#linuxcnc Logs

Nov 17 2021

#linuxcnc Calendar

01:04 AM Deejay: moin
01:12 AM miss0r: morning
01:12 AM Deejay: :)
01:19 AM CaptHindsight[m]: miss0r: 👋
01:19 AM miss0r: CaptHindsight[m]: Is that some sort of mobile emoji that I cannot see?
01:20 AM CaptHindsight[m]: maybe, waving hands
01:20 AM miss0r: ahh indeed :)
01:20 AM miss0r: hello
01:22 AM miss0r: I'm standing here at the computer trying to figure out how to build a small electronic circuit that can delay a pulse an adjustable amount of time (0.1ms to 10ms) and output an adjustable pulse (0.1ms to 20ms).. I guess my electronics-fu is getting rusty
01:22 AM CaptHindsight[m]: two one shots
01:22 AM miss0r: the output pulse adjustment is aimed at the pulse width :)
01:23 AM miss0r: can you elaborate on that? :)
01:23 AM CaptHindsight[m]: LM555
01:23 AM CaptHindsight[m]: or use a duino
01:23 AM miss0r: I was looking at the 555 circuits..
01:23 AM miss0r: is the arduino fast enough?
01:23 AM CaptHindsight[m]: stm32 blue or black pill
01:23 AM CaptHindsight[m]: or fast teensy
01:24 AM CaptHindsight[m]: is that all it needs to do?
01:24 AM miss0r: lets step it back to the arduino.. :)
01:24 AM CaptHindsight[m]: 100uS min
01:24 AM miss0r: well, it will need to handle 2 seprate circuits doing so at the same time. also, it will need to calculate the time between two inputs as well. but that is all
01:25 AM miss0r: I was planning on using the arduino for the latter anyway. but I am wondering if it will be fast enough to do it all
01:26 AM CaptHindsight[m]: be back later, might handle down to 1mS
01:27 AM CaptHindsight[m]: 0.1mS mebe not
01:27 AM CaptHindsight[m]: 8mhz clock
01:27 AM miss0r: hmm
01:27 AM miss0r: alright. see'ya
01:27 AM CaptHindsight[m]: https://www.robotshop.com/community/forum/t/arduino-101-timers-and-interrupts/13072
01:29 AM CaptHindsight[m]: https://forum.arduino.cc/t/help-needed-for-100-us-timer-tick-for-the-mega/43383/2
01:53 AM pere: so, I have gotten a bit further with my Mazak VQC-15/40. One get errors when booting up the systems (in norwegian, sorry), and note the hydraulic pump do not start. The error numbers are 21, 101, 102, 103, 104.
01:55 AM pere: Anyone got any idea how to figure out what is wrong?
01:59 AM miss0r: pere. What controller is on there?
02:00 AM pere: The original? I just got it, and want to get it working before I start converting it to linuxcnc.
02:02 AM miss0r: What is the original? Mazatrol/fanuc/siemens/heidenhein?
02:02 AM miss0r: they come in all sorts of configurations
02:07 AM miss0r: pere: usualy the 21 errors refere to communication error between the interface computer and the axis drives. (if it is a mazatrol controller) and then I would think the 101 102 ect. are following errors; errors occurring because of said communication error
02:09 AM CaptHindsight[m]: miss0r: https://forum.arduino.cc/t/square-pulse-wave-with-a-delay-and-a-certain-length/914142/6
02:09 AM pere: miss0r: The front say Mazatrol Cam M-2.
02:09 AM miss0r: CaptHindsight[m]: Yeah, it would be no problem with the arduino, I am just not sure it will be fast enough
02:09 AM miss0r: pere: alright
02:10 AM CaptHindsight[m]: miss0r: https://stm32-base.org/boards/STM32F103C8T6-Blue-Pill.html $2-3ea
02:11 AM miss0r: (on the phone, give me a sec)
02:11 AM pere: miss0r: will it refuse to start the hydraulic pump if there is such communication error?
02:11 AM miss0r: pere: yes
02:12 AM CaptHindsight[m]: https://stm32-base.org/boards/STM32F103C8T6-Black-Pill.html
02:12 AM CaptHindsight[m]: Max. Clock Speed 72MHz
02:13 AM CaptHindsight[m]: ARM Cortex-M7 at 600 MHz https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy41.html
02:15 AM miss0r: pere: http://catiadoc.free.fr/img/MazatrolM2OperatorManual.pdf
02:16 AM miss0r: pere: look at page 134/272 for error code 21 description
02:16 AM miss0r: CaptHindsight[m]: I'm still wondering it it shouldn't be possible to just make a circuit with two 555's and a few other components
02:16 AM CaptHindsight[m]: https://forum.arduino.cc/t/1-microsecond-pulses/122972/15
02:18 AM pere: miss0r: great. Finally an explanation. :) Any idea what could cause it, what to correct?
