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You say LinuxCNC is way way better than Mach 3.

How so?

As far as I could research, Mach3 is not able to do fully closed loop operation with feedback between motor axis and rotary or linear encoders.

• feed rate based on spindle power (cutter breakage detection)
• EDM with reverse movements or slow down based on electrical values
• a hobbing machine that slows down workpiece spindle and tool spindle in case something reaches the limits.
• Turning excenters or augers on a lathe
• cam shaft grinding
  
  These are examples I can think of. Things that Mach3 could not provide, according to my understanding of the available information.
  Of course those items go bejond the average DIY user and will not be easy to do. Not easy to do in any system, unless available as turnkey in exchange for $$$
  
  Linux CNC seems to be in the gap between, "very basic good enough" and "just pay money to one of the usual suspects"
  
  I see a lot of misconception that Linux CNC ist "Parallelport technology" for 3-axis open loop stepper machines. Which is actually only the lower end of the spectrum.

Mach3 can obviously do a lot that I do not even immagine, same as Linux CNC.
Mach3 seems to be a dead end (obsolete hardware, obsolete software)

The Mesa Card is definitely better documented and I bought fairly cheap DM860 stepper drivers that seem to work (good enough for who its for).

This week I threw some of the equipment on the workbench and started messing with pncconfig.
Four motors are running The spindle drive is still an issue. (that ist next up)

Thank you for the answers.

This keeps things easier, "problems solved" so far. Next up is to hook up the spindle drive.

Greetings Timo

On the ec300 I measure 24V on OT1 to GND when set low, 0V when set high. (Strange. I expected it to be reverse, because of safety reasons...)
 I've tested it with and without spindle setting in HAL, because you don't have spindle configured in yours (it's not the problem).

Do you have any other usable and functioning output pins (other than the working steppers)?

What voltages do you read, if the outputs pulled low?

I have my config here for ec500 with nvmpg: github.com/zelo/linuxcnc-remora-ec500-rt1052-cfg

- For now basic spindle controll works
- Stepper drivers (DM556T) using DMA stepgen.
- NVMPG - signal generator, multiplier button, and axis selection

I have still issues with following joint errors, but thats with faster movement or direction change. I guess when i jog too fast with the wheel it cant keep up.
EDIT: fixed following joint errors by setting lower max velocity values

This problem, and this forum thread, all started when I was getting gouging when making a 1"-8 thread. After analysis, I believe that the lathe was bogging down slightly when making later passes in the increasingly deep thread. I've confirmed that the position of the thread changes with speed. The slight decrease in speed made the cutter take a larger bite, which caused further bogging down and then an even larger bite. Eventually, the lathe reached stability and was able to speed up and quit gouging.

Today, I tried making the thread again. I kept thinking that the Monarch lathe motor is large (7HP), and should be able to power through the threading cuts. My lathe has a back gear (speed reduced, torque increased), which I have never used. I put the lathe in the back gear and tried the thread cut. The gouging stopped completely. So that problem is solved to my satisfaction.

The contributing problem, thread position varies with spindle speed, seems to be built in to the LinuxCNC code. Spindle speed should not be changed during the threading operation. I'm not convinced that replacing the Z stepper with a more powerful motor, which would allow me more acceleration, would change this behavior very much. I'm also not convinced that having more pulses per spindle revolution, either through making a new gear with more teeth or using software to synthesize more pulses, would make much difference.

Please let me know if my logic is flawed.



 

Here's the values for Z:
MAX_VELOCITY = 1.8
MAX_ACCELERATION = 2.0
These were set after a lot of experimentation. Higher values stall the stepper motor. I could try increasing the acceleration somewhat, but probably in the 10-20% range. Not sure this would make much difference. Let me know if you think I should try it anyway.

You mentioned that the 200 RPM plot is broken. Are you referring to the change of slope in the velocity before it starts oscillating?

Is it likely that the 10 pulse/revolution pulses are causing the problem? I could redo that part of the lathe. Getting greater acceleration will require a new stepper or servo motor and a lot of work.

I have two choices for the encoder-

1) I have some encoders in my junk drawer. They're both quadrature. One is a US Digital 1000 pulses/rev with a separate index signal, and the other is a more robust looking Accu-coder 2500 pulses/rev. Both are designed for small shafts, so I'd need a belt or gearing to connect them.

