classic ladder basics

Hi guys I am learning classic basics here and starting from the most basic stuff and going from there.

just got a problem which I cannot find out anywhere when I search for it.

There is so many versions of classic ladder now that I am getting confused. I am trying to find out where the "operate" variable box is on the ladder editor? I can find the compare box and use it but not the operate box. it doesn't seem to be anywhere.

I am just trying to get this tutorial working here

ladder tutorial and be able to read a s32 number
(eventually I want to connect it to the io control toolchange prepare numbers but that is another issue once I actually find my problem lol)


regards

Andrew

Hi. I'm not sure what you mean by "operate" variable box....

AFAICR you can assign variables and compare them.

You mentioned a tool changer in another thread. There may be easier ways than ladder to get it working depending on how it is controlled

Henk

Oh, I see now what you mean.

The operate box in the tut is a variable assignment box. It's just re named "operate"

thanks Henk!

I wondered if that was the case.

So I am open to using a hal component to control my toolchanger but I think ladder logic will be the best for my specific one.
here is a video of my toolchanger working manually. I am just pushing buttons and reading the sensors to ensure i am in the right place. as you can see the z axis doesn't move during the toolchange. which is why I decided to use classic ladder. I also want to get familiar with it for future plc jobs.

my toolchanger moving manually

you will see on my youtube channel I am starting to make some videos for helping people with linuxcnc. once I finish learning classic ladder I want to make a long in depth tutorial showing how to get it working from the very basics in step config or pncconf. hopefully this way the next guy won't struggle so much.

But anyway back to the questions...

How to you assign use variables in classic ladder?

and the other problem i have is getting a integer value out from classic ladder to the Hal layer to tell linuxcnc what toolnumber my magazine is on.

Eg say I have a magazine rotating and it is homed first and then has a pocket counting sensor counting up in classic ladder everytime the switch is turned off and on say the counter is on 8 (tool 8) since the counting starts at 0 not 1) I know I need to use the (S32 variables/pins) and I know that there are Io control hal pins in linuxcnc that I can use to let linuxcnc know the tool number It is just getting the actually number out of classic ladder I am struggling with. I am also struggling with getting the toolnumber in to classic ladder. simple inputs and outputs are easy but these integers have me stumped. and I can't find any tutorials on it.

any help you can offer would be most appreciated. I learn pretty quick.

And if anyone is feeling really helpful they could make a video on classic ladder in english showing how to do some basic stuff. That would be so helpful!

regards

Andrew

thanks JT

I tried that following your tutorial in the first place before I posted here but it didn't really click. Then all this covid 19 stuff happened and I was paid by the government to stay at home for a month lol. Lots of time to work out stuff. anyway long story short I slowly worked out how everything worked (at first the tutorials seems much to complicated as I was starting with zero experience but now it all makes sense. It is a good tutorial I just didn't have any starting point as I was completely green to the whole thing all at once which is what normally happens I think looking at the many posts asking for help with classic ladder.

I am completing my Random position side mount type tool changer in classic ladder at the moment and once I have it going I am thinking I will make a bunch of classic ladder for dummies videos to help the next guy coming along with zero ladder logic experience.

And I will use this thread to ask questions when I get stuck lol. But the user list emails have been so helpful and I have a couple of guys helping me which have done it all before.

regards

Andrew

I think that you are missing "Figure 4" in your "Counter Basics" subsection. You describe firing the input one last time to get the counter to 8 (and describe what happens in the circuit as a result of this), but you don't show the illustration.

That, and you and I will just have to agree to disagree on what is a latch. ;>

Hey there.

I haven't touched this for a good few months. Was something unclear?

My toolchanger works now but I still actually have to rig up a spindle encoder to orientate spindle

Shouldn't be too far away. Been busy machining on the machine