendSerial("D44")
Else
   SetTicker(0,"Toolchanger datum failed ...check air supply")
   Dobutton(3)
End If

Sleep 5000
If IsActive(INPUT1) Then
   Message"ATC Datum Achieved"
Else
   SetTicker(0,"Toolchanger datum failed ...reset ATC")
   Dobutton(3)
End If

48

General Mach Discussion / Max output current from a single Parallel port pin?

« on: September 18, 2012, 03:23:48 PM »

I am wanting to build a simple circuit board with connection blocks and resistors for the 13 input pins on my second parallel pin port.
I had planned that the individual circuits would be very basic and similar to that shown on page 4-8 of the Using Mach3 Mill instruction book.
This board will be positioned in my control cabinet and allow easy connection to the parallel pin port of the computer and various switching devices for the input signals. The switching devices will likeley be a mixture of relay contacts, rocker switches, push buttons, and the connections of a MPG.
I would like to use one of the four output pins (1,14,16 or 17) of the same board for the 5V supply but I am unsure of how much current I can draw from one pin which, I guess, will determine the size of my resistors, and is there a maximum size of resistor that can be used for each input individual input circuit before the voltage drops too low to change its state? i.e. can I use, say, 10kOhm on each leg to keep down the current of the output pin?
The simple circuit on page 4-8 uses 470ohm resistors but, in the unlikely event of all 13 switches being closed at the same time, can the single input supply sufficient current (138mA) without a problem?

thanks ...Sweep

49

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Where to start?

« on: September 15, 2012, 02:45:39 PM »

Yes. It mentioned something about axis not properly datumed. I got a reply on the General Forum which more or less said disregard it as it detects things that are unusual, and as I started messing with the code then this was to be expected.
Anyway, good news! Not sure how or why but the SendSerial command is now working fine so I started experimenting with a little bit of coding on the RAH switch which works well.

DoButton( 24 )
DoButton( 23 )
DoButton( 22 )
DoButton( 25 )

Sleep(100)
While IsMoving()
   Sleep(100)
Wend

DoOEMButton(133)
DoOEMButton(134)
DoOEMButton(135)

SendSerial("B0000133E167R25")
Sleep 3000
SendSerial("D44")
 

The first SendSeial is to check whether air is present and the D44 datums the carousel stepper motor.
I dont think the DoOEMButton 133, 134 and 135 are used as I don't have encoders fitted so I will delete these tomorrow and see if all works well. I will also remove the 2nd Sleep command and replace it with an input from the ATC that runs D44 when the ATC relay changes over after the first procedure completes.

With my new found confidence, and with many thanks to you TP, i have started to work on my Toolchanger screen for Mach3. I have tested the basic commands and they work too. Yippee!
The next big question is whether to have my tool offsets held within Mach or my CAM program. My first thought was to have them within Mach so I could use the machine manually as well as fully automatic but i wasn't sure if the CAM will try and bring across tool offsets of, say zero, when I load the Gcode?

50

General Mach Discussion / Re: Abnormal Condition LED

« on: September 15, 2012, 02:02:01 PM »

Cheers Hood,
I suppose now that I'm playing with the screen script it will be upsetting things a bit.
At least knowing I can disregard it gives me something less to worry about.

...Sweep