[Emc-users] EMC 2.3 on Sherline Lathe Issues
Hi, Folks: I finally installed my motor drive and computer on my Sherline Model 4400 lathe and am ready to try making something. In this case, it’ll be a small bell for an N-Scale locomotive. I found a photo of a bell that I can import into a drawing program, and then trace. I’ve turned the bell so that the axis of the clapper is horizontal. I’ve traced the photo, so I have a drawing of the outline. I’m using Vector CAD/CAM Version 11. I’m using the EMC G-Code processor that shipped with it. EMC is configured for a 2 axis lathe and uses X and Z. I’m using the AXIS interface. One issue I’m having is that I’m working in the X-Y plane with Vector, but EMC wants to use the X-Z plane. To date, I’ve edited the one G-Code I’ve made to convert the “Y” to “Z.” Is there a way to configure the 2 axis lathe to use X and Y rather than X and Z? The next issue I’m having is the maximum speed. This seems to default to 30; I’d feel a lot more comfortable lowering this to 20. I can do that with the slider that Axis provides. However, is there a configuration variable somewhere that I could set to 20 instead? Finally, Axis always opens in a window on the screen; is there any way to default this window to maximum size when the program starts up? I know that I can click on one of the controls in the title bar to enlarge the window after everything starts up. This is going to be a fun ride. Is there anything else I should know that I’m not asking about? Thanks in advance for your help Jerry Jankura So many toys…. So little time …. -- ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] EMC 2.3 + Sherline 4400 Lathe
Hi, Folks: I’ve just about got the hardware to convert a manual Sherline model 4400 lathe to CNC. The last step is to set up a box to hold the power supply, motor drive, etc. and then to interconnect the computer, motor drive, and stepper motors. My Hardware Configuration is: Sherline model 4400 lathe with Sherline’s CNC motor kit. Hobby CNC EasyCNC 3 axis motor drive (only 2 axes will be used) Sony PCG-F430 r PCG-F480 computer The computer is set up using Linux V8 with EMC 2.3; max allowable memory on the Sony precludes using a newer version of EMC or a newer OS. Linux is Hardy Heron. Also can boot into Windows XP or Windows 98se. Hard drive is 40 gig IDE. I’m using an older version of Vector CAD as my drawing program; I assume that the spindle center is X=0; am thinking that the end of the part nearest the spindle will be Z=0. Are these a reasonable set of assumptions? Is the tool moving away from the spindle in both the X and Z directions considered positive? Does anyone have any advice on how to continue? I’m planning on making sure that I can jog the motors reliably before going any further. From there, it’ll be “cutting air” to see how the tool would be moved. I’m thinking that my first “real” part will be an N-Scale bell for a locomotive that I recently purchased. Thanks for any help you folks can provide. BTW, The maximum memory that the Sony computers support keeps me at Linux 8.x and EMC 2.3. I’ve already got one of the Sony’s running my Sherline Mill and am quite satisfied with the performance I’ve gotten. My only (reasonable to me) option is to use the HP ZV-6000 that I’ve got which has 2 gigs of memory. But that computer doesn’t have a parallel port and I’ve yet to figure out how to get the PCMCIA parallel output port card that I’ve got working under Linux. Of course, I’ll admit that I’m not pursuing the problem nearly as diligently as I’d be doing if I hadn’t acquired a few of the Sony computers. :) Jerry Jankura So many toys…. So little time …. -- HPCC Systems Open Source Big Data Platform from LexisNexis Risk Solutions Find What Matters Most in Your Big Data with HPCC Systems Open Source. Fast. Scalable. Simple. Ideal for Dirty Data. Leverages Graph Analysis for Fast Processing Easy Data Exploration http://p.sf.net/sfu/hpccsystems ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Running on older computers
Where would one find these alternate interfaces for EMC? I’m running a Sherline mill using EMC 8.something and Hardy Heron on a Sony PCG-F430 computer with 256 megabytes of memory. So far, it’s been running great using the Axis interface. Has anyone modified the Axis interface to have a “home all” button for the manual mode? It’s a bit of a pain to move from axis to axis to “home” each individually since it appears that the “homing” just sets a flag somewhere to allow the program to continue. Jerry Jankura So many toys…. So little time …. On Jun 1, 2014, at 12:12 PM, emc-users-requ...@lists.sourceforge.net wrote: You could also look at the Mini interface, which uses a much less CPU intensive graphical screen, and I know Mini still works. It is used by the Sherline configs. Also, there is the Touchy interface, which has no 3-D by default, but is pretty hard to use without a touch screen, and also needs a couple buttons and a manual encoder. But, given those features, it is a VERY nice interface. -- Time is money. Stop wasting it! Get your web API in 5 minutes. www.restlet.com/download http://p.sf.net/sfu/restlet ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Running EMC on older computers