02:19 AM miss0r: pere: That is an excellent question.. Have the machine stood dormant for a long time?
02:19 AM pere: yes.
02:19 AM miss0r: oh... how long would you guess?
02:19 AM pere: no idea, but suspect at least half a year.
02:20 AM miss0r: okay, that is not too bad. take me through what happens when you try to power it up
02:21 AM pere: I do not have it near me, so this is from flaky memory.
02:21 AM miss0r: I'll take it :)
02:22 AM miss0r: CaptHindsight[m]: Indeed. the arduino can output pulses fast enough. *BUT* is it fast enough to be able to take an input, wait 0.1ms to 10ms(programmable) and output said pulse? That is the question
02:23 AM pere: It show a screen and in the lower left corner there is mentioning of a error, do not remember the number. When I started it also showed 240% load on the z axis. Then I press the left button under the screen followed by diagnosis, and get a list of error messages. Next I press the button next to the reset (//) button, and the reset button, and the error list become shorter and I end up with 101-104, 21 and some program error.
02:25 AM miss0r: pere: hmm. I'm phoning mazak now. (I usualy do the mechanical repairs.. also the electrical repairs, but not the CNC components, give me a sec)
02:26 AM randy: morning
02:26 AM pere: miss0r: thank you. I return to the machine this weekend, and want to be armed with more knowledge to try to get it further along.
02:30 AM miss0r: pere: They will call me back later when they have the manual in front of them. I will leave whatever answer I get in a PM to you
02:34 AM pere: thanks. I see from an earlier picture that the initial errors were 20, 22, 118, 108 and 101-105, before I pressed the reset buttons.
02:34 AM pere: perhaps the battery one in 22 is the source error?
02:35 AM pere: have not located any batteries yet, but will probably find it if I know where to look.
02:36 AM miss0r: pere: usualy the batteries are located either a) directly on the servo drives or b) in a plastic enclosure accessable from the outside of the electrical cabinet.
02:38 AM pere: sorry, 22 should be 23.
02:38 AM miss0r: *IF* the batteries have died, all the absolute positioning data is gone. that can also generate some errors, depending on what way your machine is operated. Some machines require you to run a reference at each startup, while others know where they are from the get go. If your machine type is the latter and it has lost its battery, I would recommend you contact a professional to help you get it back up and running
02:39 AM pere: (still do not know how to locate professionals on this topic. :)
02:39 AM miss0r: well, norway(?) has a mazak office I think
02:40 AM miss0r: but usualy they will rob you blind :D
02:40 AM miss0r: search google for the norwegian equivalent of cnc service or something like that, and see who you find
02:41 AM miss0r: back to error 23; I read it as the batteries have not nessesarily "died died"... they are just running low, which means you have some time before that happens :) *REMEMBER* to have the machine powered on when you replace the batteries
02:41 AM pere: will do. initial searches came up short, so not the right terms yet...
02:42 AM miss0r: error 20 indicates you have an emergency stop pressed somewhere
02:42 AM pere: I believe all of them are released now.
02:42 AM miss0r: have you checked the lubrication oil levels?
02:43 AM pere: yes, seem to have enough oil on the ones I have looked at.
02:43 AM miss0r: depending on the configuration of your machine, it might throw an emergency stop error if the level is too low
02:43 AM miss0r: I am referring to the central lubrication unit
02:44 AM pere: it was recently moved to my place, so I assume a lot could have happend in transport.
02:44 AM miss0r: what else could be easy fixes... perhaps a motor protector circuit has triggered?
02:45 AM pere: how could I tell?
02:45 AM miss0r: check all electrical connections (No, not the terminals :D) but all connectors are seated proberly - reseat them if you have the energy
02:45 AM pere: started reseating several yesterday, have not completed them all. no change so far. :/
02:45 AM miss0r: pere: Depending on what model is in there... damn there are alot of options :D Most of them has a visible reset switch. if it gives a click when you press it, theres a good chance it was triggered
02:46 AM miss0r: What year is this machine?
02:46 AM pere: would this be near the X/Y/Z controllers in the upper right corner of the cabinet? The machine is from 1987.
