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Would this be better in the "LinuxCNC documents" section?

More info on capactive sensors used with LinuxCNC:
forum.linuxcnc.org/plasma-laser/51568-in...e-sensor-to-linuxcnc
forum.linuxcnc.org/plasmac/38701-plasmac...-auto-focuas?start=0

There is no way of knowing if it works or not without actually testing it, there are to many types of them out there.
I can not read the chip type used, it might help to find out if someone here has used it.
I have used plenty of MOSCHIP or NETMOS ones in PCI version and they all worked, but PCI-E i have not used.

Pretty sure it might be possible to make LinuxCNC do something useful with variable frequency PWM, but i can not recall reading about it here on the forum, but there are some that used capacitive sensors with LinuxCNC and QtPlasmaC for laser height control, a bit fuzzy, but i think they used an ESP32 to translate stuff back and forth.
Some things to be sure:
-is it actually variable frequency PWM or quadrature signal? Quadrature has 50% duty cycle, PWM has variable duty cycle and frequency does not change, usually.
-Can it be controlled in manual mode with the up/down PWM? If yes, that would make things easier as LinuxCNC can output many types of signals like that.
-
Personally, so far i have removed every capacitive sensor i bumped into, there are reasons they are not used in plasma anymore.

tcbmetalworks wrote:

It sounds like it's the most open source but the least user friendly. I really want to try to build my table idiot proof so if I get lucky and it gets to the point I'm not doing all the work myself and I can easily have a newbie operator run the machine.

Inkscape is not a CAM software, it just has a CAM plugin that outputs gcode. It is a drawing/scetching/whatever it does software, so the CAM is just an add on made by a single user (probably with some help of others, but back then he was alone with about 500 people asking for help and features from him), but it does work magnificently for what it does.
As for newbies, almost all machines i build are used by other people, sometimes people with absolutely no computer experience (yes i do bump into them occasionally), but it takes at most two days of 3-4 hours a day to learn to draw something or trace a path from a picture or image, edit it a bit, save it as gcode and use LinuxCNC to run that gcode. I am trying to say it is by far the easiest to use for plasma cutting.
Luckily, i do have a client that spent xxxx (nearly 2000$ i think, it was long ago) on every plasma CAM he could get, still uses Inkscape.
After all this i have a feeling you might take this the wrong way, as me pushing, well i am, so if you try other CAM's, please do report back how it goes, i would really appreciate it, a lot has changed by now in Plasma space.
What do you mean by "plate centering" ?

"Well if python3-distro is a required package and also in the readme so not sure where you went wrong... did you download and install the deb with gdebi?"

Yup, I used gdebi from the terminal

Hi JT,

Thanks for replying.

>>> distro.id()
'linuxmint'

Your application was looking for 'debian'

I'm using Hypertherm Pronest since 2017.
I do not have the full feature set subscription, which includes auto nest etc.
I find the manual nesting to be sufficiant and working good for my needs, I'm usually not nesting full sheets of steel.
It is not the cheapest software around, but I figure the yearly subscription maintainance fee is worth it if you do a fair amount of cutting.

 

MaHa wrote:

Maybe this can be done with one momentary button, toggle component and mux2, toggle between 2 float values. You can setp mux2.N.in0 and mux2.N.in1 to the desired float value and control it with toggle.N.out to mux2.N.sel

 

That worked like a charm!

Hey everyone.

I'm documenting my journey to control a CHC-200F (Capacitive Height Controller) as a Torch Height Controller.

CHC-200F is superior to CHC-200E as the "F" has faster processing and also provides a probe output signal.

These systems are made for use with a DC motor in the torch : which LCNC doesnt.

They communicate to the motor with a PWM signal, which overrides the controller's PWM to provide a height correction.

 

The PWM signal provided is 10V with 9 to 18 KHZ frequency. Which can be read by either the Mesa Encoder input with the proper voltage scaling.

