Sweet.All is good here as well
I am not planning on using a motion controller, just modbus communication to the two drives.
The feed drive and the saw drive is working together in kind of a "closed loop" as the torque output of the chainsaw drive feeds the feed drive analogue 0-10v input.
This is how I run things now, with just regular I/O on the drives.
But one of the main issues is that to get the ideal feed speed/working area for the feed motor I have to work between 12-20hz.
The 4.5 meter cut normally takes approx 60-90 seconds for the 4 meter log, depending on the size, and that means that the saw take the same to drive back to start position.
This means to much waiting time between cuts, so that is why I need to set the HSP to 120 hz for the reverse action.
The only 2 I/O s needed are limit switches, And I plan to pick these up via modbus bits.
I have benchtested all the functions and I can read and write without any issues this far.
My Initial thought was to use a 12" Magelis HMI that i had salvaged, but I do not own a license for vijeodesigner, and I also do not know how to use it, that is why I decied to use Mach.
It is also easy to get a cool looking interface.
Later I hope to add features to set log height and board thickness from the screen using linear actuators, so this could evolve:)
Just started exploring the use of OpenPLC on a microcontroller, so that could also be an option, but I would prefer to keep the logic within mach 3 if possible
Best reg
Roy