Messages

11

Galil / Re: Galil 2080 and E Stop

« on: June 05, 2010, 09:59:44 AM »

You say that you solved your own problems, but you don't say what you did to solve them.

Would you take a few minutes and post your solution?  Might help others.

12

General Mach Discussion / PWM Questions

« on: December 31, 2009, 11:59:23 AM »

I'm trying to figure out some specifics about the PWM output.  No luck on the forum, so maybe this could be a reference for others.

Questions:

1.  Is there a set pulse rate for the PWM?  If so, what is it?  Or, does it change if you change the Kernel Speed?

2.  If I set Pulley #1 to 0-100, does that mean that I can vary the PWM by using S0 - S100 in a G-Code line?

3.  If I set the PWM Base Frequency at 500, that is a divisor into the the Kernel Speed.  So, if Kernel Speed is 25000, the I have 25000 / 500 = 50 possible speeds.  What are the ins / outs of setting the Frequency higher or lower.  That is, if I set this at 10 do I get smoother output?  Why would I set this higher or lower?


My guesses at the moment are:  1.  No clue  2. Sounds right but I don't think it actually works that way  3.  I think too small will make it jumpy

13

General Mach Discussion / Re: DynoMotion KFLOP

« on: October 01, 2009, 04:18:16 PM »

The last time I used it, I was running a machine at the McCormick Center in Chicago at the Coverings Show.  Somebody leaned on the E-Stop and stopped the machine.  To get the SStepper running again required a complete re-boot of the computer.  Nothing else would work.  Not good and not ready for prime time.

I've crashed it a bunch of times if the tool change routine is interrupted.  Also, it doesn't seem to like the master / slave set-up either.  Finally, I have a homing routine that turns off the softlimits, homes, moves to position, and then turns the softlimits back on again.  Works perfectly under Mach, but not with a SStepper.

Anyway, I've found too many flaky things to believe I can use it on a production machine - fine for a home shop though!

14

General Mach Discussion / DynoMotion KFLOP

« on: October 01, 2009, 03:14:27 PM »

I'm looking for a way to get my count rate up.  SmoothStepper has a few problems (like requiring the cable to be pulled out and wait 20 sec. to get it to reboot after an error).  Galil works well but is a bit expensive.

So, what about the KFLOP.  Has anybody out there used these with a Mach interface?  How does it perform?

15

General Mach Discussion / Smooth Stepper reset

« on: August 22, 2009, 04:16:49 PM »

Has anyone else had a problem with the Smooth Stepper hanging up.  That is, if I do something that makes it glitch, like hitting my e-stop, the Smooth Stepper has to be unplugged for about 15 seconds, restarted, and then Mach has to be re-started to get the thing sorted.

We were at a trade show with a machine and somebody leaned against the e-stop.  I finally gave up and re-booted the computer to get the Smooth Stepper back online.  VERY embarassing while potential customers watched.

I took it out before delivering the machine - too many little issues.  For example, bridge squaring was iffy!

That was about 6 months ago - any improvements since?

16

General Mach Discussion / Soft Limits On/Off

« on: June 19, 2009, 11:06:55 AM »

This is interesting.  Anybody know why this happens?

On our router, the tool rack is at the back.  It is a good thing to limit the machine movements so that you can't jog the current tool into the tools in the rack, so I set the soft limits at Y=30.00".  The tools are at Y=34".

Here's the fun part.  The Y-limit is at Y=36.00".  So, if I home the machine with the soft limits set to Y=30.00", I get a reset because I'm out of the soft limit range at the home switches.  So in the VB Script for the "Find Limits" button, I turn off the soft limits, home the machine, move to Y=29.50", and then turn the soft limits back on.  To do that, I poll the LED that tells me if soft limits are active.  If they are active, I turn them off.  Simple - right?

Ah, NO!

