[Emc-users] NMTB 40 holders, Was: Re: Buying used CNC machine - what to look for??

2008-05-07 Thread rtwas
Hello,


Jon Elson wrote:

>
>  Remember that the tooling is a major expense on 
>these machines, a rack of NMTB 40 holders and collets is worth a 
>LOT more than most older machines.
>  
>
NTMB 40 for cnc? I thought these were manual-only holders. I have'nt 
heard of them
being used for cnc use. Can you elaborate please?

Thanks.

Robert W.


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Re: [Emc-users] Buying used CNC machine - what to look for??

2008-05-07 Thread Dave Engvall

On May 7, 2008, at 7:24 PM, Jon Elson wrote:

> Witek GB wrote:
>> I am thinking of taking the plunge and buying a VMC maybe with an  
>> ATC.
>> I plan on buying it for the iron and upgrading it to EMC.  I have  
>> manual
>> machine tools already so I know what to look for when I see a manual
>> machine, but with CNC I really do not know much.  What should I look
>> for?  Are there any resources on the Internet that show you what  
>> to look
>> for when buying a used cnc?  How can I determine if the ball  
>> screws are
>> good or bad? Servos?...  I will use this machine for hobby work and
>> maybe some light production runs.  Any help is appreciated
> Servo motors are pretty tough.  Really old encoders had light
> bulbs in them.  They can be retrofitted with infrared LEDs.
> Many older machines had resolvers instead of encoders.  (I'm
> working on a lower-cost retrofit for those, but it may still be
> cheaper to install US Digital encoders where they will fit.)
I happen to like the Koyo's from Automation Direct but a lot of  
people use the USD's.
>
> Ball screws are fairly hard to evaluate in the field.  You can
> put a dial indicator on the table and see how far you can turn
> the screw by hand to check backlash.
The real problem comes when the ball screws are inaccessible.
>
> The general condition of the machine can be a useful guide.  If
> every nook and cranny is stuffed with chips, and layers of brown
> sludge coats everything, you know the machine was run hard in
> heavy production.  That will take its toll.
Gee, that describes my Mazak. Aluminum chips everywhere. If I had  
been thinking I would
have had it steam cleaned before I got it into the shop.
>
> As for the ATC, the simpler it is, the easier it will be to get
> EMC to control it.  If it is a massively complicated hydraulic
> monster with several changer arms, lots of position sensors,
> etc. then it will be more complicated.  Ray Henry did manage to
> get the Mazak working at Roland's shop.  That is a pretty
> complex ATC.  Remember that the tooling is a major expense on
> these machines, a rack of NMTB 40 holders and collets is worth a
> LOT more than most older machines.

I didn't (don't) know any better so I consider the Mazak ATC as  
pretty standard in complexity.
Some of those on the horizontals must be simpler since they change  
tools in 2 sec or so.

Indeed there is a major investment in 40 of 50 taper toolholders;  
which is a reason to acquire machines
with one type of holder.

Most of the machines will have CAT40 toolholders but of course you  
will see some CAT50's and a few
NMTB's.

BTW -- Witek GB  where are you?
>
> Jon
>
> -- 
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Re: [Emc-users] Buying used CNC machine - what to look for??

2008-05-07 Thread Jon Elson
Witek GB wrote:
> I am thinking of taking the plunge and buying a VMC maybe with an ATC.  
> I plan on buying it for the iron and upgrading it to EMC.  I have manual 
> machine tools already so I know what to look for when I see a manual 
> machine, but with CNC I really do not know much.  What should I look 
> for?  Are there any resources on the Internet that show you what to look 
> for when buying a used cnc?  How can I determine if the ball screws are 
> good or bad? Servos?...  I will use this machine for hobby work and 
> maybe some light production runs.  Any help is appreciated
Servo motors are pretty tough.  Really old encoders had light 
bulbs in them.  They can be retrofitted with infrared LEDs.
Many older machines had resolvers instead of encoders.  (I'm 
working on a lower-cost retrofit for those, but it may still be 
cheaper to install US Digital encoders where they will fit.)

