Messages

4451

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Windows 10 update -- don't do it

« on: May 27, 2018, 12:42:16 AM »

Hi,

Perhaps you should stop selling Mach3 on your site if that's the case. I just bought the program less than 6 months ago

Firstly prehaps you didn't read to closely....there is a patch.
Secondly the reason that Mach3 stopped working on Windows 10 was an update from Microsoft...are you expecting NFS to be clairvoyant?
Thirdly this affects ONLY Windows 10. If you are using a different version no fault...no foul.
Lastly it has always been the recommendation of both NFS and many experienced users DO NOT CONNECT YOUR MACH PC TO THE INTERNET.

All development on Mach3 ceased five years ago...eventually some problem is going to come along and render it unusable. The expectation that it
will work forever is not realistic.

Seeing this comment and the fact that there is no upgrade price from 3 to 4

Mach4 is a totally new program.  I commend you download it and run the Sim(ulator) plugin, free for as long as you like. You will come to understand how
different it is from Mach3. Heaven only knows how many man hours NFS has invested in writing this new program...'is the workman worth his hire?'

Craig

4452

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH4 #5071-5073 variables values 2000x smaller than DRO

« on: May 26, 2018, 06:11:12 PM »

Hi Steve,
kool I follow that. I was reading the probing.txt file in the docs trying to follow the process. I have become confused over a couple of APIs.

This is from probing.txt:

b.  Report the latched positions via mcMotionSetProbePos() for
       each motor.

And this is from the API.chm:

mcMotionSetPos
C/C++ Syntax:
int mcMotionSetPos(
      MINSTANCE mInst,
      int motorId
      double val);

LUA Syntax:
N/A

Description:
Report the position in counts to the core for the given motor.

My confusion is the terminology.... the API includes the word 'Set' but the description says 'report'. When I first saw that I assumed it was a typo.
I imagined the correct API would be:

mcMotionGetPos
C/C++ Syntax:
int mcMotionGetPos(
      MINSTANCE mInst,
      int motorId,
      double *pos);

LUA Syntax:
pos, rc = mc.mcMotionGetPos(
      number mInst,
      number motorId)

Description:
Retrieves the current motor pos in counts.

Still in either event it does say plainly that the report is in counts. Also the C++ value is  of type double.

Craig

4453

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Using a button script to set jog increments etc

« on: May 26, 2018, 05:41:19 PM »

Hi striplar,
this is an ideal situation for you to use one of the 'flags' we were talking about.

Put a:
mc.mcCntlSetLastError(inst,'Jog Increment=1')
in the first if-then and a:
mc.mcCntlSetLastError(inst, 'Jog Increment=0.1')
in the second and so on.

It will indicate whether the If conditional is being executed and if it correctly decides which chunk of code to run.

Of course they can be stripped out again once you've got it to work.

Craig

4454

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 to Mach3

« on: May 26, 2018, 05:26:09 PM »

Hi Klaus,
totally off the subject...as you can see I live in a marine paradise and it wont come as a surprise that I sail on keelboats as part of a racing fleet.

One day we had some visitors on board an Isreali couple both University lecturers. She was a historian and a fascinating woman to talk to. Anyway we were well down the harbor
looking due south over the ocean an I said 'and on a clear day you can see Antarctica...' and she suddenly stood and looked intently...it was a beautiful day...maybe she could se it!
It took her about 15 seconds to work out that I was joking.....and she was big hearted enough to laugh.

They had a great time and spent the rest of the day with us and most of the evening eating and drinking...

Craig

4455

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Using a button script to set jog increments etc

« on: May 26, 2018, 05:12:15 PM »

Hi Steve,

Yeah, I don't know why people use the message box.  There is NOTHING more aggravating

I found that when I was starting to code in Lua that I tended to copy what others had written previously and adapt it to what I was trying to achieve.
wx.MessageBox was and to my knowledge still is used as a diagnostic flag. It has its drawbacks, I found one by putting a wx.MessageBox() in the PLC
script for instance. So the reason I used it was simplicity and I copied what I had already seen.

