Messages

7561

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Use of Embeeded Widows OS - Good, Bad, or Ugly?

« on: May 20, 2014, 06:25:26 AM »

I have just bought an Atom based single board computer an a Windows 7 Embedded Standard (WE7S) license. Have yet to receive it so have yet to establish whether it is a good idea.

I would have preferred XP Embedded but the supplier told me that the Atom graphics unit was better under WE7S. XP Em. can be made shrunk down to a smaller footprint than WE7S, really tho storage is not much of an issue these days, I selected a 64G SSD and 4G DDR3 800Mhz, more than enuf for even a fullblown OS.

WE7S does have better configuration/authoring tools than XP and given I'm no geek that will be important. One issue that concerned me is that so many software components depend on yet other components some of which are mutually exclusive. One piece of the configuration suite (trial free 180 days) explicitly highlights those dependencies and resolves them prior to deployment. Another of the suite allows additional modules to be added/deleted/modified on the target machine. The distribution share supplied has both 32 and 64 bit options, I will concentrate on 32 bit.

As the previous responder has suggested it really comes down to what you can leave out and still have Mach3 run. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears. For instance .NET support
from level 2 to 3.5 (I think) is offered and can be included. As to whether Mach3 requires .NET support I have no idea. Certainly other useful programs do use it and I have yet to decide whether to try them. The question is what modules I can include without 'stealing' too many resources from Mach3.

Craig

7562

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Will MACH3 ever support 64-bit systems? Officially? FYI, it's 2010

« on: May 20, 2014, 05:29:23 AM »

Windows based PC's would have to be the worst choice you could make for a realtime controller, think about things like plug'n'play, GUI windows/gadgets, multitasking, video, sound and more besides. That the PP driver works as well as it does impresses the hell out of me no matter how many bits it uses. Also the fact that there appears to be no competeion to M3 for PC's suggests that Art's work is extremely clever.

If you went to buy a controller, say Fanuc or Seimens for $10k or whatever, would you expect to find it can also 'surf', play games etc, HELL NO!! Multi horsepower spindles spinning thousands of rpm backed by horsepower level axis servos worth $100k plus all going west because the missus skypes you to get some milk on the way home.

I am not so certain that 32bit and PP are near death either. I have just bought a single board computer, Atom based. There is loads of them out there in all manner of configurations and to rugged industrial spec. Have yet to receive it so may have bought a load of trouble, using Windows 7 Embedded Standard (32bit at my option).
I have every reason to believe these devices and software products will be around for a long time to come

I have spent $8k building my machine and hundreds of hours machining cast iron etc. Why would I not spend $1k and some time to make a suitable controller and protect myself against injury first off and my investment secondly?

Whinging about '64bit support', particularly given the SS solution, seems to ignore the real fact I/we can indulge in innovative CNC for cheap as chips. I was not so 20 years ago, even 10 years. I say go Art and collaborators/community and devil take the whingers!

7563

Mach3 under Vista / OS resources for M3?

« on: May 20, 2014, 03:09:44 AM »

Hi,
I have bought a single board computer and a windows 7 embedded standard license. Hoping to set up OS as a stand alone controller running M3.

Hoping someone out there may know what sort of resources M3 requires, .NET2 or .NET3 for instance, maybe even a list....

Could be a long lonely battle....

Craig

7564

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: China HF-start plasma CNC design!

« on: May 18, 2014, 03:50:22 AM »

Hi there,
great looking project.
I service and repair welding equipment including these wee plasmas. I think you might encounter some excess wear problems
by earthing the nozzle of your torch.
More sophisticated plasmas earth the nozzle so the HF can start, usually at reduced current, something like 20A to
prevent excess wear/overheating of the nozzle, this phase is called pilot arc.
When the arc is offered up to the workpiece the arc 'transfers' to the metal to be cut, the plasma uses a current sensor in the
earth lead and detects 'transfer' and then releases the earth off the nozzle and ramps current up to full current setting.
If the earth is not released off the nozzle a substantial fraction of the cutting current flows thru the nozzle causing wear and
overheating aside from depriving the main arc from its full cutting potential.
A hall effect current sensor and relay or IGBT would solve the prob.
Of course it may work well enuf as is without excess nozzle wear....

7565

General Mach Discussion / windows embedded

« on: May 16, 2014, 06:01:32 AM »

Hi,
my old XP desktop is getting to be unreliable and I have bought an ATOM based single board computer with a Windows 7 Embedded Standard license. Is there anybody out there who has
done something similar?
I may have done my 'dough' of course but likely to learn plenty on the way...
Planning on using 32bit so as to use pulse engine and LPT ports. Any guesses as to what software resources Mach3 requires of OS?

