I would like to make a control panel that makes a lathe work almost like a manual lathe,
for example, I would like an encoder hand wheel that works more like the manual handles of a machine than it does now, I want one rev to always do a certain amount of movement for example 5mm per turn which velocity mode does not, and I want it to be more smooth than the step mode.
I also would also like to control the axis by a button or a joystick with fixed positions to move the axis and be able to control the jog speed dynamicaly with a potentiometer.
When jogging with a button its not possible as I can see to change the speed under a move, I have to stop moving and start again which would cause uggly marks on the piece I would be turning.
I have made it work with using pokeys and a joystick with fixed positions and then a potentiometer to control the jog speed and it works quite well, exept that the pokeys seem to be pretty unstable, sometimes when I start Mach3 and reset an axis start moving and doesnt stop until I have pushed the joystick back and forth and sometimes it has lost communication with the board and an axis has started to move and doesnt stop until I pushed the E-stop. Also it seem to be impossible to turn of the joystick which I would like to.
Any suggestions?