Sieg KX3 and 5i25. Seeking firmware.

Hi all.
I have a Sieg KX3 mill from ArcEurotrade in the UK. This year's project has been finishing its conversion from Mach3 to LinuxCNC. It's worked very well but now I'd like to introduce hardware stepgens and better homing/limit switch configs (each axis currently (ha!) has only one microswitch for both limits and home). I plan to add a high-speed chinese spindle later (ie fastened to the head, for engraving, so an addition, not a replacement). It seems a MESA 5i25 should be the natural solution, but I've hit a brick wall, and I don't want to buy a 5i25 if it's not going to work with this mill.

I'm having difficulty figuring out which firmware I might use to get the 5i25 to communicate with the mill. It uses a CNC4PC C11G parallel breakout board, which has its DB25 connector configured as below:


1 Spindle start (O)
2 X Step (Step)
3 X Dir (Step)
4 Y Step (Step)
5 Y Dir (Step)
6 Z Step (Step)
7 Z Dir (Step)
8 A Step (Step)
9 A Dir (Step)
10 E-Stop (I)
11 X Limit (I)
12 Y Limit (I)
13 Z Limit (I)
14 Spindle Step (Step)
15 Touch Plate (I)
16 Spindle Dir (Step)
17 Charge Pump (12.5 kHz) (Step)
(18 - 25 Ground)

Pins 1 and 16 are outputs to 10 amp motor-control relays for the spindle. The 'limits' are shared min/max/home. 'Spindle step' converts on the C11G into an isolated 0-10V for the no-name proprietary VFD boards on the KX3.

So, in order to satisfy these requirements of the C11G, I need 6 (XYZA, spindle, SChP) stepgens at the DB25F connector (P3) of the 5i25; however, the only close-ish matches I can find in PNCconf are G540X2 and PROB_RFX2. Each has 8 stepgens, but shared across P2 & P3 so only 4 on the DB25. Also there are PWM generators which I don't need (and encoders, which I might).

So I need a firmware which will work with this pinout and ideally would let me use P2 for the additions I'm looking to make (I/O for limits, coolant, extra spindle).

Have I understood this correctly? If so, where can I get the firmware? Any help much appreciated!

Many thanks,

John.

HI John
the 5i25 is an excellent choice , although their is a steep learning curve , and a different way of looking at things compaired to Mach3
in linuxcnc everything is configurable , as your trying to adapt the standard parrallell port way of doing things etc .

the configuration within a 5i25 is fixed as far as stepgen and say pwm are concerned ( even this can be changed , but more of that later )
any pin that is not pre configured as a stepgen or pwm as used , is then open to become a gpio ( general purpose input / output )

if you can i''d also go as far as change your interface on the machine to a 7I76 , this will give you the correct analog output to feed the spindle
and give you over 37 inputs and outputs , this connects to the 5i25 with a 25pin printer port cable which is also included in the kit , if you buy both together
and will also give you the ability of encoders

the 5i25 can be flashed from the pc your using , using the mesaflash application

contact me off list if you wish , and i'll help you through it all ,
(details in my profile )

Sarah

John ,

i have a configuration as per this already

1 X Step
2 X Dir
3 Y Step
4 Y Dir
5 Z Step
6 Z Dir
7 A Step
8 A Dir
9 Flood Coolant Relay
10 E-Stop Input
11 X/Y/Z Home switch Input
12
13 Timing Input (used for Tool Touch Plate in Mach)
14 Spindle Dir
15 Probe Input
16 Spindle Step
17 Charge Pump

dont worry over pins such as probe etc as thats just a general io , the main is the fixed pins for stepgens etc

Hi Sarah, that's very generous!

It is a steep learning curve, but an interesting one

I had considered replacing the C11G with a 7i76; however, the C11G is fitted rather neatly into the KX3 and is already set up to read the spindle stepgen and the charge pump, with 10 amp relays on-board for the spindle outputs. It's a very neat solution and principally for those reasons I want to stick with it.


Am I right in thinking that the number of stepgens, encoder inputs and PWM's, and their hardware pinout definitions on the DB25 are essentially determined by the firmware file (eg 'G540X2' ), while the machine-specific stuff, for example axis acceleration, limits etc are defined in hal and ini files?

John

PS our posts clashed.
Is your config editable to match what I need? Looks to me like it might be!

the major problem you have is if you want encoders , that would require the 7i76
yes just about everything is configured in the ini and hal files
it's the stepgens that are fixed in the fpga , but as i said they can be manipulated and we can reflash the 5i25
the velocy etc is set in the hal and ini , but the generators themselves are in the 5i25 fpga .
you'll find the 7i76 also has analog spindle output with fwd/dir and enable these can switch relays as they are opto coupled

you'll find the 7i76 opens up a totally different world haha
you'll convince yourself eventualy haha

as i say it's a learning curve and at time may be steep , but their is an active crew here , that will help you through if needed
so dont worry , i'll stick a matching config together in the next day or two for you , for your configuration , along with a basic hal and ini

It is relatively easy to make a new firmware config for the C11G or any breakout
if you have the xilinx tools setup but my time is very limited in the next few weeks.

Can you take a look at the pinout source file for an existing config
and edit it something close to what you need?

freeby.mesanet.com/PIN_G540x2_34.vhd

(Tabs set to 3)

cncbasher wrote:

the major problem you have is if you want encoders

as i say it's a learning curve and at time may be steep , but their is an active crew here , that will help you through if needed
so dont worry , i'll stick a matching config together in the next day or two for you , for your configuration , along with a basic hal and ini

No, I don't need encoders. Although there's a lathe in the garage that one day will be (L)CNC'd ...

Thanks for your kind help. Now I know it's do-able I can send off for the Mesa kit.

Hi Peter

Grateful thanks also for your help. I'm guessing the .vhd is a source file for the FPGA. If it is, then I'm way out of my depth. I'll have a look, just to scare myself...

John

here's a basic config John, it's nothing fancy , so just use it as a piece of the learning puzzle for now
i'll sort out the firmware shorlty , you'll have it before the board anyhow !

as you can see everything is doable in linuxcnc , ( darn if i can get it to boil the kettle thou)

Cheers!
<off to play with new toy>

cncbasher wrote:

use it as a piece of the learning puzzle for now
i'll sort out the firmware shorlty , you'll have it before the board anyhow !

The fog's clearing. I see now how the ini and hal files work; however, the .xml, when it's read by pncconf, just shows up GPIO pins on the // ports, ie no steppers.
EU Surplus, the only European Mesa suppliers I could find, are out of stock of 5i25's...

As you said Sarah, a learning curve.

Also I had a look at the vhd file that PCW kindly posted, and I have edited it as he suggested and attached it. Could one of the experts check it out for errors/plausibility? In particular, in the 'external DB25' section, the steppers that I've added (for spindle step and charge pump) result in the numbers no longer being in a nicely monotonic order.

Regards,

John