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Messages - smurph

951
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 Feature Request
« on: December 05, 2014, 12:34:55 PM »
Terry, you can make a page and put the whole tool table on it, if desired.  And the same goes for the Fixtures.  Mach Motion did something similar.  It could be a LUA Wizard type of thing or just something DRO based.  Tabbing...  Probably not going to happen like you want.  The order of control creation has a lot to do with it, so you can kind of control your own destiny a bit there.  But then there is Z level which dictates that some controls be created before others.  It's a Windows thing and it is what it is.

sahd71, you can use any input for ArcOk, put a button on any screen for THC On/Off you desire, and control outputs with M62/M63 with no pause in motion.  M62 and M63 will work in the same manner as Linux CNC (replacing M10 and M11 in Mach 3).

daniellyall, the key mapper can be used to create any number off custom inputs that can be used in the PLC script to perform any action available in the API.  Not as simple as just connecting a key to a stock action, but it isn't THAT much harder to do.  The sky really is the limit.

The tools are there.  You guys can pretty much customize anything to your liking. 

Steve

952
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Screen Set Ideas
« on: December 04, 2014, 10:54:45 PM »
I'm liking that too!

953
Galil / Re: Galil 2123 with AMP-20520 lathe Z axis DRO not working
« on: November 25, 2014, 01:59:31 PM »
I have no idea at this point.  The comms to the Galil look good.  It may be a Mach setup issue now.  Make sure that in Mach's general settings that there is nothing set for Z is 2.5D.  Look at ANY setting pertaining to Z for that matter.

I have not ever tried Mach Lathe, so I would not know much about how to set it up.

Steve

954
Galil / Re: Galil controller compatability (what works with the plugin)
« on: November 23, 2014, 04:46:54 PM »
DMC-2142 is an Econo controller with the old style 100 pin connectors on it.  Are you sure it is a 2142?  Or is it a 2143?  Both can only use Linear mode motion control.   The newer controllers use Contour mode.  Strictly speaking, the 21x2/3 controllers will work.  But they are getting long in the tooth.  And the Mach 4 plugin has not been tested with them as yet.

There is a working Galil plugin for Mach 4 for Ethernet controllers only at this point.  It is not ready for prime time yet and has really only been tested on the newer controllers.  Thus it has not been released.  And I'm not sure when it will be released at this point as we are concentrating on Mach 4 primarily at this time.  Right now, Mach Motion, Kenny Crouch and myself are the only ones that have machines running Mach 4 with Galil.  And we are using 4000 series controllers. 

We will be building a machine at the shop with a 21x3 controller in the coming months, so that should shore up the support for the older Ethernet controllers.  But that is not high priority at this time.  :(

Also, the Galil plugin will be a supported plugin for Mach 4.  And that means it will most likely be licensed much like Darwin is.  The price of Mach 4 alone is not going to cover the cost of the Galil plugin development and maintenance. 

Steve

955
Galil / Re: Galil controller compatability (what works with the plugin)
« on: November 18, 2014, 04:35:37 PM »
I cannot write instructions for setting up bused based cards for which I don't have.  :(

The Galil plugin for Mach4 uses the Galil Tools/Galil Suites API library called LibGalil.  It will work with the driver provided by Tools or Suites.  But not Smart Term.  Smart Term is dead and will only work on Windows XP.

If you are shooting for Mach4, then:

1. Don't use Windows XP.
2. Don't use bus based cards. 

Currently, we are supporting XP for Mach 4.  But for how long?  The safe bet is not long at all.  And bus based cards...  I don't have any of them.  I can't test them and I won't be able to support them.  IF it works, then great.  If not, then I will be of no help.  :(

The Ethernet Galils do not require ANY drivers and thus do not require any special setup other than setting up the IP address.  You can load Galil Tool/Suites and immediately communicate with them with no driver install and reboot.  This is the future.  There is no going back to the bus based controllers for Galil.  They have not nor do I believe they will ever produce a PCIe controller.

So that is the writing on the wall, unfortunately. 

The Galils differ greatly on how the data record is obtained.  The Ethernet controllers can "stream" a data record to the PC and this is what we have chosen to use in programming the Mach4/Galil plugin.  The PCI cards have to be polled.  And since I don't have a PCI card, I cannot test this polling of the data record.  So there is absolutely no guarantee that your PCI card will ever work with the Mach4/Galil plugin.  So please don't invest a ton of time and money into the setup you have for Mach 4.  It should work fine for Mach 3 though.

Steve


956
Galil / Re: Galil controller compatability (what works with the plugin)
« on: November 18, 2014, 01:11:37 PM »
I don't know what 18x3 is.  18x0 is Optima, 18x6 is Accelera, and 18x2 is Econo.  Of all, only the 18x6 supports contour mode, so that will be the favored card.  If Galil's drivers will support the card, then it MAY work.  I don't have any bus based cards anymore and I really can't test any of them. 

Steve

957
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 Bug Reports
« on: November 07, 2014, 09:49:47 PM »
Is that the latest Darwin?  Art told me it was running fine.

Steve

958
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 Bug Reports
« on: November 05, 2014, 03:29:44 PM »
It may be in either full screen mode or the window (1024x768) is bigger than your monitor resolution.

In the view menu, there is a full screen toggle item.  If you screen res is too small, you will have to use the keyboard to resize it.

Steve

959
Galil / Re: Galil 2123 with AMP-20520 lathe Z axis DRO not working
« on: October 19, 2014, 07:13:18 PM »
Yes, you missed it.  :)  Look at your previous picture.  See the second Galil Y(b) axis marked as stepper?

The plugin does query the controller.  It outputs all setting that are currently burned to the controller's NVRAM.  However, it does nothing with this.  The motor type (MT) is then set by the plugin, which is where it is wrong.  Look further down in the debug file and you will see "MT 1.0, 2.0" sent to the controller after the QZ command.  It is immediately followed by the error message.

Steve

960
Galil / Re: Mach3 + Galil doesnt stop motor when home switch trigged
« on: October 19, 2014, 02:39:53 PM »
The way the home and limits are wired will change the way the switch is sensed internally.  LSCOM + or - makes this happen.  Try inverting the limits and homes active low in the plugin configuration.  (It is actually setting the CN command).  This is always a pain to get right.  You need to have an understanding of how the Galil works to get it right.  I still get it confused and I have set up so many Galil I can't remember them all! 

Steve