Spindle Speed control issues with Super-PIDin 2.4

I built an original design 3 axis router using Probotix controls and motors (aka "chinese stuff") and a Super-PID for spindle speed control. I am having several issues these last few days related to RTAPI errors but right now I want to focus on the spindle speed control. (I threw in that RTAPI thing in case it may be related.) Note that my setup is using EMC2 rev 2.4. That's what the Probotix guys installed on my PC and they had some custom HAL stuff in there so I am afraid to mess with it until I am more knowledgeable. This is my first foray into CNC, steppers, etc.

I am using the Super PID with no pot, just a PWM signal coming from my PC. I was doing this successfully for a while but all of the sudden a couple days ago, the spindle did not turn on when I ran a toolpath and it crashed the not-spinning bit into the piece and made a mess of things. When I investigated, I discovered that the Super-PID is responding differently when I use the manual EMC2 control mode versus the MDI or running a program. When I use the EMC2 manual mode, I can control the spindle pretty much instantly - off, on, speed change, etc. However, when I run a program or use the MDI command lines to enter M3 and the speed (eg. M3 s12000), the spindle may wait quite a while before it turns on. I have seen it go anywhere from immediate to waiting several minutes. During this waiting time, if I switch back to manual mode, the buttons show that the spindle has started.

I noticed that when I use the MDI or program modes, the Super-PID will show a blinking "R" on its display instead of the steady R I should get. Also, after I kill an unsuccessful M3 (tired of waiting for it to start) with an M5, the Super-PID will switch to Pot mode instead of spindle mode. My understanding is it should not do that. I have posted on the Super-PID forum on CNCZone as well, but for this forum, my question is "How does using the manual mdoe differ from entering the M3 and spindle speed or M5? How might this cause my problem? How can I resolve?" I had assumed that hitting that Spindle start button just sent an M3 and Spindle stop sent M5 or something similar.

So the problem is probably in the Super-PID or something, but since I get different behavior uisng manual vs. MDI, understanding this difference should help me understand the problem.

Thanks,
Andy

ok so it may seem a tall order with all the problems , but they may or may not be related to your RTAPI Errors , so without the error or knowing how you have the Super PID configured and wired it's difficult to advise
do you have spindle feedback connected , to not only the super pid but also linuxcnc i wonder ? , so you end up with a race condition .

i'd sort out the RTAPI errors first , without that correct , then any realtime control is marginal at best .

v 2.4 is real old and way behind it's current operational facilites .

their should be no difference between using MDI or manual mode ,

perhaps zipping up and attaching all your configuration would help , and perhaps update to version 2.5.1 ( and linux version ) and convert your configuration files to suit .
also state what linux OS you are using may help , the more information for this type of problem is helpful

Thanks for replying and letting me know what other information is needed.

Here is a copy of my RTAPI error(s) that keep getting. I actually took this from the syslog file.

1523075: ERROR: Unexpected realtime delay: check dmesg for details.
In recent history there were 1982844, 1976805, 1976679, 1978578, and 1976274 elapsed clocks between calls to the motion controller. This time, there were 2790018 which is so anomalously large that it probably signifies a problem with your realtime configuration. For the rest of this run of EMC, this message will be suppressed.
RTAPI: ERROR: Unexpected realtime delay on task 1. This Message will only display once per session. Run the Latency Test and resolve before continuing.

The Super-PID receives the spindle speed back from the sensor but does not send back to Linuxcnc. I don't have enough pins left on my parallel port to do that.

I am using "Ubuntu 10.04 LTS - the Lucid Lynx - released in April 2010 and supported until April 2013"

I am attaching a zip that contains all of my Linuxcnc config directory as well as teh Super-PID document that shows how I am wired. I am using the configuration shown on page 23 for PC speed control using PWM signal. PWm is from the PC and the 5V power is via USB.



I would prefer to upgrade as well but since someone else wrote some HAL stuff that is in this I am hesitant until I know what items I need to change. The HAL that is necessary homes motors on opposite ends of a long (6 foot) gantry so that both ends line up, keeping the gantry normal to the stationary axis. I always expected to update as soon as I understood enough to make the proper changes. I had looked at the 2.5 documentation and it looked like quite a bit had changed so it seemed like it would probably mean rebuilding most of my configuration.

ok i'll look forward to seeing the files , once uploaded . have you added any additional devices to the machine , or ran any updates .
thats usualy one reason for RTAPI errors ..

has this pc ran before without problems with Linuxcnc , or is this a new install etc ,

give me some time to look at the files and see if we can see some light at the end of the tunnel .

Sorry. I thought it uploaded.

This is a brand new PC that never ran anything. No other hardware attached to it at all. Just used for the machine controller. Use a flashdrive to transfer files but I always disconnect it before running anything in Linuxcnc.

I have tried to upload 3 trimes now. Hopefully this one went. Never got an error and it indicates the file is attached in the body.

I keep attaching a zip and it's not working. Trying it with txt extension and simpler name and eliminating the Super-PID file in case those are issues,

This is the pdf file I removed in case it was the issue with the upload failing so it could fail this time, too. Change extension to pdf to read in acrobat reader.

ok send them direct to cncbasher may be easier