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I made some headway today! I gave up on chasing ghosts in my existing configuration and decided to start all over again. I did a completely new pncconfig barbones setup without limits spindle or home switches. I was successful in getting a installation free of errors yeh!! I was able to get movement on all axis and that was good but no homing or limits that of course was not very good. Started playing around to get limits going until i totally messed up that installation combined with custom ini and hal files. That didn't work. So I started all over again and tryied with limits and estop and probe. Well non of the pins for those limits existed and at this point i cant get the machine to unlock even with no errors. I commented out beginning error lines starting at hal 34. and commented all of those non existing limits in hal. I have 24v at the inputs 04 thru 09 and .4v when the nc switches are activated. I have attached the new ini and hal file to see if anyone can help figure out what is happening. Thanks to all helpers

@automata
Did you run it with bigger jerk limits? Can you share your sim configs?

Maybe send as screen shot of your roster settings and probe page settings as well as your z travel.

Also have you edited your var file and added all of the parameter numbers shown in the probe basic docs so the settings are persistent?

Where is your zero home in z

Running the ClearPath motors in quadrature mode is free, same wiring and everything. AFAIK there are only upsides to doing so- your fastest signal becomes half as fast, so you gain margin, and noise is less likely to accumulate into "permanent" errors, more likely to jitter back/forth one step. Which is still bad, but less bad.

Even if that has nothing to do with anything you're experiencing, I'd still advocate for it as technically better.

tommylight wrote:

How much is that in distance?
 

Tommy...
The standard encoder for Clearpath is 800 counts/rev.  With 4mm pitch screws that's about +/- 20 microns before the servo vomits.

OP...
I've had issues with clearpath step/dir that were resolved using the resistor they indicate in the user manual.  Your cables may not be very long (mine were ~20 feet), but it did help with lost pulses from the PLC to the motor.

Note that I never had an issue with direction changes, only the motors not moving as far as I'd expected.  I chased couplings, planetary reducer shaft clamps, and everything mechanical until I put the resistors in.

Also, Clearpath has an input filtering setting in MSP software; might want to play with that if you think some of the pulses are going astray.

 


 

It actually happened again last night. Off of a fresh start of Probe Basic, I probed the tool with the tool setter and hit Go to Zero and got the errors. I wasn't able to replicate it again though after clearing the G54 offsets that were previously stored. It's hard to remember what caused the issue when it happens unexpectedly. I'm sure I'm missing something.

Yes, Tormach Is part of ETG as well.
Are you using my repo's code or sittner's?
The random OP cycling is gone?

rodw wrote:

To use Ethercat, you need to become a member of The Ethercat Technology Group (ETG). Membership is free. www.ethercat.org/default.htm
But membership is only open to companies or businesses and you need a tax number or equivalent in your country.

Linuxcnc is nothing, just a loose community of users. We don't even have a bank account.

This has been explored by a number of the development team members over the years. Most recently by Steffen Moller who lives in Germany where the ETG and Beckhoff are domiciled. (I may have prodded him in this direction)
I had the opportunity to raise Linuxcnc with Martin Rosten, Chaiman of the ETG when he visited Australia a few years ago. There is no way forward.

But now etherlab have a repository and also host the linuxcnc-ethercat driver and I put that repository into the Linuxcnc installer, there isn't really any need for linuxcnc to get involved. (Except to manage the code base).

I would recommend you and Grandixximo as manufacturers join the ETG.

Ok, so my inevitable follow up, what is tormach doing? Is it different cause they supply it in an installed state - installer method is irrelevant? OR are they as a company a member of ETG?

I don't currently supply any actual electrical directly. I just point people to linuxcnc for now. We are likely going to try and maintain some sort of guide with our config files to set things up, which will include this new patch. To make things easy and consistent for people.

Oh, and thanks everyone involved for this fix. It really seems to have solve quite a lot of little gremlins in one go.


 

I would also try:

1. Single ended step/dir wiring:

7I96S +5V --> MOTOR STEP+
7I96S STEP- --> MOTOR STEP-
7I96S +5V --> MOTOR DIR+
7I96S STEP- --> MOTOR DIR-

2. Increase the step length (double if possible)

Already replied in the French section.

forum.linuxcnc.org/10-advanced-configura...ning-detailed-how-to

maruf1777 wrote:

HLFB is configured at 20 counts and did NOT trigger.

How much is that in distance?
And that goes both directions, so the actual error can hypothetically be 39 counts without triggering.
Granted, i agree with others, interference is the first thing t eliminate as you do have cumulative errors on both axis, and probably the third, too.

 Not sure if you have a cut chart for that machine.  Have a look at this generic cut chart to get a sense of amps to use for a thickness. It will also give you a guide on speeds.  1.5mm cut height and 2.5 to 3mm pierce is pretty standard.  

 


 

It is. I just bought some MR-J3-70B drives, for 29$ per drive, so I guess I'll have to get one of your cards next. Do you have an ethernet driven version? Or just the PCI version?

I hooked up one of the -A copper drives today in step/direction mode, and honestly it isn't that bad to hook up and it worked perfectly, but if I go with the SSCNET system, I can implement more drives without having to add more cables, just extending the fibre interface.

Eventually I'd like to have the tool changer on the SSCNET link as well, and that would be another 200W servo or two.