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Author Topic: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions  (Read 1243768 times)

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Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #930 on: December 30, 2015, 12:41:39 AM »
When you say you can't get the axis to "connect", what exactly do you mean?  Do you mean simply that you get no motion?  Or is there something more?

I'll leave the Darwin specifics to Art, but in my experience the most common cause "no motion" is having the step and direction signals swapped.  Your image of the motor configuration tab shows Motor0 with direction on pin 3 and step on pin 2.  Verify that this is really how your break-out board and/or motor wiring is connected.  For example, that would be OK with a PMDX-340 or GeckoDrive G540, but would not work for a PMDX-134.

Bob

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Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #931 on: December 30, 2015, 08:37:25 AM »
Hi:

    First question here is "Do the DRO move when you Jog or try to move."?

  If DRO's count , then Darwin thinks it is sending out pulses, and Mach4 is getting the
updated positions. Since you have spindle on/off, the port is fine, if counting, Id
look to pin settings as Bob mentioned, it may be your happily pulsing your step
into your direction.. which will give you a warm feeling, but no motion.

  If no DRO's are counting, then have you set Darwin as the pulse engine? Any other
errors shown?

Thx
Art
« Last Edit: December 30, 2015, 10:21:32 AM by Chaoticone »
Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #932 on: December 30, 2015, 08:46:55 AM »
By DRO you mean on the screen? Yes the value will change but I get no motion when I try to jog the axis. I believe I had the correct pins for direction and step since I set it exactly as I had it in M3, but I will double check that tonight. Thanks for the advice!

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Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #933 on: December 30, 2015, 11:08:20 AM »
If the values change, Darwin is stepping. SO either the pins are set wrong, or the port. But if you have IO, the port must be fine.
Make sure also that no other output is set to the step pins...

Art
Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #934 on: December 30, 2015, 08:47:47 PM »
Hmm. No such luck. I checked M3 and the pins where set the same, I also swapped the direction and step pins just to make sure, and nothing changed. I also couldn't find anything else using the same pin. Any thing else I could check?

Thanks
Greg

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Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #935 on: December 30, 2015, 09:34:57 PM »
Greg:

 Did you try pulse width under the Diags/Darwin menu.. there is a place to set a pulse width, try adding 5 to it to see if perhaps
your drivers need longer pulses?

Art
Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #936 on: December 31, 2015, 05:52:57 AM »
Hi Art:

Did some more testing,

>>1) when a e-stop is activated, if mach 4 is in enabled mode, you cannot get back to enabled, even though the log says e-stop cleared.
        The system seems locked , until restarted.

  When you press enable do you get any message about what causes it to drop back into Estop? Is the EStop switch showing active?

>>also noticed that I have to press enable twice for the very first time, before the motors are engaged. Could this be related.
 
  No, thats normal.
 
 >>> The enable locks up only if you do an estop (still Locke) , then press enable.
 >>> if you reset the estop first , it will enable ok.
 Checked the history and nothing is shown
 
 Once locked up, the enable is sort of greyed out, could this be a safty feature / bug of M4 or is there a special button somewhere to unlock it?
 
 
 The sequence in history is:-
 
 ..Estop condition
 ..signal 5 set to 0
 
 Then reset estopbutton
 
 ..Estop cleared
 
 at this point the enable is red and locked.
 

>>2) when I reference home, the dro zeroes , without searching for the home switch, as if it thinks its already at the home location.

   Darwin does that if it senses the home is already made. Check the home switch in Darwins config to make sure "Active" is set to the condition
when the switch is pressed. All switches in Mach3 should be left at active high in their settings, no matter how they work..
Under the History button Darwin will put messages about a home, so if it thinks the switch is made it will tell you that. Also
in darwins config you have to tell it in the axis config which signal is the homing switch for that axis, if you havent set that it wont home.

  Try those things to see what they do, based on what happens Ill boot back into xp for some tests to see how mine is reacting with latest build,
last I tested was 2805.

