Greenie problems configuring 6i25 with 7i77, using Granite Devices VSD-E drives

Not a problem at all, Chris. And, yes, I am guessing that once I get a running machine, I'll look back on this all and say, "what the hell took you so long?" As a green bean, however, I can say that it is all a bit daunting. I'm very technical but there is a lot of intimidating stuff in all of this and the ramifications are pretty scary. And, to make things worse, I can't very easily remove pulleys so that I can test without actually moving an axis. I'm converting a Hurco and the axis are configured as follows...

Z axis - motor has a pulley but the encoder is on the leadscrew so I'll lose all of the feedback if I pull the belt.
X axis - direct drive motor with encoder on the rear of the servo
Y axis - similar to the Z axis, except removing the belt would be a nightmare to boot

The Z axis is the most reasonable for me to pull apart but it still would be pretty difficult. i don't have many good options there.

Regarding the version... That is a good question. I looked for a version in the Help file but didn't see anything. Before I go hog wild and starting things that, perhaps, I should not right now, it is probably safer to ask... "how do I find out the version?"

start linuxcnc from a terminal it will print the version in the terminal (before you pick the config)

or start linuxcnc with AXIS click on AXIS's help/ about AXIS - it will version the version.

Chris M

Well, that was pathetically easy. <sigh> But, even an easy answer could spell doom at the nascent stages, so I'm happy I asked.

Anyhow, I'm running: 2.7.12

I remembered that I have a servo with an encoder hanging off the back. Unfortunately I only have one and no extension cords. So, this trick will really only work with the X axis. Furthermore, I'm not sure how this will work once I start getting into the homing process. I'll have to run over and pass a screwdriver along my proximity switch, but assuming that works properly, the Y and Z (which I won't have powered up) will be problematic. It seems like what I really want is to have three motors all disconnected from the axis; that isn't very feasible for me, unfortunately.

While disconnecting the motor can be a good idea for early testing. It is far from necessary. You can and should get your encoder scaling and direction correct first before ever enabling a drive. Then set the following error limits to a reasonable safe number like 1. Large enough to see movement and see what is happening, but small enough to prevent disaster. Start tuning in the center of travel to give you the most room possible in both directions.

It's not always as bad as it sounds. Good luck.

By using the open loop test, you should be able to minimize the runaway problem.
Run the test and make sure when running in the positive direction (pressing the positive button), the axis moves in the proper positive direction.
Take care that depending on the machine this won't be obvious, movement is based on TOOL movement so if the AXIS moves the the direction is opposite - look at that diagram in pncconf - it shows the idea.
If that test proves right then check to see that the encoder counts in the positive direction when moving in the positive direction.
Do that test with all the axes and fix any inconsistence. The nice thing here is you can do the test with a very low speed.
But make sure you have a way to kill the servo power instantly - just in case

Chris M