Messages

651

General Mach Discussion / Re: Selecting Jumpers COM & PULL UP/DN

« on: June 24, 2022, 09:51:39 PM »

Hi,
whether you require pull-up or pull-down is determined by your hardware.

For instance if have a number of switches wired in series with Normally Closed contacts to 0V, if you have a pull-up resistor the input
will be pulled low (countering the pull-up resistor) UNTIL such time as one of the switches goes open, then the input will be pulled high.
So your choice of pull-up or pull-down is determined by how you want to wire your switches.

Craig

652

General Mach Discussion / Re: What these Lights on ESS & C11G Mean?

« on: June 23, 2022, 04:07:27 AM »

Hi,

Do you know if the red lights mean problem or ready?

No, they represent the state of the signal. LED ON means signal active, LED OFF means signal inactive.

Craig

653

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: analog input to file while running GCODE

« on: June 23, 2022, 01:18:57 AM »

Hi,

i thought that i could use the probe logging example but i don't know how to access and alter the G31 command.

You can't alter the g31 command, you can use its features, but you can't change it.

Analogue values are in registers, so if you want to save a value just write the register value to an open file.
I have a file browser/dialog that would allow you to open a file in a manner analgous to m40/m41 pair used to open and close data file
for probe data which you could adapt.

Craig

654

General Mach Discussion / Re: What these Lights on ESS & C11G Mean?

« on: June 23, 2022, 01:12:41 AM »

Hi,
the red LEDs on the C11 indicate the status of its respective input or output. The green LEDs in the middle indicate whether the board is powered and/or enabled.

Not sure what the LEDs on the ESS are. They don't seem to blink much.....no bloody good for entertainment if your stoned if you ask me.

Craig

655

General Mach Discussion / Re: Setting Limits on Z Axis

« on: June 21, 2022, 11:59:06 PM »

Hi,
Soft limits in Mach have always been in Machine coordinates.

If the very top of the Z axis travel is your Z axis Home switch then that will be machine 0 for the Z axis. The lower limit is 6 inches lower so that will be machine coordinate -6.

So your  Z SoftLimit Max = 0 and your Z SoftLimit Min = -6

Craig

656

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can I Use one Pin for all Home/Limits?

« on: June 21, 2022, 08:56:12 PM »

Hi,

I see that you also have a spindle ON/OFF and PWM.

Yes, most of my machining requires a free running spindle, and for that Spindle ON/OFF and Spindle PWM is perfectly fine.
On the few occasions where I require an indexing or coordinated spindle (rigid tapping) I use the C axis. Best of both worlds.

Craig

657

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING

« on: June 21, 2022, 05:01:30 PM »

Hi,
I would guess if tpos=60 degrees then tpos + .1 = 60.1 degree.

Doesn't seem enough. I would have thought that you want to go past the detent by a few, say 5 degrees, and then back up into the lock.
0.1 degree does not seem like you could reliably have gone beyond the lock.

Craig

658

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can I Use one Pin for all Home/Limits?

« on: June 20, 2022, 10:57:12 PM »

Hi,
this is my breakout board, my own design. Note the ESS is upside down but plugs directly into IDC sockets of the board below, no ribbon cables required.
All three ports are developed.

Current assignments:
Outputs:
X,Y,Z.A,B,C Step/Dir  = 12 outputs
Servo Enable= 1 output (doubles as brake signal for Z axis)
Servo Reset =1 output  (commoned to all servos)
Spindle ON/OFF= 1 output (commoned to all servos)
Spindle PWM =1 output
Coolant Pump= 1 output
TOTAL OUTPUTS=17

Inputs:
Servo alarms =6 inputs
X++, X--, XHome=3 inputs
Y++, Y--, YHOme=3 inputs
Z++,Z--,ZHome=3 inputs
Probe=1 input
Feedhold/EStop= 1 input
Wired Pendant=5 inputs
TOTAL INPUTS=22
IO USED=39(out of 51)

Craig

659

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can I Use one Pin for all Home/Limits?

« on: June 20, 2022, 09:16:52 PM »

Hi,
the ESS has three 'parallel equivalent ports', they are the three 26pin IDC headers. IDC headers have a different numbering scheme compared to a DB 25,
but if you look on the ESS website you see the pin numbering is identical to a parallel port. With and IDC-to-DB25 adaptor cable (Warp9 sell them) then you have
three ports with 17 IOs in each, ie 51 IOs in  total.

That is the single most important feature of the ESS is that it has all this extra IO compared to a single parallel port. Take advantage of it.

Craig

660

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can I Use one Pin for all Home/Limits?

« on: June 20, 2022, 08:26:57 PM »

Hi,
yes you can do that....buy why then did you buy an ESS? The ESS has 51 IOs, so you can and by my reckoning should, have one input per switch, and separate
Home and Limit switches, nine switches for a three axis machine.

Now Mach is never confused as to what is a Limit or a Home and Mach can determine which axis faulted, all of which is impossible if you combine them all into one
long string of switches.

Craig