Configuring and calibrating EMC

Dear Sirs:

I am new to CNC and Ubuntu EMC. I have successfully installed Ubuntu 8.04 and "tied" it to my machine. Please advise me / excuse me if I am on the proper board as I don't even know the right questions to ask at this time. I am using a 3 axis gantry router and would like to "set it up" properly and am wondering where to start with basic configuration and calibration of the machine. Thank you in advance.

Jerry

Have you looked here?

www.linuxcnc.org/docs/EMC2_Getting_Started.pdf

I have successfully installed Ubuntu 8.04 and "tied" it to my machine

Do you mean you have everything connected and the axis all move and you need to calibrate them, or you have everything ready but need to create a configuration?

As John said Stepconfig can help you set the machine up or you can try one of the sample configurations that LinuxCNC comes with.

Rick G

Yes, I have stepper motors. While at work I found time and printed the "getting started guide v2.4" that you referred to. When I get home this morning I'll take a shot at the configuration. I appreciate your assistance.

Jerry

After I got home from work this morning I set up my machine as recommended under the Step Config Screen shots located in this link: probotix.com/cnc_downloads/ for the system that I have.

I am at a loss on how to continue with proper set up in that there exists; "V90 EMX2 Configs" that I have no idea on where and how to enter. Thank you in advance.

Jerry

After I got home from work this morning I set up my machine as recommended under the Step Config Screen shots located in this link: probotix.com/cnc_downloads/ for the system that I have.

I am at a loss on how to continue with proper set up in that there exists; "V90 EMX2 Configs" that I have no idea on where and how to enter. Thank you in advance.

Jerry

Sirs:

I have still having difficulty in getting my system to function. What happens is that EMC loads and presents me with examples to run on screen. What the machine is doing is twitching at various parts segments of the run leading to be that some communication is occuring.

Back andypugh's direction : Just download the V90 emc2 configs, and put the V90 folder that is in there inside your ~/home/emc2/configs folder.
Then, when you start emc2 from the CNC menu, you should be able to pick the V90 config. (which I am not sure I followed correctly)

In my world this meant.........go to probotics web site and click on "V90EMC configs" I was presented with Opening V90 emc2 configs zip.

Question is: do I select "open with" or "save file" ? Continuing on, do I extract, add file or add folder and to where. I opened Pandora's box.

Thank you for your time and patience.

Jerry

Hi

Download the .zip file ( that means save it onto your computer ).
I have a folder /downloads for this purpose solely.

Open file-roller ( sudo apt-get install file-roller if you don't have it, but I think it is standard).

Select Open and from the file dialog select the .zip you downloaded, the contents will now be displayed.

If all the files are within a further directory, you are ready to go.

If all the files are 'loose' inside the zip you need to create a containing directory.

From a terminal enter $ 'mkdir /home/username/emc2/configs/V90EMC'

Back to file-roller again, select Extract and select /home/username/emc2/configs/V90EMC from the file dialog if that is what you created, or select /home/username/emc2/configs if the files were all in a directory.
Then press OK or Open (whatever the button says)

You should now be able to open EMC and the selection dialog will include either V90EMC if you created it, or the name of the directory you copied across.

regards

Might be easier to...

Download the file
Look in your download directory you should see V90-emc2-configs.zip
Right click on it and copy it.

Navigate to your home directory
Navigate to your EMC2 directory
Navigate to the configs directory
Paste the file there
Right click on the zip file and select extract here
You should now see the directory that EMC2 needs.

Start EMC2 and select the V90 configuration.

Rick G