Ball screws are fairly hard to evaluate in the field.  You can 
put a dial indicator on the table and see how far you can turn 
the screw by hand to check backlash.

The general condition of the machine can be a useful guide.  If 
every nook and cranny is stuffed with chips, and layers of brown 
sludge coats everything, you know the machine was run hard in 
heavy production.  That will take its toll.

As for the ATC, the simpler it is, the easier it will be to get 
EMC to control it.  If it is a massively complicated hydraulic 
monster with several changer arms, lots of position sensors, 
etc. then it will be more complicated.  Ray Henry did manage to 
get the Mazak working at Roland's shop.  That is a pretty 
complex ATC.  Remember that the tooling is a major expense on 
these machines, a rack of NMTB 40 holders and collets is worth a 
LOT more than most older machines.

Jon

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Re: [Emc-users] 155 ms real-time delay every 10 minutes?

2008-05-07 Thread Jon Elson
Kenneth Lerman wrote:
> The suggestion was made that arp or some other ethernet related protocol 
> might run every ten seconds. Disabling ethernet in the bios might be 
> *causing* the problem if all of the protocols are not disabled in software.
> 
> I sure don't know what would happen if something is trying to use the 
> ethernet and there was no hardware there.
> 
> (That's probably not the problem, but it can't hurt to suggest looking at 
> it.)  :-{
I have a Dell desktop box here that is in a location where I 
share ethernet jacks.  I know that you just about can't log
in and get X running without the ethernet being connected. 
After 10+ minutes, it finally gets running and appears OK.
(At one time I knew how to disable this, but now I've forgotten. 
Certainly shutting down one of the network daemons.  But, before 
it gives up, the system is insanely slow, it literally takes 
10+minutes for the login stuff for X to complete.

I don't think this affects the RT system, though.

Jon

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Re: [Emc-users] Master-Slave stepper set up

2008-05-07 Thread Jon Elson
Kirk Wallace wrote:
> I wonder. If you don't know the state of the two end carriages, and they
> might be in a binding condition, it might be necessary to sync the
> carriages before any substantial move. Could a laser be used to get the
> carriages synced enough to for a move to a proper sync?
> 

Well, in a step-controlled system, they will always move 
together, so the binding/misalignment would not get any worse 
than when the step drivers were turned on.

Jon

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Re: [Emc-users] EMC Fest 2008

2008-05-07 Thread John Kasunich
John Kasunich wrote:
> Ray Henry wrote:
>> Sounds like you are saying you want me not to teach this class.
>>
> 
> (off list)
> Hi Ray:
> 

Damn.

Well obviously I don't know how to operate my email client.

Sorry

John Kasunich

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Re: [Emc-users] EMC Fest 2008

2008-05-07 Thread John Kasunich
Ray Henry wrote:
> Sounds like you are saying you want me not to teach this class.
> 

(off list)
Hi Ray:

Aram is being Aram.  He was at least year's workshop, and he is enough
to try anyone's patience.  Most of us are just ignoring him.  It may
seem rude, but we've tried, and there just isn't much else we can do.
Please don't let him get to you, and by all means don't let him dissuade
you from teaching your classes.

I think Aram's real problem is that he is frustrated.  At times he seems
as dumb as a stump.  Other times he seems to be quite smart, but he just
doesn't have the "knack" for integration work.  He doesn't read
documentation (or he doesn't grasp it), and then he gets frustrated when
people can't take his hand and walk him step-by-step through things.

Last year he walked around for quite a while with an encoder (or maybe a
jogwheel) in his hand, looking for someone to show him how to wire it
up.  He wound up hooking its 5V supply to 24V and burning it out, and
afterwards I swear he still didn't understand why it didn't work.  He
just doesn't get some things that we consider so fundamental we don't
even think about them.

