Re: [Emc-users] EMC-based Antenna Measurements
Very neat! Nicely done. Mark At 11:26 PM 3/5/2008, you wrote: Hello, All, CNC is just good fun but sometimes I like to work with things I can't see, electromagnetics (i.e. antennas). Hope you find the EMC-based project I've started, the Enhanced Machine Controller-based Antenna Range (EMCAR), interesting. You can see it at emcar.sourceforge.net. I'll be the first to say that I am not a programmer. So, if any of you software folks have an interest in antenna measurements, I could surely use your help (you can see this if you look at the code)! But, in any case, emcar works for my measurement purposes and there's plenty of room to improve it in the future. I've said it before and will say it again, Thanks for EMC. Hope you all have a good day. Regards, Bob - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] restart in the middle of a program
All you have to do is hit the home button... John On 5 Mar 2008 at 19:59, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello All, Can we look at adding something to the scenario? How about a re-home due to lost axis motor steps on an open loop system? How can we restart in the middle after an ESTOP? I can't see any need for a reboot of the computer system unless we loose electric power. Thank you Dale - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] EMC-based Antenna Measurements
Nice idea, I have a netwok analyser and have made 10Ghz discones for fun, just built an EMC 4 axis mill. Time to combine hobbies. Dave Caroline archivist #emc irc.freenode.net - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] Stepper speed
Hi, You may remember my recent posts about my attempts to get a reasonable speed out of a stepper motor for driving a little lathe spindle. I'm now a bit confused. I am using a motor of indeterminate voltage (no plate on it) but which I think is probably about 4.5 - 5 volt and I am driving it with 12 volts. At this I can get a fair speed out of it but, having read another post on this list which recommended using the highest voltage possible with an Allegro driver, which is what I have, I tried upping the voltage to 24 volts. The motor slowed down and won't go at more than 2/3 the speed at the lower voltage. Anyone know why this is? From all I have read in the past, I thought more voltage was better.. -- Best wishes, Ian Ian W. Wright Sheffield UK The difference between theory and practice is much smaller in theory than in practice... - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Hardware suggestions for EMC
Marcin, I found your Factor E project very interesting and hope to contribute. For the control, you might wish to investigate the use of a thin client which is a diskless, lightweight computer intended mainly for web surfing. I've been playing around with the Netier XL1000; see: http://fennetic.net/machines/netier which sells on ebay for $30 shipped. (sometimes for much less.) It's an AMD K2 processor clocked at 200-400MHz depending on whether the heatsink has a fan or not. Also the RAM is limited at 32MB stock but it's expandable (2 slots) with low-profile DIMM's. These have a 44-pin 2mm spacing IDE connector (read: weird) which I've used to successfully boot from a compact flash drive. A better solution is to PXE boot over the network and run the whole thing via a laptop connected to the ethernet port with a crossover cable or hub. Then you can run AXIS remotely on whatever laptop you have. Think of it more like a printer than a game console. The advantages: it's small, has a parallel port, has no moving parts, has a PCI/ISA riser slot (i think that's what the brown connector is for) The Netier achieved 50,000ns max latency over the course of several days with X11 turned off; the latency goes up to ~1ms if you move a window around. So, 50,000ns = 10kHz max step rate -- 2kHz realistic step rate. Won't run a high-speed high-resolution stepper system, but since yours is low resolution it should be good enough anyway. Average latency is more like 15,000ns so you could bump it up a notch if you can tolerate the occasional glitch. Steppers are gross by the way, especially with inexpensive drive electronics. Have you investigated homebrew servo motors at all? Some other things to consider: * case should have filtered air and be well sealed to prevent metal dust and chips from entering * get a sealed keyboard such as the silicone roll-up variety * I have a pile of XL1000's, and I could send you a couple -fenn On Wed, 5 Mar 2008, Marcin Jakubowski wrote: Dear Group, It appears that it's best for me not to attempt EMC with a laptap. I'll dry a desktop. I would like to compose my own desktop EMC PC to run the acetylene torch that I am working on. Can someone suggest a set of proven components to make this work? I'm looking for a good price, and it does not necessarily have to be top performance. I need only as much computer power as will provide effective EMC operation of 3-4 stepper motors for my torch table. Please let me know recommendations: 0. Case 1. Motherboard 2. CPU 3. Memory 4. Hard drive 5. Disc drive 6. Flat panel screen other? Thanks, Marcin - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] EMC-based Antenna Measurements
Hmmm. All we did was use one of those non-metal wind-up microwave turntables :) - Steve Dave Caroline wrote: Nice idea, I have a netwok analyser and have made 10Ghz discones for fun, just built an EMC 4 axis mill. Time to combine hobbies. Dave Caroline archivist #emc irc.freenode.net - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] restart in the middle of a program