IMHO, there’s a big “it depends” issue when we look at advice on computers. As I see it, there are at least three types of users — The first is the person who’s using their machines to make a living, or at least to turn a buck. For that user, I’d most likely recommend building your own computer using various motherboards, video boards, and I/O boards that places like Microcenter offer. Everything would be purchased new and would be replaceable. I’d also suggest purchasing additional I/O boards as these are what I’e expect to fail more often than the hard drive or mother board, etc. When you’re looking to use your machine as part of your livelihood, you don’t want to rely on a bunch of old used equipment. A failure could result in a significant loss - more than you’d spend for a current state-of-the-art system. They’ll also want to use the latest version of EMC/LinuxCNC once it’s been out for a while. The next person is the one who has metalworking as their hobby, or as a major part of their hobby. They’re not trying to turn a buck with their tools, but they’re generally found puttering in the shop making “this or that.” Here, they don’t need the latest and greatest - recently retired will do - but you want something that’s fast and and has replacement parts available. The PCG or Cybernet Elite II won’t cut the mustard. Too old, too slow, often not enough memory. They might be on the bleeding edge of being the first to install and try out the latest versions of EMC/LinuxCNC, depending on where their interests lie. And, finally, you come to folks like me. I purchased a Sherline mill lathe when I retired fourteen years ago - gads, has it been that long? - with the intention of building a brass locomotive. I’m in the “desktop machine” league, which tends to limit the speed at which I can do things. This plays well with using older equipment that can’t generate robust step pulses at high rates. But the PCG’s will support 20 ipm rapids with Sherline’s 20 tpi leadscrews and 4 microsteps per step motor drives. I don’t use these tools every day. Model trains and woodworking are my main hobbies. Metalworking is a sideline as necessary to support the main hobbies. I did a lot of factory automation projects when I was working - putting cameras, computers, and motors on manufacturing equipment to make or inspect things - so I’ve got some knowledge of computers and am not afraid of taking things apart. I’ve no real need to keep up with the latest and greatest version of EMC/LinuxCNC as long as the version I’m using allows me to do the things that I want to do. I’ve also played a lot with TurboCNC for DOS but it’s pretty much been abandoned which is why I moved to EMC. Obsolete computers that come cheaply work for me. Quite frankly, I was surprised that EMC V8 runs so nicely on the PCG that I bought when that machine was the state of the art. So much so that I’ve purchased a few extra Sony PCG's and have EMC installed on them, ready to go, in the event that the ones connected to my machines fail. I’ve found that eBay’s “buy it now” is my friend. BTW, I doubt that I’ll ever get that brass loco built, but I’m having fun building an Arduino based control system for the trains and using the Sherline mill to make circuit boards. Jerry Jankura So many toys. . . So little time . . . On May 19, 2014, at 5:07 AM, emc-users-requ...@lists.sourceforge.net wrote: It's a 2Ghz or slower Pentium III, Socket 370 type. IIRC it takes PC100 or PC133 SDRAM, maximum of 2 gig. There was an optional PCI slot but to use that it couldn't have the optical drive installed. I used to have one of those. Decent for web browsing, e-mail and not much else. They were mainly marketed as POS systems and for office or front desk machines. -- Accelerate Dev Cycles with Automated Cross-Browser Testing - For FREE Instantly run your Selenium tests across 300+ browser/OS combos. Get unparalleled scalability from the best Selenium testing platform available Simple to use. Nothing to install. Get started now for free. http://p.sf.net/sfu/SauceLabs ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] Running EMC on older computers