I truly think he will never be happy unless someone literally devotes
their entire week to helping him (and only him).  Maybe he needs to hire
someone to do exactly that... but I can assure you it won't be me - I
would go insane.

Regards,

John



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Re: [Emc-users] EMC Fest 2008

2008-05-07 Thread Ray Henry

Sounds like you are saying you want me not to teach this class.

On Wed, 2008-05-07 at 19:03 -0600, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Hello Ray.
> It is right there are people with different interest and level.
> There are two points that I want to make.
> 1.there are some help such as G code use that is possible to get everyway
> –any 2 years colleges will offer that. Why need spend valuable time of
> Fest on it?
>  Help with development of EMC2 is impossible to get, and nobody offers -
> only one time in year and at EMC Fest.
> 2.I am sure that need establish on line school about EMC2 to learn about
> EMC2 year long and not a one week a year.
> 
> Thanks
> Aram
> 
> 
> 
> > The class I outlined is intended for folk a bit like you were a couple
> > years ago.  In fact I drew it back further into newbie than that class.
> > My "ideal" student for these sessions is someone who wants to make parts
> > with EMC rather than someone who wants to make machines that run with
> > EMC.
> >
> > There is certainly a need for work on what I tend to call integration
> > but I wasn't prepared to offer a daily outline of what that might be
> > just yet.  Once we open up the machine integration topic we have a range
> > of material from Stepconf for steppers to hand written and edited config
> > file sets that include complex kinematics.  Classes would need to
> > include "The Language of HAL," "The Language of PyVCP, the Language of
> > Conf, and Ladder Language."
> >
> > Formal workshop classes are difficult when self-selected folk who cover
> > a wide range of abilities and prior knowledge are included.  This
> > workshop environment makes teaching advanced material much more
> > difficult than it is in a formal school setting.
> >
> > When CNC-Workshop spun off from what we were doing at the NAMES show, I
> > thought it was really important to pre-plan projects for folk to get
> > involved with.  The Mazak V-5 was my first and Roland was willing to
> > sacrifice it.  In that project I found that folk who already knew how,
> > did the most of the work.  It was great learning because we needed to
> > prove to ourselves that EMC2 could run production machines and that we
> > were capable of the code and integration work that make these kinds of
> > machines fully functional.  (I'm using we in the sense of all of us on
> > the lists, on IRC, )
> >
> > These days, with the ability to run big multi-axis machines with
> > non-trivial kinematics well established, I think folk come to the EMC2
> > with ideas about their own projects.  The EMC2 is the only production
> > quality software capable of such a wide range of application.
> >
> > Your recent post about a very precise grinder is an example of someone
> > coming to the software with a machine idea.  IMO your biggest problem
> > with that machine is mechanical backlash not software or configuration.
> > Such a machine could easily be set up with any current CNC software
> > package.  Roland faced a similar mechanical backlash issue a few years
> > back with his skate grinder.  Backlash would have killed most machines
> > for the purpose since it had to be accurate to a few tenths over the
> > length of the skate and some arcs were ground with a radius of more than
> > a meter.  He came up with what I thought was an innovative solution.
> >
> > What these kind of projects and folk need is very focused self study
> > with a bit of guidance.  IMO an apprentice teaching model is much more
> > effective than is structured coursework once you get beyond a very basic
> > level.  That Apprentice/master model is what I'm hearing quite a few of
> > our folk offering.
> >
> > Hope this helps
> >
> > Rayh
> >
> >
> >
> > On Tue, 2008-05-06 at 22:01 -0600, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> >> Hi
> >> I want to ask about Wednesday  -- Hand coded part programs part 1
> >> Is this programming with G code?
> >> I think that use G code to program part possible to find in every
> >> community college. Help in G code programming is every way.
> >> What is impossible to find it is EMC2 inside. Learn how to make special
> >> G
> >> code for example 555- G555 with special move is much more important. To
> >> learn about G code programming do not need to go to EMC2 fest.
> >> Unfortunately the are one place to find about inside architect of EMC2
> >> and
> >> it is EMC2 fest.
> >> I think that need to establish on line school about EMC2 structure  and
> >> use ENC2 FEST as a culmination point. I am sure that tuition fee should
> >> be
> >> applied to on line school!
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >> Aram
> >>
> >>
> >> >
> >> > Hi Dale
> >> >
> >> > I'll be bringing a few computers that I want/plan to network together
> >> > into some sort of 8.04-EMC2 lab.
> >> >
> >> > My first class at will start at 8:00 am will be a Linux/EMC2 intro.
> >> >  Monday -- Starting EMC2 in the Ubuntu Linux environment.
> >> >  Tuesday-- EMC2 operator interfaces
> >> >  Wednesday  -- Hand coded part programs par

