Messages

341

PoKeys / Re: Adventures in Pokeys

« on: June 17, 2013, 02:00:14 AM »

Hi, Ozzie

Do you have multiple sources setting a specific DRO?

Regards,
Matevž

342

PoKeys / Re: Adventures in Pokeys

« on: June 14, 2013, 02:33:48 PM »

Hi, Ozzie

PoKeys SW is/was main application for setting up the PoKeys device and it also contains quite a lot of functions used for debugging purposes.
Mech3 plugin was developed in such a way that PoKeys software is not needed for setup, but is still usefull for debugging stuff (it is way harder to implement these function in the plugin). So, this is why there is a separate manual for PoKeys (software) and separate for Mach3 plugin. We know that there are many things missing in the manual, but it is hard to describe all of them due to shear amount of them.

Regarding the pots - if you are using long wires between PoKeys and pot and using 100k pots that you mentioned, the wires pick up noise from the environment, which effects the measurements. Many times, analog inputs filtering if not solves, but at least greatly improves the situation. Open PoKeys SW and go to analog inputs and outputs, then slide the filter slider a few pixels to the right and check if it is any better.

Encoders - some Mach3's OEM DROs don't 'like' to be overwritten by the plugin. Did you configure the encoder in the plugin also?

Regards,
Matevž

343

PoKeys / Re: Mach3 - PoKeys56U Latching Switch

« on: June 14, 2013, 02:02:54 AM »

Hi, Julian

I looked at the plugin (input to OEM LED mapping) and it should work. However, the machine wasn't ready and I couldn't test this jogging LED function. I will do my best to test it as soon as possible.

Regards,
Matevž

344

PoKeys / Re: Adventures in Pokeys

« on: June 12, 2013, 12:29:54 AM »

Hi, Ozzie

When such problem arise, it is best to start at the beginning.
Close Mach3 and use PoKeys configuration software to test your joystick. What is the resistance of the pot you are using?
Select pin that you have connected the pot to as analog input and send settings to device. Open Peripherals > Analog inputs and outputs and check the same pin again to make it refresh in real time. Does the bar change continuously with the pot rotation?

Regards,
Matevž

345

PoKeys / Re: Mach3 - PoKeys56U Latching Switch

« on: June 06, 2013, 01:50:11 AM »

I will be away from my machine till Monday - I will look at this then.

346

PoKeys / Re: Mach3 - PoKeys56U Latching Switch

« on: June 05, 2013, 04:51:21 AM »

Hi, dajuels

For latched operations (Jog On/Off in your case) you can use input to OEM LED mapping (instead of button mapping). This should make the Jog Mode on/off OEM LED directly reflect the switch state.
For deactivating all switches at once -> wire a key switch between PoKeys GND and the return wire of the switches (usually switches are wired between PoKeys pin and PoKeys GND). This will make the switches float when the key switch is disabled. Also, wire a 1k resistor between the switches GND and PoKeys +3.3V power supply.
So:
- instead of wiring the inputs between the PoKeys pin and PoKeys GND, wire all switches between PoKeys pin and new 'switches GND' point.
- wire a 1k resistor between the switches GND and PoKeys +3.3V
- wire a key switch between PoKeys GND and switches GND

Regards,
Matevž

347

PoKeys / Re: Pokeys and G320X Gecko servo drive

« on: May 29, 2013, 09:19:09 AM »

Hi, Hasher

You have two options to drive a servo with PoKeys device - with a servo driver (with your Gecko servo driver) or directly with PoKeys with external power switches.

Gecko servo driver accepts STEP and DIR signals which PoKeys can provide via integrated Pulse engine. This feature must be activated first for your device - send the serial number of your PoKeys device to support@poscope.com in order to obtain the activation number.
For example on how to use the pulse engine, see the Example_PulseEngine in the VB.NET examples folder.

To drive the servo directly, take a look at the PoBlocks - it is a free small PLC that is already integrated into the latest PoKeys firmware. You can easily construct the logic for a simple servo driver that will be executed on the device itself. If needed, you can use PID block that is already supported by the firmware.
Regarding the wiring:
* wire the motor encoder to pins 1 and 2 and enable fast encoder for these pins (via PoKeys configuration software).
* wire the motor to dual half-bridges and connect the input of those bridges to pins 17 and 18 (pins with PWM output)
Then, in PoBlocks, use Encoder block to read the value of the encoder and PWM outputs to drive the motor.

Regards,
Matevž

348

PoKeys / Re: Tuning a relay on and off

« on: May 22, 2013, 09:01:13 AM »

This relay board uses PNP transistors that are activated by the LOW signal. In order to turn them off, you must supply the VCC to them. However, this may be a problem if VCC is greater than 3.3V (that is the maximum voltage of the PoKeys pin).
One option for 5V relays (if VCC = 5V) is that you change the pin function back to digital input and provide an additional external pull-up resistor from pin to 5V.

349

PoKeys / Re: !!! glitches in step pulse train in pulse engine when charge pump enabled !!!

« on: May 02, 2013, 01:47:06 PM »

Please check whether this glitch has been resolved with update 3.0.55.

350

PoKeys / Re: PoBlocks

« on: April 17, 2013, 12:16:35 PM »

Shared data is a feature that (will) allows data exchange with third-party apps.
It mostly comes to life on PoKeys56E, where the shared data can be accessed via Modbus or be made available to Dashboard (web interface).