>>> when i press my limit switch , the history shows:-

>>>Home switch x tripped
>>>Limit X++ tripped
>>>Limit X-- tripped

>>>which is ok as I have all 3 tied to the same signal pin, physically only one switch( optical).

>>>Have set up the signal pin in darwin,sorry! I thought this was controlled by Mach4.

>>>The ref home all, now works.


>>> Can you tell me where to set the back off distance, same as Mach3.

>>I preseume darwin should do this befor handing over control to Mach4,
 >>else if does not , the ref home is set ,
>>and also trips the limit, so you have to disable limits , then jog off each axis.




Mark

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Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #937 on: December 31, 2015, 08:03:56 AM »
Hi Mark:
"  >>.Estop condition
   ..signal 5 set to 0
    Then reset estopbutton
    ..Estop cleared
    at this point the enable is red and locked. "

   This one is strange, Darwin has no control over M4's enable button. Ill ask the M4 developers why that might occur,
Ive never experienced that one (or even heard of it..)

">>and also trips the limit, so you have to disable limits , then jog off each axis."

   This too shouldnt happen. If on a limit switch, Darwin should allow you to enable
and it will ignore the limits until you jog off them.. then turn them back on.. Ill check the code
to see what permissions are required..

>>>>> Can you tell me where to set the back off distance, same as Mach3.

  This is set in M4's homing setting, it doesnt however move off. You set an offset.. say 1", when it homes,
instead of zeroing, it will set -1", pressing goto Zero's would then move you off the switches to the "real"
home position, thats how the system was designed and the original spec of Mach4 for Homing when Darwin
 was written.

  In checking the Enable code, if any signal has "ETrip set", that is if any signal in Darwins Config
has the box checked telling it to go into Estop.. such as limit switches, when you press enable they
are turned off and you get a message..
"Warning::EStop signal inhibited for "Signal Name" till cleared"When you jog off youll get
"Note::EStop capability restored for signal "signal name".

   Now that Ive checked the code, I see no place for Darwin to tell M4 to not enable the
"Enable" button.

For the problem of jogging off limits...

 I suggest the following. Turn off your limit switches in Mach4. Tell it you
have none. In Darwins config, tell it the Limit Switches should cause an Estop. Leave
them enabled in Darwin with that setting. During homing, Darwin will ignore them,
and if you hit one after, it will trip an estop and the messaging will happen as above.

   Darwin doesnt need Mach4 to know about its limit switches, so since your sharing
limits and home, its probably best to just let M4 think you have none. It was my
understanding M4 didn't do anything with limits other than simply display the LED''s,
but that may have changed in some update. SO turn them off to see if it helps,
that will at least tell us if your jog off switches thing is a M4 or Darwin issue.

  Ill ask about the enable, perhaps they added a safety I wasnt aware of.

Thx
Art


  





Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #938 on: December 31, 2015, 05:36:38 PM »
Greg:

 Did you try pulse width under the Diags/Darwin menu.. there is a place to set a pulse width, try adding 5 to it to see if perhaps
your drivers need longer pulses?

Art


Art
I tried changing pulse width but nothing is labeled that, I found under the diagnostic/Darwin menu a step width, is that the same thing? Either way I tried different values  for that and nothing changed.

Thanks
Greg
Re: Mach4 Printer Port Discussions
« Reply #939 on: January 03, 2016, 01:24:28 PM »
Greg:

 Did you try pulse width under the Diags/Darwin menu.. there is a place to set a pulse width, try adding 5 to it to see if perhaps
your drivers need longer pulses?

Art


One new interesting thing that I found. Playing around with the settings I opened up both M3 and M4 and was able to get M4 to jog the axis. It soon crashed but trying to duplicate it I found that occasionally if M3 is open I can get M4 to work.  Any ideas what in M3 would override M4 and can I set it in M4?

Thanks,
Greg