Re: [Machinekit] Re: Looking for Hal/Ini file for BBB, Rosetta Bone, and Gecko G540 with MachineKit

[schoone...@btinternet.com]

  
  

On 12/10/16 12:58, Tom M wrote:


  
I'm thinking a qt front end should be the way to go.
  

You would think so wouldn't you?

There are currently all sorts of problems, including distro versions
lagging behind released versions

Even Jessie still uses Qt4 if you choose to install qt-sdk.  You can
install Qt5, but that is extra dependencies that others will not
have
(or want, if they are using an SD image on a tiny ARM board)

Qt5.5 and greater broke Alex's QtQuickVcp, I don't know if that is
fixed in later versions, I still use 5.4

Qt5 broke and dropped QtXEmbedContainer, so programs that worked
quite happily, embedding say the gremlin widget in Qt4.xx, no longer
work.
Qt5 no longer works on some window managers, like icewm (these 2 may
be linked to its implementation of the X standard)

My advice would be to overcome your quite natural antipathy for
python and gtk (yughh) and use the existing pncconf as a template to
achieve functionality initially.

Then look at a modern interface in Qt, as an eventual replacement.
In time hopefully ALL the tk/tcl stuff will be replaced with
something far less offensive :)


  
Tom
  
  
On Oct 11, 2016 1:04 PM, "Charles
  Steinkuehler" 
  wrote:
  On
10/11/2016 12:50 PM, Tom M wrote:
> Charles,
> Thanks for the detailed response.  We have out cnc
night tonight and given us
> much to look at.
>
> I wouldn't mind giving it go developing it a go  coming
up with a configuration
> tool/GUI for the BBB. (Best way to learn about this
stuff)
>
> I took a quick look at the source for stepconf and it
appears to be glade/Python.
> I  was debating if I should copy the code and just
refactor it to handle a BBB
> or start from scratch with QT Python c/c++.   Any
thoughts?

Code in whatever works best for you.  I will say that I've
recently
used glade, and it's a pain.  I actually installed a
LinuxCNC instance
because it was the easiest (only?) way to get a coherently
working
instance of the (ancient) GUI editor you have to use to make
the ui
files.  :-/

...but that's for the HAL pyvcp stuff, you can probably use
modern UI
tools for something like stepconf.

But I would suggest you start with pncconf instead of
stepconf.  The
hal_pru_generic driver was modeled after the Mesa hostmot2
driver, so
you'll have fewer things to modify starting with pncconf
(which
already has no base-thread and very similar pin names) vs.
stepconf
which uses software stepping.

Whatever it's written in, having a utility that would spit
out a
custom config along with a pin file (for use with config-pin
-f) would
be AWESOME!!!  Good luck!

--
Charles Steinkuehler
char...@steinkuehler.net

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Re: [Machinekit] Re: Looking for Hal/Ini file for BBB, Rosetta Bone, and Gecko G540 with MachineKit

[Charles Steinkuehler]

On 10/11/2016 12:50 PM, Tom M wrote:
> Charles,
> Thanks for the detailed response.  We have out cnc night tonight and given us 
> much to look at.
> 
> I wouldn't mind giving it go developing it a go  coming up with a 
> configuration 
> tool/GUI for the BBB. (Best way to learn about this stuff)
> 
> I took a quick look at the source for stepconf and it appears to be 
> glade/Python.
> I  was debating if I should copy the code and just refactor it to handle a 
> BBB 
> or start from scratch with QT Python c/c++.   Any thoughts?

Code in whatever works best for you.  I will say that I've recently
used glade, and it's a pain.  I actually installed a LinuxCNC instance
because it was the easiest (only?) way to get a coherently working
instance of the (ancient) GUI editor you have to use to make the ui
files.  :-/

...but that's for the HAL pyvcp stuff, you can probably use modern UI
tools for something like stepconf.

But I would suggest you start with pncconf instead of stepconf.  The
hal_pru_generic driver was modeled after the Mesa hostmot2 driver, so
you'll have fewer things to modify starting with pncconf (which
already has no base-thread and very similar pin names) vs. stepconf
which uses software stepping.

Whatever it's written in, having a utility that would spit out a
custom config along with a pin file (for use with config-pin -f) would
be AWESOME!!!  Good luck!

-- 
Charles Steinkuehler
char...@steinkuehler.net

-- 
website: http://www.machinekit.io blog: http://blog.machinekit.io github: 
https://github.com/machinekit
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Re: [Machinekit] Re: Looking for Hal/Ini file for BBB, Rosetta Bone, and Gecko G540 with MachineKit

[Tom M]

Charles,
Thanks for the detailed response.  We have out cnc night tonight and given
us much to look at.

