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Author Topic: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540  (Read 3855 times)

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converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« on: November 12, 2017, 11:04:03 AM »
I have purchased and started setting up ESS on my Ox using Mach 4 and Gecko g540.  I've been going through Warp9's extensive documentation.  Since I don"t exactly know what I am doing, i've elected to use their setting (even though they say my settings will vary) and am getting a bit lost.  I wounder if there is anything out there that might address ESS and g540 specifically.

The first (of many) questions I have concerns the Estop.  When connecting the eStop with the PDXM 411 controller, I connected to a couple pins on the back of the g540.  It appears that ESS expects the estop to be setup on port2 of the ESS.  Is that what have to do?

Secondly:  I at present have the g540 plugged into port 1 on the ESS.  It appears that a lot of stuff is expected to be connected through port2 (at least in the tutorials).  Is there some sort of port breakout board I need to find to hook up to port2.

Also, it would be great if I could hook up with someone using ESS with the g540.

Sorry, but I did warn that I don/t know what I am doing.

Charlie

Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2017, 03:03:41 AM »
Hi,
the ESS has no great expectation about what signal is on any of its pins.

Obviously if an input signal like Estop is assigned to an ESS output, that is a clash but Estop could be assigned to any of the ESS input pins.

If your Estop was hooked to the G540, I would leave it there. If the G540 pin was 10 say and you have the G540 plugged into port 1 then assign the ESS pin
<port 1, pin 10> to Estop. If you've plugged the G540 into the ESS port 1 then all of the G540 pins will be available on the same ESS port 1 pins.


If you wish to have more inputs than you have to spare on the G540 then you can use the spare inputs in either ports 2 or 3 in the ESS. You don't have to use
a breakout board but its a good idea. The direct IO pins of the ESS are directly connected to the FPGA chip, the brains of the ESS. They WILL NOT stand
any abuse, if you slip when hooking up a pin and short it to either earth or logic high there is a strong possibility of frying the pin. Plugging in a breakout board
will usually protect the rather more sensitive FPGA IO pins.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'

Offline dude1

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Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2017, 04:01:28 AM »
You pretty much don't need to do anything other than connect them up set the ethernet up and the stuff it says to do on this page https://warp9td.com/index.php/faq/faq-mach3 and use the Gecko provided profile for the G540.

If you watch andy's videos he does a good job of walking you through what to do as well.

A lot of the stuff Andy has done in the last few years makes it quite easy to set everything up and get going in an hour or so, some parts are too easy now.

Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2017, 01:01:53 PM »
Dude1:  the link you specified seems to be for Mach 3 and I am using Mach 4.  Are they interchangeable when it comes to setup?

All and all, I thnk I have over-complicated this process, but just need to figure out how.  At present, when I try to "enable" the moters, it won't.  I suspect that it is becuase of the eStop setting

joeaverrage:  I think I just need to start over again and try to keep everything on port1 for now and see what I run into.  I will leave the estop on the g540 and proceed from there.  I do need to find a breakout board for port 2 as I am sure I will want to use those ports for other stuff. 
Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2017, 01:10:41 PM »
Hi Charlie,
if using Mach4 then posting in the General Discussion board which is typically Mach3 will result in fewer useful replies than posting on the Mach4 board.

In the first instance just use the ESS to drive the G540, ie all in one port.

The ESS Mach4 plugin allows you to name pins with an alias. So  <port1 pin2> becomes Xstep and <port 1 pin 3> becomes Xdir and so on.
Better still you only need configure the ESS plugin, it automatically configures parts of Mach4s configuration so the two are consistent.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2017, 02:00:53 PM »
Ah.  Need to pay better attention to where I am posting. 

Sorry to be such a block head, but Ia m not quite sure what you mean by "In the first instance just use the ESS to drive the G540, ie all in one port."

Offline dude1

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Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2017, 02:06:59 PM »
I posted the wrong link it was meant to be this one  https://warp9td.com/index.php/gettingstarted/setting-up-the-smoothstepper-and-mach4  

Offline dude1

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Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #7 on: November 14, 2017, 02:08:49 PM »
Craig means forget everything and just plug the G540 into port 1 of the ESS
Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #8 on: November 14, 2017, 05:56:41 PM »
Well as far as I can tell right now, seems that everything is working.  I didn't just plug it in and try it as you suggested, but that probably would have worked.  At any rate, came back to it again today and everything was working magically.  Maybe I just needed to shut everything down and fire it up again.  The only thing I had to do is switch directions on a couple of the motors.  Even the EStop is working correctly

Although, I do have a question about the EStop.  As I said, it"s working, but differently than it did with the PDMX 411.  Now when I hit the EStop, it shuts the motors down as it should...not locking them, but stopping any motion.  But now it seems that Mach 4 is not aware of the EStop being pressed....the screen keeps updating as if it were still cutting as usual.  I don't know that this is a problem, but it certainly is different than it was.  I have the Estop on port1; pin 10.  Is there something else I should do or is normal behavior (now)?
« Last Edit: November 14, 2017, 05:59:12 PM by crchisholm »

Offline dude1

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Re: converting from PDMX 411 to ESS and using g540
« Reply #9 on: November 14, 2017, 05:59:39 PM »
What do you have the enable tied to in Mach4