Re: [Emc-users] EMC Fest 2008

2008-05-07 Thread amtb
Hello Ray.
It is right there are people with different interest and level.
There are two points that I want to make.
1.  there are some help such as G code use that is possible to get everyway
–any 2 years colleges will offer that. Why need spend valuable time of
Fest on it?
 Help with development of EMC2 is impossible to get, and nobody offers -
only one time in year and at EMC Fest.
2.  I am sure that need establish on line school about EMC2 to learn about
EMC2 year long and not a one week a year.

Thanks
Aram



> The class I outlined is intended for folk a bit like you were a couple
> years ago.  In fact I drew it back further into newbie than that class.
> My "ideal" student for these sessions is someone who wants to make parts
> with EMC rather than someone who wants to make machines that run with
> EMC.
>
> There is certainly a need for work on what I tend to call integration
> but I wasn't prepared to offer a daily outline of what that might be
> just yet.  Once we open up the machine integration topic we have a range
> of material from Stepconf for steppers to hand written and edited config
> file sets that include complex kinematics.  Classes would need to
> include "The Language of HAL," "The Language of PyVCP, the Language of
> Conf, and Ladder Language."
>
> Formal workshop classes are difficult when self-selected folk who cover
> a wide range of abilities and prior knowledge are included.  This
> workshop environment makes teaching advanced material much more
> difficult than it is in a formal school setting.
>
> When CNC-Workshop spun off from what we were doing at the NAMES show, I
> thought it was really important to pre-plan projects for folk to get
> involved with.  The Mazak V-5 was my first and Roland was willing to
> sacrifice it.  In that project I found that folk who already knew how,
> did the most of the work.  It was great learning because we needed to
> prove to ourselves that EMC2 could run production machines and that we
> were capable of the code and integration work that make these kinds of
> machines fully functional.  (I'm using we in the sense of all of us on
> the lists, on IRC, )
>
> These days, with the ability to run big multi-axis machines with
> non-trivial kinematics well established, I think folk come to the EMC2
> with ideas about their own projects.  The EMC2 is the only production
> quality software capable of such a wide range of application.
>
> Your recent post about a very precise grinder is an example of someone
> coming to the software with a machine idea.  IMO your biggest problem
> with that machine is mechanical backlash not software or configuration.
> Such a machine could easily be set up with any current CNC software
> package.  Roland faced a similar mechanical backlash issue a few years
> back with his skate grinder.  Backlash would have killed most machines
> for the purpose since it had to be accurate to a few tenths over the
> length of the skate and some arcs were ground with a radius of more than
> a meter.  He came up with what I thought was an innovative solution.
>
> What these kind of projects and folk need is very focused self study
> with a bit of guidance.  IMO an apprentice teaching model is much more
> effective than is structured coursework once you get beyond a very basic
> level.  That Apprentice/master model is what I'm hearing quite a few of
> our folk offering.
>
> Hope this helps
>
> Rayh
>
>
>
> On Tue, 2008-05-06 at 22:01 -0600, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>> Hi
>> I want to ask about Wednesday  -- Hand coded part programs part 1
>> Is this programming with G code?
>> I think that use G code to program part possible to find in every
>> community college. Help in G code programming is every way.
>> What is impossible to find it is EMC2 inside. Learn how to make special
>> G
>> code for example 555- G555 with special move is much more important. To
>> learn about G code programming do not need to go to EMC2 fest.
>> Unfortunately the are one place to find about inside architect of EMC2
>> and
>> it is EMC2 fest.
>> I think that need to establish on line school about EMC2 structure  and
>> use ENC2 FEST as a culmination point. I am sure that tuition fee should
>> be
>> applied to on line school!
>>
>> Thanks
>> Aram
>>
>>
>> >
>> > Hi Dale
>> >
>> > I'll be bringing a few computers that I want/plan to network together
>> > into some sort of 8.04-EMC2 lab.
>> >
>> > My first class at will start at 8:00 am will be a Linux/EMC2 intro.
>> >Monday -- Starting EMC2 in the Ubuntu Linux environment.
>> >Tuesday-- EMC2 operator interfaces
>> >Wednesday  -- Hand coded part programs part 1
>> >Thursday   -- Hand coded part programs 2
>> >Friday -- Part programming assistants
>> >
>> > Beyond this I'll plan to be in/around the lab for a couple hours each
>> > day when users can sign up for machines and test ideas and seek help.
>> >
>> > I'm hoping that several others will also offer classes i