Hi, Ray: I’m running EMC V 8.x on a couple of Sony PCG-F430 notebook computers. These are 450 Mhz machines with 256 Mbytes of memory. Not particularly fast nor blessed with oodles of memory. I’ve a Sherline Mill and a Sherline Lathe. Currently, only the Mill runs CNC. I’m using Sherline’s motor mounts and their motors. The Motor Drive is a HobbyCNC “Pro” 4 axis unit; I’m only using three axes. By EMC’s stated requirements, these machines don’t have enough memory to run EMC. By actual experience, they run Version 8 just fine. I’ve not been able to get Version 10 to run on anything. It seems that Linux starts up, but I get an error statement when I attempt to run EMC. Since V8 runs well, I’m not too worried about it. The nice thing is that, with the exception of the first machine that I bought new, these machines were from “buy it now” offerings on eBay and came quite cheap. I’m also running EMC on a Cybernet Elite-II. This is a “computer in a keyboard” machine with 1 gig of memory. I’m not sure how fast the processor is. As with the Sony notebooks, Version 8 runs well; Version 10 gives me the same error as it did on the Sonys, so I know that the error is not due to insufficient memory. All of these machines are set up to at least offer a dual boot - Linux or some version of Windows. In addition, since I play some with TurboCNC, the Windows selection also allows me to boot directly into unadulterated DOS with either Command or 4DOS as my command line interpreter. Hope that helps. Jerry Jankura So many toys…. So little time …. -- Accelerate Dev Cycles with Automated Cross-Browser Testing - For FREE Instantly run your Selenium tests across 300+ browser/OS combos. Get unparalleled scalability from the best Selenium testing platform available Simple to use. Nothing to install. Get started now for free. http://p.sf.net/sfu/SauceLabs ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] Fwd: Tool Shape
What are some of the open CAM software packages that are available? Preferably for a Mac but I can Windows as well. Unfortunately, LinuxCNC control software is light years ahead of open-source CAM software. -- Start Your Social Network Today - Download eXo Platform Build your Enterprise Intranet with eXo Platform Software Java Based Open Source Intranet - Social, Extensible, Cloud Ready Get Started Now And Turn Your Intranet Into A Collaboration Platform http://p.sf.net/sfu/ExoPlatform ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] Automatic load of EMC on booting into Linux
Hi, Erik: Thanks for the pointer on where to look. That gave me a starting point. In Ubuntu 8, it’s been changed to System-Preferences-Sessions and then select the appropriate tab. Jerry Jankura So many toys…. So little time …. On Apr 12, 2014, at 11:53 PM, Erik Christiansen dva...@internode.on.net wrote: Perhaps the easiest method is via the GUI: System - Preferences - Startup Applications - Add That'll start it at the right time, i.e. after gnome is up and running. -- Learn Graph Databases - Download FREE O'Reilly Book Graph Databases is the definitive new guide to graph databases and their applications. Written by three acclaimed leaders in the field, this first edition is now available. Download your free book today! http://p.sf.net/sfu/NeoTech ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] Automatic load of EMC on booting into Linux
Hi, Folks: I’ve a couple of Sony PCG-F430 notebook computers. Underpowered as they are and also short of memory, they’re running EMC 8 quite well. One for my Sherline Mill and another for my Sherline Lathe. I’ve taken the time to customize EMC for each of the tools. My question - Is it possible to have Linux autoload EMC with the proper configuration whenever Linux is started on that computer? Something like the “startup” directory in Windows? Thanks Jerry Jankura So many toys…. So little time …. -- Put Bad Developers to Shame Dominate Development with Jenkins Continuous Integration Continuously Automate Build, Test Deployment Start a new project now. Try Jenkins in the cloud. http://p.sf.net/sfu/13600_Cloudbees ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] EMC Configuration
Hi, Folks; I’ve just joined this list, but have been using EMC for a few years. I’m using Rel 2.3 and am attempting to use the configuration software. Of course, this is an iterative situation. I’m using the stepper configurator. I prefer to use the mini GUI and would like to allow an override of 100% (That is, allow me to double any of the defaults) 1. Is there any way to get the stepper configurator or some other utility to set the Display Override settings in the .INI file? It’s no issue to continually edit the INI file, but it does get old after a while. 2. Barring that, is there any way to get the stepper configurator to simply ignore settings that it does not modify? It’d be nice to have the configurator read the INI file, modify those items which it allows the user to set, and then rewrite the INI file without reverting anything not changed to the default? Thanks, Jerry Jankura So many toys…. So little time …. -- Subversion Kills Productivity. Get off Subversion Make the Move to Perforce. With Perforce, you get hassle-free workflows. Merge that actually works. Faster operations. Version large binaries. Built-in WAN optimization and the freedom to use Git, Perforce or both. Make the move to Perforce. http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=122218951iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