2) I could machine a gear to bolt on the spindle pulley. It'd be about 7 1/4" or so in diameter, so how ever many teeth I could fit on it. Maybe about 90 1/8" teeth? Or 180 1/16" teeth? I don't have any feel for how many pulses/revolution is appropriate, so maybe this would not work.

Here's a photo of the two pulse generators. The 1 pulse/rev is magnetic and the other one is proximity. The teeth are for locking the spindle.
 

I'm anticipating reception of my 7196S card shortly. (The Canada Post strike is finally on hold)

This is for a lathe; I have a stepper (for now) mated to the Z-axis leadscrew, and a servo mated to the cross-slide
The Spindle encoder (A,B,Z signals) will interface to the fast encoder inputs on TB2:7,10,13

I plan to configure this so that the lathe can operate either in old fashioned manual mode, or in LinuxCNC mode. When in manual mode a separate ELS controller drives the Z-axis leadscrew, and because I have eliminated the hand crank for the cross-slide (it's now mated to a servo), I want to add a MPG to emulate the old cross-slide hand crank when I want to manipulate the cross-slide manually.

My question is about interfacing the 600 pulse/Rev rotary encoder intended for use as the cross-slide MPG. I have spare isolated inputs on TB3 that I would prefer to use because of the isolation. Manual states 5kHz max for these isolated inputs which seems fast enough, I can't imagine being able to rotate that knob 8 times in a second. So assuming the rate is okay, can I simply add a few lines to my HAL file to get a couple of those spare inputs to decode the A/B signals to get counts and direction from the encoder? or do I need to re-FLASH the FPGA on the 7196S?

These are some great questions. I spent some time collecting information to address them.

cakeslob question: I ran the 1"-8 scratch threads again. I tried hand turning the spindle, then ran it at 100, 150, and 200 RPM. I found the following:
1) Yes, you can run the threading G-code and cut the thread by turning the spindle by hand
2) The hand turned scratch wobbles a bit compared to the ones at set speeds
3) The hand turned scratch is the leftmost one in the photo, then the 100 RPM to its right, then the 150 and the rightmost thread at 200 RPM.
4) The spacing of the scratches, measured as best as I can from the hand turned scratch line, is
     a) 0-100RPM -0.025"
     b) 0-150 RPM -0.055"
     c) 0-200 RPM -0.085"

This supports andypugh's comment about the Y axis having to catch up the position after it detects the index pulse. The faster the speed, the more the thread falls behind the desired position.

PCW question:
I've attached my INI and HAL files.


Here's the section for the Z axis



I used HALSCOPE and watched hm2_7i92.0.gpio.014.in_not (spindle index) and hm2_7i92.0.gpio.016.in (spindle A). That was working as expected, as I got one index pulse per 10 "A" pulses.


I then watched the spindle index and hm2_7i92.0.stepgen.02.position-1b (Z axis position) while running the threading program.

For 100 RPM:


For 200 RPM:


This looks to me like it's working as expected, where the falling index pulse begins the carriage Z movement. Note that I have steppers and this is not a real feedback signal on the position..That leads me to believe that LincxCNC is working correctly and that my problem is a physical one with my lathe.

M4MazakUser question:
Yes, both the index and "A" spindle signals are driven directly off the spindle.

andypugh question:
I'm using the threading program from the O-code section of the forum (and which I wrote). Before issuing the G76 code, the program moves the tool to the starting X and Z position. I think that there's validity to your comment about the axis acceleration perhaps affecting the spindle synch point.  I'm not sure what to do about it, though. The carriage on my lathe probably weighs nearly 100 lbs, and the stepper motor is probably undersized. I've had to limit my Z acceleration to 2 i/s^2, or it loses steps.

I ran the calcs you suggested (v = sqrt(2as)) for the 8 tpi thread I'm trying to cut. For the final velocity, I need to cut 1/8" per revolution at the set RPM.
For 100 RPM, v = 100 r/m / 60 s/m / 8 r/i = 0.208 i/s
And the distance to reach that speed s = v^2 / 2a, or 0.208^2 / (2 * 2) = 0.011"
For 200 RPM, s = 0.043"

The takeaway here is that the calculated distance is exponential with speed. When I measured the scratch marks from the hand turned (very slow RPM) values I got 0-100 RPM was 0.25" and 0-200 RPM was 0.085", which is exponential behavior. They're also about twice the values calculated in the formula.


So, I'm still not sure there's a path forward to correct this. A larger stepper, able to accelerate the heavy carriage would likely help, in that I could increase the maximum acceleration. But I'm not losing steps, so the program should be able to handle this. Perhaps a servo motor with closed loop control would fix it.