02:47 AM miss0r: excellent vintage :)
02:47 AM miss0r: The motor protectors does not have anything to do with the servo drives. They will most likely be located near fuses..
02:47 AM miss0r: but these are for ventilators, hydraulic pumps, lubricators, chip extractors ect. not sure what you have
02:48 AM pere: me neither. I got a chip conveyer belt, at least.
02:48 AM miss0r: is it hooked up?
02:48 AM miss0r: (connected)
02:48 AM pere: not yet.
02:49 AM miss0r: that might be it
02:49 AM miss0r: Theres a (should be) E-stop switch on that unit
02:49 AM pere: aha. will try to figure out where to hook it up. The button panel is not connected to anything at the moment.
02:49 AM miss0r: unless you have inserted a dummy connector to the plug it goes in, the machine will see that as an active e-stop
02:50 AM pere: The cable seem ot have only loose wires, so I need to track down where it is supposed to be connected.
02:51 AM miss0r: yes. well.. that is often an issue with older mazaks :D more modern ones comes with alot of nice plugs, to make life easier.
02:51 AM miss0r: look at the electrical diagram.
02:51 AM miss0r: anyway, I need to get gone in a hurry - client awaits. I will write you later with what they say, but at this point I think I know what they will say :D
02:51 AM miss0r: cya
02:53 AM pere: miss0r: thank you very much!
02:54 AM XXCoder: interesting. also makes sense
02:55 AM XXCoder: for best safety you want normally closed circuit
03:29 AM pere: miss0r: btw, do you have pdf links to more mazatrol documentation?
03:35 AM CaptHindsight[m]: miss0r: https://cdn.datasheetspdf.com/pdf-down/L/M/2/LM2240_NationalSemiconductor.pdf
03:37 AM CaptHindsight[m]: https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/cd4536b.pdf
03:38 AM CaptHindsight[m]: https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/mc14536b-d.pdf
03:40 AM CaptHindsight[m]: https://www.analog.com/en/parametricsearch/11410#/
04:11 AM sadara: pcw-home, what is the limitation requiring the very short cable between the RPI and a 7c80?
04:12 AM sadara: pcw-home, I would like to use a "Raspberry Computer module 4" with an IO expander, which make using a very short cable a problem.
04:14 AM sadara: pcw-home, I have some drives with a proprietary interface (Mechatrolink II) that requires a pci card, and I also would like to use a RPI for the controller
04:45 AM Tom_L: morning
04:45 AM sadara: Morning
09:24 AM pcw-home: sadara: A short cable is required for ground integrity. (~2 inches max)
09:54 AM skunkworks: pcw-home: is your resolution of the resover interface about 4000 counts per rev?
09:54 AM skunkworks: If I am reading the specs right..
09:55 AM skunkworks: I found a random 4th gen i5 motherboard and it has really nice latency also. These i5s are pretty nice atleast int eh 2,3,4 generation so far.
09:55 AM skunkworks: not hypertrheading.
09:56 AM skunkworks: <5us
10:04 AM skunkworks: pcw-home: 'accuracuy'
10:16 AM pcw-home: The resolution is about 14 bits but typical resolver accuracy is closer to 10-12 bits
10:17 AM pcw-home: (limited by pole piece inaccuracies etc)
10:17 AM skunkworks: so anywhere from about 1000 to 4000
10:18 AM skunkworks: ish
10:18 AM pcw-home: yeah (usually specified in arc minutes or seconds)
10:19 AM ESSad: My makerspace is rebuilding it's software for it's Windows/Mach4/Ethernet Smooth Stepper CNC router.
10:19 AM ESSad: I have brief opportunity to install LinuxCNC. But I'm discovering that LinuxCNC is largely incompatable with "motion controllers" -- preferring "drivers" to controll steppers.
10:19 AM ESSad: Is this correct?
10:20 AM pcw-home: LinuxCNC is the motion controller
10:20 AM pcw-home: so not compatible with external motion controllers
10:21 AM pcw-home: (well other than simple interpolation between waypoints)
10:21 AM skunkworks: and not compatible with smooth stepper
10:23 AM ESSad: So we would need to switch to (for example) legacy Gecko "drivers?"
10:23 AM skunkworks: What does it have for drives?
10:24 AM ESSad: thanks
10:25 AM ESSad: "drives?" not certain of that term?
10:25 AM roycroft: it's a messy term
10:25 AM roycroft: "drivers" is probably correct, but "drives" is most commonly used, for whatever reason
10:26 AM skunkworks: so - you have a computer -> smooth stepper -> some sort of spindle/axis electronics.
