Advanced Search

I wonder if it's because it's being loaded before the GUI is loaded

 Sorry, I really didn't comment out these lines in Hal when I tested it from the command line. Here are the error messages.

pi@raspberrypi5:~/linuxcnc/nc_files $ bash M101
' invalid for bitvalue 'True
<commandline>:0: setp failed
: numeric argument required
pi@raspberrypi5:~/linuxcnc/nc_files $ 
 

One sserial port can have from 1 to 8 channels so the mesaflash information is correct.

If both cards don't show up in hal, its likely that they are not enabled in the sserial_port_0=nnnxxxx
stanza in the driver command line



 

Hi all,I'm struggling with the following Mesa card combination: 7i92 + 7i77 + 7i76.I’m using the firmware. Unfortunately, only the Smart Serial peripheral on P1 is being detected — nothing shows up on P2.To clarify:
When I flash a different firmware, the same card that previously didn’t communicate on P2 works fine on P1, so I believe the Smart Serial slave and its power supply are OK.Here’s the output of:
 yaml
CopyEditI read somewhere that there should be more than one SSerial interface listed if both ports (P1 and P2) are configured for Smart Serial. It seems like the firmware might not be enabling SSerial on both channels.Has anyone encountered this issue?
Or is there someone with a working build environment who could check the Mesa source files to see if there's a configuration error?Any help would be greatly appreciated.@PCW – if you have a moment, your insight would be very welcome.

Excellent, it doesn't have a tool changer, which is a plus. I would like to add one eventually if possible, but that’s more of a future upgrade.

Regarding the spindle control, that’s an area I want to dive deeper into, but I'm not sure where to start.
From what I understand, important aspects would include direction of rotation, speed control, and handling alarms or faults. Is there anything else I should be considering?

@andypugh I started from the Marco Reps config. Everything is working as intended except for the delay/following error in the servo drive. I suspect the error to be within the drive, but I uploaded the configs as I am no LinuxCNC EtherCAT professional, and there is always the possibility of some stupid errors. The drive-internal parameter for following error is staying at 0. It is always exactly 0, so that could be a bug as well.

@PCW I tried CSV mode (without success, as the problem seems to be there as well but with different symptoms), and within the scope I can see the first reactions to the control signal within 3–4 ms. So I suspect EtherCAT is running fine and without (or at least with a very small) delay. I think I can confirm the existence of some form of filter, as acceleration values of 10,000–20,000 mm/s² are smoothed out a lot compared to a similar machine with 1 kW servos with step/dir signals.
Regarding the poor position loop – I have had settings without this oscillation, but I was trying around with pretty much all settings within the drives and was at the point of giving up when taking the screenshot. All plots without oscillations had similar bad following errors.

@Hakan Switching to CSV mode and including LinuxCNC within the feedback loop was reported successful by other users, but I was not able to get it working with a following error of <<0.5 mm. As including LinuxCNC within the feedback loop creates many more parameters to be tuned (LinuxCNC PID and parameters within the drives), that turned out to be a very time-consuming project without any real success.All in all, the Lichuan support was very unhelpful, and after trying to tune just one of the four drives (Z-axis first) for about three days, I am thinking of ditching the Lichuan drivers and motors and using Leadshine servos. If there are any ideas, I am open to trying almost everything Thanks in advance.Alex

pin 'hm2_7i95.0.ssr.00.out-01' is connected to a signal

Is the error, you cannot change the state of a pin that's already drive by a signal in hal
You would need to delete (or comment out) the net command that connects
hm2_7i95.0.ssr.00.out-01 to a signal in your hal file for the MXXX script to work.
 

langdons
Thx for you pointing this out and your hint on 5V relay.
I do have a parport based router. All pins are used, and still I want my vacuum clamping, dust extraction, myst (maybe) etc. to be operable from within axis (in my case).

greez
chris

Tried it two ways, still doesn't work. In the first case it gives an error.

pi@raspberrypi5:~/linuxcnc/nc_files $ ./M101
bash: ./M101: cannot execute: required file not found
pi@raspberrypi5:~/linuxcnc/nc_files $ bash M101
<commandline>:0: pin 'hm2_7i95.0.ssr.00.out-01' is connected to a signal
: numeric argument required

Does the script work if run from the command line?

 That is, does:

./M101

work?
 

Does the command you are trying to use in the M-code, work in a terminal from the command line?

Do you get any error messages in the terminal when you try to run the M-code if you start Linuxcnc from the command line?

Sounds like it should be a straight forward analog system conversion. What about things like the spindle controls, does it have a tool changer?

Best advice, is first thing e-stop circuits, then get encoder feedback working, then the servo drive enable\disable, then add safeties (limits etc), then confirm directions are correct, finally tune your position loops.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently working on the retrofit of a 3-axis vertical machining center (from 1995) and have decided to use LinuxCNC with Mesa boards. The machine is in excellent mechanical condition, but the original controller (Fagor 8025M) is beginning to fail. I’m still evaluating whether it’s worth repairing, but I’m leaning toward fully modernizing it instead.

Here are the key technical details of the system:

•  **Machine type**: 3-axis vertical milling machine
•  **Original controller**: Fagor 8025M
•  **Motors**: SEM MT30R4-46 brushed DC servos, each with internal tachometers
•  **Drives**: Axor analog drives (Miniclamp 140, Minispeed, Minispeed 140, Minispeed 200) with ±10 V control input
•  **Spindle drive**: Fanuc A06B-6060-H003#H503 (also analog control)
•  **Feedback**:
•  **Main feedback**: KA300 linear scales (Extent 570D), 5 µm resolution, differential outputs (A/B/Z, A-/B-/Z-)
•  **Velocity loop** is handled inside the servo drives via tachometers
•  **Planned control strategy**: Full closed-loop position control via linear scales in LinuxCNC
•  **I/O needs**: At least 18 digital inputs for limits, emergency stop, lubrication pump, coolant, etc.
•  **Desired precision**: Hundredths of a millimeter (0.01 mm) or better
•  **Budget**: About $1500 or less
•  **Planned Mesa boards**: Leaning toward a 5i25 (PCIe) + 7i77 for analog servo control and I/O

The machine will be used for both production and toolmaking, so reliability and precision are key. The current system performs interpolation and achieves 0.01 mm precision, and I’d like to match or improve upon that.

I’d like to ask:

- Has anyone here done a similar retrofit with SEM DC motors and Axor drives?
- Is it reasonable to expect similar or better precision from LinuxCNC using KA300 scales and Mesa hardware?
- Are there any specific concerns when using analog ±10 V control with older servo amplifiers?
- Any advice or experience you could share with full closed-loop systems based on linear feedback?
- I’m also interested in your thoughts on encoder scaling, latency tuning, and best practices for safety inputs and interlocks.

Info:
digital-readout.com/wp-content/uploads/2...stallation-guide.pdf
www.axorindustries.com/wp-content/upload...ce-Manual-MS-Eng.pdf
www.mroelectric.com/static/app/product/p...a06b-6044-manual.pdf
forum.linuxcnc.org/media/kunena/attachme...17/MT30R4Extract.pdf

Thanks in advance for any help or tips you can share! I’ve already started digging into the documentation but would really value input from those who’ve done similar projects.

Best regards,  
Santiago
 

Yes, of course. Without permission, Linuxcnc gives an error message.

The distance a 100 ppr encoder moves per step is determined by the scaling in hal. So it can do whatever accuracy you want
There is a good example in the docs
linuxcnc.org/docs/stable/html/examples/mpg.html
Easy to use on Mesa, 
Use a Mux8 instead of mux4 to get up to 8 scaling steps...