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From this hereIt looks like you are including basic_sim.tcl. You got to remove that inclusion.
It's in the .ini file, comment out that line, the line looks something like HALFILE=LIB:basic_sim.tcl

I created confusion there. The 784 is not powered by the 200 rail (which is switched on and off with Machine start / Estop), it is wired to the 204 rail, which is on constantly when the machine main switch is on.

Hi everyone,
I'm hoping that someone can help me get my head wrapped around this, and point me in the right direction.  I've spent over a dozen hours reading through threads on this forum and elsewhere - yet, I can't figure out how to proceed.

My machine is a Bridgeport Series I CNC (Boss 6) mill - and it's sitting in my shop in original condition.  I'm new to CNC (having only dabbled with my Ender 3 3D printer).  However, a close friend of mine who's helping me has a couple of HAAS mills and is a guru with Autodesk Fusion.

I've investigated numerous options for updating this machine.  The more I study this, the more confused I've become!  The simplest answer for a person like me seems to be to install an Acorn board.  I'd rather not.  I don't want to get vendor-locked (more than I have to).  The thought of a company going under and leaving me in the position of having to gut the machine and start over is not appealing.  I don't want to pay a subscription.  I like the openness and configurability of LinuxCNC, and I'm a big fan and daily user of Linux (Red Hat Academy instructor).

My goals:
* Get the old Bridgeport back to making chips again.
* Have the ability to both use this machine as a CNC, and as a glorified manual machine (using LinuxCNC as a DRO).
* Not spend thousands of Dollars on this project (if possible!).

My thoughts:
* Mount a 12" touchsceen monitor in the original control panel housing for interacting with LinuxCNC.
* Hang a pendant on the side of the original control panel housing.
* Pick up a Huanyang VFD for the spindle drive (these seem to be well-supported and well regarded?).
* Replace the ancient original Bridgeport steppers with modern closed-loop NEMA 34's (1100-1200 oz in).

My questions:
* What should I run LinuxCNC on?  I've got a spare RPi 4 sitting in my drawer.  I've got a couple of Supermicro Intel Atom-based ITX server motherboards lying around.  What's the most intelligent way to go?
* It seems that a parallel port interface is the "old-school" way of doing things.  Now, it seems that most prefer an Ethernet interface.  Is there a disadvantage of going one way or another?
* Since I have to replace the steppers anyway, is it foolish to go with a "traditional" setup rather than Ethercat?  It seems like Ethercat will be considerably more expensive (like twice the price or more) - but is it worth the price?
* Everyone seems to agree that Mesa boards are the "gold standard."  How do Pico Systems' boards compare?  Jon Elson lives like 20 miles from my house.  Does anyone have experience with his customer service?  Is it foolish to consider anything other than a Mesa?
* If I go with a Mesa setup, which direction should I go?  If I use the RPi, I could go with the 7C80 or 7C81 - I could also run an Ethernet setup.  If I use the server motherboard, I could go with a parallel port setup or an Ethernet setup.  Is there an advantage of going one way or another, here?
* If I go with a given Mesa board, what else will I need to buy?  It seems that some of the Mesa cards (like the 7C80 and the 7I95T) will hook directly to the stepper drives, while others require a separate daughter card (BoB)?
* What hardware (if any) would I need in order to use the encoders on the steppers as a DRO?  Will any of my hardware selection above affect my ability to have this feature?
* Will a cheap Amazon/Aliexpress stepper motor/drive/power supply set work, or will I need to buy the stepper drives separately?  If I need a particular stepper drive, should I go with a Gecko or something else?
* If I run a touchscreen and a pendant, is there any reason why I will need a keyboard hooked up to this machine (once it is configured)?

Sorry for all of the (possibly stupid) questions.  The DIY CNC and especially the LinuxCNC ecosystem is far more vast than I imagined.  I really did attempt to "do my homework" before asking.  There just seems to be a lot of somewhat conflicting information (possibly, due to changing technologies and best practices over the years?).

Thanks for any advice that you can provide to me!

I've solved it
1. Synchronization problem of gantry and conveyor belt, use an external encoder to record the position of the conveyor belt

I want to use vision to determine the location of the item, and I can achieve this too.
When items are placed on the conveyor belt, they will continuously place items on the conveyor belt. My camera and program will also constantly collect images to calculate the location of each item.
I can generate G code to control its running.
But I can't solve multiple G-codes at the moment (the continuous stream of items are placed on the conveyor belt) when will they start running
Ideally, the running signal of each G code is triggered by the encoder position.
But I don't have a good idea to achieve this. Does anyone have a better solution or idea?
 

Right now, the 7k1-131 relay contact is disconnecting the 24VDC supply to mesa 7i84 board which is no, no as indicated by Tommylight. I can suggest you jumper 7k1=131 contact and replace the single pole relay 7k1-131 with a 3-pole relay to disconnect the 3 phase AC side of 6V1 power rectifier. let me know, if this info does not make sense, I can draw a diagiagram.