10:26 AM ESSad: Ethernet Smooth Steppers I believe do both the motion control and the "driving"
10:27 AM skunkworks: Smoothstepper is stricly a motion controller/pulse generator
10:27 AM ESSad: yes Nema 34 steppers (I believe)
10:28 AM ESSad: So we have drives in there somewhere then?
10:28 AM skunkworks: yes
10:28 AM skunkworks: But - yes - you will need to do a bit of re-wiring to swich to linuxcnc..
10:29 AM ESSad: Hmmm  food for thought... thanks again
10:29 AM skunkworks: have you been having problems with mach?
10:29 AM ESSad: Unfortunately, the plan was to dual boot the PC.
10:30 AM ESSad: Winder/Ubuntu
10:30 AM ESSad: *Windows/Ubuntu
10:30 AM bobbytables: For a servo drive, what's the ballpark latency generally needed?
10:31 AM ESSad: No real troubles with Mach.
10:33 AM ESSad: The trouble is in software licensing in a makerspace environment. For example we have about 7 versions on V-Carve on the machine.
10:33 AM ESSad: But the hard drive died.
10:37 AM ESSad: Does Mach depend on external motion control?
10:39 AM skunkworks: it can use the printer port - but yes.
10:40 AM skunkworks: windows isn't a realtime operating system - so all the time sensitive stuff is moved to an external motion device.. (other than the printer port option - they did some fancy stuff in windows to make it act realtimey)
10:41 AM ESSad: Ah! got it thanks.
10:51 AM ESSad: I have to laugh.  I knew there was some reason I was hiding that Frankenstein computer (Asus motherboard w/parallel port) behind the livingroom couch.
10:52 AM ESSad: My wife is a saint!
10:52 AM ESSad: Thanks again!
11:30 AM Loetmichel_: *AW* CRAP! got gifted a couple 7" raspi touchscreens a while ago. one slipped off a stack on my desk just as rolle back my chair. *CRUNCH* :(
11:31 AM CloudEvil: Oh no. Now you will only have one unused in a drawer in a decade.
11:31 AM CloudEvil: Or is that just me.
11:32 AM unterhausen: not just you
11:33 AM unterhausen: I really need to do another purge of my obsolete electronics stash
11:33 AM unterhausen: of course, the last time I did that I threw away a collectible old computer
11:34 AM roycroft: speaking of purges, I've been deleting old 32-bit apps off my iMac and updating the rest
11:35 AM roycroft: It's quite the ordeal doing this kind of cleanup, especially since I've neglected doing it for about 3 years
11:41 AM Loetmichel_: CloudEvil: probably. Still aggreavating to have one destroyed so thoughtless :(
11:42 AM Loetmichel_: unterhausen: i recently found a original package ISA ET4000 graphics card in my hobby room. Time to clean out some stuff...
11:43 AM unterhausen: parts that can be replaced with a pi4 definitely should be at the electronic recycling
11:44 AM unterhausen: which reminds me that I have a 19" rack that should be emptied
11:44 AM Loetmichel_: well.
11:44 AM unterhausen: I think it might have an 8086 computer in it
11:44 AM Loetmichel_: i still have half a 486-33 notebook... and a bunch of P2 and P3 ones.
11:45 AM Loetmichel_: not to mention a fully working 80286-12 board
11:45 AM unterhausen: no 8086? I win
11:45 AM Loetmichel_: Do working ZX81 count?
11:45 AM Loetmichel_: :)
11:46 AM Loetmichel_: point is: i am a hoarder. throwing things away is HARD
11:46 AM Loetmichel_: especially if they are still in working condition
11:50 AM CaptHindsight[m]: Loetmichel_: how about smashing your phone, tablet or GPS, as you close the glovebox it slips right in between the lock and the door, crunch
11:51 AM CaptHindsight[m]: I have a stack of VIA mini-itx boards circa early 00's if anyone is interested
11:54 AM roycroft: Loetmichel_: I've gotten past my hoarding tendencies
11:54 AM perry_j1987: i remember when i seen my first VIA mini-itx computers
11:54 AM perry_j1987: those were soo cool
11:55 AM roycroft: Not that I've gotten rid of all my old stuff, but when I run into something I don't automatically save it any more "just in case" - I am able to take a hard, objective look at it and have no problem purging
11:56 AM CaptHindsight[m]: and in 3-6 weeks after it's gone you need it for some project
11:56 AM roycroft: That does not happen often
11:58 AM CaptHindsight[m]: I keep a couple of boxes of old stuff now that date back to the 90's, it's like a time capule
11:58 AM CaptHindsight[m]: found an ipaq a couple of weeks ago in it
11:58 AM roycroft: I have a box of qic tapes dating back to the '80s
11:58 AM CaptHindsight[m]: along with the charger, compact flash adapter with flash cards and even a wifi adapter
11:59 AM roycroft: I have an old qic-525 drive still
11:59 AM roycroft: I *think* I have a SCSI adapter that I can use with that drive
11:59 AM roycroft: It might be interesting to try to extract some data from those tapes
11:59 AM CaptHindsight[m]: I remember walking down the street years before the smartphones using open wifi to connect to the internet while out
11:59 AM roycroft: Because things like comp.sources.unix archives from the '80s are so useful
12:07 PM aaroncnc: roycroft, i just cant let old tech go. I still have machines with ISA cards running.