Thanks for the code, im getting this error on startup ./main.hal:239: Pin 'xor.0.in0' does not exist

here is my hal file

# This file was created with the Mesa Configuration Tool on Nov 26 2024 15:50:59
# If you make changes to this file DO NOT run the configuration tool again!
# This file will be replaced with a new file if you do!

# kinematics
loadrt [KINS](KINEMATICS)

# motion controller
loadrt [EMCMOT](EMCMOT) servo_period_nsec=[EMCMOT](SERVO_PERIOD) num_joints=[KINS]JOINTS num_dio=30 num_aio=30

# hostmot2 driver
loadrt hostmot2
loadrt [HM2](DRIVER) board_ip=[HM2](ADDRESS) config="sserial_port_0=00000000"
loadrt oneshot count=1

setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.watchdog.timeout_ns 10000000
loadrt timedelay count=1
loadrt xor2
loadrt pid names=pid.x,pid.y,pid.z,pid.s



# PID Information for Stepper Boards
# Mesa hardware step generators at every servo thread invocation, the step
# generator hardware is given a new velocity. Without feedback from the PID
# controller the hardware position would slowly drift because of clock speed and
# timing differences between LinuxCNC and the step generator hardware.
# The PID controller gets feedback from the actual (fractional) step position and
# corrects for these small differences.

# THREADS
addf hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.read servo-thread
addf motion-command-handler servo-thread
addf motion-controller servo-thread
addf pid.x.do-pid-calcs servo-thread
addf pid.y.do-pid-calcs servo-thread
addf pid.z.do-pid-calcs servo-thread
addf pid.s.do-pid-calcs servo-thread
addf hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.write servo-thread
addf timedelay.0 servo-thread
addf xor2.0 servo-thread



# DPLL TIMER
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.dpll.01.timer-us -50
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.timer-number 1

# amp enable
#net motion-enable <= motion.motion-enabled => hm2_7i95.0.ssr.00.out-02

# Spindle Air Oil solenoid


# Board: 7i95

# Axis: X Joint: 0 Output: 0
# PID Setup
setp pid.x.Pgain [JOINT_0](P)
setp pid.x.Igain [JOINT_0](I)
setp pid.x.Dgain [JOINT_0](D)
setp pid.x.bias [JOINT_0](BIAS)
setp pid.x.FF0 [JOINT_0](FF0)
setp pid.x.FF1 [JOINT_0](FF1)
setp pid.x.FF2 [JOINT_0](FF2)
setp pid.x.deadband [JOINT_0](DEADBAND)
setp pid.x.maxoutput [JOINT_0](MAX_OUTPUT)
setp pid.x.error-previous-target True
# limit stepgen velocity corrections caused by position feedback jitter
setp pid.x.maxerror [JOINT_0](MAX_ERROR)

# joint-0 enable chain
net joint-0-index-enable <=> pid.x.index-enable
net joint-0-index-enable <=> joint.0.index-enable

net joint-0-enable <= joint.0.amp-enable-out
net joint-0-enable => pid.x.enable

net joint-0-enable => hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.enable

# Joint 0 Step Generator Settings
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.dirsetup [JOINT_0](DIRSETUP)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.dirhold [JOINT_0](DIRHOLD)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.steplen [JOINT_0](STEPLEN)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.stepspace [JOINT_0](STEPSPACE)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.position-scale [JOINT_0](SCALE)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.maxvel [JOINT_0](STEPGEN_MAX_VEL)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.maxaccel [JOINT_0](STEPGEN_MAX_ACC)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.step_type 0
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.control-type 1


# position command and feedback
net joint-0-pos-cmd <= joint.0.motor-pos-cmd
net joint-0-pos-cmd => pid.x.command

net joint-0-pos-fb <= hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.position-fb
net joint-0-pos-fb => joint.0.motor-pos-fb
net joint-0-pos-fb => pid.x.feedback

# PID Output
net joint.0.output <= pid.x.output
net joint.0.output => hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.00.velocity-cmd

