Re: [Emc-users] newbie questions related to drives and tool selection
On Mon, 2009-05-04 at 14:43 -0500, forget color wrote: Alexey and Kirk (and the rest), Thank you so much for your detailed answers. I have a couple followup questions. Kirk said: If you need axes motion control for your tool change, typically, you would need to create g-code subroutines, which you would insert into your part g-code files as needed. For example, to change a pen in a plotter, all that might be needed is to move the pen holder into and out of a pen park location (toggle). Each pen unload and load would be two g-code subroutines of X and Y movements. You can also set/reset pins with g-code (M62-65) so if you have a solenoid activated gripper, this could be used. Conditional control could be handled with g-code O (Oh) commands. So if I'm using, say, a Gecko G540 as my axis control, how do I hook up to this solenoid? Would I add another LPT port to the machine, then hook up to it that way? It looks like the G540 has two outputs that can drive up to 1 Amp at 50 Volts. This should be enough to drive a small solenoid directly or a higher power relay. Parallel ports are inexpensive and can up to twelve outputs: http://www.linuxcnc.org/docview/html//hal_drivers.html#r1_1_1 Typically their outputs can only drive 20 mAmps at 5 Volts, so you will need a breakout or driver board. Since the voltage or current needed to drive a peripheral can vary a lot, I tend to make my own driver boards. I have one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=380121177989 which seems to be a good board for the price, but I haven't used it much so far. It looks like it will drive 50 mAmps at 70 Volts, which could drive small loads or a relay. Alexey said: You could use 4th driver for tool changer, but it is not good to push it as 4th axis through emc/axis. I think, you can just create XYZ machine and then add one more stepgen module to control tool changer. In this suggestion, can the tool changer run through an axis port on a G540 (or other similar BOB), or does it need to run through something else? The fourth driver on your G540 just needs step and direction signals, which can come from stepgen. You will need to write a program or script to tell stepgen what to do, but you will most likely need a script to control the other parts of the tool changer anyway. Using an EMC2 axis to control a tool changer motor is possible, but then you would need to put tool changer commands in with your part programs, which is not where they are meant to be. I understand these are partially not EMC2 questions, but I'm hoping someone can help. I think my main confusion is how I will get signals for a tool changer of any sort (whether it's something fancy or just a solenoid-activated gripper mechanism that is moved into place with axis movements) into and out of EMC2. Can it run through the 4th axis of a BOB since I'm only using 3 axes? Or do I need another route? If another route, can/should I just add another LPT card so I can hook up to the tool changer that way, or do I need to be thinking about using individual Geckos (e.g. 203v) for the axes steppers, and then something else for the tool changer so that it can all run into the same LPT? Many thanks for your help. EMC2 is fabulous and I can't wait to dig into it, but I'm a little stuck on this end of things before I can get there. fg Most tool changers are controlled with simple on/off outputs to control simple movements. Unless you have an unusual machine, like a pen plotter, you won't need to think about using an EMC2 axis for the changer. If you can describe the basics of your machine, the tool holders you want to use, and a rough idea of what the tool changer might look like, we can start to give you our opinions on what the details might be. -- Kirk Wallace http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ http://www.wallacecompany.com/E45/index.html California, USA -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] newbie questions related to drives and tool selection
Kirk et al, It looks like the G540 has two outputs that can drive up to 1 Amp at 50 Volts. This should be enough to drive a small solenoid directly or a higher power relay. Parallel ports are inexpensive and can up to twelve outputs: Thanks for pointing out these outputs on the G540. I wouldn't have known to look for them. So if I understand you correctly, these outputs could definitely give me access to a solenoid of some sort to open or close a gripper. I presume there must be some gcode command within EMC2 I can use to operate that output? Most tool changers are controlled with simple on/off outputs to control simple movements. Unless you have an unusual machine, like a pen plotter, you won't need to think about using an EMC2 axis for the changer. If you can describe the basics of your machine, the tool holders you want to use, and a rough idea of what the tool changer might look like, we can start to give you our opinions on what the details might be. I'm thinking really simple and crude, at least for the first pass. The idea is to have some wells in fixed locations on the cutting bed. Each well would hold an upright paintbrush. I can use xyz gcode to drive the machine so that it's over one of these brush wells. I would then send a command to open the gripper, move the open gripper over the brush handle, close the gripper, lift the brush out, and move on. For a gripper, it just needs to be something that would hold a light brush. So I'm thinking a pull solenoid that will open a spring-closed gripper of some kind. I haven't explored this part at all yet. But like I said, crude is ok as long as it can pick up a brush and hold it firmly. Once I've got something crude under my belt, and a CNC working, and a firm understanding of basic gcode and whatever else I'll need to learn to get this far, then I'll refine and/or rebuild. thanks! fg -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] Optical probe [Was: Re: unshielded cable]
