Gscreen - a GTK / Glade / Python based screen

newbynobi wrote: Hallo Chris and all the others,


I am missing on that page the button to select a tool.
After powering your machine it is needed to set a certain tool,
i.e. the edge finder, but you will have to distinguish two situations,

First situation:
The tool is mounted already in the spindle,
so you will have to give an M61 Q5 to set tool 5
without doing any move off the machine.
I am doing that with a button getting the value from the entry dialog.

The second situation:
There is no tool in the spindle, but you need to get it from the changer,
so you will have to enter T5 M6 resulting
in machine movement.
I do this with an MDI command.
(shouldn't sending any MDI command from a button be integrated in gscreen?)
I couldn' find a function "self.command.mdi("MDI STRING").

Both should only be allowed if machine is in all_homed state!

I was dreaming from an tool editor page where I can just select the tool highlighting the line and press a button!
So the error messages "requested tool 99 not found in the tool table" is gone.

Next question to answer:
For a tool change you have to give first G40 to unselect cutter radius compensation,
then you select the tool and after that you will have to give an G43
to activate tool length compensation.


Norbert

I though linuxcnc remembers what tool is in the spindle after shutdown?
Why do you have to enter G61 Q5 - I remeber this being added but can't remember why.
Why is it important that the machine not move in this situation?

Gscreen has a tool index button and it calls Tx M6 and then G43 Hx.
(Look in gscreen/mdi.py)
The x is the same for T and H which is probably not the best thing (especially of lathes)

adding a user selectable MDI command button is interesting.


As for G40 and friends - I don't understand why you would be using compensation while manual machining.


Chris M

Next I found:

gremlin is not indicating the tool path correct:

Norbert:

This is something that you should bring up in the mail list or IRC.
If you are sure it's a bug you could file a bug report.

There is a guy (Kirk Wallace) that is currently working on gremlin - mostly in the context of lathes -but he may be interested in your findings.

I simply don't have time to delve into it at this time.
Gremlin is a very large program all by it's self and not documented very much.

Chris M

I though linuxcnc remembers what tool is in the spindle after shutdown?
Why do you have to enter G61 Q5 - I remeber this being added but can't remember why.
Why is it important that the machine not move in this situation?

Gscreen has a tool index button and it calls Tx M6 and then G43 Hx.
(Look in gscreen/mdi.py)
The x is the same for T and H which is probably not the best thing (especially of lathes)

adding a user selectable MDI command button is interesting.


As for G40 and friends - I don't understand why you would be using compensation while manual machining.


Chris M

Hallo Chris,

No, linuxcnc do net remember the tool number. After every reboot the tool is set to "0"

The need to give the tool number to the machine with G61 Q5 is that the machine will not go to the tool changer.

If you just give an T5 M6 the machine will move to the tool changer and will try to mount the tool 5, witch is already mounted.
I have one machine with a magazin changer with 24 places. To change the tool, the machine will move in front of the pocket from the tool mounted in the machine, then it will enter the tool pocket in Y, go up in Z and move in X to the new pocket, then go down in Z, Go out the place in Y and change has finished. If the machine thinks, there is no tool in the spindele it will strait go over the pocket and then down in Z to get the tool. But when there is a tool in the spindle, it will breack the tool holder of the changer.

That is the reason I am forced to give first the tool mounted in the spindle.

I got an other machine with a carusel changer, witch will also crash if the tool number is not or wrong set.



For the T5M6 with G43 I will check your code. Why to you set tool length compensation with G43 Hx? If you just set it with G43 without anything else, then linuxcnc will get the parameter needed from the tool table. That does work also on lathes!
So just forget the H after the G43.

Compensation in manual mode:
Just a small example. I want to machine a slotted hole in my part, One part and nothing else then this hole.
Do you really write a complete CNC program, or do you just use MDI commands to machine the hole?

Or on a lathe, you just want to turn down a bar from 20 mm to 15 mm with an 45 degree angle on one side.
It is quick made with some MDI commands, while the first command is executed, you can enter the second and the third and so on, so you have finished entering commands while the machine is still working.

Doing this with compensation means you don't have to measure in between and calculate the path you have to program. Just imagine machining the slotted hole 20 mm with and 60 mm long with a burr 9.45 mm diameter. A simple G41 or G42 will make all the calculation for you.

Norbert

If you have an absolute encoder on your tool changer your tool change ladder or what ever you use should know what tool is loaded and not move the changer.

To program by hand you need ngcgui or in the case of touchy pyngcgui not the MDI window.

John

newbynobi wrote:
Hallo Chris,

No, linuxcnc do net remember the tool number. After every reboot the tool is set to "0"

The need to give the tool number to the machine with G61 Q5 is that the machine will not go to the tool changer.