12:09 PM aaroncnc: my not to trusty IBM 750 with its blazing 48mb of ram.
12:09 PM perry_j1987: aaroncnc using that to compile kernels on? :P
12:10 PM roycroft: I have had a stack of cisco switches/firewalls and rack mount servers in my living room for about 7 months now
12:11 PM roycroft: I have finally started sorting through that stuff, and most of it is going away
12:11 PM roycroft: It's all in the living room because my server rack is full
12:11 PM aaroncnc: perry_j1987, i wish, its running a cnc machine. But not for much longer. its going to get stored and replaced by my second remora setup once i am ready.
12:11 PM roycroft: I do not need more than one full-height equipment rack full of computers/switches in my house
12:11 PM roycroft: So everything that does not fit in the rack is going away
12:12 PM unterhausen: penn state salvage has some pretty impressive networking stuff for sale. Probably heat up my network cabinet too much though
12:12 PM unterhausen: network cabinet == closet under the stairs
12:13 PM CaptHindsight[m]: aaroncnc: do you know the current limit on the number of stepgens in Remora currently?
12:14 PM aaroncnc: CaptHindsight[m], I have not pushed it past 3, but according to scotta it supports 8.
12:16 PM unterhausen: it's apparent we need a group intervention
12:16 PM aaroncnc: 8 stepgens, 16in 16out 8pwm out, 1 hardware encoder in, 8 software encoders in.
12:16 PM aaroncnc: the hardware encoder on the skr1.4 can do about 13,000 rpm with a 300ppr encoder.
12:18 PM CaptHindsight[m]: aaroncnc: thanks
12:19 PM aaroncnc: CaptHindsight[m], no problem. its been fun to work with. and the cost of entry is so low.
12:22 PM CaptHindsight[m]: aaroncnc: heh, my next question was going to be about the encoders, I'm looking at which stm32's to use to build a board
12:23 PM aaroncnc: i have played a bit with the stm32 but have yet to test it encoder ability.
12:25 PM aaroncnc: CaptHindsight[m], https://github.com/scottalford75/Remora/issues/12#issuecomment-827710547
12:26 PM aaroncnc: This is for the software encoders on the lpc1768
12:28 PM aaroncnc: I would think it should be better than the lpc chip but i am not sure how much. How fast do you need to go or how high of resolution do you need?
12:31 PM CaptHindsight[m]: aaroncnc: just wonder what the maximums might be, i can always have a hardware counter to prescale it if need be
12:33 PM CaptHindsight[m]: https://i.imgur.com/yRlHCIu.jpg this would use about 900,000 counts per rev
12:34 PM CaptHindsight[m]: but not move too quickly
12:35 PM CaptHindsight[m]: the fast moving mechanisms typically require more computing power anyway than an Rpi
12:37 PM CaptHindsight[m]: x86 to STM32 over Ethernet would be useful
12:38 PM CaptHindsight[m]: Rpi4 with Ethernet on it's PCIe might be useful, but it would end up costing what a lower end x86 PC ends up being
12:44 PM aaroncnc: CaptHindsight[m], whats the max rpm you think for that?