On Mon, May 04, 2009 at 11:38:55AM -0400, Gene Heskett wrote: They are now included at http://gene.homelinux.net:85/gene/emc as 'probe-*.jpg' Many thanks. I've taken the liberty of snarfing a copy. These opto's I used have about a .150 gap. It holds the thing together when assembled. I don't recall now if they have schmidt outputs or not. None of those I've come across do. Of the two types I have, one just has a photodiode, the other a phototransistor. It'll be fun to experiment. (Once I've built the EMC box. But the mobo is winging its way here now.) Now this is Off Topic: Having hunted pigs with a 30-06, and once with a 7.62 mm Mauser made for the Turkish army in 1935, I think I'd be more comfortable with the Ackley-06 than the 22-250. The bark of those high powered small calibre guns is deucedly unkind to the ears. I'll keep the balloon idea in mind. I hope they can blacken stainless. (Though I suppose a camouflage sleeve would cover that.) Cheers, Erik -- One morning I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got into my pyjamas I'll never know. - Groucho Marx -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] Probe design - was Re: unshielded cable
Gene Heskett wrote: They are now included at http://gene.homelinux.net:85/gene/emc as 'probe-*.jpg' These opto's I used have about a .150 gap. It holds the thing together when assembled. I don't recall now if they have schmidt outputs or not. Nice probe. I made one using the Renishaw patent using three carbide pins resting on steel balls. If one of the pins is lifted, the circle is broken and the switch (de)activates. My webpage (http://www.myvoice.nl/freesmachine/nulsteller.php?lang=en) shows it being developed as a tool-length probe but mounting it upside down in the spindle makes it a touch probe - only needs a different bottom plate (becoming the top-plate with a pin to fit in the collet) and a probe tip instead of a flat probing surface. The design is a bit complex but the nice thing is that it works great on curved surfaces as well. Regards, Rob -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] Toolchanger howto/tutorial
I've been planning to make a tool-depot for a machine, and after reading the latest toolchanger discussion I searced for documentation. I found some about the coding between EMC and PLC, but is there any detailed documenation how to make for example a carousel? I mean, more like you need a PLC model number YY-XX, two step motors, these alu plates. Connect this cable to etc etc Regards, Sven -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Toolchanger howto/tutorial
hi, i think first you need to evaluate the type of changer your setup demands and take it from there robert True, but I hope someone already made a toolchanger from scratch and did make a writeup about it. If it's a line setup or a carousel doesn't really matter, I just would like to find all the steps from having two tools changed manually to a automagic change. It doesn't have to be the way I want it in the end, it's always like that when reading tutorials. It's a lot easier to start when you have something working to base your own ideas upon. Then, modify... :) Regards, Sven -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] newbie questions related to drives and tool selection
On Tuesday 05 May 2009, Kirk Wallace wrote: On Mon, 2009-05-04 at 14:43 -0500, forget color wrote: Alexey and Kirk (and the rest), Thank you so much for your detailed answers. I have a couple followup questions. Kirk said: If you need axes motion control for your tool change, typically, you would need to create g-code subroutines, which you would insert into your part g-code files as needed. For example, to change a pen in a plotter, all that might be needed is to move the pen holder into and out of a pen park location (toggle). Each pen unload and load would be two g-code subroutines of X and Y movements. You can also set/reset pins with g-code (M62-65) so if you have a solenoid activated gripper, this could be used. Conditional control could be handled with g-code O (Oh) commands. So if I'm using, say, a Gecko G540 as my axis control, how do I hook up to this solenoid? Would I add another LPT port to the machine, then hook up to it that way? It looks like the G540 has two outputs that can drive up to 1 Amp at 50 Volts. This should be enough to drive a small solenoid directly or a higher power relay. Parallel ports are inexpensive and can up to twelve outputs: http://www.linuxcnc.org/docview/html//hal_drivers.html#r1_1_1 Typically their outputs can only drive 20 mAmps at 5 Volts, so you will need a breakout or driver board. Since the voltage or current needed to drive a peripheral can vary a lot, I tend to make my own driver boards. I have one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=380121177989 which seems to be a good board for the price, but I haven't used it much so far. It looks like it will drive 50 