Re: [Emc-users] Buying used CNC machine - what to look for??

2008-05-07 Thread Dave Engvall
Ah! Brave soul but on the right track.

Having converted a Mazak V5 I have a certain viewpoint. Looking at  
the emc wiki pages on the conversion of the
Mazak at Cardinal Engineering will give a slightly different view. My  
Mazak was well used and had apparently cut Al all of its life.  
Backlash on X and Y is in the range of 3 thou. Z is a bit tighter. I  
think the Galesburg Mazak is somewhat tighter. Mine had a dead 7M  
control. I think the control on the one at Galesburg still worked but  
it went away anyway as the intent was to demonstrate conversion  of a  
machine to  emc including toolchange.

My experience with the Mazak leads me to believe that 1980 servo  
drives should be replaced with something more modern. On the other  
hand you probably want to retain the servo motors as they will be  
well matched to the
machine.
Encoders/resolvers are another thing to watch although I hear rumors  
that Jon Elson is doing a resolver to digital
conversion board. I removed the resolvers from the servo motors and  
replaced the Z axis with an encoder and
installed encoders on the X and Y ballscrews.

If you have the room you might want to consider a horizontal machine  
rather that a vertical but they tend to be larger.
Plan ahead of time for a source of 3 phase; either real or a good  
converter.

Pick Ray Henry's brains and the other people involved in the  
conversion at Galesburg.

If you can make it to fest (  http://www.cnc-workshop.com/ ) this  
year you can pick the brains of the conversion crew for the Mazak in  
person.

Dave
On May 7, 2008, at 1:24 PM, Witek GB wrote:

> I am thinking of taking the plunge and buying a VMC maybe with an  
> ATC.  I plan on buying it for the iron and upgrading it to EMC.  I  
> have manual machine tools already so I know what to look for when I  
> see a manual machine, but with CNC I really do not know much.  What  
> should I look for?  Are there any resources on the Internet that  
> show you what to look for when buying a used cnc?  How can I  
> determine if the ball screws are good or bad? Servos?...  I will  
> use this machine for hobby work and maybe some light production  
> runs.  Any help is appreciated
>
> WGB
> -- 
> ---
> This SF.net email is sponsored by the 2008 JavaOne(SM) Conference
> Don't miss this year's exciting event. There's still time to save  
> $100.
> Use priority code J8TL2D2.
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[Emc-users] Buying used CNC machine - what to look for??

2008-05-07 Thread Witek GB
I am thinking of taking the plunge and buying a VMC maybe with an ATC.  I
plan on buying it for the iron and upgrading it to EMC.  I have manual
machine tools already so I know what to look for when I see a manual
machine, but with CNC I really do not know much.  What should I look for?
Are there any resources on the Internet that show you what to look for when
buying a used cnc?  How can I determine if the ball screws are good or bad?
Servos?...  I will use this machine for hobby work and maybe some light
production runs.  Any help is appreciated

WGB
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Re: [Emc-users] 155 ms real-time delay every 10 minutes?