Unlike the arc voltage, which the THCAD converts into an encoder signal, the PWM signal will have a polarity so it will have scaled and offsetted..
It will also have a different "meaning" as the encoder in the THCAD, so it will have to be 'read' in a different way.

Has anyone used mesa systems to read PWM?

Is it more suitable to read it with a THCAD?

PS: Im guessing I could also use the polarity of PWM signal to generate two inputs: Move Torch Up & Move Torch Down, and use QTPLASMAC in Mode 2 (Up/down signals). But this wouldn't provide such a fast thc response as the "arc voltage" does.

This post will be advanced as more progress is made.
 

You probably want something like:

loadrt logic count=2 personality=0x203,0x204

(you need to specify the personality of each gate)

We can also decide to make a ringbuffer. A buffer with 250 segments in the past and 250 segments in the future.

As one of the guys who plan to use LCNC for a wire-EDM machine I would hope this is the chosen path. After all it has been implemented and is working flawlessly as it is now. And it would be a great loss if a feature like that is removed.
At least make it possible to implement for those who need it. If it is possible to set it as an option if needed this is enough. 

If not implementing it now means it will be difficult to implement at a later stage I say please dont leave it out at this stage.

And thanks for the great effort you are putting in to this Grotius!

I have numerous gates;OR2, logic,  etc. working in a postgui.hal file.
I was using an OR2 for unhoming x&Y and it worked, I'm now trying to include Z

So I now need to add a 3 input OR gate.

I already have a 4 input OR defined as ....

# this is a  4 input OR gate
loadrt logic count=1 personality=0x204   # was 203 for 3 input 0x204 for 4 input A16
addf logic.0 servo-thread

Attempting to add a 3 input like this ....
loadrt logic count=1 personality=0x203  
addf logic.1 servo-thread

gives error.... logic: already exists

So I tried changing the count of the logic personality 0x204 to 2, and then just setting the 4th input pin to 0,  as follows...
# this is a 4 input OR gate  AUG12-2024
loadrt logic count=2 personality=0x204  
addf logic.0 servo-thread
addf logic.1 servo-thread

net un-home-x <= arduino.keypad.UnHome-X
net un-home-x => logic.1.in-00
net un-home-y <= arduino.keypad.UnHome-Y
net un-home-y => logic.1.in-01
net un-home-z <= arduino.keypad.UnHome-Z
net un-home-z => logic.1.in-02
setp logic.1.in-03 0

this gives the following error...
postgui.hal:233: Pin 'logic.1.in-00' does not exist

I'm using the same pin naming format that worked for logic.0,

Help please
 

So i got the brake working. Not difficult if you understand the documentation.
i wrote a little how i set the driver up. Maybe it is useful for an other

To setup a brake on the driver, ex for the z axis.
You must change the function of the DO.
Lets say we change DO2.
DO2A is VCC (ex +24v)
DO2B is connected to a relay or brake (max 200mA)
Relay is also conected to GND in this case

The default function of DO2 is zero-speed. (do not use the brake before changing this)
Go into parameter P04.04 and change it from 3 to 9. This will make it a brake output.
Parameter P04.03 can be used to invert the signal. (Default low to disable brake)
parameter P02.09 till P02.12 can be used the set the timing of the brake enabling and such.

Next i want to do the homing with the driver itself, has anyone done this yet?
i have set DI2 as home switch and DI4 as end switches, i am able to read them.
However i am currently stuck on how this would work in HAL.

Kind regards,
Andries
 

I never really fully got the hang of inkscape. It sounds like it's the most open source but the least user friendly. I really want to try to build my table idiot proof so if I get lucky and it gets to the point I'm not doing all the work myself and I can easily have a newbie operator run the machine. I know linux cnc has plugins for plate centering is it possible to make this work with multiple work planes? So like if you load 5 sheets on the table can it centre all 5 or do I have to stop in between sheet.