Hi Steve,
Many thanks for dedicating the M62 / M63 commands, it is much appreciated.
Could you please give me a clue as to how I turn ON / OFF an Output using the M62 / M63 commands. Obviously it is pretty simple but so far it alludes me.
Tweakie.
Ok...
M62 P0
will set the output that is mapped to the Output #0 signal at the first movement after the M62.
So... this requires that a plugin output of some sort is mapped to the Output #0 signal. That that is the first order of business that has to be taken care of.
Here is a simple example of the G code to drive it:
M62 P0 (turn on the output mapped to Output #0 signal at the next move)
M62 P1 (turn on the output mapped to Output #1 signal at the next move)
G01 X1 F30 (outputs 0 and 1 will activate at the beginning of this move)
M63 P0 (turn off the output mapped to Output #0 signal at the next move)
M63 P1 (turn off the output mapped to Output #1 signal at the next move)
G01 X1 (outputs off)
It is important to note that Mach is not turning the output signal on at any time. It only uses the output signal to find the mapped plugin output. The motion controller then turns this output on as a function of the movement. This has implications as now something outside of Mach is really controlling the output. Thus Mach will not know that the output is set because it is not the process that is actually setting it unless the motion plugin TELLS mach that the output it set. Some do... Some don't...
So the best thing to do is write G code that puts the output back into it's original state (as in the example above).
And to shad71's concerns, we plan on implementing something like "M66 Wait on Input" that will allow waiting on things like torch arc signals.
There is no THC on/off function. You can create buttons do do whatever you desire. These buttons would typically set outputs. And do not that eventually we will have a separate interpreter for plasma machine that will be more tailored to their use. For right now, we are concentrating on Mill and Lathe. However, the Mill interpreter will support MOST of the things plasma machine need.
Steve