Hi Dbl_Tap,
I am an applications engineer at Teknic and came across this post and your other post on CNCzone. I want to provide some additional information on the ClearPath motor’s digital output, HLFB (High-Level Feedback).
You can configure HLFB to let you know when you’ve finished making a move (without losing the ability to know if the motor has faulted). HLFB, as you’re likely aware, is a user-configurable digital output which can be set into various modes, each of which outputs a number of different motor statuses. ClearPath's HLFB output can, depending on the mode, simultaneously provide the following data to your controller: real-time torque usage, Move Done (including when you’ve finished a homing move), In-position, and fault status.
A detailed discussion of all HLFB modes is covered in the ClearPath User Manual. I’d encourage you to review them and feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Please note that some HLFB modes provide multiple statuses and will require that you program your controller to identify them. I have not personally used the Mach4 controller, but based on joeavaerage’s comments above, it sounds like you can program/configure your controller in a number of different ways. So there should be an HLFB mode that will work for you.
If you have any other questions about ClearPath’s HLFB output or want to discuss your project with an applications engineer, please feel free to contact us at
https://teknic.com/contact/ or give us a call (585-784-7454).
-Ian R. – Teknic Applications Engineer