Messages

991

LazyTurn / Re: LazyTurn

« on: May 19, 2009, 10:02:28 AM »

Hi Guys:

  New version of LazyTurn.

  This version still doesnt post secondary toolpaths, but it does order them and create them. If they seem OK, Ill add posting for them.
The ordering may appear strange at times, this is because some path segments require previous segments to run first as they remove material
on top of the next segment to cut. This ordering is somewhat complex to do. I still need to better optimise when a full pullout to start X is
required, at the moment it simply ALWAYS pulls back to start X to move to the start of the next group of cuts. It will , however, attempt to
minimize motion by doign as many path segements as it can in a group of segments. ( This is hard to explain but you'll see what I mean while
playing with it. Simulate, ( if you close rough path and highlight secondary paths ) will show the order that the cut will happen in.

  I will continue to optimise the ordering and pullout sequences whiel you test this out. If it does work, even if it isnt fully optimised, Ill
add posting of the finish/rough passes so all that will be left ios optimising motion, and finally.. the finish pass.

  This version respects the offset from stockproperly, so the theory is you gouge out as much a spossibel with the initial cut with a hefty
stock offset, ( thyis will remove the max material with minimal motion ), then you reduce the stock offset and perhaps the depth per pass,
and do as many fin/rgh passes as you like. When no more material can be removed with a fin/rgh pass with a set tool, then the finsh pass
will be allowed and the cut button will do the finish pass. ( Not yet implemented for finish pass mind you.. ).

  We're gettign close to the finish pass, just not quite there yet, but the fin/rgh passes appear to be doign as they should, once I stop
the full pullout they will be pretty efficicent at minimizing motion while removing the material as efficiently as they can.

Thx
Art

992

LazyTurn / Re: LazyTurn

« on: May 17, 2009, 09:22:07 PM »

Hi Guys:

  Havent forgotten you, Im almost ready with next version.. Im still working on optimising the secondary toolpaths...

(Just so you know Im still alive. )

Art

993

General Mach Discussion / Re: VB Is Laughing At Me....

« on: May 11, 2009, 10:39:45 PM »

Ray:

 yeah, I should have expected that. See its the way it buffers commands. When M1000 starts, that macro can add whatever it likes to the stream, BUT the macro commands added dont get done untill
Mach3 identifies that the first macro is finished, then the secondary command buffer runs whats in it, so while M1000 does add the command M1001 to the secondary command buffer, it wont actually
execute the command until it senses the M1000 has completed, then the M1001 will run as its holding in the secondary buffer...

   I suspect this is conditional for macro calls only. Code calls for other Gcode commands will ( or should ) execute immediatley before the next command in the VB macro runs. I do think work is being done
to change this and Ill tag this to discuss with Brian to see where it s going to go. There are some tricky technical reasons for that.. I just cant recall them at the moment, but I may be able to explain it better
when I discuss it with Brian, he's really the expert on where thats at, he did the multi threading of the VB,and very well I might add, but I think the macro calling macro was special for a very good reason.. Ill see if I can find out what that was for you.. Im a little rusty yin that section at the moment as I havent studied up on the new threading algorithms. Has somethign to do with the non-grouping of user macros as I recall..

Art
 

994

General Mach Discussion / Re: VB Is Laughing At Me....

« on: May 11, 2009, 09:42:01 PM »

Ray:

 According to my Win7 installer, I have somethign liek 20 hours till I can do a test on this on my system.. , so what DOES happen? Im curious?

Art

995

General Mach Discussion / Re: Problems threading on the lathe

« on: May 11, 2009, 04:11:20 PM »

Hi Chip:

  Thx, I hadnt really gotten to the stage where I thought an actual thread sim would work, I was really just interested in the numbers as you show them.
All seems well EXCEPT that your scope on second computer shows an abnormal low reading on both. Does that happen on all captures? There should be only 40us or so max deviation shown, I may be grabbing numbers one slot too early or somethign though.. Try a few different scope grabs and just tell me if its always way above 40us or if its just random.
  You show 1102.xx and 1103.xx on those two grabs, I suspect Im grabbing one wrong number somewhere.. Otherwise it all looks good. Ill proceed to other matters based on that when I see how some others are doing..

