Messages

3621

General Mach Discussion / Re: New installlation problems on Win7 64Bit

« on: September 23, 2018, 02:18:39 AM »

Hi,
have you considered Mach4. You can download it and run it in demo mode for as long as you like.
If you already have a Mach3 license it may not be particularly palatable, who would want to pay for Mach4
when you've already paid for Mach3.

All development on Mach3 ceased five years ago and any problems that Mach3 has are not going to get fixed. Recently some of
the OS updates from Microsoft have interfered with Mach3. To date there has always been a fix or workaround to keep Mach3
running but it is not impossible that something could break Mach3 in the future.

Craig

3622

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Will D2nc integrate with Mach 4?

« on: September 22, 2018, 11:59:53 AM »

Hi,
try it. Download Mach4 as demo, use the Sim(ulator) plugin and try the Gcode that D2nc generates.

Craig

3623

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle On/Off causing Pokeys disconnection

« on: September 21, 2018, 06:43:53 PM »

Hi,
sounds more likely to me that the spindle is causing noise at switch on/switch off.

Can you power the spindle from a preferably remote power socket from the PC/machine?
It is possible that the power surge that occurrs within the spindle is being conducted/transfered
to your controller.

Craig

3624

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Problem. How to make a generic MPG work with Mach 4 Guide,

« on: September 21, 2018, 03:24:44 PM »

Hi,

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,36170.msg247662.html#msg247662

Craig

3625

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Problem. How to make a generic MPG work with Mach 4 Guide,

« on: September 21, 2018, 03:19:51 PM »

Hi,
this is a list of the machine states:

Code: [Select]

mcStateCheck = {
[0] = "MC_STATE_IDLE",
[1] = "MC_STATE_HOLD",
[2] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_SUB",
[3] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_SUB",
[4] = "MC_STATE_JOG",
[5] = "MC_STATE_DRYRUN",
[6] = "MC_STATE_HOME",
[7] = "MC_STATE_CONFIG",
[100] = "MC_STATE_FRUN",
[101] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_FH",
[102] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_PROBE",
[103] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_PROBE_FH",
[104] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_THREAD",
[105] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_THREAD_FH",
[106] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_FH_JOG",
[107] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_TAP",
[108] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_MACROH",
[109] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_MACROH_JOG",
[110] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_SINGLE_BLOCK",
[111] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_RETRACT",
[112] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_HOMING",
[113] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_SINGLE_BLOCK_HOLD",
[199] = "MC_STATE_FRUN_END",
[200] = "MC_STATE_MRUN",
[201] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_FH",
[202] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_PROBE",
[203] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_PROBE_FH",
[204] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_THREAD",
[205] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_THREAD_FH",
[206] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_TAP",
[207] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_MACROH",
[208] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_MACROH_JOG",
[209] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_RETRACT",
[210] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_HOMING",
[299] = "MC_STATE_MRUN_END",
}


Before you can issue jog commands via the keyboard or MPG the machine MUST be in state "MC_STATE_IDLE" or already in state "MC_STATE_JOG".

You can use:

Code: [Select]

LUA Syntax:
mcState, rc = mc.mcCntlGetState(
MINSTANCE mInst)

To get the state of the machine prior to trying to issue any jog commands.

When RefAllHome is active, then jogging is not. When jogging is in progress RefAllHome is disabled.
Whenever the machine is idle then either the keyboard OR MPG can issue jog commands.
What is happening is your MPG is seizing control of Mach and not releasing it so other functions can run.


Have a look at Daz-the-Gaz videos on coroutines. It provides a way for an MPG to 'yield' so that other functions can run without
being blocked.

Craig

3626

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Problem. How to make a generic MPG work with Mach 4 Guide,

« on: September 21, 2018, 03:02:02 PM »

Hi,
what do you mean?....from what you have described Mach is doing what its supposed to.

Craig

3627

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Need help with M6 Macro, translating from Mach3 to Mach4

« on: September 21, 2018, 05:56:58 AM »

Hi,
in Mach3 the program would stop what it was doing every 10ms or so and read all the inputs. If one of the inputs was active it would
execute the code associated with that input. This behavior is called 'polling'. Its quite inefficient, it reads only every so often and then it has to read
ALL inputs when you may in fact only be interested in a few of them.

In Mach4 there are lots (hundreds) of signals, not just inputs but other signals internal to Mach. When any one of them changes Mach executes the signal script.
Mach only knows the signal handle and the new state of the signal with that handle. This happens very quickly indeed, a few usec at most.

The signal script as shipped with Mach4 is:

Code: [Select]

if SigLib[sig] ~= nil then
    SigLib[sig](state);
end
Thus when a signal changes Mach knows it only as the variable 'sig' and it has a state 'state'. When the signal script executes Mach is directed to look in the tabe
'SigLib' at the table index 'sig'. If there is an entry in the table for that signal it executes the function associated with that entry SigLib[sig] with the
parameter (state).

If the signal is of no interest to us then it wont have an entry in the signal library (SigLib) and so it will go back to what it was doing. If we are interested however,
for instance in ISIG_INPUT5, ie input #5 because its hooked to a switch, then we will have an entry in the table for it and a function to be executed if
the signal happens.

Note that there will be two instances when the function will be called, once when its state changes from off to on and again when it changes from on to off.
Thus your function must have a test to determine if some action is to be taken.

The upshot is that Mach interrogates the table anytime a signal changes but it only ever executes some extra code if it is a signal we are interested or waiting for.
It is very computationally efficient. At first glance it can appear confusing but its speed and reliability are miles ahead of Mach3.

Craig

3628

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Problem. How to make a generic MPG work with Mach 4 Guide,

« on: September 21, 2018, 05:20:57 AM »

Hi,

Did we charge Anything in script? Or Marcos to make Gcode interpreter to behave wrong?

No, we did not change anything along those lines.

Mach's core has a Gcode interpreter which reads Gcode from your file and it computes the toolpath from the Gcode. It sends the numeric
toolpath data to the motion controller, in your case a 57E.

Mach's core can also accept keyboard and MPG inputs and compute jog moves which it sends to the motion controller.

What Mach's core cannot do is both at the same time. If its computing and executing Gcode then certain functions, including jog functions, will be
disabled (greyed out). If you stop Mach from running Gcode its motion planner could now process jog commands and they would receive focus
which previously they had been denied.

From your description you have one motion mode active (Gcode interpreter for instance) but are expecting to be able to jog (immediate motion mode) at the
same time. Mach does not do that. Its not faulty.

Craig

3629

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Need help with M6 Macro, translating from Mach3 to Mach4

« on: September 20, 2018, 08:49:06 PM »

Hi,
inputs and outputs are handled in a different fashion in Mach4.

Inputs cause a lot of confusion when learning this from new.
In particular Mach makes use of the one and only data structure in Lua, the table.

I have this link open almost continuously when coding Lua:
https://www.lua.org/manual/5.2/
Note that it varies slightly from 5.3 Open the link and read about tables.

Craig

3630

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Need help with M6 Macro, translating from Mach3 to Mach4

« on: September 20, 2018, 07:59:41 PM »

Hi,
'its not that I'm a slow learner....but I am a quick forgetter!'

Craig