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Messages - halkintool

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General Mach Discussion / Re: Plasma Application, Mach3 torch height control.

« on: January 23, 2009, 01:19:57 PM »

From the description in the manual, it seems like they're just selling the cable. What would I expect the nature of the output to be?

0-335VDC?

General Mach Discussion / Plasma Application, Mach3 torch height control.

« on: January 23, 2009, 11:27:29 AM »

Right now, my setup uses a pneumatic cylinder to control torch height up and down, and a handle to adjust to different plate thicknesses.

With the handle on my manual height adjustment, it would be quite easily to add a Z-axis. Im just wondering what would be required to interface the automatic torch height control with the mach. Do i need a THC board, or can I run a torch height control through software and my dspMC motion controller I/O?

Heres a little snippet from the plasma units manual,

MACHINE INTERFACE
The Pro-Cut 80 comes standard with a machine interface.
Interface signals provided include: arc start, arc
initiated, and arc voltage. These signals are accessible
through the 14 pin MS connector on the case
front.
ARC START:
The Arc Start circuit allows for triggering of the power
source to commence cutting. This circuit can be
accessed through pins K and M of the 14 pin MS connector.
The circuit has a 17 VDC nominal open circuit
voltage and requires a dry contact closure to activate.
ARC INITIATED:
The Arc Initiated circuit provides information as to
when a cutting arc has transferred to the work piece.
This circuit can be accessed through pins I and J of
the 14 pin MS connector. The circuit provides a dry
contact closure when the arc has transferred. Input to
this circuit should be limited to 0.3 A for either
120VAC or 30VDC.
ARC VOLTAGE:
The Arc Voltage circuit can be used for activating a
torch height control. This circuit can be accessed
through pins D and G of the 14 pin MS connector.
The circuit provides full electrode to work arc voltage
(no voltage divider, 335VDC maximum).
Users wishing to utilize the Machine Interface can
order a K867 Universal Adapter (please adhere to the
pin locations stated above) or manufacture a 14 pin
MS connector cable assembly.

Im not quite sure I understand what the ARC voltage pin outputs are going to look like. "The circuit provides full electrode to work arc voltage" I was hoping the machine would just give off an analog output to indicate arc voltage, what do you think?

General Mach Discussion / Re: MDI does not honor machine parameters?

« on: January 15, 2009, 05:41:05 PM »

If im in the program window, i can job and it decels and stops on the limit (107") if i flip to the MDI window and say "x= 200" it will try....

General Mach Discussion / MDI does not honor machine parameters?

« on: January 15, 2009, 05:33:36 PM »

When you input a command through MDI that exceeds the soft limits, it just goes for it and depending on speed, can crash. Is there a way to make the MDI follow software limits?

dspMC/IP Motion Controller / Re: Axis works tuning graphs...

« on: January 13, 2009, 12:32:17 PM »

Just so you know what im talking about.

Velocity is also spelled wrong...

dspMC/IP Motion Controller / Axis works tuning graphs...

« on: January 13, 2009, 11:54:07 AM »

When i execute a command with a graph, my results come up, i get a red line, a blue line and a green line.

However, where the text comes up on the left labelling the lines, all 3 layers of text are ontop of each other and i can't tell which position line is command and actual. Is there a newer version of axis works to correct this?

This is off the vital site and its obvious what color does what, but thought it could be looked at

dspMC/IP Motion Controller / Re: Motion controller ethernet not communicating.

« on: January 13, 2009, 10:36:36 AM »

I found it on that page after i was told, however if it was clear it would have been picked up. Im guessing lots of people have made the same mistake. I think it would be wise to note on the connection page that there is a differentiation between a standard ethernet cable and a crossover ethernet cable, i just assumed they were the same. The whole "build your own CNC machine" market is appealing to the DIY'ers and most i would say dont have the comprehensive computer knowledge required to pick up on those types of subtleties.

Just a thought, id add an astericks at the bottom of that page and say "Note, for direct computer/dspMC communication, an ethernet crossover cable is required. This is not the same as a standard ethernet cable."