I tend to use mc.CntlSetLastError() now.

I like those new APIs....no doubt they'll flow into the API.chm at some future date....

Craig

4456

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH4 #5071-5073 variables values 2000x smaller than DRO

« on: May 26, 2018, 05:00:06 PM »

Hi,
the Mach4 pound variables are populated by the motion controller after a G31 cycle.

When the motion controller reports its position does it report its raw position, ie integer or does it do the calculation to report a DRO ready decimal?
I rather suspect its integer, the controller FPGA has entirely enough to do without concerning itself with floating point calcs. IF that is the case then
the calculation could be done by the motion controller plugin, it after all has the use of the PCs CPU. Alternately it could report the raw integer value
and Machs core could do the calculation and update the registers.

Carbonmikes description sounds rather like the steps per unit  is being applied to the raw data but either incorrectly OR twice?

To my way of thinking there are several questions that need to be resolved to understand whats going on:
1) what numeric data is being reported by the motion controller board?
2) where is the calculation to convert the raw data to a DRO ready decimal?

If you open the diagnostic panel for your motion controller what or how does it display motor position? I use an ESS and it displays a decimal integer and guess that is
what it reports to the plugin. This is my best attempt to answer question 1.

To answer question 2 may I suggest an experiment. Try changing the steps per unit value in the motor tuning page of one axis, X say. You say that your current value
is 2000 steps/per, try an unusal or numerically distinctive value like 1955 and try again. If the calculation is being performed twice the percentage change or error should be the square
of (2000/1955)x 100

With my ESS the motor tuning page is in the Mach4 plugin, not the ESS plugin. That would tend to suggest that any calculation is likely to be done by Machs core. However does the ESS plugin
copy this data to generate a pulse stream...if it does then the calculation could be done within the ESS plugin. I've a feeling this is a smurph question?

Craig

4457

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Using a button script to set jog increments etc

« on: May 26, 2018, 04:19:54 PM »

Hi striplar,
you're on the right track.

It is common to use wx.MessageBox() statements throughout your code as a diagnostic aid to indicate the program having progressed. The only place you cannot do
that is the PLC script, and I see that part of your work will bee in the PLC script. Remember DONT use wx.MessageBox() there, mc.SetLastError() is fine though.

Craig

4458

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Change Inches to MMs

« on: May 26, 2018, 06:13:38 AM »

Hi,
that's tricky....I migrated to Mach4 about 18 months-2 years ago and Mach4 seldom suffers those sorts of faults.

I think you are going to have to reload Mach. Do you have a licence for Mach3?

Craig

4459

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Change Inches to MMs

« on: May 26, 2018, 05:32:56 AM »

Hi,
I think your steps per unit calibration is out.

You commanded a move of 1 unit with the MDI. With G21 active Mach interprets that as 1 mm. It moves A CERTIN NUMBER OF STEPS per your step per unit figure.
It actually moved 1 inch, ERGO the Steps Per Unit Value you have programmed is to high by a factor of 25.4

Go to the X axis motor tuning page and reduce the Step per unit value you have there by a factor of 25.4. Now try the experiment again.

Craig

4460

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 to Mach3

« on: May 26, 2018, 01:30:58 AM »

Hi,

So if I get a Mach4 compatible board, I will also be able to run Mach3 with a Mach3 Plugin?

As I explained earlier if a board has a Mach3  AND a Mach4 plugin then you can use either. Some manufacturers do, some don't.
You wont get a Chinese board for Mach4, if they tell you they have one they are lying.

I would get the machine bare...that is to say without any electronics at all. Buy US, European or Japanese electronics.

I live in Akaroa, about 80k from Christchurch in the South Island. The pic attached to my post is an aerial shot of Banks Peninsula
and Akaroa is  a village there.

Craig