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Messages - simpson36

1031
Thx Hood,

Already read all of that stuff, CNC zone also.

Looking for MACH3 specific comment.

1032
Unless someone comes up with a specific suggestion for hole spacing and size, you might consider using peg board to build a proof of concept prototype before you spend valuable time and cut up your expensive material.

The 'table' will undoubtedly be supported around the edges and applying a vacuum will tend to bow the center down. My suggestion on the Plex table would be to use the second sheet to make reinforcing ribs to glue to the underside of the 'table sheet' and make the box from wood or sheet metal.

An alternative would be aluminum bars running every 6 or 8 inches or so under the plex to support it.

This should be an interesting thread to follow.

1033
I'm not an electronics guy so I can't help with your question.

My experience with wireless devices around the CNC controls has been scary. Both a wireless network adapter and the wireless Xbox controller completely compromised my system.

Your mileage may vary, but I suggest you proceed with caution . . .  and perhaps also with an oscilloscope.

1034

There is a very interesting read on the CNCforum that follows the development of this product. It is the 'swiss army knife' of servo drives, apparently.

People (including myself) have expressed an interest in reading a review, and I can find none so far on the web.

So I am considering doing a review of this, and in the initial research phase, I have found quite a bit of stuff, but not people usiing it with MACH3 so much. Nice to start with some feedback from users if possible. I'm also finding what seem to be rumors about the drive supporting two motors and there is one Youtube vdeo showind it drivng a stepper to 9,000 ROM. Yet these things are not documented officially.

I find that many product reviews are unreliable because the reviewers ask for 'loaners' thereby tipping off the vendor to the review. They get 'special' versions of the products and special treatment and access to tech support and development teams than no average customer would get. I buy the product, record my experience as I go thru the process, and then if I like it I keep it and if not, I try to return it. That's the only way to really know what to expect from the vendor and the product.

Has anyone been using thses drives with Mach3 successfully?


1035

I would like  to add this product to my review, but I am getting nowhere with the initial research as I can find zip, nada  . . . zero on anyone using these products at all.

Their web site is relatively new, I think. They have a new presence on Ebay, but no sales of the complete system yet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160350909100&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

the ebay link will eventually expire, so here is the comapny web site:

http://www.dmm-tech.com/


It seems like a no-brainer to snatch these things up, so I'm wondering why these things aren't all over the place.

Does anyone know anything about this setup?

1036

'Living document' will be revised and expanded occationally but link will remain the same, so just hit it again for lastest updates.

This is only a documentation of my experiences with the products and is not an endorsment or 'buying giude'.  Comments welcome.

http://www.thecubestudio.com/ServoDriveReview.htm



1038
One of my BOBs has an led at each pin. Makes the board pretty big, but I have found the leds to be invaluable. For inputs, you can simply take 5V from the BOB and touch the input pins on the BOB  and see which boxes light up on MACH diag screen.


For the money, I woudln't even bother doing research or making something up.

http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/product_info.php?cPath=33&products_id=49


1039
I don't need speed, I don't think, because I would not be trying to do any sort of motion control. What I would want to do is simply  change the drives parameters. Change the following error setting and or turn faulting on and off. Maybe change the PID for different purposes, perhaps reset the drive, stuff like that.

All would be done while the machine was idle and not while running g-code.

Since Windows is a mutil-tasking OS< I could bounce out of Mach and talk to a drive with another APP, but that's not really the setup I'm looking for. I want to be able to do it unattended . . so I think that will require firing up either RS232 or USB from within MACH, utilizing wither VB script or maybe a brain (haven't crossed that bridge yet).

So I'm just looking for the mechanism to do it. Not a big priority at the moment, since the Rutex drive I am using doesn't comm over RS232. It's just an idea that I've been noodling over.

1040
Remember computers have been multi tasking long before they had multiple processors.

In the realm of PCs, I agree.  In any event, methinks this is one of those symantics things; multi-tasking vs multi-threading.



I've been wanting to talk to servo drives from MACH and it sounds like you might be a good go-to person for serial communications questions related to Mach . . . .  so:

I know of three possibilities (four if you count writing a plug-in, which is beyond my capabilities) to get mach talking to the serial port.

1) is one of the 'semi-documented' VB script commands, but there is only mention of output on that one.

2) again VB script, but this time a generic routine thatone would have to flech out with all of the parameters for serial port control.

3) a recently posted technique using what appeared to be a Windows TSR that is called (I think) also thru VB script. Nobody really took the bait on that one and it faded quickly.

So, Mr. Birt, how difficult would it be to get bi-directional RS232 comm going that is callable from within Mach?