Dale Ertley wrote: Hello All, Can we look at adding something to the scenario? How about a re-home due to lost axis motor steps on an open loop system? How can we restart in the middle after an ESTOP? I don't think this makes any difference to the restart in middle of G-code program. You do whatever fixup you need to do, then restart. But, if the program was expecting the spindle to be running when run from the top, it should be running when you do the restart, too. Jon - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] EMC-based Antenna Measurements
Bob Freeman wrote: Hello, All, CNC is just good fun but sometimes I like to work with things I can't see, electromagnetics (i.e. antennas). Hope you find the EMC-based project I've started, the Enhanced Machine Controller-based Antenna Range (EMCAR), interesting. You can see it at emcar.sourceforge.net. I'll be the first to say that I am not a programmer. So, if any of you software folks have an interest in antenna measurements, I could surely use your help (you can see this if you look at the code)! But, in any case, emcar works for my measurement purposes and there's plenty of room to improve it in the future. One of my customers uses the bottom of a Taig (just the X-Y table) and EMC to profile the beam from industrial lasers they make. The put in a G-code program to step through a grid and pause every position, and a radiometer reads the beam power at that spot. They are real happy with it. Jon - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Stepper speed
Ian, You Wrote: I am using a motor of indeterminate voltage (no plate on it) but which I think is probably about 4.5 - 5 volt and I am driving it with 12 volts. At this I can get a fair speed out of it but, having read another post on this list which recommended using the highest voltage possible with an Allegro driver, which is what I have, I tried upping the voltage to 24 volts. The motor slowed down and won't go at more than 2/3 the speed at the lower voltage. Anyone know why this is? From all I have read in the past, I thought more voltage was better.. Driving steppers with more voltage does not necessarily equal better performance. If you are driving a light load, the Cogging of the steppers can introduce oscillation during the step and cause missed steps. There is a Sweet Spot based on load, inertia, acceleration and operating voltage. In my case 12 volts works way better than 18 or even 24 volts. I used a bench power supply on my setup and varied the motor drive voltage while running. You could literally hear the difference in the moves. Each machine will behave differently. There is no one set of settings that will provide the best performance. Even using a micro-stepping motor driver may not be the best solution. I found that a micro-steppping motor driver was taking 980 microseconds to a actually move from one step to the next. I then switched to a simple chopping driver with no micro-steps, and let HAL do the work. HAL was capable of driving steps well up into the 50 microsecond range. With proper acceleration settings, I get plenty of speed and no missed steps. Jim - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Hardware suggestions for EMC
Fenn, Thanks for these hints, looks like we have a solution! I'm definitely interested in working out the Netier XL1000. I have not investigated homebrew servos. I would like to talk about that in more detail. Perhaps we can talk more directly offline, or phone, or Skype. Please send me your contact information, I'd like to pursue this as soon as possible. I'd like to send you my mail location. Thanks, Marcin Skype: marcin_ose Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cell: 816.645.5779 On Thu, Mar 6, 2008 at 8:52 AM, ben lipkowitz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Marcin, I found your Factor E project very interesting and hope to contribute. For the control, you might wish to investigate the use of a thin client which is a diskless, lightweight computer intended mainly for web surfing. I've been playing around with the Netier XL1000; see: http://fennetic.net/machines/netier which sells on ebay for $30 shipped. (sometimes for much less.) It's an AMD K2 processor clocked at 200-400MHz depending on whether the heatsink has a fan or not. Also the RAM is limited at 32MB stock but it's expandable (2 slots) with low-profile DIMM's. These have a 44-pin 2mm spacing IDE connector (read: weird) which I've used to successfully boot from a compact flash drive. A better solution is to PXE boot over the network and run the whole thing via a laptop connected to the ethernet port with a crossover cable or hub. Then you can run AXIS remotely on whatever laptop you have. Think of it more like a printer than a game console. The advantages: it's small, has a parallel port, has no moving parts, has a PCI/ISA riser slot (i think that's what the brown connector is for) The Netier achieved 50,000ns max latency over the course of several days with X11 turned off; the latency goes up to ~1ms if you move a window around. So, 50,000ns = 10kHz max step rate -- 2kHz realistic step rate. Won't run a high-speed high-resolution stepper system, but since yours is low resolution it should be good enough anyway. Average latency is more like 15,000ns so you could bump it up a notch if you can tolerate the occasional glitch. Steppers are gross by the way, especially with inexpensive drive electronics. Have you investigated homebrew servo motors at all? Some other things to consider: * case should have filtered air and be well sealed to prevent metal dust and chips from entering * get a sealed keyboard such as the silicone roll-up variety * I have a pile of XL1000's, and I could send you a couple -fenn On Wed, 5 Mar 2008, Marcin Jakubowski wrote: Dear Group, It appears that it's best for me not to attempt EMC with a laptap. I'll dry a desktop. I would like to compose my own desktop EMC PC to run the acetylene torch that I am working on. Can someone suggest a set of proven components to make this work? I'm looking for a good price, and it does not necessarily have to be top performance. I need only as much computer power as will provide effective EMC operation of 3-4 stepper motors for my torch table. Please let me know recommendations: 0. Case 1. Motherboard 2. CPU 3. Memory 4. Hard drive 5. Disc drive 6. Flat panel screen other? Thanks, Marcin - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] OT: Marketing