Self.execute was it! Finally getting back to the python testing. I pretty much got the rest of the machine up and going and it makes more sense to use the python M6 remap for a more automated experience with all the different tools on the Biesse. By the way thanks so much for posting your Biesse upgrade bevins! Mine is up on github also and plan to do a post covering my project. Been a learning experience!

Any news on this?
What exactly happens, if you got more feedback?
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Last i actually used it for work (not just testing) QTP was over a year ago (when Debian 12.3 was released), it still had a nasty habit of getting stuck doing nothing as follows:
-usually does any number of cuts ok then it hangs on torch going up and does nothing at all, did not try the switch thing so not sure if this is the same issue, but i did notice the Z axis would not go all the way to the top safe travel height, usually 1-3mm lower, only stopping the execution and running from line would work for me.
The same thing happened on PlasmaC and Phill fixed it, so it is strange that it happens on QTP but not on PlasmaC....well it did happen on PlasmaC, about once in 6-9 months of daily use, while on QTP it would happen daily, several times a day sometimes, then it would not happen for months, then happen again.....
Hence i do not use it on production machines.
-
I wrote a rant here and deleted it...

Oh, i already replied on the Remora topic...

rbobey1989 wrote:

I need to use a PID loop in speed mode, but I don't have an encoder on the motor; I have it on the load. I'm not an expert in motor control loops, although I understand something, but I'm not sure if I can implement a closed loop with this configuration. Therefore, would it be mandatory to attach an encoder to the motor?

It should work, needs some tuning and as little as possible of backlash between motor and encoder, so the answer to the last part is no, it is not mandatory, LinuxCNC does not care where the encoder is as long as they are physically attached (even with rope), and it can control DC servo motors with just a simple H-bridge.
I have done some simple drives that worked perfectly with LinuxCNC, leme see if i can find them:


-
-Not very useful info bellow, feel free to skip.
And As general info, since audio amplifiers are getting really cheap, especially the D class ones, they can all be used as a servo drive, granted limited current capabilities and the only current limits built in are overload where it shuts completely down or no limiting and burns to a crisp!
There are plenty of use cases for them, but complicate things due to +-1V input sensitivity, that can be sometimes misused by bridging them and inverting one input, so only pwm should work. Some are bridged inside, so only inverting one input should do.

The scale is generally either left in volts (10) or better
set to the machine units per second at 10V

That is, you have a inch machine, so motion calculations
are in inches per second, if you set the PWM scale to
the velocity (in inches per second) you get at 10V,
then  all the PID numbers are scaled in motion units
(inches per second) and FF1 (the most important
PID tuning parameter for velocity mode servos)
is 1.00

Simi02 wrote:

I'm thinking about ether a switch bord between the outputs of the mesa card and the relay board or to just lock it out in the software and to add a new 24v dc power supply. Any thoughts about this?

Yes, plenty:
No switch board,
No lock, whatever that means,
Yes, you can replace the existing power supply for good quality power supply (Delta preferably or Mean Well), just mind the current required.
-additional info just in case:
But, if you want to add another good quality power supply just for the Mesa and also leave the old power supply (makes things easier sometimes, not always), that absolutely requires having the same potential as the rest of the IO, usually means only wiring 0V for this power supply to 0V of the existing power supply, and checking if the machine has the 0V tied to ground/chassis and if not make sure the new power supply does not also, as some do and some do not have GND tied to 0V.

Sorry to the forum admins, I posted this in a separate thread because I wasn't sure whether to post my closed-loop question here, but my contributions to remora are directly related to this thread, so that's why this is a double post here.

It's been a while since I posted anything here, but it's never too late if you have the desire.
I've continued moving forward with my dual-head mitre saw project. I've developed a PwmGen module for Remora. At least it drives the motor, haha. Up to four modules could be instantiated, for which the four QDCs can also be used. I want this to develop a closed-loop system. Once again, I'm leaving the links to my GitHub in case anyone wants to take a look.
Scott, I know your time is short and tight, more or less like mine, haha. I've sent you a pull request on GitHub for this. When you can, take a look; everything can be improved.
I have a video of my tests online. I use a user interface I designed for a dual-head mitre saw. I welcome criticism. Although it's not very visible, I'll leave the link. It was only an open-loop test, but I was able to verify the PwmGen module works.
*****Now the questions********
I've read quite a bit about DC motor control here on the forum. For this case, I started using an old servo amplifier that the machine itself had as standard. This was controlled with a +/- 10V analog signal, which was quite a challenge to get working. The servo amplifier controlled a speed loop with a tachometer that the motor has, and the encoder is on the side of the moving head, that is, on the load, not on the motor. By the way, thanks to everyone who gave me instructions on the table cards; PCW, Tommylight, etc.

I want to skip the servo amplifier and use Remora with a simple H-bridge and the encoder. This is where I run into a problem. I need to use a PID loop in speed mode, but I don't have an encoder on the motor; I have it on the load. I'm not an expert in motor control loops, although I understand something, but I'm not sure if I can implement a closed loop with this configuration. Therefore, would it be mandatory to attach an encoder to the motor?

Greetings to all, thanks in advance.