#garfield Logs

Oct 16 2018

12:01 AM rue_mohr: I ahve _zero_ interest in my program being ported to windows
11:24 AM furrywolf: looks like I can't get the missing parts for the torch height controller that came with the table... so my next question is, why do I need to do this in hardware at all? why not just measure the plasma voltage and current and process that in software?
11:25 AM furrywolf: And, on a related topic, what's the cheapest mesa ethernet board with analog inputs? I know my 7i76e has them, but I don't see them listed on the cheaper ones...
11:34 AM Tom_L: i'd join #linuxcnc and ask over there
11:35 AM Tom_L: i know they have solutions for torch height etc
11:35 AM Tom_L: talk to pcw or jt-shop
11:35 AM furrywolf: still the same old people there?
11:35 AM Tom_L: pcw is mesa
11:35 AM Tom_L: alot of them are yes
11:36 AM furrywolf: meh. I left there because of those people.
11:36 AM furrywolf: (not pcw. pcw is great.)
11:36 AM Tom_L: skunkworks has plasma figured out.
11:36 AM Tom_L: he's got a video of it following a corrugated sheet metal cutting
11:37 AM Tom_L: there are quite a few new ppl too
11:40 AM Tom_L: http://store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=83_89&product_id=127
11:40 AM Tom_L: http://store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=83_89&product_id=128
11:40 AM Tom_L: i don't know much about them
11:40 AM furrywolf: https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=65&product_id=65 looks like they make a board just for measuring plasma voltage
11:40 AM Tom_L: other than the high voltage isolation
11:41 AM Tom_L: yeah, one of those 3
11:41 AM Tom_L: you'd have to figure out which one is best for you
11:41 AM Tom_L: or ask PCW
11:42 AM furrywolf: the manual says you need to use the 10V version when using HF start torches, which mine is
11:43 AM Tom_L: maybe he just re'named it and posted another link. i dunno
11:43 AM Tom_L: they look the same
11:43 AM Tom_L: THCAD-10
11:44 AM Tom_L: he's busy and doesn't always keep his site up to date
11:45 AM furrywolf: yeah, when I ordered my 7i76e it took a long time for them to get them made...
11:45 AM Tom_L: get them from jt, he sells mesa
11:46 AM Tom_L: https://mesaus.com/
11:46 AM Tom_L: https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=65&product_id=64
11:47 AM Tom_L: ahh i didn't realize you posted from his site...
11:47 AM Tom_L: ^^ that one is JT's site
11:48 AM Tom_L: <pcw_home> 10V full scale and 300V full scale (just different input resistors)
11:52 AM furrywolf: having a big box with blinkenlights and knobs is shiny, but it almost seems that doing torch height control entirely in software is far more powerful, in that you can set it in your gcode based on the material that file is meant to cut, rather than needing to re-adjust knobs every time you change anything...
12:02 PM Tom_L: yeah
12:02 PM Tom_L: either JT or skunkworks could help get that goin
12:08 PM furrywolf: I guess I shouldn't bother designing any of this yet... I don't have it here, as I have no shop to put a 5ft x 10ft piece of equipment in, and the guy whose shop I'm putting it in will probably demand it has windows.
12:09 PM furrywolf: (non-technical person)
12:10 PM Tom_L: it shouldn't make a difference once it's all set up
12:10 PM Tom_L: the gui isn't that much different
12:11 PM furrywolf: no, but he'll want to run windows cad software and check his facebook and such...
12:11 PM Tom_L: lcnc does a good job controlling plasma though
12:12 PM Tom_L: gotta run..
12:13 PM furrywolf: cyas
02:19 PM Tom_L: https://forum.linuxcnc.org/plasma-laser/33788-anyone-actually-using-external-offsets-branch-for-thc#104005
06:47 PM zhanx: Evening
06:48 PM zhanx: rue_mohr, sucks I am cementing myself as a printer repair man
06:48 PM zhanx: had to tear down and fix a HP LJ 9050N the was "fixed" twice before
06:50 PM zhanx: page count on that printer 5,363,915 pages and it was 3 years new
06:51 PM rue_mohr: oof
06:51 PM zhanx: that must be 24/7 printing with that count
06:52 PM rue_mohr: but,
06:52 PM rue_mohr: linuxcnc is just running the gcode
06:52 PM rue_mohr: its not creating the motion profile?...
07:06 PM Tom_L: huh?
07:06 PM Tom_L: well he's got a comp or something to control torch height
07:07 PM Tom_L: but it's cutting the spiral
09:11 PM zhanx: rue_mohr, how hard it is to make a robot arm base raise up?
09:11 PM zhanx: my kid wants one
09:18 PM rue_mohr: base raise?
09:18 PM zhanx: not sure what to call it
09:19 PM zhanx: arm on a rail but vertical
09:26 PM rue_mohr: you can cylindrical workspace?
