Hello Guest it is March 29, 2024, 06:42:03 AM

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - smurph

Pages: 1
2
Mach4 Toolbox / MOVED: LUA, repeat until
« on: January 11, 2019, 05:03:47 PM »

3
Build 1767:

http://www.machsupport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Mach4Hobby%20Installer-1767.exe

The plugin file extensions have been changed from "dll" to "mp4w".
The keyboard plugin has been reworked to only affect the Mach GUI.  If Mach loses focus, the keyboard driven action/input will stop.  

Steve

4
Build 1762:

http://www.machsupport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Mach4Hobby%20Installer-1762.exe

Fix G81 error.
Added G code Vars to the mcRegFile plugin.  You can view the G code variables in the Diagnostic Window.
G code variables are saved when Mach 4 is shutdown.  Except local vars #1-#34 and global #100-#199.  All the rest should be sticky.
File->New for new file creation.  (also "Edit G Code" button will edit a new file if there is no file loaded.)
Operator->Jog Trace toggle so that the user can control if Jogs show a trace in the tool path.
Modbus bit packing mod re-inserted into the mcModbus plugin.  (it was there and then it wasn't.  Not it is back!)
Modbus RS485 check box now does something and it is sticky.
Every GUI control object now has an "Enabled States" property.  It allows for the object to easily be enabled/disabled via the machine state.
The clipboard is not destroyed in gcEdit and mcLuaEditor upon exit any more.

If you have modified your screen sets or profiles, make a backup before installing!

Steve

5
Galil / Galil plugin version 4.6 available.
« on: January 08, 2014, 05:54:30 PM »
There is a new Galil plugin available on the plugin download section of http://www.machsupport.com.

Two plugins...  One for Smart Term and one that will work with Galil Tools (and possibly Galil Suite) PCI drivers and Ethernet controllers.  Pick the one you want.  You don't want both plugins in the plugin directory at the same time! 

Steve

6
Mesa / Mesa Board Plugins
« on: September 01, 2010, 03:47:45 PM »
This area will be used to discuss the Mesa Plugins for Mach.

Mesa:
An external motion plugin that uses the Mesa 5i20, 5i23, and 7i43 (400M support only) Anything I/O boards.  It will run analog servo amps in a close loop manner.

MesaIO:
An I/O plugin that uses the Mesa 5i20, 5i22, 5i23, and 7i43 (400M support only) Anything I/O boards.  72 bits of I/O from the 5i20 and 5i23, 96 bits from the 5i22, and 48 bits from the 7I43.

The Mesa Electronics website is located at http://www.mesanet.com

7
Galil / Galil controller compatability (what works with the plugin)
« on: April 09, 2009, 05:09:37 PM »
NOTICE!!!!!!!   Going forward, I would ONLY recommend DMC-41x3 or DMC-40x0 Ethernet controllers.  Mach 4 will not support older Ethernet or bus based controllers!  You may get them to work but they will not be supported at all.  All development will be for the aforementioned DMC-41x3 or DMC-40x0 controllers only. 

Quote
I wrote this in another thread, but here it is in a quickly accessible place...

Any current Accelera controllers will work.  Stick with the version 7 Galil drivers though.

Any bus based or ethernet Optima controllers will work.  This includes the DMC1700, DMC1800, DMC2100, and DMC2200.  In theory, the DMC2000 (USB) may work as well.  I just don't know if there would be any issues with USB.  But it has all of the other necessary things to work.  Use the version 7 Galil drivers that come with SmartTerm for these controllers.  Older drivers will cause you big time headaches.

The DMC-18x2 econo controllers will also work.  But they don't support binary commands and this will slow things down a bit.  It takes about 350 microseconds for a Galil controller to process an ASCII command.  This time is saved if the controller can accept binary commands.  The Galil plug-in takes advantage of binary commands if the controller is capable.