Also check out mikebeck.org ... gantry kit is abut $500, electronics / motors are extra. Check with Mike for details. (no affiliation, just considering being a customer) Mike sells a beefed up version of the HobbyCNC.com plans in kit form from what I can tell. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kirk Wallace Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 11:10 PM To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) Subject: Re: [Emc-users] OT: Marketing On Wed, 2008-03-05 at 15:34 -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Kirk please let me know if you interesting to build small frame bridge type machine. thanks aram On Sat, 2008-03-01 at 12:22 -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Kirk I can’t say about retrofitting machine but I know whole very good – large mill sold for scrap metal because control got bad and minor mechanical problem. When ask how much for retrofit answer – better to buy new machine $50-250K Here is the money. Need open your own shop and retrofit machine and it is not simple. I presently have a working EMC CNC mill and lathe, so for my situation, that is not a problem. For me retrofitting was easily the way to go because I could do all the work. Now if I had a pile of money to invest, I suppose buying a new machine, making loan payments and using tax write-off's would be better as a whole. Another ides, I want to buy small 12 by 12 inches frame of bridge type machine to install my motor on. Sample on e-bay machine for $770.0 I search on ebay CNC MILL an on page 4 or so picture of machine and price $770. Custom Built CNC Router Mill Engraver Very simple machine. I want to ask if you or someone that you know that can build similar type simple machine? Is this similar to what you had in mind: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=200204012821 If so, my guess is that buying an existing kit would be much cheaper than hiring someone to make a custom system. The design and fabrication of prototypes can be very expensive, unless you do most of the work yourself and hire out a very small portion of what you absolutely can not do. I would like to help, but without allot more detail about what you want and expect, I am worried that there may be no solution that makes everyone happy. -- Kirk Wallace (California, USA http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ Hardinge HNC lathe, Bridgeport mill conversion, doing XY now, Zubal lathe conversion pending) - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] rotary table on A axis Q?
Greetings; Is there a key assignment that will run the A axis, like the first three, so I don't have to fool with the mouse to move it? -- Cheers, Gene There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order. -Ed Howdershelt (Author) As you will see, I told them, in no uncertain terms, to see Figure one. -- Dave First Strike Pare - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] rotary table on A axis Q?
On Thu, Mar 06, 2008 at 07:36:47PM -0500, Gene Heskett wrote: Greetings; Is there a key assignment that will run the A axis, like the first three, so I don't have to fool with the mouse to move it? In AXIS: Help / Quick Reference - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] rotary table on A axis Q?
On Thursday 06 March 2008, Chris Radek wrote: On Thu, Mar 06, 2008 at 07:36:47PM -0500, Gene Heskett wrote: Greetings; Is there a key assignment that will run the A axis, like the first three, so I don't have to fool with the mouse to move it? In AXIS: Help / Quick Reference Thanks Chris -- Cheers, Gene There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order. -Ed Howdershelt (Author) A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on. - Samuel Goldwyn - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] LInuxCNC laptops
I have a Dell Inspiron 2600 Pentium III with 384 Megs of ram. It is setup as a dual boot - Linux/EMC2.1 BDI and Windows XP Home. It runs my stepper drivers just fine out of the printer port. I bought it new about 5 years ago or so. Dave - Original Message - From: Marcin Jakubowski To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 8:43 PM Subject: Re: [Emc-users] LInuxCNC laptops Thanks for the responses on EMC laptops. But surely there must be at least one specific laptop that does work? Is there any success story out there at ALL for a working laptop? Marcin On Mon, Mar 3, 2008 at 3:33 PM, Jason Cox [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Only problem is that Printer ports are not addressed the same on PCMCIA cards and with EMC2 we talk direct to the address and not via a driver. I dont think this solution would work. Jason On Mon, 2008-03-03 at 15:07 -0600, Jack wrote: In general, laptops are not a good idea. Many of the inexpensive ones are doing away with 'legacy' ports. I would suggest, whatever you get, get one with a PCCard slot, and get a PCCard that has a printer port on it. Actually, I would want two of the cards, just in case one gets fried :( - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users -- - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/ -- ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users - This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse012070mrt/direct/01/___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