09:27 PM zhanx: ?
09:29 PM rue_mohr: that cross slide arrived today
09:29 PM rue_mohr: doesn't look like its 8" travel
09:30 PM rue_mohr: maybe 4"
09:30 PM rue_mohr: but its heavy built, so, see what I can do
09:30 PM zhanx: hit it with a hammer?
09:30 PM rue_mohr: na
09:31 PM rue_mohr: just paid $100 for it
09:31 PM zhanx: say what?
09:31 PM rue_mohr: arg, supper.
09:31 PM zhanx: you did that?
09:31 PM rue_mohr: its a cross slide vise
09:31 PM zhanx: k
09:31 PM rue_mohr: I think it was a error
09:31 PM rue_mohr: it was like $102, I think it was supposed to be $1020
09:32 PM furrywolf: chinese cross-slide vises are always cheap....
09:32 PM rue_mohr: judging by the price curve
09:32 PM rue_mohr: indeed, but this seemed to be out of place on its price
09:32 PM rue_mohr: a smaller one from the same guys was $1000
09:57 PM zhanx: rue_mohr, found your tape measure https://i.redd.it/fszrygaafms11.jpg
09:58 PM Tom_L: rue_mohr, i got one of those up in the attic
09:58 PM Tom_L: it's yours if you come get it
09:58 PM Tom_L: make a good boat anchor
10:01 PM rue_mohr: haha
10:02 PM rue_mohr: they definitly didn't vibrate the concrete enough
10:03 PM rue_mohr: good thing they didn't put their name on it
10:03 PM rue_mohr: zhanx, any luck on line detection?
10:03 PM rue_mohr: point a laser line into the back of a dark box and see if it can find it?
10:04 PM rue_mohr: this cant be hard, KIT could do it, and that was back in the early 70's :)
10:06 PM rue_mohr: hey
10:06 PM rue_mohr: wtf
10:06 PM rue_mohr: thei is a 3" cross slide vise
10:06 PM rue_mohr: did theysend the wrong one?
10:19 PM Tom_L: maybe if i scraped it until there was nothing left it might be useable
10:19 PM Tom_L: but for now it's in the attic until it falls out to the floor
10:20 PM rue_shop3: I'm sure it was supposed to be a 8"
10:20 PM Tom_L: then i'll kick it outside and let it rust
10:20 PM rue_shop3: its a 3"
10:20 PM rue_shop3: I'd rather chase the seller
10:22 PM Tom_L: 8" would be quite heavy
10:22 PM Tom_L: this 4" vise i've got is a good chunk of iron
10:23 PM furrywolf: I have a ~8" machining vise in the back of the barn where my mill is.
10:24 PM Tom_L: 6 is standard
10:24 PM furrywolf: it got left outside by the previous owner, and is frozen, but it's not badly rusted and probably just needs a few whacks to get it back to working.
10:24 PM furrywolf: but.... I can't lift it.
10:24 PM Tom_L: my bud has several of those an 8" and a 10" kurt
10:25 PM Tom_L: yep, the 8" are gettin kinda heavy
10:25 PM furrywolf: I'd need to rig up a chain hoist off the ceiling to get it onto the table. heh.
10:26 PM Tom_L: he offered me an old 6" but i think it would be too big for my mill
10:27 PM Tom_L: so i got the shars instead
10:33 PM rue_mohr: hmm
10:34 PM rue_mohr: what made me think it was 8"
10:34 PM furrywolf: I have a harbor freight cross-slide vise, and it is utter total shit.
10:34 PM furrywolf: is yours any better?
10:34 PM rue_mohr: https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/en/product/p/GGS4YG28
10:35 PM rue_mohr: "5" travel"
10:35 PM rue_mohr: I dont mind rebuilding it if I have to
10:35 PM rue_mohr: meh, I'll go withit
10:36 PM rue_mohr: if its not an awesome price, it still seems like an ok price
10:36 PM rue_mohr: the lead screws are pretty stiff, I'll have to think to get it motorized
10:41 PM furrywolf: the one I have is not usable and can not be made usable.
10:42 PM rue_mohr: ways or nut lash?
10:44 PM furrywolf: both
10:45 PM rue_mohr: whats wrong with the ways on it?
10:45 PM furrywolf: everything?
10:45 PM rue_mohr: erm, ok
10:45 PM furrywolf: it's floppy in every directions, and can't be adjusted
10:46 PM rue_mohr: I wonder if they put gibs in this one
10:46 PM furrywolf: it's too floppy to know if they're straight or square....
10:46 PM rue_mohr: are yours rectangular or dovetail?
10:47 PM furrywolf: don't remember.
11:01 PM rue_mohr: zhanx, the pwm controller I'm designing will put out a ~F#, so I need controllers capable of B, D#, D, and or A to make good chords with it
11:04 PM furrywolf: bbl, wolfy bedtime