To make an output toggle on / off, I set up a USERLED.  I read that it is on or off, and turn the output on / off accordingly, like this:

If GetUSERLED(1017) = 1 Then
SETUSERLED (1017,0)
DeActivateSignal(Output7)
Else
SETUSERLED (1017,1)
ActivateSignal (Output7)
End If

What's that got to do with soft limits?  Well, the Soft Limits toggle is OEMButton(119) and the Soft Limits indicator is OEMLED(23), so I should be able to do this:

If GetOEMLED(23) = 1 Then       'If the Soft Limits LED is lighted
DoOEMButton(119)                   'Toggle the Soft Limits to Off

However, this does not work.  I can use this exact line to read if the light is off and turn the Soft Limits on, but not the other way.  So, here's what I do:

If GetOEMLED(23) = 1 Then
DoOEMButton(119)              'Should turn off the Soft Limits - but it doesn't
Else
DoOEMButton(119)              This time they go off
End If

The above actually works every time, I just don't understand why I have to do it.  Any ideas?

17

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Length Offsets

« on: June 18, 2009, 06:33:28 PM »

I just re-tried something I "thought" I did earlier.  I added lines that read:

Call SetOEMDRO (824, GetOEMDRO (1200))  'This sets the displayed tool length to match the current tool in the spindle
While Is Waiting()
Wend
Call SetDRO (2, 10 - GetOEMDRO (42))  'Our software sets the material surface at 0.00, so we plunge from 10.00" to -2.00".  We offset our tool
                                                         lengths from 10.00".  OEMDRO #42 displays current tool length. 

That reads the tool in the spindle and changes #824 to match.  OEMDRO #42 mimics #824.  Now the tool length is correct, and the original offset is right.

I have no idea why this didn't work earlier, but it seems to work now.  Tried to break it, but it seems perfectly stable!

18

General Mach Discussion / Tool Length Offsets

« on: June 18, 2009, 04:31:48 PM »

An interesting problem.  I have a tool rack with 10 tools.  Each tool has the diameters and lengths entered in typical fashion.  I have boxes for OEMDRO (824) "Current Tool" and OEMDRO (1200) "Tool in the spindle".  I also have a box on the screen that will call a tool change if desired.

Let's say that the tool in the spindle is #6 and OEMDRO (1200) reads "6" as it should.  If I click on the "Current Tool" DRO, type in the number 2 , and hit "enter", then OEMDRO (824) will now read "2" but OEMDRO (1200) will still read "6".  But, having done this, my Z-axis position DRO has now changed to reflect the length on the new tool #2.

Now, if I Close Mach3, restart, and then home the machine, I have a problem.  Normally, I read in the OEMDRO (42) which is the current tool length, and deduct this number from 10".  This sets my Z-axis DRO properly for the tool in the spindle.  But, if the two DROs above "#1200 & #824" are different, then I'm reading the tool length for the tool in box #824 instead of #1200 - which is not right.

I've tried several things.  I've tried reading OEMDRO (1200), resetting OEMDRO (42) so it reads as a match to whatever the tool in the spindle actually is - doesn't work.  I've tried reading OEMDRO (1200), resetting OEMDRO (824) so it reads as a match to OEMDRO (1200) so that OEMDRO (42) reads the right value - doesn't work either.

What happens is, I can get the initial display to read the way it should after homing, but when the next tool is picked, it seems to offset TWICE.  It's as if the first offset is recorded someplace where it is waiting to be executed, and the control does this offset even after I've re-homed the machine.  Anybody know why?  How do I get around this?  And yes, I know this will rarely, if ever, show up, but if I did it somebody else running the machine will do it too.

19

General Mach Discussion / Re: Soft Limit Warning

« on: June 11, 2009, 01:50:12 PM »

I have seen this on machines with no z-axis and where I am several inches inside the boundaries on all sides.

20

General Mach Discussion / Re: Soft Limit Warning

« on: June 11, 2009, 11:57:43 AM »

I get these errors also.  Probably a bug of some sort.