Messages

731

General Mach Discussion / Re: EStop won't work

« on: October 08, 2009, 09:31:35 AM »

Also remember that the E-Stop input into Mach is to just let it know that an E-Stop occurred, you should not depend on Mach to stop the machine during an E-Stop.

732

General Mach Discussion / Re: program size

« on: September 29, 2009, 01:18:19 PM »

Did you copy the license to your Mach installation directory?

733

General Mach Discussion / Re: Circuit for remote LED indicator and reliable e-stop signals - photo & link

« on: September 28, 2009, 10:57:56 AM »

I have designed/installed countless automated industrial systems: I do know what I am talking about. I have limited this discussion to E-Stop as it was the point I first brought up. I am not picking a fight with you, just stating that a circuit like this is not proper to be placed in an emergency stop chain.

Depending on the machinery involved many different things may need to happen upon an E-Stop condition, therefore it is impossible to discuss EVERY possible scenario in a post such as this. On servo systems it is common to have a braking resistor switch in at the same time as the mains is cut to the DC to bring the axis to a controlled stop. On a vertical axis it is common to have a brake on the drive motor that comes on automatically when power to the drive motor is cut. Pneumatic/hydraulic systems will have their own requirements.

The example I gave previously was just that an example: it described a simple emergency stop circuit that did not relay on the control (Mach/PC) to work. Other equipment I have designed say an automated welding cell, something that is more complicated with light curtains/pressure mast would have all of these safety devices wired in series to a MCR (Master Control Relay, a safety relay that will always work) that might cut power to a rotary table while the same time signaling the robot controller that an E-Stop occurred. The robot controller than initiates its own internal E-stop scenario (remove servo power, lock brakes).

The point is that each device responds independently to an E-Stop condition, none of them are dependent on some master controller (Mach/PC) to tell them that an E-Stop has occurred.

734

General Mach Discussion / Re: Circuit for remote LED indicator and reliable e-stop signals - photo & link

« on: September 28, 2009, 09:17:48 AM »

Setting up an e-stop scheme outside of MACH makes no sense to me for many reasons.

You are completely backwards on this (I am only speaking towards an E-Stop circuit here). Your E-Stop circuit should be able to function independently of Mach and any other control/circuit board. The E-Stop HAS TO function even when the control fail (including Mach and/or PC).

For example: on my STDR-4C drive box the E-Stop kills AC to the power supply and consequently the G540 drive. So the motors stop, there is no power present to move them and the G540 stops thereby signaling Mach that something is wrong (external E-Stop). The E-Stop in Mach is only a signal to let Mach know that an E-Stop occurred Mach is not or should not be depended upon for E-Stop purposes.

735

General Mach Discussion / Re: Circuit for remote LED indicator and reliable e-stop signals - photo & link

« on: September 27, 2009, 10:20:24 AM »

When I see multiple outputs from a circuit board labeled E-Stop warning sirens go off in my head. The purpose of setting Mach up with an E-Stop input is to let it know when an E-Stop occurs, but this is an auxiliary function. The E-Stop circuit however is its own animal and should not depend on Mach know an E-Stop occurred for all motion to stop (power removed from drives) A proper E-Stop circuit should no depend on any single IC on any circuit board for proper operation.

736

Galil / Re: Strange #AUTO Galil program behavior

« on: September 22, 2009, 02:18:25 PM »

Well I sent the card in for repair and it worked fine for the guys at Galil. They sent it back and asked me to let them know what happened here. I plugged it back in to the machines motherboard and it would quit running programs at random places. I then set up an old Dell with a fresh copy of XP, loaded the Galil drivers, plugged the card in and it worked immediately on power up. I'm reloading XP on the machine at this time. The guys at Galil are still unsure what could have gone wrong on the PC to cause this as they have never seen this particular problem before: lucky me!

737

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Windows 7

« on: September 22, 2009, 09:54:40 AM »

I use Mach on Vista all the time, not one single problem. In fact I have yet to have any problems that were Vista's fault.

Laptops never work very well for Mach no matter what the OS is that is why it says right on the download page that laptops ARE NOT supported. I've gotten them to work before but it always involves lots of tweaks, special driver programs to keep the processor from slowing down etc. In the end it is not really worth all the time spent trying to get it to work. If you want to use a laptop then get a SmoothStepper: http://soigeneris.com/Warp9.aspx, if you want to stick with the parallel port then your best bet is to get a desktop PC. In the shop I use an old 1.5 gHz AMD box that I spent a whole $50 on. It runs Mach just fine.

738

General Mach Discussion / Re: Parallel Port problem....Let's see if you can fix it.

« on: September 21, 2009, 08:22:22 PM »

I don't think it is a SP2 problem. I have installed Mach on many XP machines with XP2. Double check that the port address shown in Device Manger is the same as you have set up in Mach.

Typically I would recommend installing XP and all updates before installing Mach.

739

General Mach Discussion / Re: Parallel Port problem....Let's see if you can fix it.

« on: September 21, 2009, 06:50:38 PM »

Take a look in Device Manger to see if the parallel port shows up there. It could be that the updates messed something up. I've done a boat load of XP updates and not had that particular problem though. It would be best to start with a fresh new install of Windows if you can find it get a copy of XP with SP3 slip-streamed in.

740

SmoothStepper USB / Re: Gaining Steps with SmoothStepper

« on: September 20, 2009, 12:05:58 PM »

Hey Rich your correct about the DROs, good thinking. Depending on your steps/unit you may not get an even number in the DRO due to rounding to the number of units displayed.