2008-05-07 Thread Kenneth Lerman
The suggestion was made that arp or some other ethernet related protocol 
might run every ten seconds. Disabling ethernet in the bios might be 
*causing* the problem if all of the protocols are not disabled in software.

I sure don't know what would happen if something is trying to use the 
ethernet and there was no hardware there.

(That's probably not the problem, but it can't hurt to suggest looking at 
it.)  :-{

Ken

Kenneth Lerman
Mark Kenny Products Company, LLC
55 Main Street
Newtown, CT 06470
888-ISO-SEVO
203-426-7166
- Original Message - 
From: "Anders Wallin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC)" 
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 3:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Emc-users] 155 ms real-time delay every 10 minutes?


>> Some of the computers with on-board video handle certain things
>> in BIOS ROM routines, and these can cause upsets to the RT
>> environment on some machines.  Sometimes you can turn these
>> things off, or set them to be done by Linux-level software
>> rather than "hidden" features, by turning down the X-windows
>> acceleration support in the configuration menu.  I can easily
>> see how a screensaver could trigger some bit-blt activity that
>> might have side effects.  I think this one is well worth pursuing.
>
> Well I tried a lot of these things in the past few days (disabling
> Ethernet in the BIOS, "NoAccel" for X, etc. etc.) but nothing worked.
>
> I've now selected another machine to run the mill and it shows around 10
> us jitter with the latency-test.
>
> I might do a few more tests with the problematic machine, but don't hold
> your breath for the solution. Would be interesting to hear if anyone
> else comes up with this 155ms every 10min.
>
> I made a wiki page with results from my two machines here:
> http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?Latency-Test
>
> would be nice to see what numbers other people get. There seems to be a
> preference for 'vintage' hardware (P3/P4 or similar), I wonder how much
> better at RT these are than current hardware?
>
> Anders
>
>
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[Emc-users] LXR Broken?

2008-05-07 Thread Kirk Wallace
I get a blank page with this link:

http://cvs.linuxcnc.org/lxr/source

Should I?

-- 
Kirk Wallace (California, USA
http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ 
Hardinge HNC/EMC CNC lathe,
Bridgeport mill conversion, doing XY now,
Zubal lathe conversion pending
Craftsman AA 109 restoration
Shizuoka ST-N/EMC CNC)


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Re: [Emc-users] 155 ms real-time delay every 10 minutes?

2008-05-07 Thread Anders Wallin
> Some of the computers with on-board video handle certain things 
> in BIOS ROM routines, and these can cause upsets to the RT 
> environment on some machines.  Sometimes you can turn these 
> things off, or set them to be done by Linux-level software 
> rather than "hidden" features, by turning down the X-windows 
> acceleration support in the configuration menu.  I can easily 
> see how a screensaver could trigger some bit-blt activity that 
> might have side effects.  I think this one is well worth pursuing.

Well I tried a lot of these things in the past few days (disabling 
Ethernet in the BIOS, "NoAccel" for X, etc. etc.) but nothing worked.

I've now selected another machine to run the mill and it shows around 10 
us jitter with the latency-test.

I might do a few more tests with the problematic machine, but don't hold 
your breath for the solution. Would be interesting to hear if anyone 
else comes up with this 155ms every 10min.

I made a wiki page with results from my two machines here:
http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?Latency-Test

would be nice to see what numbers other people get. There seems to be a 
preference for 'vintage' hardware (P3/P4 or similar), I wonder how much 
better at RT these are than current hardware?

