I have changed over to making my own MPG's using the cheap ($24) AMT102 settable encoders. I make the shaft and wheel myself and fit a couple of BCD rotary switches in a neat little box. I tend to keep them simple.
Currently I am making a substantial unit with two handwheels mounted in an aluminium block and some switches added. This is for a Weiler 160 CNC lathe. The wheels (substantial size mounted on shafts in ball bearings and friction pads and encoders added) will allow me to use the machine in manual mode. The switches allow the following: left and right Z soft limits, X axis soft limits, manual or auto feed for both axes with adjustable speed. The limits allow cutting with hand or auto feed up to the limit as if it was a mechanical stop. I wrote quite a few HAL components to achieve this and will report further on this when the unit has been tested on the machine (currently tested only on a mock-up layout). I am so used to using mechanical stops on my manual Schaublin 125 that I want this also for quick jobs on the bigger Weiler. Rudy du Preez ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enable your software for Intel(R) Active Management Technology to meet the growing manageability and security demands of your customers. Businesses are taking advantage of Intel(R) vPro (TM) technology - will your software be a part of the solution? Download the Intel(R) Manageability Checker today! http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-dev2devmar _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users