16 Pocket tool changer with PB and carousel.comp (Working config for reference)

Hi everyone,

I have spend the last week to finally get my tool changer going. I had build the mechanics at some point last year, but only now got to play with the software implementation.
I went the route of using probe_basic for the UI and Andypughs carousel.comp (most recent version @ master from late May 223) to control the carousel.
Setup:
16 Pockets for ISO20, forks mounted to large aluminium disk mounted to an 1:80 reduction harmonic drive gearbox. The carousel is driven by a clsoed loop stepper motor auf Nema23 size through a 1:1 belt drive. Three sensors are used:
1 1xInductive sensor against a target on the disk for homing
2 1xInductive sensor for pockets against a target per pocket (targets are M6 SHCS mounted to the disk in cnc milled locations)
3 1x Optical Diffuse Reflection sensor ("laser") to check if a pocket is actually empty

Operation is done in index mode with forward and backward motion enabled. AlignDC is set low, to reliably hit the pocket. After roughly 100 M6 through various pockets I have not encountered any problems.

Probe Basic Integration: Honestly, too much to quickly type up. Main elements are described in the bullets below:

• I have replaced most of the macros and added various additional ones. All carousel logic is handled by carousel.comp, Direction of rotation and number of steps is also determined within the macros but only for the purpose of moving the animation in the right direction.
• Key pins of carousel.comp and the spindle are linked into custom m_codes (see folder m_codes in link below)
• Mcode wrappers are used to bundle key functions such as release tool and check drawbar state into a single command to clean up the code
• UI has been modified to adjust to my specific needs including debugging. Since my carousel is openly accessible by the operator, I have added some macro functions which required UI interaction.
  • Force empty carousel: Macro to reset all pockets and the animation to zero values
  • Check carousel: Macro to run through each pocket and check if a tool is physically present (sensor 3) and remove all entries where there should be a tool (according to numbered variables) but none could be found
  • Manually enter tool to pocket: Macro to receive tool and pocket from the ui to directly write that information into carousel control (without physically moving anything)
  • Manually remove tool from pocket: Macro to clear a specific pocket from tool information
• General ATC process: atc_toolchange.ngc works as a master document doing the following
  • Distinguish between tools in the carousel and those outside, specific handling of probe (must not be in atc for me)
  • Puts tools back to where they came from - this is used to ensure that some tools are not being put back into the carousel although they were manually put into the machine (I have some tools that are too long/ too heavy) for the carousel)
  • Check if current tool in spindle is: 0, from the carousel or not from the carousel and perform actions accordingly (do nothing, drop into original pocket at atc, drop off at manual tool change location)
  • Check for the new tool: Is 0, is from carousel, not from carousel and perform accordingly
  • General assumptiona:
    • Tools in the carousel have received tool lenght measurement and have a correctly determined offset
    • Tools manually changed in during M6 are considered unknown and forced to do tool lenght measurement
  • Tools can be put into and removed from the carousel using UI interaction and physical operation of the machine. These are assumed to be known, i.e. the tool length offset has previously been determined 

Video of a sequence of M6 here:
Automatic Tool Change with carousel.comp and probe_basic in LinuxCNC 2.9 - YouTube

The whole configuration can be viewed here:
GuiHue/kondor: Repository for all things related to the control system of my Kondor CNC router (github.com)
Note that the modified probe_basic.ui file is also a part of the repository and needs to be placed whereever your ui file usually is located.
@devs: I'll be happy to clean this up and provide an example for the official repo

Many thanks to the wonderful developers of the various bits used. Specifically andypugh for carousel.comp and the qtpyvcp team (turboss for helping out on the discord).

Well done!

Couple of questions... are your UI files/mods available anwhere?

Do you have a carousel jog function?  i.e. a way to manually rotate the carousel one pocket and have PB update the current position and screen widget?
I'm asking because I'm also using carousel.comp and I've not been able to get carousel's internal jog function to work.  I think Andy Pugh is working on this, but it could certainly be something I've done wrong.

EDIT - missed the .ui in the repo

Ok, had a dig in your config and I see you're using carousel's 'index' mode, plus M111/M112 to jog the carousel and screen widget.

I'm guessing my jog issue is related to the fact that I'm using 'counts' mode.

I have not tried counts mode, as I was able to adjust things easily by working on the position of the sensors once. All jogging, which is implemented, is based on the index mode. This appears to be flawless.

Edit: In case contact is needed, you can find me @Guido on the LinuxCNC Discord - usually watching #general and #qtpyvcp

The more I dig in to your ATC scheme, the more I'm impressed.  My own PB-carousel config looks amateurish in comparison.

Subtle things you did - like having the screen widget movements in a separate M-code - make the workflow more intuitive than mine.

I'm seriously considering porting your config to my setup and testing it out.

What laser sensor did you use for tool detection?  I'm far from expert in sensors... I've found a few reasonably-priced diffuse sensors (Automation Direct) but don't know if they'd be suitable.

On a similar topic, I should really get a sensor (laser) for my power draw bar.  I have air cylinder up/down sensors, but nothing to detect that the l PDB itself is in the right position... and BT30 tools are capable of being half-grabbed but not seated in the taper.  Any thoughts on this?

Hi spumco, thank you for your kind words. I have not been super consistent with the implementation. I should refactor by using even more subs. Especially the calculation of the animation is not fully externalized. I need to play with handling variables between macros some more.

The laser sensor is of ali express OMCH M12 Laser diffuse something. Cannot copy the link anymore because it cannot be shipped to Germany at the moment, and it won't show me the page. To find out if a sensor is suitable: Ensure that you can electrically connect it (i.e. Voltage, NPN/PNP (I use 24V, NPN but connected as PNP with the help of a resistor) and make sure that its useful range applies to your application. Do note that diffuse sensors do not require a reflector or receiver, which is beneficial in this application. However, they are also less stable.

My spindle has two inductive sensors: 1) drawbar position (high if the drawbar is open) 2) tool presence (high if there is a tool in the spindle). Inductive should work nicely in a spindle, as they can be reasonably compact, and setup is easy. I have not opened the spindle, but I suspect that there are features on the actual drawbar that trigger the sensor internally. Would not want to this without!