I wouldn't mind giving it go developing it a go  coming up with a
configuration tool/GUI for the BBB. (Best way to learn about this stuff)

I took a quick look at the source for stepconf and it appears to be
glade/Python.
I  was debating if I should copy the code and just refactor it to handle a
BBB or start from scratch with QT Python c/c++.   Any thoughts?

On Oct 11, 2016 10:48 AM, "Charles Steinkuehler" 
wrote:

> On 10/9/2016 4:34 PM, Tom M wrote:
> >
> > hpg: stepgen.01.maxvel is too big for current step timings &
> position-scale,
> > clipping to max possible
> >
> > joint 1 following error
> > emc/task/taskintf.cc 617: Error on axis 1, command number 358
> >
> > The clipping message is occurring when I toggle machine power.  I'm
> still able
> > to run the demo gcode and I hit the joint follower when I'm finishing
> the T in
> > machine kit.
>
> The minimum stepper pulse times are one PRU task-cycle-time high and
> one task-cycle-time low.  So the maximum pulse frequency depends on
> the requested step timings and the PRU task-period.  Usually, the step
> timings are in the range of a few hundred nS, and the PRU period is
> thousands of nS, so usually the maximum step frequency is half the
> task-period.
>
> You get the following error at the end because the machine is trying
> to do a rapid move (maximum velocity) instead of a controlled velocity
> cut.  The motion planner is setup with a maximum velocity for an axis
> that requires a step rate that the PRU code cannot generate given the
> pru task-period, and the step timings.  Very soon as the motion
> planner commands this unattainable velocity, you will get a following
> error as the PRU stepgen cannot keep up with the commanded position.
>
> > (at this point, I"m not connected to  machine(it's in another state)).
>  I'm
> > trying to understand the clipping to max possible message
> > I had this issues working on my MPCNC project and Charles said.
> >
> > "This means the PRU cannot meet your requested maximum velocity (or
> > step pulse frequency) given the PRU period and various other
> > parameters (step pulse high/low time).  You need to either lower the
> > maximum velocity in your INI file or reduce the PRU period"
> >
> > How much can I/ should I reduce the PRU period... Going down to 5000  is
> too
> > much is it seems to break something else.
>
> I typically run with a PRU period of 3000 to 5000 nS without issue,
> but it depends on how many PRU tasks (stepgen/pwmgen) you are trying
> to run.  If you have access to a direct PRU output pin, you can set it
> up to be a PRU busy indicator and monitor the PRU loading via an
> oscilloscope.
>
> To monitor the PRU busy time:
>
> * set hpg.pru_busy_pin to 128 + the PRU direct pin number
>
> * configure the selected pin to be a PRU direct output
>
> By default, the PRU busy pin is enabled and routed to PRU direct
> output 0 (hpg.pru_busy_pin = 0x80), so if you're using my universal
> overlay and are not otherwise using P9.31, all you have to do is setup
> the pin:
>
> config-pin P9.31 pruout
>
> ...or for example to use P9.28:
>
> halcmd setp hpg.pru_busy_pin 0x85
> config-pin P9.28 pruout
>
> > (Is there either a step by step calculation guide for this.  It would be
> nice if
> > there was a tool similar to the parport configuration tool for the
> beaglebone
> > PRU configuration.
>
> Yes it would...feel free to send a pull-request!  :)
>
> > The max velocities don't seem that unreasonable.
>
> No, it's the very large scale values that are causing problems
> (particularly the one that's 75000).  That requires 75000 pulses per
> second with a maximum velocity = 1.0 (75 KHz), and the stepgen
> velocity limit is set to 1.2x that (90 KHz), but the maximum step
> frequency when using the PRU defaults is only 50 KHz.  If you can
> reduce the micro-stepping or otherwise decrease the scale value (while
> keeping the machine useful), that would help.
>
> ...but it should work as-is if you drop the PRU period to 3000 to 5000
> nS, which should be very safe since you're only running 4 stepgen
> instances.
>
> > I tried halfing this variable,
> > https://github.com/Workshop88/machinekit/blob/master/
> configs/ARM/BeagleBone/RosettaBoneGecko/RosettaBoneGecko.ini#L101
> > by 1/2 and it seemed that I broke
>
> That is the wrong place to change anything for the PRU.
>
> Add "pru_period=5000" to CONFIG= in [PRUCONF]
>
> https://github.com/Workshop88/machinekit/blob/master/
> configs/ARM/BeagleBone/RosettaBoneGecko/RosettaBoneGecko.ini#L3
>
> ...here's an example:
>
> https://github.com/cdsteinkuehler/machine-configs/blob/master/configs/
> MendelMax/MendelMax.ini#L3
>
> --
> Charles Steinkuehler
> char...@steinkuehler.net
>
> --
> website: http://www.machinekit.io blog: http://blog.machinekit.io github:
> https://github.com/machinekit
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