If you just give an T5 M6 the machine will move to the tool changer and will try to mount the tool 5, witch is already mounted.
I have one machine with a magazin changer with 24 places. To change the tool, the machine will move in front of the pocket from the tool mounted in the machine, then it will enter the tool pocket in Y, go up in Z and move in X to the new pocket, then go down in Z, Go out the place in Y and change has finished. If the machine thinks, there is no tool in the spindele it will strait go over the pocket and then down in Z to get the tool. But when there is a tool in the spindle, it will breack the tool holder of the changer.

That is the reason I am forced to give first the tool mounted in the spindle.

I got an other machine with a carusel changer, witch will also crash if the tool number is not or wrong set.



For the T5M6 with G43 I will check your code. Why to you set tool length compensation with G43 Hx? If you just set it with G43 without anything else, then linuxcnc will get the parameter needed from the tool table. That does work also on lathes!
So just forget the H after the G43.

Compensation in manual mode:
Just a small example. I want to machine a slotted hole in my part, One part and nothing else then this hole.
Do you really write a complete CNC program, or do you just use MDI commands to machine the hole?

Or on a lathe, you just want to turn down a bar from 20 mm to 15 mm with an 45 degree angle on one side.
It is quick made with some MDI commands, while the first command is executed, you can enter the second and the third and so on, so you have finished entering commands while the machine is still working.

Doing this with compensation means you don't have to measure in between and calculate the path you have to program. Just imagine machining the slotted hole 20 mm with and 60 mm long with a burr 9.45 mm diameter. A simple G41 or G42 will make all the calculation for you.

Norbert

Tool change:
Thanks for explaining.
It seems odd to me that we haven't found a better way then that.
Is this what everyone with a toolchanger does?

G43
I know little of fanuc mill style tool offsets.
I have only used an Okuma lathe which uses lathe style tool offsets T11, T2 etc (it was an old machine)

I'm not sure about a mill but for sure in a lathe being able to set a different offset then the tool number has uses.
I once made a program that used both sides of a round tool. I used T11 for one side and T12 for the other. Then by
changing one off the offsets I could adjust the width of the spacer.

In the Okuma if you did a manual tool change it used the tool number for offset AFAIR eg T11 T22
if you wanted a different offset you had to use MDI or AUTO
Maybe I have answered my question - the manual tool change should uses the toolnumber offset (from the toolfile) if you want something else use MDI.

So I can drop the H number hey?

Compensation
What I read from you is you are using G4x in _MDI_ not manual. so the manual toolchange would not use G4x.
You can manual toolchange in manual mode - if you want G4x then use MDI to set it.

In my (small) experience we only used manual for chuck jaw machining and touch-off.
But then again I didn't work at an experienced cnc shop - The guy teaching me was ... not innovative or interested.

[quote="newbynobi" post=29705
No, linuxcnc do net remember the tool number. After every reboot the tool is set to "0"[/quote]

That sounds wrong.

It might be possible to add the tool number (#5400) to the parameter file. I don't know if that would help.

That is the way it works for me... T0 at start up. It would be wrong to remember as when it is off it can't tell if I removed the tool or moved the turret or other such silliness that might go on when the computer is off.

John

BigJohnT wrote: It would be wrong to remember as when it is off it can't tell if I removed the tool or moved the turret or other such silliness that might go on when the computer is off.

Which makes the mechanical barcodes on Skunkwork's machine suddenly look like a really neat idea.

Perhaps a solution would be an RFID chip in every toolholder.

@BigJohnT

Ok, your tool changer has an abslout encoder, but most of them don't.
The problem is only if the index tool button results in a change, then it will crash, because you haven't set the tool number bevor.

That is the only reason I use after every start M61Qx to set the mounted tool.

Why do I need ngcgui? It is easy to enter in the MDI window:

T5 M6
G43
G41
G0 X10 Y20
G1 Z-10
G1 X20Y10
G1X50
G3 X50 Y20 I0 J10
G1 X10
G3 X10 Y10 I0 J-10
G1 X22
G1 X50 Y20
G0 Z75

and its done. OK most people will not now the out of memory, but I am used to program line by line Gcode.
Nevertheless I have also written my own cycles for my lathe, so it is even quicker

@Chris,

you are right, forget the H in G43 for normal changes, everybody who need something different will run a programm or he will have to use MDI Comands, my buttons are calles Scripts and are specified in the INI File. You can have until 9 buttons to run 9 different scripts.

And you are right too with your opinion, that I use cutter radius compensation in MDI, not manual mode.
OK so I use MDI to set the compensation, or my own function

I do use my lath or mill a lot in MDI / Manual mode, on the lateh turning a braking disk down is easely made in manual mode, OK I got a Encoderbox, I hold in my hand.
And on the lathe just making a workpiece 2 mm shorter is also done in manual mode.

Norbert