Anders


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Re: [Emc-users] Master-Slave stepper set up

2008-05-07 Thread Kirk Wallace
On Wed, 2008-05-07 at 10:57 -0500, Jon Elson wrote:
> Mark Wendt (Contractor) wrote:
> > 
> >  Thanks for the info.  I was doing a little reading on the 
> > wiki and in the user doc over the weekend, and missed seeing anything 
> > on that.  Is there any documentation that I may have glossed over?
> It likely is NOT documented at the present.  I think someone is 
> working on a standard configs file set for this machine config.
> We have batted this around a bit, I have a fairly clear idea how 
> I would do it if I were building such a machine, but I haven't 
> actually done it.  I think all the HAL components you would need 
> already exist.  Most likely, just one AND gate for each motor, 
> that passes the step pulses until that motor's home switch 
> trips.  Then one and gate to send EMC the home switch signal 
> ONLY when both home switches are tripped.  That signal also sets 
> a flip-flop to pass all further step pulses by bypassing the and 
> gates, using a 2-1 multiplexer.
> 
> Jon

I wonder. If you don't know the state of the two end carriages, and they
might be in a binding condition, it might be necessary to sync the
carriages before any substantial move. Could a laser be used to get the
carriages synced enough to for a move to a proper sync?

-- 
Kirk Wallace (California, USA
http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ 
Hardinge HNC/EMC CNC lathe,
Bridgeport mill conversion, doing XY now,
Zubal lathe conversion pending
Craftsman AA 109 restoration
Shizuoka ST-N/EMC CNC)


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Re: [Emc-users] Master-Slave stepper set up

2008-05-07 Thread Jon Elson
Mark Wendt (Contractor) wrote:
> 
>  Thanks for the info.  I was doing a little reading on the 
> wiki and in the user doc over the weekend, and missed seeing anything 
> on that.  Is there any documentation that I may have glossed over?
It likely is NOT documented at the present.  I think someone is 
working on a standard configs file set for this machine config.
We have batted this around a bit, I have a fairly clear idea how 
I would do it if I were building such a machine, but I haven't 
actually done it.  I think all the HAL components you would need 
already exist.  Most likely, just one AND gate for each motor, 
that passes the step pulses until that motor's home switch 
trips.  Then one and gate to send EMC the home switch signal 
ONLY when both home switches are tripped.  That signal also sets 
a flip-flop to pass all further step pulses by bypassing the and 
gates, using a 2-1 multiplexer.

Jon

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Re: [Emc-users] EMC Fest 2008

2008-05-07 Thread Ray Henry

The class I outlined is intended for folk a bit like you were a couple
years ago.  In fact I drew it back further into newbie than that class.
My "ideal" student for these sessions is someone who wants to make parts
with EMC rather than someone who wants to make machines that run with
EMC.  

There is certainly a need for work on what I tend to call integration
but I wasn't prepared to offer a daily outline of what that might be
just yet.  Once we open up the machine integration topic we have a range
of material from Stepconf for steppers to hand written and edited config
file sets that include complex kinematics.  Classes would need to
include "The Language of HAL," "The Language of PyVCP, the Language of
Conf, and Ladder Language."  

Formal workshop classes are difficult when self-selected folk who cover
a wide range of abilities and prior knowledge are included.  This
workshop environment makes teaching advanced material much more
difficult than it is in a formal school setting.

When CNC-Workshop spun off from what we were doing at the NAMES show, I
thought it was really important to pre-plan projects for folk to get
involved with.  The Mazak V-5 was my first and Roland was willing to
sacrifice it.  In that project I found that folk who already knew how,
did the most of the work.  It was great learning because we needed to
prove to ourselves that EMC2 could run production machines and that we
were capable of the code and integration work that make these kinds of
machines fully functional.  (I'm using we in the sense of all of us on
the lists, on IRC, )

These days, with the ability to run big multi-axis machines with
non-trivial kinematics well established, I think folk come to the EMC2
with ideas about their own projects.  The EMC2 is the only production
quality software capable of such a wide range of application.