# Axis: Y Joint: 1 Output: 1
# PID Setup
setp pid.y.Pgain [JOINT_1](P)
setp pid.y.Igain [JOINT_1](I)
setp pid.y.Dgain [JOINT_1](D)
setp pid.y.bias [JOINT_1](BIAS)
setp pid.y.FF0 [JOINT_1](FF0)
setp pid.y.FF1 [JOINT_1](FF1)
setp pid.y.FF2 [JOINT_1](FF2)
setp pid.y.deadband [JOINT_1](DEADBAND)
setp pid.y.maxoutput [JOINT_1](MAX_OUTPUT)
setp pid.y.error-previous-target True
# limit stepgen velocity corrections caused by position feedback jitter
setp pid.y.maxerror [JOINT_1](MAX_ERROR)

# joint-1 enable chain
net joint-1-index-enable <=> pid.y.index-enable
net joint-1-index-enable <=> joint.1.index-enable

net joint-1-enable <= joint.1.amp-enable-out
net joint-1-enable => pid.y.enable

net joint-1-enable => hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.enable

# Joint 1 Step Generator Settings
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.dirsetup [JOINT_1](DIRSETUP)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.dirhold [JOINT_1](DIRHOLD)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.steplen [JOINT_1](STEPLEN)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.stepspace [JOINT_1](STEPSPACE)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.position-scale [JOINT_1](SCALE)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.maxvel [JOINT_1](STEPGEN_MAX_VEL)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.maxaccel [JOINT_1](STEPGEN_MAX_ACC)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.step_type 0
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.control-type 1


# position command and feedback
net joint-1-pos-cmd <= joint.1.motor-pos-cmd
net joint-1-pos-cmd => pid.y.command

net joint-1-pos-fb <= hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.position-fb
net joint-1-pos-fb => joint.1.motor-pos-fb
net joint-1-pos-fb => pid.y.feedback

# PID Output
net joint.1.output <= pid.y.output
net joint.1.output => hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.01.velocity-cmd

# Axis: Z Joint: 2 Output: 2
# PID Setup
setp pid.z.Pgain [JOINT_2](P)
setp pid.z.Igain [JOINT_2](I)
setp pid.z.Dgain [JOINT_2](D)
setp pid.z.bias [JOINT_2](BIAS)
setp pid.z.FF0 [JOINT_2](FF0)
setp pid.z.FF1 [JOINT_2](FF1)
setp pid.z.FF2 [JOINT_2](FF2)
setp pid.z.deadband [JOINT_2](DEADBAND)
setp pid.z.maxoutput [JOINT_2](MAX_OUTPUT)
setp pid.z.error-previous-target True
# limit stepgen velocity corrections caused by position feedback jitter
setp pid.z.maxerror [JOINT_2](MAX_ERROR)

# joint-2 enable chain
net joint-2-index-enable <=> pid.z.index-enable
net joint-2-index-enable <=> joint.2.index-enable

net joint-2-enable <= joint.2.amp-enable-out
net joint-2-enable => pid.z.enable

net joint-2-enable => hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.enable

# Joint 2 Step Generator Settings
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.dirsetup [JOINT_2](DIRSETUP)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.dirhold [JOINT_2](DIRHOLD)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.steplen [JOINT_2](STEPLEN)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.stepspace [JOINT_2](STEPSPACE)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.position-scale [JOINT_2](SCALE)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.maxvel [JOINT_2](STEPGEN_MAX_VEL)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.maxaccel [JOINT_2](STEPGEN_MAX_ACC)
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.step_type 0
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.control-type 1


# position command and feedback
net joint-2-pos-cmd <= joint.2.motor-pos-cmd
net joint-2-pos-cmd => pid.z.command

net joint-2-pos-fb <= hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.position-fb
net joint-2-pos-fb => joint.2.motor-pos-fb
net joint-2-pos-fb => pid.z.feedback

# PID Output
net joint.2.output <= pid.z.output
net joint.2.output => hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.02.velocity-cmd

# Manual Tool Change Dialog
loadusr -W hal_manualtoolchange
net tool-change-request => hal_manualtoolchange.change
net tool-change-confirmed <= hal_manualtoolchange.changed
net tool-number => hal_manualtoolchange.number

# create signals for tool loading loopback
net tool-prep-loop iocontrol.0.tool-prepare => iocontrol.0.tool-prepared
net tool-change-loop iocontrol.0.tool-change => iocontrol.0.tool-changed

# # Load Classicladder without GUI
loadrt classicladder_rt
addf classicladder.0.refresh servo-thread 1

# E-Stop Chain
loadrt estop_latch count=1
addf estop-latch.0 servo-thread

# E-Stop Loop
net estop-loopin iocontrol.0.user-enable-out => estop-latch.0.ok-in
net estop-loopout estop-latch.0.ok-out => iocontrol.0.emc-enable-in