mAmps at 70 Volts, which could drive small loads or a relay. Yes, and for small to medium stuff, a nice selection of drivers at decent prices. But they lose the price edge when shipping is added. So this particular board is the only one I'd be interested in. But aren't those opto's a little slow? Pix of them running at 1 khz aren't all that impressive considering we need microsecond response times for boards like the xylotex if the full speed potential is to be used. It looks like the fall time isn't too bad, but the rise time sucks even in those 'class c' pix. That would be a huge problem at 20 kilohertz stepping rates. More current through the opto's phototransistor might help, depending on what the added power dis might be. Alexey said: You could use 4th driver for tool changer, but it is not good to push it as 4th axis through emc/axis. I think, you can just create XYZ machine and then add one more stepgen module to control tool changer. In this suggestion, can the tool changer run through an axis port on a G540 (or other similar BOB), or does it need to run through something else? The fourth driver on your G540 just needs step and direction signals, which can come from stepgen. You will need to write a program or script to tell stepgen what to do, but you will most likely need a script to control the other parts of the tool changer anyway. Using an EMC2 axis to control a tool changer motor is possible, but then you would need to put tool changer commands in with your part programs, which is not where they are meant to be. I understand these are partially not EMC2 questions, but I'm hoping someone can help. I think my main confusion is how I will get signals for a tool changer of any sort (whether it's something fancy or just a solenoid-activated gripper mechanism that is moved into place with axis movements) into and out of EMC2. Can it run through the 4th axis of a BOB since I'm only using 3 axes? Or do I need another route? If another route, can/should I just add another LPT card so I can hook up to the tool changer that way, or do I need to be thinking about using individual Geckos (e.g. 203v) for the axes steppers, and then something else for the tool changer so that it can all run into the same LPT? Many thanks for your help. EMC2 is fabulous and I can't wait to dig into it, but I'm a little stuck on this end of things before I can get there. fg Most tool changers are controlled with simple on/off outputs to control simple movements. Unless you have an unusual machine, like a pen plotter, you won't need to think about using an EMC2 axis for the changer. If you can describe the basics of your machine, the tool holders you want to use, and a rough idea of what the tool changer might look like, we can start to give you our opinions on what the details might be. -- 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) Caution: breathing may be hazardous to your health. -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but
Re: [Emc-users] Toolchanger howto/tutorial
On Tue, May 05, 2009 at 12:34:28PM +0100, Sven Wesley wrote: True, but I hope someone already made a toolchanger from scratch and did make a writeup about it. If it's a line setup or a carousel doesn't really matter, I just would like to find all the steps from having two tools changed manually to a automagic change. Hmmm ... I had just expected it wasn't a possibility with a simple manual mill, but if there's a grabber to hold the (in my case INT30) tooling while the drawbar is undone, then that could transfer drop it into an empty carousel or rack slot. Move carousel to new slot, reverse process, ... zoom. If the grabber has slightly rubbery paws, then it shouldn't jam or bend anything when it offers the toolholder up to the spindle. [1] If it opens wide, then the carousel only needs to have modest positioning precision. Swarf covers on the carousel sound good, since automatic wiping and cleaning seems like quite a challenge, at first glance. If the grabber is one of those rotating arms, like on some commercial changers, then it might provide a speedier way to cover part of the distance between work area and carousel. While I don't have my feet properly wet yet with this CNC stuff, it looks like the details depend on our machines, and the level of performance we need. It shouldn't be that hard to make a basic one, if you figure the toolchanger is just doing what we do with our hands, and it's more likely to work well if it as simple as possible. [1] I'd need a spindle index sensor, to line up the INT30 dogs with the two slots in the holder, unless the spindle were rotated very slowly until sufficient upward movement had been detected. Does your machine need something similar? Cheers, Erik -- Albert Einstein: Everything should be as simple as possible, not simpler. -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Toolchanger howto/tutorial
On May 5, 2009, at 6:05 AM, Erik Christiansen wrote: snip While I don't have my feet properly wet yet with this CNC stuff, it looks like the details depend on our machines, and the level of performance we need. It shouldn't be that hard to make a basic one, if you figure the toolchanger is just doing what we do with our hands, and it's more likely to work well if it as simple as possible. [1] I'd need a spindle index sensor, to line up the INT30 dogs with the two slots in the holder, unless the spindle were rotated very slowly until sufficient upward movement had been detected. My Mazak has a cam that orients the spindle for tool change. The Mazak at Galesburg had an inductive sensor that got replaced with an encoder; which is also good for hard tapping. :-) Check the wiki for details on the Galesburg conversion. Dave Does your machine need something similar? Cheers, Erik -- Albert Einstein: Everything should be as simple as possible, not simpler. -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Optical probe [Was: Re: unshielded cable]