Your recent post about a very precise grinder is an example of someone
coming to the software with a machine idea.  IMO your biggest problem
with that machine is mechanical backlash not software or configuration.
Such a machine could easily be set up with any current CNC software
package.  Roland faced a similar mechanical backlash issue a few years
back with his skate grinder.  Backlash would have killed most machines
for the purpose since it had to be accurate to a few tenths over the
length of the skate and some arcs were ground with a radius of more than
a meter.  He came up with what I thought was an innovative solution.

What these kind of projects and folk need is very focused self study
with a bit of guidance.  IMO an apprentice teaching model is much more
effective than is structured coursework once you get beyond a very basic
level.  That Apprentice/master model is what I'm hearing quite a few of
our folk offering.  

Hope this helps

Rayh



On Tue, 2008-05-06 at 22:01 -0600, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Hi
> I want to ask about Wednesday  -- Hand coded part programs part 1
> Is this programming with G code?
> I think that use G code to program part possible to find in every
> community college. Help in G code programming is every way.
> What is impossible to find it is EMC2 inside. Learn how to make special G
> code for example 555- G555 with special move is much more important. To
> learn about G code programming do not need to go to EMC2 fest.
> Unfortunately the are one place to find about inside architect of EMC2 and
> it is EMC2 fest.
> I think that need to establish on line school about EMC2 structure  and
> use ENC2 FEST as a culmination point. I am sure that tuition fee should be
> applied to on line school!
> 
> Thanks
> Aram
> 
> 
> >
> > Hi Dale
> >
> > I'll be bringing a few computers that I want/plan to network together
> > into some sort of 8.04-EMC2 lab.
> >
> > My first class at will start at 8:00 am will be a Linux/EMC2 intro.
> > Monday -- Starting EMC2 in the Ubuntu Linux environment.
> > Tuesday-- EMC2 operator interfaces
> > Wednesday  -- Hand coded part programs part 1
> > Thursday   -- Hand coded part programs 2
> > Friday -- Part programming assistants
> >
> > Beyond this I'll plan to be in/around the lab for a couple hours each
> > day when users can sign up for machines and test ideas and seek help.
> >
> > I'm hoping that several others will also offer classes in the lab during
> > the week.
> >
> > Ray
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, 2008-05-05 at 19:27 -0700, Dale Ertley wrote:
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> Will there be any good training for newbies at the EMC Fest 2008?
> >>
> >> I am new to EMC. I am also in the process of putting a 4+ axis (xyzw+)
> >> full size mill on EMC2.
> >>
> >> Thank you
> >> Dale
> >>
> >> __
> >> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
> >> it now.
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Re: [Emc-users] Master-Slave stepper set up

2008-05-07 Thread Mark Wendt (Contractor)
At 09:45 PM 5/6/2008, you wrote:
>Mark Wendt (Contractor) wrote:
> > I've in the process of building a two axis machine - using the X and
> > Z axis, and I have a three axis stepper/driver combo already set up
> > and basically ready to go.  I was wondering if there is some way to
> > configure EMC so that I could slave the Y axis to the X axis. and use
> > two steppers, one on each side of the gantry.
>There are much better ways to do this.  Depending on the motion
>hardware you have, this slaving can be done in the HAL layer,
>and once it is set up right, you never need to know there are
>two motors moving in unison again.
>
>The tricky bit is to figure out how to get the two sides of the
>gantry synchronized so the machine is "square" and not
>distorted.  The large gantry mills have bearings in the gantry
>towers so that when the gantry sides are out of sync a little it
>doesn't stress or break the machine's structure.  Homing the
>axis brings both sides to preset alignment with individual
>sensors.  I'm sure there are ways to do this easily in HAL with
>a couple AND gates that shuts off steps to the motor that
>reaches home first, then waits until the second motor gets there
>before completing the home sequence.
>
>This gantry scheme is called a "tandem axis".
>
>Jon

Jon,

 Thanks for the info.  I was doing a little reading on the 
wiki and in the user doc over the weekend, and missed seeing anything 
on that.  Is there any documentation that I may have glossed over?

Mark 


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