Another "what do I need" thread. Vmc retrofit

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23 Apr 2015 17:22 #58039 by andypugh
Good point about spindle orient, that is a useful thing to get in place first.

I wrote a wiki page on that subject:
wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?SpindleOrient

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23 Apr 2015 22:26 #58049 by thewho

Is it a bad idea to use a Arduino in you guys opinion?

If you can write Arduino C to do the job you can write LinuxCNC .comp C to do the job.


I'm not so sure about that as it has taken me like a year to learn basic Arduino programming :( (I even had a C++ programming class in school, but that is not important..)
The best thing with Arduino (according to me) is that there is an example for almost anything I want to do. So I just have to copy paste pieces of code that I necessarily don't really know how works.

But I'm pretty sure I'd be able to get that working and that's why I'm asking.
If I where to do the communication myself I'd probably use 4 pins (4bit binary) from the 7i77 card to select what tool is requested.

Example:
if tool == 12 then
set output 1 = 1
set output 2 = 1
set output 3 = 0
set output 4 = 0

Then input pins:
1. Lift Z to level with carousel
2. Lift Z to clear carousel
3. Ok to continue machining

There, now I've made a fool out of myself but now you know the level of programming experience i have :whistle:

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23 Apr 2015 22:33 #58050 by andypugh

I'm not so sure about that as it has taken me like a year to learn basic Arduino programming

I taught myself C just to add three-phase motor support to the Mesa drivers, so not being very good at C right now is no handicap.

If I where to do the communication myself I'd probably use 4 pins (4bit binary) from the 7i77 card to select what tool is requested.
Example:
if tool == 12 then
set output 1 = 1
set output 2 = 1
set output 3 = 0
set output 4 = 0


No need for that, there is already an existing HAL component for the job:
www.linuxcnc.org/docs/html/man/man9/bitslice.9.html

Or to do it in C-code
output1 = tool & 1;
output2 = tool & 2;
output3 = tool & 4;
output4 = tool & 8;

No need for 12 if/else statements. "&" is bitwise-AND.

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24 Apr 2015 07:39 #58057 by andypugh
As promised, a half-baked attempt at a carousel control HAL component.

Attached should be a zip containing three files. Unzip them somewhere convenient then on that folder you can issue the following commands at the command line.
comp --view-doc carousel.comp
will show the documentation for the new component.
sudo comp --install
will install the component so that you can use it.

To see it in action without hardware attached make sure Linuxcnc is _not_ running and:
halrun
source carousel_test.hal
You should get a halshow watch window and a set of sim_pin buttons to pretend that you are the hardware
Put all the sim_pin boxes into "toggle" mode.
Then set a tool requetst in the pocket-number box.
Then set "enable" true.
You will see that the actuator-0 pin goes true, waiting for you to toggle actuator-1-fb. so do that, then the same for 1,2,3.
At than point you should see the gray-code pins flickering as the "simulated" carousel slowly moves.
It will stop at the right number, then you need to un-toggle the actuators 3,2,1,0 and the carousel state should return to the zero position.

Change the tool number, and repeat.

I actually think that this component can do nearly your whole sequence, except the Z moves. Your G-code might have to sit and wait for the actuator pins to do their thing, and it might well be the case that the feedback pins are driven from G-code outputs.

Early days yet, and rough around the edges.
Attachments:
The following user(s) said Thank You: thewho

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24 Apr 2015 16:07 #58069 by thewho
Awesome! :laugh:

I'll be trying it in a few hours, has to get off work first...
I'm planning on tuning all axis and get the spindle running this weekend.

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24 Apr 2015 16:21 #58072 by andypugh

Awesome! :laugh:

I'll be trying it in a few hours, has to get off work first...
I'm planning on tuning all axis and get the spindle running this weekend.


And then we can start a debate on how it ought to work.

I think I want to change the config string from "u5" (in the case of your machine) to something like:

"pins=5 code=gray bidirectional=0 before=01234 after=345"

This would set pins 0,1,2,3,4 in sequence before moving the carousel and 3,4,5 in sequence after.

But this isn't as flexible as I would like. any ideas? Maybe "before=(1TW1F)(2F3TW1T)" as a format might work. That would set pin1-out "True" wait for pin1-fb to go "False" then set pin2 false, pin 3 true and wait for pin1-in to go "True" ?

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25 Apr 2015 00:16 #58090 by andypugh
OK, you can have a fiddle with that component, but be warned that Feature Creep has set in and I intend to change almost everything for extra fun and flexibility :-)
(Though, actually, that version is probably perfectly capable of controlling your changer)

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25 Apr 2015 01:43 #58091 by thewho
Sounds good! :laugh:
I did what you said but it seems it didn't install the component. When I run "halrun" and write "source carousel_test.hal" it says that there is no such file in "usr.." etc

Quick info as it's late and I have quite a long trip home.
Z need to at least Z=8 so that the tool in the carousel clears the spindle face. (8mm above home switch)
Will that be a problem? Limit switches are directly wired to the servo amplifiers. It was done that way from the beginning and I just left it that way.
And home switches goes only to the 7i77 card.

Been having some troubles to get the machine to home Y correctly as the home switch is in the "wrong" direction. Full + travel in other words. But that is a problem I feel confident in fixing myself :whistle:

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25 Apr 2015 03:26 #58092 by andypugh

Sounds good! :laugh:
I did what you said but it seems it didn't install the component.


What was the on-screen output when you did "sudo comp --install carousel.comp"?

It is possible that the missing component is sim_pin

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25 Apr 2015 03:44 #58095 by thewho
I did take a screenshot of it, saved it and then turned off the computer and left.. :pinch:
I'll have to get back to you on that one tomorrow.

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