On Tuesday 05 May 2009, Erik Christiansen wrote: On Mon, May 04, 2009 at 11:38:55AM -0400, Gene Heskett wrote: They are now included at http://gene.homelinux.net:85/gene/emc as 'probe-*.jpg' Many thanks. I've taken the liberty of snarfing a copy. NP. That is why I took the pix yesterday. No doubt the design could be improved. The brass seems a little flexible to me, and that steel point is purposely polished so as not to damage whatever I'm scanning. Larger tubes would have been nice, but then we're making out own opto stuff cuz we'ed need an even wider gap. Not impossible, but more trouble. I could dup what I put on the powder scale right out of the drawers at the shack without that much trouble for the next version, if there ever is one. These opto's I used have about a .150 gap. It holds the thing together when assembled. I don't recall now if they have schmidt outputs or not. None of those I've come across do. Of the two types I have, one just has a photodiode, the other a phototransistor. It'll be fun to experiment. (Once I've built the EMC box. But the mobo is winging its way here now.) Now this is Off Topic: Having hunted pigs with a 30-06, and once with a 7.62 mm Mauser made for the Turkish army in 1935, I think I'd be more comfortable with the Ackley-06 than the 22-250. The bark of those high powered small calibre guns is deucedly unkind to the ears. Either of them are hard on the ears, but no comparison between one of them and a 22 barreled 264 Winchester, that hits you in the gut from 4 benches over. I wear a set of 30db mufflers now days, but I wore out the first 2 barrels learning that. Can you say tinnitus? :( My Ackley weighs in at 13 pounds empty, so its a pussy cat to shoot. The 22-250 is all of 11 pounds so there isn't even a recoil pad on it. 6-24 scope on it these days. I'll keep the balloon idea in mind. I hope they can blacken stainless. (Though I suppose a camouflage sleeve would cover that.) They do, by iron plating it, and then bluing the plate. But paint coatings are getting better all the time, look at some of the camo painted stuff the next time you visit your local powder peddler. That stuff is at least as durable as the old slow rust blue, which beats the bejesus out of hot tank stuff for durability. Neither is proof against a turkey salad sandwich dressing though the epoxy or whatever that paint stuff is should be. I have done the slow rust a couple of times, good surface, holds oil well, and is dull enough not to reflect like a mirror and spook game. Wears very well too, unlike the hot salts. But it also takes a couple of weeks to do. And mixing the stuff can only be done outdoors, with a fan helping the prevailing wind. Wrong order of mixing can also boil explode. Its 50% Nitric CP, and 50% Hydrochloric CP, and add enough clean blued tacks (slowly and stay upwind of the smoke) until there is no more reaction, then decant the top half or a little more for use, and dig a hole bury the sludge. About a cup of each will make you a lifetime supply. Store in glass, with a glass stopper. Polish the steel 100% clean and bright, boil in oakite to remove all traces of oil, plug the bore at both ends, and handle with white cotton gloves once its cleaned until you think its done. Take a cotton swab and apply this stuff to the steel, which will turn bright red with rust instantly. Let it set for a few hours and 'card' (dull wire brush, devoid of any oil contamination, boil it in the oakite too) the rust away, leaving a light grey color. Repeat till it doesn't get any darker. Oil it up and go hunting. If it does get a spot of rust, steel wool it away, re-oil and the surface is restored. That of course is a simplified description, don't try this unless you are sure of what you are doing as those are the 2 most violent acids we have. You have been warned... -- 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) This sentence no verb. -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] newbie questions related to drives and tool selection
On Tue, 2009-05-05 at 03:26 -0500, forget color wrote: ... snip I'm thinking really simple and crude, at least for the first pass. The idea is to have some wells in fixed locations on the cutting bed. Each well would hold an upright paintbrush. I can use xyz gcode to drive the machine so that it's over one of these brush wells. I would then send a command to open the gripper, move the open gripper over the brush handle, close the gripper, lift the brush out, and move on. For a gripper, it just needs to be something that would hold a light brush. So I'm thinking a pull solenoid that will open a spring-closed gripper of some kind. I haven't explored this part at all yet. But like I said, crude is ok as long as it can pick up a brush and hold it firmly. I don't think solenoids have a lot of pull at the beginning of their stroke. You might consider using a small motor with a coarse screw and nut arranged as a linear actuator. If the screw thread is coarse enough, the spring could close the gripper when the motor turns off, or you could drive the motor in the open and close directions with an h-bridge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-bridge Once I've got something crude under my belt, and a CNC working, and a firm understanding of basic gcode and whatever else I'll need to learn to get this far, then I'll refine and/or rebuild. thanks! fg Sorry about that, I guess you did describe what you wanted a while ago. I also realize that there are more rack type changers than I thought. