5i25 configuration with only a G540, no daughterboards

THANK YOU for this! I've been trying to configure Machinekit on a Linux Debian Stretch box for two months without success. At least now I feel that there's hope. I'm a newbie, so please be gentle.

Symptoms: "5i25" does not appear on the mesa configure page (Page 2). My only choice is: 5i25 Internal Data.

When I attempt to add the g540x2.xml file to /lib/firmware/hm2/5i25 as root, there is no /hm2 folder.

I have downloaded and unzipped the G540 file from Mesa, and unzipped it into my Downloads folder. That gives me a path to the g540x2.xml file of: /5i25/config/hostmot2. A visual comparison of your xml file with the 5i21-g540x2.xml from there indicates that they are the same.

Any help or suggestions you might give would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you, again, for your time and assistance.

Leonard

I would just choose internal data and the rfx2 firmware , create a working hal/ini file set
and then edit the hal file by hand for any G540 specific I/O

I can surely give that a try! That would certainly take care of any mapping/permission issues.

Anything Machinekit specific that I should be watching for?

Thank you for the quick response.

Leonard

Just a refresher: I have a 3-Axis/4-motor spindle driven machine running Machinekit. Until today, I was not able to run pncconf to generate at least a starting point for my XML and HAL setup.

In order to see the 5i25 as an option (versus the '5i25-Internal Data'), I created /lib/firmware/hm2/5i25 and copied 5i25_g540x2.xml into it. Lo and Behold! When I attempted to run pncconf, I was now able to select "5i25" as a board.

I forged onward using the data that I've found here and in one or two other sources. Of note:

On the Basic Hardware page: Servo Period as Default (100K), Axis Config: XYZA, Units: mm, Mesa0 = 5i25, Selected First Paraport Address as the default (0x278, OUT), and AXIS as the GUI[/li]

External Controls: Selected "External Button Jogging" and set speed to 100 mm/min. Is this acceptable?

GUI Config Page: Selected "Move Spindle Up..."

Mesa I/O Config Page: Tab 1:
1. Firmware: 5i25_g540x2
2. Unchecked: 7i33 Daughter Board
3. Set:
1. PWM = 20,000
2. PDM = 6, 000,000[
3. Watchdog = 10,000,000 ( From: linuxcnc.org/docs/html/config/pncconf.html#_mesa_i_o_setup )
4. Encoders = 2
5. PWM Generators = 2
6. Step Generators = 10
7. Pins = 34

That's when the wheels fell off, the tranny dropped out, and threw a rod through the block.

As was suggested: I set the Unused StepGen 0 to "X Axis StepGen", followd by StepGen 1 = "Y Axis StepGen", StepGen2 = "Z Axis StepGen", and then, because I didn't know what else to do, I set Unused StepGen 3 to "Y Axis StepGen" and selected the "INV" box, When I attempted to move forward, I was greeted with, "You forgot to designate a stepper or PWM signal for axis a".

Any help on where to go from here, including anything that I need to change, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your time and help.

Leonard

If you specify a 4 axis configuration:

Axis Config: XYZA

You are expected to assign a motion output device for all the specified axis

If this is a gantry type configuration you are likely to be better off running LinuxCNC master
because it knows natively how to home/square gantry machines (machinekit and LinuxCNC2.7.X do not)

As always, PCW, great food for thought. Thank you!

I've reconfigured things as XYZ with all other options as per Post #10625 (above). The hope is that once I have a basic XYZ machine set up, I'll be able to add a -Y section for the other Y-stepper.

On the Mesa Config Page, I've set things as per the images below, and can see the "Parallel Port Set to OUTPUT" screen.

Quest.:
1. Do things look OK to this point?

2. Must I set/configure the Parallel-Port-Output pins, or is that handled in the firmware? I've studied the 5i25_g540x2.pin file, but I'm confused as to how to apply it to the Pncconf screen, or even if I need to?

3. If I don't have to set the pin-outs, can I proceed to setting up my stepper motors? I believe that I may have the data that I need.

As always, great thanks to the community for your help. While I still have an $1800 brick sitting on my bench, I'm getting closer, and I would not be without your input.

Thank you!

Leonard