Plasmac install.... Windows convert from start to finish

snowgoer540 wrote:

So I am curious... do they obscure their code somehow? Or can you see it? I'm also curious how they do their dynamic control for the Hypertherm. It would be awesome to have that as part of Plasmac. Well, assuming it works well, I assume you've experienced it?

Also, I just got my serial kit for the hypertherm. Do you have a link for the card you recommend for the comms? Curious why you went RS232 instead of RS485 for the card?

Phil has set up the RS485 control for PlasmaC. It sets the amps on the machine and reads error codes and displays them on the user interface. I have talked to him about what CandCNC do with ramping the amps for piercing. We never got around to trying that. Might be something we can look at in the future when I get some more free time to do some testing.

Its just a generic RS232 card I had laying around that I brought 7 years ago for communication to a Yaskawa drive. I had absolutely no trouble setting it up in Linux Mint. Just installed the card and it was recognized. Then configured it in PlasmaC and away I went! literally 5 mins from install to using the RS485 comms.

phillc54 wrote:

If a few of you guys using Hypertherm machines think it is needed then I will take another look but I won't react to complaints about reliability as I believe it would only be a "sales gimmick".

I think if you really "need" this feature then you should be using a higher end machine that does it properly.

I agree with the above. My $11,000 AUD Hypertherm 125 is a great machine. But high end it is not. To move into the high end range the lowest models start at $48,000AUD. And the funny thing is that they wont sell direct to consumers. The high end of the Hypertherm range is only sold to the manufactures of CNC plasma and then to consumers.

Hypertherm Australia was kind of taken back when I rang them about buying a Hi Def machine. They then said call the manufacutures who kept asking what machine I was using it on. When I said I was going to build a new machine for it they basically hung up on me LOL.

bbsr_5a wrote:

hi your hypertherm also got a CPC21 Connector to run only on Switches/relay signals
does this work with your controller so you can work in first place
on auto mode it controlls almost the gas presure and the Arc voltige on its own and gives out a Up/Down/Arcok as well as 0-10V to a externel thc

its just a production gimmick to set the values from RS232 in real world you will know what sheed you placed

I disagree with the last comment. It is not a gimmick. I have had guys with absolutely no computer experience run my machine and they find it great all they need to worrie about is setting the sheet of steel in the right spot and making sure the correct consumables are in the torch. The rest is left to the controller. They can look at the material list when the program is loaded and tell what consumables they need. I have had in the past guys running programs and not changing the amps on the machine - basically destroying a section of the plate until they realize what is going on.

Making things easier to use in the real world does have tremendous monetary value.

thefabricator03 wrote:

phillc54 wrote:

If a few of you guys using Hypertherm machines think it is needed then I will take another look but I won't react to complaints about reliability as I believe it would only be a "sales gimmick".

I think if you really "need" this feature then you should be using a higher end machine that does it properly.

I agree with the above. My $11,000 AUD Hypertherm 125 is a great machine. But high end it is not. To move into the high end range the lowest models start at $48,000AUD. And the funny thing is that they wont sell direct to consumers. The high end of the Hypertherm range is only sold to the manufactures of CNC plasma and then to consumers.

Hypertherm Australia was kind of taken back when I rang them about buying a Hi Def machine. They then said call the manufacutures who kept asking what machine I was using it on. When I said I was going to build a new machine for it they basically hung up on me LOL.

Is it possible for linuxcnc / plasmac to output the desired amperage via a pwm signal instead of via rs485?

I have a hypertherm 45 that I have modified to be able to use both the potentiometer OR a digital potentiometer to set or control the amperage on the fly.

The fly part is a little tricky at present as it is not being controlled on the fly as I desire..... It uses the spindle speed S value which is the only way I could think of outputting a pwm signal from a non linuxcnc application

I have not used it but I also have the ability to directly control the airpressure via an SMC digital pressure regulator but neither see the benefit or ability at the moment... It too requires a pwm signal.

The pwm signal is the best (most easily available and fastest responding ) output signal that I could think of available from a CNC control application.... If does not like noise so I convert it to a 4-20mA signal and then via an Arduino type MCU control the digital pot.

The SMC digital air pressure regulator accepts 4-20mA directly to directly control it.

The digital pot amperage control is switched from the default (existing) analog knob on the front pot to the digital pot via a fast acting analog switch maxim MAX325..... Actually I have a cascade of max325s available to set the maximum 45a, 30a and minimum 20A hypertherm current settings too available via digital inputs available too

Note this is a hypertherm45 non xp.... I wanted the rs485 interface and nearly bought the pmx65 with the option to add the interface but decided against it luckily as it would have been boarder line on my available single phase power supply as a hobby user + the 45 has been more than enough for my needs not into armour plating or excavator buckets etc most of what I do is 2,4 or occasionally 6mm... And the 45xp was kindly launched 6m after I bought the 45 non xp!!!! Plus I found out that the ASCII serial protocol that hypertherm use for the rs485 is not actually that fast to change the current setting on the fly which was my desire to have a play with.

Time is short hobbies are many and like most things I struggle to give it the time it deserves between work, wife, kids, life and sleep.. + the hobbies

phillc54 wrote:

Is it possible for linuxcnc / plasmac to output the desired amperage via a pwm signal instead of via rs485?

Off the top of my head, it may be possible to hook into the cut current and pass it to a pwmgen component .
That would get you a set current at the start of the cut. As you probably saw from the earlier posts PlasmaC doesn't change cut current during cutting although the user can change it manually via the cut current spinbutton
.

And that their is why I have fallen in love with LinuxCNC. A problem is presented and a solution is found that can be implemented. Try doing that with ANY other proprietary software!

robertspark wrote:

I have a hypertherm 45 that I have modified to be able to use both the potentiometer OR a digital potentiometer to set or control the amperage on the fly.

Robert,

Would you be able to take a picture of how you have set up your machine for the PWM control?

I want to try something similar with a welder I am interfacing for CNC use.