# E-Stop Reset
net estop-reset iocontrol.0.user-request-enable
net estop-reset => estop-latch.0.reset
net remote-estop0 estop-latch.0.fault-in <= hm2_7i95.0.inmux.00.input-01-not

# Input and output configuration
net button-press <= hm2_7i95.0.inmux.00.input-05 # Connect input pin 5 to signal button-press
net relay-1-control => hm2_7i95.0.ssr.00.out-01 # Connect signal relay-1-control to relay output 1
net relay-2-control => hm2_7i95.0.ssr.00.out-03 # Connect signal relay-2-control to relay output 3

setp timedelay.0.on-delay 1.0 # 1-second delay
setp timedelay.0.off-delay 0.0 # No off delay

# Timedelay connections
net button-press => timedelay.0.in xor.0.in0 # Link button-press to timedelay and logic
net relay-1-control <= timedelay.0.out xor.0.in1 # Link timedelay output to relay-1-control and logic
net relay-2-control <= xor.0.out # Link xor out to relay-2-control


#*******************
# SPINDLE
#*******************

setp pid.s.Pgain [SPINDLE_0]P
setp pid.s.Igain [SPINDLE_0]I
setp pid.s.Dgain [SPINDLE_0]D
setp pid.s.bias [SPINDLE_0]BIAS
setp pid.s.FF0 [SPINDLE_0]FF0
setp pid.s.FF1 [SPINDLE_0]FF1
setp pid.s.FF2 [SPINDLE_0]FF2
setp pid.s.deadband [SPINDLE_0]DEADBAND
setp pid.s.maxoutput [SPINDLE_0]MAX_OUTPUT
setp pid.s.error-previous-target true
# This setting is to limit bogus stepgen
# velocity corrections caused by position
# feedback sample time jitter.
setp pid.s.maxerror 0.012700

net spindle-index-enable => pid.s.index-enable
net spindle-enable => pid.s.enable
net spindle-vel-cmd-rpm => pid.s.command
net spindle-vel-fb-rpm => pid.s.feedback
net spindle-output <= pid.s.output

# Step Gen signals/setup

setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.dirsetup [SPINDLE_0]DIRSETUP
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.dirhold [SPINDLE_0]DIRHOLD
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.steplen [SPINDLE_0]STEPLEN
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.stepspace [SPINDLE_0]STEPSPACE
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.position-scale [SPINDLE_0]SCALE
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.step_type 0
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.control-type 1
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.maxaccel [SPINDLE_0]STEPGEN_MAX_ACC
setp hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.maxvel [SPINDLE_0]STEPGEN_MAX_VEL

net machine-is-on => hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.enable
net spindle-vel-cmd-rps => hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.velocity-cmd
net spindle-vel-fb-rps <= hm2_[MESA](BOARD).0.stepgen.03.velocity-fb

# ---setup spindle control signals---

net spindle-vel-cmd-rps <= spindle.0.speed-out-rps
net spindle-vel-cmd-rps-abs <= spindle.0.speed-out-rps-abs
net spindle-vel-cmd-rpm <= spindle.0.speed-out
net spindle-vel-cmd-rpm-abs <= spindle.0.speed-out-abs
net spindle-enable <= spindle.0.on
net spindle-cw <= spindle.0.forward
net spindle-ccw <= spindle.0.reverse
net spindle-brake <= spindle.0.brake
net spindle-revs => spindle.0.revs
net spindle-at-speed => spindle.0.at-speed
net spindle-vel-fb-rps => spindle.0.speed-in
net spindle-index-enable <=> spindle.0.index-enable

# ---Setup spindle at speed signals---

sets spindle-at-speed true
net spindle-manual-cw halui.spindle.0.forward
net spindle-manual-ccw halui.spindle.0.reverse
net spindle-manual-stop halui.spindle.0.stop

I would like some advice please on how to proceed with the computer I am using to run LinuxCNC.  I have just installed the latest version of LinuxCNC (2.9.3 Debian12 Bookworm Preempt -RT) and have run the Stress Test for an hour - the figures are not encouraging: 85953ns max jitter.  I know this is way too high, and if I were to use this computer I would have to make some changes, or it might be that no matter what I do it will not be suitable for software stepping.  If so I might have to save-up for a Mesa Board and do the stepping there.  The problem is that  I have no real feel for what scale of improvement various changes might have. 

