Idiots guide to setting up Orient

Pretty much as above. Is there an idiots guide for the Orient? I have seen Ralganlittlejohn's post where he kindly posted the HAL and INI files but it it for a mesa card and VFD settup.

I want to carry on with the Parra port and I have a DC motor, will that still work or do I need to start from scratch? I know I will need to build it up piece by piece and do lots more research but any pointers would be good so I know I'm going down the right path.

The spindle motor is 0.37kw 180v DC and the driver is a Sprint 340XRi 4 quadrant controler. using a 90 slot encoder disc with 2 sensors to give quadrature and a third sensor for the index. depending on how well the controller can brake I may need to add a brake as well.

Thanks in advance

The underlying logic is vaguely represented here:
wiki.linuxcnc.org/uploads/orient.svg

(Ctrl+ will make it big enough to read on most browsers)

You would need to change the VFD-Outputs block to suit your hardware interface. The rest should look much the same.

If im honest thats still a bit over my head so I'll have to brush up on Hal and compare to RalganLittlejohns files, Now im setup with the mesa Im hoping i can just copy most of it.

I nearly have the spindle and encoder working so this is next on the list.

Hi Ross77,
I think you will find the schematic I posted will be more helpful than the Hal/Ini files. The Hal/Ini files have closed loop steppers etc that may not be relevant to your set up. I did the schematic in LibreOffice Draw. I found this was the easiest way to plan the configuration. It's very difficult to work out what's going on with just the Hal/Ini files. It looks like your using a servo motor and driver?. I guess that should work very well for the orient function, better than a standard 3 phase motor.
Good luck with the project. It took me ages to get a working set up, but it's well worth the effort.

Thanks John
I will make a start over the weekend. I dont have a servo but it is a 180v DC motor with a 4 quadrant controller so it can brake for position, but not holding. commands are still 0-10v control, enable and direction like a vfd.

Im using a 60 tooth gear and a thumb screw at the moment so yes it will be worth the work and save lots of time in the long run.

Would you be willing to post your HAL/Ini files? I have a MaxNC lathe with step-servos and I'd like to see how people implement this.

Nevermind. I don't have step-servos.