Re: [Emc-users] [Fwd: Jog wheel ?]
Jeff Comments below: - Original Message - From: Jeff Epler [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 5:48 AM Subject: Re: [Emc-users] [Fwd: Jog wheel ?] Here at the CNC workshop I had an opportunity to plug in a device which identifies as I: Bus=0003 Vendor=0b33 Product=0020 Version=0117 N: Name=Contour Design ShuttleXpress The bottom of the device says Shuttle Xpress Model No. S-XPRS S/N: 0 0 4 7 x x x and there doesn't seem to be a date code. While this device is recognized by hal_input, it behaves very oddly--the way it operates is at odds with other similar devices. I don't think this device would be useful with emc without device-specific hacks, and even then it would be problematic. Read on if you'd like a longer explanation. snip I got some good advice from Emc-developers earlier in the year about driving this device but never did manage to get it going with EMC2 because of the sort of strange numbers your test have just shown. However, although I think the hardware is idiosyncratic, it does generate sensible values for buttons, inner wheel and the spring loaded ring under the built-in HID driver of Win Xp - two wrongs make a right do I hear :=) In particular you do get zero reports, For instance, imagine you use the shuttle to jog in one of 8 slow speeds. When you let go of the shuttle, it snaps back to the unreported zero position, but there's no report for that. There's no guarantee it reports 1 either. So you can't tell for a few seconds (until a report of a held position would have arrived) that you've returned the shuttle to home. Do you want your machine to keep jogging for 5 seconds after you stopped? A resounding No!. The jogwheel already isn't very useful due to its small number of reports per revolution (10), and the fact that 1 report out of 256 is lost (what's worse, the lost position will be at varying positions of the spinner since 256 is not a multiple of 12). As a result of this experience, I do not recommend the Shuttle Xpress to anyone who hopes to use it with emc2. I must, however, disagree with this conclusion. If it could be interfaced it would be a valuable jogging tool. If you program the 7 (forward and reverse) speeds of the ring in geometric progression to 100% of rapid speed it turns out to be very ergonomic. You can jog end to end of a big table (or big Z) at high speed and end with a very gentle touch to the time honoured Rizla. The inner wheel is then useful to put on a few thou of cut with a few clicks. I know of people who use the ring speeds for manual machining - say facing off stock with a fly cutter. Two of the devices driving X and Z of a lathe are very good for tool setup work - quicker than conventional MPGs because of the geometric range of speeds - and perfectly usable for manual turning like facing off a length of stock. Now the product is not IP65 protected and would not survive a pallet lifter driven over it but at the price and as it uses no precious I/O pins I believe it is worth the effort of getting it to work. John Prentice - This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] [Fwd: Jog wheel ?]
If it is actually being sent from the device, I'm sure the Linux kernel is suppressing the relative axis changed by zero counts message to hal_input. If the OS didn't take care to do this (something that always makes sense with a device that is actually a relative axis) I'm sure it would work a tiny bit less poorly. Jeff - This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] estop writes to toolchange pin out? more testing
Sorry to be so late in responding to this. When a machine is put in an E-stop condition (E = Emergancy) it's because there was some kind of problem or isbeing used in a normal shutdown procedure. No matter, coming out of E-stop the machine should not move anything or try to complete any function at all!!! That behavior could be very dangerous! Dale Alfred Smart wrote: I have done more testing and found that when I put the machine in estop it jumps to the next line of code to be executed. Then when I bring it out of estop and push the machine on button it takes off to the next instruction and not finishing the previous line of code,it could be a rapid move! If the next line of code happened to be a tool change than the machine takes off without spindle rotation because of my relay logic is still waiting for a toolchange but the axis still move. Abort fixes the trouble but its one more thing to remember to do to stay out of trouble. It would be nice if abort was a must do or automatically done with machine on. is this everyone's problem or is it something I'm doing She's a runaway! - This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users - This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] estop writes to toolchange pin out? more testing
Oooops! forgot, the Machine On button also should not cause any machine motion. That is one function and only one function, to turn on the machine, NOT to cause any motion! Alfred Smart wrote: I have done more testing and found that when I put the machine in estop it jumps to the next line of code to be executed. Then when I bring it out of estop and push the machine on button it takes off to the next instruction and not finishing the previous line of code,it could be a rapid move! If the next line of code happened to be a tool change than the machine takes off without spindle rotation because of my relay logic is still waiting for a toolchange but the axis still move. Abort fixes the trouble but its one more thing to remember to do to stay out of trouble. It would be nice if abort was a must do or automatically done with machine on. is this everyone's problem or is it something I'm doing She's a runaway! - This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users - This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] gcode output for xfig
Hi, Am Donnerstag 14 Juni 2007 schrieb Paul Fox: wow. when someone brings up a tool as arcane (these days!) as xfig, i have to come out of lurking mode. :-) I know, that xfig is very old. But that's imho an advantage as it basically does what i want. There isn't a huge set of functionality that cannot be mapped to a carving. E.g. there are no shading effects or the like. Thus the typical xfig picture will look fine when carved. The the (for me) most apparent reason: xfig is easy to extend and there's plenty of export code in xfig i can easily re-use. Furthermore i don't have to keep pace with ongoing development as there isn't any xfig development anymore. And it doesn't need any kde nor gnome and will thus run on a nearly minimal x configuration. i suspect i described this to the list at the time, but it was a couple of years ago that i was doing it: are you aware of the program hp2xx? (http://directory.fsf.org/hp2xx.html) Yes, i found that and have been using it like you describe. my image take a _really_ long time to carve. long enough that i invested many hours writing a simple gcode path optimizer Ok, that's what i've been working on today. There's already some advantage when working on the fig file as you e.g. get polygons etc as sequences of lines. Most other xfig elements are also broken down to lines. Currently even circles are made of lines (i think hp2xx also does this). I am thinking about checking if a xfig circle can in fact be described in a correct way using gcode and use g2/g3 codes if possible, but i haven't done that yet. My optimizer currently just sorts the traces and tries to insert objects using the same tool close together so you only have to mount the same tool once. And then i am trying to insert objects such that their start and end points are close to the ones of the objects handled drectly before and after. I am sure you have done something similar. the path optimizer is here, if anyone's interested: ftp://ftp.foxharp.boston.ma.us/pub/pgf/cnc/ I'll definitely take a look at it. Ciao, Till - This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