Craig

7566

General Mach Discussion / Re: Is anyone using a VFD that is NOT "Chinese Huanyang VFD"

« on: October 31, 2013, 05:20:04 AM »

Pardon my ignorance but are the Huanyang drives that bad? I am waiting on delivery of a Delta, are they any better or worse?

7567

General Mach Discussion / Re: missing steps

« on: October 30, 2013, 06:24:15 AM »

Thanks, great advice. While experimenting I have had one crash where wire fell out of BOB and so negative moves were treated by driver as yet another
positive... Shore a flex coupler and no more. LUCKY My calculation suggests axis stalls at 70kgf. I think a crash is raher more than that, certainly enuf to
injure.
I bought home today bunch of micro switches for limits and home switches. The home switches are good ones (Honeywell made in bloody China!) with
0.05 mm max differential and 5mm overtravel, roller plunger types. Limit switches rather more prosaic units, not over concerned with accuracy at limits,
its All Stop in any event.

The problem I encountered tonite seems more a M3 thing. It was not my computer not concentrating when axis passes zero but rather M3 doing some
calcs or something.

7568

General Mach Discussion / Re: missing steps

« on: October 30, 2013, 05:31:58 AM »

Thanks for your replies guys. I have followed the recomendations on the list directed to by Hood. I try to keep my computer reasonably lean, it is old and entry level at that. Need to go thru the services list with a fine tooth comb still but have made great improvement in M3 as is.

Reducing speeds and accels makes things run cooler and sweeter and backed kernel speed bsck to 25k, still way fast enuf for my steppers. The code was running in CV mode when I encountered the problem I descibed.

My computer is general service so has internet, movies and all the usual junk. One program I do use (less than I should!) is Atmel Studio, a programing enviroment (universe actually) for Atmel processors. In order for it to work it requires MS .NET code. Ever since I loaded it I have had more errors and similar. I have a few engineering CAD/CAM type apps as well but none running when M3 active.

With the suggestions enacted so far I have been able to run PCB mill code for 2.5 hrs, no stalls or missed steps even at speeds where steppers overheat.
In fact I have been writing this post at the same time, no probs. Tried running a movie, again no probs. When I tried a simple Gcode veiwer and started
skewing axes I noticed some 'cycle stealing' but not enuf to upset M3. Excellent!!!

I'm not out of the woods yet tho... The PCB code I'm running is essentially aligned with x-y axes. Have noticed a cycle steal each time and axis crosses its zero. With a cut in x direction, y say +20mm and constant for the duration of the move, as x passes from positive to negative there is a slight hesitation. Seems to happen with G1 or G0 moves. Happens on other axis as well. Not enuf to lose steps but why?. The code does not include a x 0.0
or anything?

I have not yet fitted limit switches and have set nachine zero at center of travels. I could set zero at one extreme so cutting code never passes over it but would still like to know why this glitch occurs, often learn more by the unexpected.

7569

General Mach Discussion / Re: missing steps

« on: October 29, 2013, 06:09:41 AM »

Thanks Hood, working my way tru the list. Daren't run the machine at the moment, the funny noises wake the household. God knows what they think
of the funny noises I make!

7570

General Mach Discussion / missing steps

« on: October 29, 2013, 03:48:30 AM »

Hi guys, just received licence so now can test extended programs, kool! Have encountered some issues tho... I have experimented with individual axes and find I can run
them pretty damn hard, 1500mm/min at 1000 pulse per mm. Steppers get hot at that speed. Backed off the motor current to bout 3/4 rated and slowed rapids to
600mm/min, ie 10kHz. Because I am using 10:1 reduction have got torque to burn, dont stick your finger in it, will rip it off and look for the arm!

My problems start when I do coordinated moves.

Sounded initally like a bad bearing or tooth off a gear, had me worried. I stripped down and checked yet again. The screws and rails etc are all second hand but all
originally top spec items and no mechanical issues I can detect nor any pattern to the intermittant glitch. Occassionally the glitch would precipitate a stall.

I beleive now my computer is at fault, ie occasionally the pulse train goes offline, 'glitch', and if when pulses return the accel is too steep, stall.

Can anyone suggest likley programs or processes running on my computer that are likely culprits? I dont have antivirus installed, reckon the antivirus stuff buggers up my
computer worse than a virus!