( Max Deviation is shown on the Scope dialog , its just the high minus the low reading iof the slot times.. That second computer has a very fast PCI timer, the full 2.3Ghz seems to be your clock for the PCI.. thats fast..)

Thx
Art

996

General Mach Discussion / Re: VB Is Laughing At Me....

« on: May 11, 2009, 12:24:42 PM »

Hi Guys:

  Just got back from Vacation.. Ill try to answer some of your questions..

History:

  Mach started as EZ-CNC, a very bad program that used a timing loop as its timer.. ( for x = 1 to x..) type of thing. Pretty bad.
It was then I was challenged to do a timer for Windows that coudl do 8Khz, so I wrote the main virus to do the Windows takeover and timing.
It worked OK, and in the end became Master1, internally used only and b y the time I got it right, ( for Win98) it was MAster5. There was no XP at the time.

  As XP started to Beta, I foudn I could do 20Khz in XP, and much more stable, so I wrote Mach1. IT has unique dual screen selection, with a top and bottom selector,
and it was getting popular as I determined a screen designer was necessary. SO it became Mach2, the first of the Screen design versions. That became VERY popular and
started the entire development path. It was based on EMC's RS274 interpreter, as well as the Cannon methodogy and the trajectoiry planner. BUT, since I used a very special
buffereing algorithm, the trajectory planner became very much different very quickly and became integrated into the Main components of Mach3's screen control and staging
loops. The RS274 stayed pretty much the same as EMC with the exception of various features that were requested and many canned cycle changes.

  As Mach2 became too complex to update very well, it morphed to Mach3, its current version name, but quite different from the current code base as it is today. Todays code
contains allot of class redefinitions, and doesnt work the same way in terms of flow as the original. Things such a s VB macr's , Brains, and variosu interpreter functions makes its interpreter
quite different from EMC in operation.

   VB macro's now, work much different than even a year agao, they are more linear now, and in fact one I think can call another with no semaphore requirement, as MAch3 only processes them one at a time.
Easy to say though as you can fool almost anythign if you hav eenough power, and I always tried to gove as much as I could. Brian has continued that philosophy,

  Plans are underway to see a divorce from PP reliance and create a more monolithic program with the PP as a simple plugin. Obvious advatanges there, unknown time frames though..

 Yell if your curious, Ill fill in details as I can.. Im on a dozen projects so I cant evaluate code or trace macro's for you, but I can tell you anythign I know of the internals and how they may
interact with your logic ..

thx
Art
 

997

General Mach Discussion / Re: Problems threading on the lathe

« on: May 11, 2009, 09:07:25 AM »

Hi Guys:

  Im back!.

  Thx for all the testing , I do appreciate it, and how much a hassle it is.

This version willnot show you anything if the driver is not matching the plugin, so Ill be interested in the results. If you have the rigth plugin,
there is a line that say s " 64 bit timer detected..), it shoudl be unchecked if all is well for the present code.

  All numbers are in microseconds, both in the scope and the main dialog, and a deviation is shown in the scope as well, mine is always less than 40us and usually about 15.
Be interested in any displays, real or simulated. Ill explain your results as their posted.. I think we're getting close, but I suspect driver versions and loading problems have plagued some in the testing.

Thx
Art

998

General Mach Discussion / Re: Problems threading on the lathe

« on: May 01, 2009, 11:43:18 PM »

Nice readings Chip.. just like mine. Ill check into why the 512 limit when I get back, and Ill help Rich get loaded .. must be something wrong there..

I see your divider is now correct. .excellent..

Thx
Art

(See ya's in a week.. )

999

General Mach Discussion / Re: Problems threading on the lathe

« on: May 01, 2009, 07:49:46 PM »

One further note for Vista users, when you use the control panel to uninstall the driver, you are asked "Do you wish to delte the driver software?" Select YES
otherwise DriverTest will not install the new driver.

Thx
Art

(I just fought Vista for an hour to get mine to load.. friggin Vista.. Sucks hard..)

Art

1000

General Mach Discussion / Re: Problems threading on the lathe

« on: May 01, 2009, 06:44:51 PM »

One last note.. Driver encoder #3 is really Mach3 encoder #4, in the driver the numbering starts at zero.
Ill add one to that in future..

Art