The DMC-21x3 are like the DMC-18x2 controllers.  They might not work with the Galil plug-in because of the way they handle Data Records.  Big question mark here.
EDIT:  The DMC-21x3 controller will work fine as long as they don't have the 31x3 distributed mode firmware loaded.  If you have a 31x3, simply install the latest and greatest 21x3 firmware and you are good to go.  Also these controllers, while labeled "Econo", will accept binary commands.

There is also an older version of the DMC-21x3 called the DMC-21x2.  The difference is that the x2 controllers use the 100 pin SCSI connector instead of DB base interconnect modules for the x3 models.  So you will have to have ICM-2900s for the DMC-21x2 controllers.

The DMC-3415 and DMC-3425 controllers will not work.  These are 1 or 2 axis ethernet controllers that can be "chained" together to make a distributed controller that has as many as 8 axes.  But the way they do this is through a modified Data Record which is not compatible with the Data Record that the Galil plug-in will want to see. The Data Record is what Mach looks at (via the plug-in) to see if the state of I/O pins and DRO.

DMC-1415 and DMC-1425 controllers will work.  But they are 2 and 1 axis, respectively.

A DMC-3425 can be updated with DMC-1425 firmware and it will work.  But you are stuck with a 2 axis machine.  Same with the 3415 except you will have a 1 axis machine.

The DMC1000 ISA controllers will NOT work.  This is because these controllers do not have a Data Record at all.  They also do not support binary commands.  The Galil plug-in could be modified to support these controllers, but they would most likely be in the SLOW department.  Don't waste your time or money on these controllers for Mach use.

None of the VME based controllers will work.  e.g. the DMC-1300, DMC-300, or DMC-13x8 controllers.  The DMC-300 is ancient and should be discarded immediately.  The DMC-1300 suffers the same "no data record" as the DMC-1000's do.  The DMC-13x8 is an Optima controller, but the Galil windows drivers have no support for these cards at all.  Plus, unless you have a very industrial PC, you will not even have a VME bus, much less a VME bus driver.  I did, however, make a DMC-1348 controller work.  It's just that it's not feasible unless you have a bunch of VME hardware lying around.

None of the DMC-700 series or DMC-1500 series controllers will work.  They are serial communication controllers and they also don't have Data Records.  They would be good for making tool changers though.  Perhaps driven by I/O logic.

Also be aware that many of the Galil controllers that are floating around are special controllers made for an OEM.  Galil provides no support for these controllers.  Most of the time, a firmware update is all that is required to get the controller to work like a normal Galil controller.  But if there is special hardware mods, you will loose.

Steve

8
I would like to see a dedicated "Galil motion controller" thread in the 3rd party section.  And if the Galil support link on the Plugins download page could be updated to reflect this new section, that would be great too!

Thanks,
Steve



9
Finished Plugins for Download / Elexol I/O 24 PlugIn
« on: February 19, 2009, 02:02:48 AM »
This is a PlugIn for the Elexol I/O 24 modules.  http://www.elexol.com

Up to 4 modules can be configured (Ethernet or USB), in any combination, for a total of 96 I/O pins.

The PlugIn utilizes a feature of the Elexol modules that eliminates polling.  So there is not much traffic in normal situations.  The USB modules are a breeze to setup.  Ethernet modules require a bit more knowledge, but there is setup software available from Elexol that makes it as painless as possible.

These are great little modules that can eliminate many cables from the Mach computer to the machine.  They can be used in conjunction with parallel port setups as the Mach port that each module uses is configurable.

If you like the idea of these modules, I would suggest getting their opto-isolated input boards and their relay output boards.  They will handle 24v systems this way and the risk of frying something is reduced.  Otherwise, the inputs and outputs are 5v TTL.

You can download the PlugIn here -->  http://www.smcomp.com/~smurph/Elexol/Elexol.m3p
And the documentation here --> http://www.smcomp.com/~smurph/Elexol/ElexolPlugIn.pdf

I hope you enjoy!

Steve

Pages: 1