I think the original problem of providing a better manual tool change is possible by writing an EMC2 component and adjusting some hal files. It shouldn't be too difficult. I've read the hal developers guide, but I am not an expert.
I just got into the hal integartion to add the Logitech Dual Action USB joystick controller to EMC2. Oh man, I love joystick control! So much better than the keyboard. I can quickly jog the machine and then hit *slow button* to dial the location in precisely. Anyway... In the process, I really discovered how well EMC2 is programmed under the hood. I can see so many possibilities the way hal works. I may even take hal itself and adapt it to a robot hexapod of mine as I think it's programmed abastract enough to perform the motion control of a six legged robot. Anyway... Here is how I would think a component would work...I suspect some hal event is triggered when a tool change is requested. The tool changer saves current position then moves the tool to TOOL_CHANGE_POSITION, then prompts, afterwhich it does a rehoming of the Z axis using a detect switch. Then it returns to the save position. Obviously, you would have to wire a detect switch, but pretty easy. I think the component logic would be pretty easy, but wiring it in hal might require some *magic*. The motion module (motmod) is wired to the stepper output module. Can the tool changer component feed axis commands to the motmod while it is in auto mode? If so, then this should be simple. If not, it would probably have to feed the stepper module directly, ouch!, the tool changer would have to output steps and dir signals, and make sure it gets back to where it started. This is redoing much of motmod. The motmod and tool changer could be wired to the same stepper mod though using MUXs. Disclaimer: I don't have a complete understanding of the different hal modules yet. I would also like such a tool change functionality. I use a Taig spindle, so it's not too bad to get the tool length the same with little tool stops on the bits but it would come in handy none-the-less. Colin ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