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzR6L3lEXdM http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_query=cnc+tool +changer (short URL) http://alturl.com/jdbk The G540 manual: http://www.geckodrive.com/upload/G540%20REV3%20MANUAL.pdf indicates that the parallel port control signal for OUTPUT1 is at parallel port pin 17, and for OUTPUT2 at pin 1. In your EMC2 configuration file, for example your_cnc.hal, you will need to load the parallel port driver by adding a line. ... loadrt hal_parport cfg=0x0378 ... The 0x0378 is the address location for your parallel port. Ports built into your mother board will most likely use the address of 0x0378 for the first port, 0x0278 for the second. Parallel ports on PCI cards get assigned when the PC boots up, so you won't know what address is used until it gets assigned. See: http://www.linuxcnc.org/docview/html//hal_drivers.html http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?NetMos The driver has a collection of functions that become available when the driver is loaded. You can use a function from a driver by assigning it to a thread. A thread is a list of functions that get executed every x nano or milliseconds. Below is an example of the entry needed to read and write the pins on the parallel port every time the base thread runs: ... # read inputs first addf parport.0.read base-thread 1 # The 1 at the end places this function at the beginning of the run list # write outputs last addf parport.0.write base-thread -1 # -1 places this function at the end of the run list ... The functions provide software pins that can be connected together with signals. Below is an example of connecting the Coolant button on the AXIS screen to the parallel port pin 14. ... net FloodOn iocontrol.0.coolant-flood parport.1.pin-14-out ... So when you click on the Flood button in AXIS or put an M8 in your g-code, pin 14 will go from 0 Volts to 5 Volts. An M9 or clicking flood again, will turn pin 14 off. Since there is no gripper button or M code, you can use the motion digital out function: ... net g540out1 motion.digital-out-00 parport.0.pin-17-out ... Then control it with g-code M64P0 for On and M65P0 for Off. So for a tool rack system, the g-code might look something like: G0 X -1.000 G0 Y 5.000 (Rapid close to tool pocket 1) M64P0 (Open gripper, Pin 17 On) F50 G1 X -1.5 (Place gripper around tool) M65P0 (Close gripper, Pin 17 Off) G1 X -1.000 (remove tool from pocket) G0 X 4.000 Y 2.5000 (Go to first brush stroke) etc, I have probably left some details out, but this should give you an idea of what's involved. I noticed my pen plotter uses a mechanical toggle for the gripper so if it is closed, pushing it in a pocket, opens it and releases the pen. With this design you can avoid the electronic gripper setup above, but the mechanics are more complex. -- Kirk Wallace http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ http://www.wallacecompany.com/E45/index.html California, USA -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Tool changer
Hello Gentlemen, during the past 20 years our family used to have (an still is using) a lot of Nissan (formerly Datsun) cars, especially Bluebird and Primeras, which name ever these cars may have had in America. They had a very simple mechanism to dip the headlights with a step switch on the panel at te left of the stirring wheel. It had 4 steps. The headlight contained only a little motor and a little electronic board with an IC. As far as I could see there was no position feedback. Still this mechanism never failed or went to a wrong position. If someone knew how this works, wouldn't it be an alternative for a tool carousel? Best regards Peter Blodow -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Tool changer
Peter blodow wrote: As far as I could see there was no position feedback. Still this mechanism never failed or went to a wrong position. If someone knew how this works, wouldn't it be an alternative for a tool carousel? Best regards Peter Blodow yes, in the past 10 or so years we have had the CNC machine, its own count only never needing resetting a hand full of times mostly due to a power loss and internal bat went flat, but then u had/have to reload all the paramiters anyway as they are sotred in ram i think i have come up with a solution once i have tested it i will share here and in other places -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.325 / Virus Database: 270.12.19/2099 - Release Date: 05/05/09 13:07:00 -- The NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanners deliver under ANY circumstances! Your production scanning environment may not be a perfect world - but thanks to Kodak, there's a perfect scanner to get the job done! With the NEW KODAK i700 Series Scanner you'll get full speed at 300 dpi even with all image processing features enabled. http://p.sf.net/sfu/kodak-com ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
