Hello people! I need some help with my project cause after all the research i have done i still feel lost in the space.  

I have an emco5 cnc lathe. I am controlling 2 stepper motors through mach3 and a BOB for X-Z axis. My tool turret changer is being controlled through a dc motor and my arduino. Now i want to make the exact thing: to control my tool turret changer with my arduino through mach. I have found out a way through modBus. I have succeed in making mach3 and my arduino to talk to each other through some tutorials i found here on the forum. But how i will tell to my arduino to do this(change tool) when you see this M6 T0101in g-code? I am thinking that i have to do it somehow through the modBus and brains or through a macro.

P.S.1 I am not sure if the info i have provided are enough i am totally new at both arduino and mach3.

P.S.2 Excuse me for my english but it's not my native/mother language.

Thanks in advance people!  

Constantine

Hi Constantine,
in General Config check " auto tool changer "
In your profile macros folder you will find the toolchange macro called M6Start.m1s you need to edit it.
location normally is "  C\Mach3\ macros\Mach3Turn\ M6Start.m1s"   for lathe.

Alex

Hello Alex and thanks for your reply! I have checked this about the macros but how i will make it? I mean how the macro will talk with the ModBus and the arduino? Or the ModBus connection is not necessary to be done since it's with macro? Or if it's necessary the ModBus connection how i will ask from the ModBus to enable that macro M6start so my arduino will be asked to make that proccess? I hope that i am understandable with my yoda-style-english that i am talking!

It may be a really stupid question but do i need any modIO board to connect my arduino there? 
Through the research i have done already no one was mentioning any kind of these boards. 

Hello Fuzer, The first thing to relies is that it is about 99.999% certain that no ones M6 macro or Arduino sketch is going to work for you. You will have to create your own. Second, you will have to learn how the Arduino and Mach will communicate with one another. Watch all the video tutors on scripting, modbus and tool changers to help with that. http://www.machsupport.com/videos/ Download the macro programmers ref. manual. You are going to need it.

Start simple. First try to get Mach to turn on an output on the Arduino. Then have the arduino turn an led in Mach on or off depending on the status of the output on the Arduino. Once you can do this and fully understand how to get, set and reset bits in the Arduino from Mach and in Mach from the Arduino going forward will be a lot easier. I think I would then write a sketch for the Arduino to do a tool change start to finish on its own. Once you get to this point it will be time to tie it all together.

Brett

The problem in fact is as follows: how to pass a command to modbus from a .m1s script and how to check a response from modbus within this .m1s script.
Anyone got a solution?

Rol.

MOdbus is built into the scripting language in Mach3    you can talk directly to the modbus device and Mach3 will listen for a responce from a device.

You can do it over serial or TCP if I remember correctly.   IT owould be BEST if you created all teh TC motion scripting in teh device and then Mach3 can signal to move then the device can signal back when it is done with teh move/toolchange .

(;-) TP