The computer is a Dell Optiplex 745 with an Intel(R) core (TM)2 CPU 4300@1.8GHz.  It has 6GB of DDR2 SDRAM and is using the on-board graphics card.  I know the graphics card is the first place I should look to make an improvement, and I have the opportunity to buy an AMD Radeon 450 with 4GB GDDR5 - but it is not that cheap. I have a simple 3 axis cnc mill with just 3 Nema 23 stepper motors, but I would like to upgrade it at some future point.

My first question is: in very general figures, is it realistic to think that a new graphics card might reduce the jitter figure by, say 60000ns, or is this too optimistic - is it even worth a try?  If any new graphics card could not make this scale of improvement it might be better not to buy the Radeon and put the money towards a Mesa board.

My second question is: if I were to buy the Mesa board would I still need to upgrade the graphics card anyway, or could I stick with the on-board card?

Finally,(preparing my self for the worst !), I have been looking at the range of Mesa boards available and it is a little confusing for a novice.  The advice on this site seems to be a year or 2 old, and so I would be most grateful if you could recommend the most suitable board for me.  I cannot imagine I will ever require more than 5 axis - I probably will stick with 3, but I might double up the motors on Y.  I need the ability to control the spindle (1500Kw 24000rpm currently using a Chinese VFD), and the mist (just a compressed air feed).  
Grateful for any pointers
Mitch

I have an idea to add M19 function inside STM32 so that it can manage the Orientation process by itself, receiving M19 command or just 1 button from lcnc.

I tried to let Ai create a sample code according to my needs. It came out as follows. Of course, it still doesn't work. And the Obj variable that can't handle it. I don't have the knowledge to create a new program.

Functions to be included
- Use DAC1 as analog +-10V to control servo spindle
- Receive M19 command and degree variables such as R0 R45 R90 from Hal " net spindle_orientation => ecat.0.command "
- Check if the current position is the same as the desired target
- Calculate the nearest rotation direction
- Add edge, near function
- Timer to turn off DAC if no target is found
- Confirm operation or error back to Master
Other if necessary

I'm trying to determine both minimum and nice to have hardware requirements when using the lathe macros.
Assume I already have the following:

• Suitable PC with touchscreen
• MESA 7i96s
• Stepper/Servo for both Z and X axis
• Encoder linked to spindle with A,B,Z outputs
• Manual Start/Stop & Fwd/Rev switches
• Pot presently controlling spindle speed.
• Scales on X & Z not sure the lathe macros need the actual position data but I definitely want the actual position displayed because my leadscrews have a lot of backlash. My assumption at this point is that I will (hopefully) be able to use the macros in a way that actual cutting occurs in one direction only and then the tool retracts, re-positions (including required backlash) and then continues on the next cutting pass, does that sound like a reasonable expectation?

The unclear to me at this point hardware:

1. Pretty sure I need a cycle start button, not sure about a cycle stop?
2. Do the lathe macros need Linux control of the spindle speed, or can I control that manually via the existing potentiometer?
3. Are limit switches required?
4. I will make a control panel so any nice to have features would be good to know about now so I can included them, perhaps a couple of  rotary encoders? what else would be good to have?

Much appreciated
 

Chris,

I'll fire up the mill later tonight and get a config dump for you.  And yes, I'm using a step/dir non-axis output to drive the ATC stepper.

Once you've had a look - it's complicated - I'll walk you through any of the atc-specific stuff that isn't clear.

Agree - the tool DB would be nice.  There are a number of features I'd really like to have that could be automated via a DB value:

• lathe front tool/back-tool backplot flips
• lathe main/sub spindle backplot flips
• multiple offsets for a multi-function tool like Siemens does
• Max RPM
• "Big" or 'Heavy" tools for carousels (nothing allowed next to oversized tools, or slow down carousel for high inertia)

Thank you for the reply's

Kworm : i think i have the pdo's right in the drive Vs the terminal output Vs the .xml ? please let me know if i am not understanding correctly. Thank you for your time. 



Aciera (sorry i thought it was better to upload files that made no errors, but not actually working)
i have been reading and come across a post about a Youtuber called Marco Reps ? i thought it would be a idea to apply some of the methods i found in these files. so i have changed things from my first post, and i am now getting errors again / LinuxCNC is not opening.  this looks to be the main issue ?  EL8_machine.hal:41: Pin 'lcec.0.0.cia-statusword' does not exist

i have included the Error report + the .xml + .hal + .ini

.XML File



.HAL



.ini