12:45 PM CaptHindsight[m]: maybe 11-15rpm if stepper driven
12:45 PM CaptHindsight[m]: maybe 5x that if servo
12:46 PM aaroncnc: so on the skr1.4 hardware encoder built in i get about 13000(spindle speed)*300(pulse per rev) * 4(for quadrature) /60(seconds) = 260,000 / 260.0KHz
12:48 PM aaroncnc: if that count is the total out then 15(RPM)*900,000(pulse per rev)/60(seconds) = 225,000 / 225.0KHz
12:49 PM CaptHindsight[m]: fast enough
12:50 PM CaptHindsight[m]: http://www.encoderchina.com/product/absolute-encoder-interface-ssi-biss
12:50 PM aaroncnc: CaptHindsight[m], it would be close. if i can get some time and can find something to spin faster i could test the stm32 board i have the skr pro v1.2
12:51 PM CaptHindsight[m]: I have a stm32f4 discovery board I can test
12:51 PM CaptHindsight[m]: I'm just working on some other things right now
12:52 PM aaroncnc: CaptHindsight[m], what is that encoder used for? so many pulses.
12:52 PM CaptHindsight[m]: A or C axis on 5-6 axis printer or mill
12:53 PM CaptHindsight[m]: https://i.imgur.com/LOriL1y.png for example
12:56 PM CaptHindsight[m]: have been thinking about lower cost collaborative robot arms as well
12:56 PM CaptHindsight[m]: the joints are allowed to slip so you have to keep track of the arms position with encoders vs just count steps
12:57 PM aaroncnc: so thats why you need the super high accuracy encoder with the crazy count.
12:58 PM CaptHindsight[m]: for printing yes
12:59 PM CaptHindsight[m]: few micron accuracy over maybe .5m
01:15 PM CaptHindsight[m]: 1,000,000 count per rev encoder on a 120mm dia part is about 0.5 micron/count at the circumference
01:20 PM CaptHindsight[m]: if it's quadrature then the actual input pulse rate to the stm32 is 1/4 the actual counts, 250K pulse per rev
01:21 PM CaptHindsight[m]: which conveniently works out to 1 RPS or 60 RPM max for the stm32
01:36 PM CaptHindsight[m]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvi8A2XCK94
01:37 PM CaptHindsight[m]: amateur had to cast it :)
01:38 PM pcw-home: Higher resolution encoders are typically absolute, not quadrature
01:45 PM CaptHindsight[m]: cheap high res are incremental
01:46 PM CaptHindsight[m]: some are just tape wrapped around a shaft
01:47 PM pcw-home: Usually high resolution encoder are absolute because the incremental count rate become too high
01:48 PM CloudEvil: It's a gray area.
01:48 PM CaptHindsight[m]: release your inner cheapskate
01:48 PM CaptHindsight[m]: think Chinese
01:48 PM pcw-home: Seem like tape around a shaft would be hard to splice to not have a glitch
01:49 PM CloudEvil: Fix it in post.
01:50 PM pcw-home: maybe a diagonal slice if you could match the phases of two sensors
01:50 PM pcw-home: (by stretching)
01:52 PM CaptHindsight[m]: glitch is your index :)
01:54 PM CaptHindsight[m]: i have one where they wrapped 2 tapes just over half way around
01:55 PM CaptHindsight[m]: mag tape
01:56 PM CaptHindsight[m]: 2mm pole
01:58 PM skunkworks: I think the highest count encoder we have used is 20K per rev.
01:59 PM roguish[m]: earthquake....!!!!!!
01:59 PM skunkworks: they are nice. On the green machine - it is running single ended and seems to count up to the rpm's I need...
02:05 PM ESSad: If I have a CNC router with Gecko G203V (not certain of version) drives,  any advice on how to send a signal (PWM I assume) from a LinuxCNC PC to the drives if I don't have a parallel printer port?
02:05 PM ESSad: https://www.geckodrive.com/g203v-digital-step-drive.html
02:08 PM CaptHindsight[m]: https://www.heidenhain.com/products/angle-encoders/modular/era-4000
02:09 PM roguish[m]: a 2.6 and a 3.8 about 10 miles away
02:11 PM bobbytables: ESSad: I checked and there are parallel port PCI-Express cards.
02:12 PM ESSad: I've looked through the "Chapter 11 -- Drivers" of the documentation, and nothing there seems quite right. Lots there easy to overlook something.
02:13 PM ESSad: bobbytables: thanks
02:15 PM CaptHindsight[m]: ESSad: PCIE LPT card or Mesa FPGA with Step Dir or Rpi4 + stm32
02:16 PM CaptHindsight[m]: http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WCH
02:17 PM ESSad: There is something I'm missing. Even if I had a parallel port, how/why would I run a ribbon cable to the drive and connect what appears to be 3 wires?
02:17 PM ESSad: https://www.geckodrive.com/support/stepper-wiring.html
02:18 PM CaptHindsight[m]: ESSad: LPT along with use of BOB (break out board)
02:21 PM CaptHindsight[m]: https://wiki.printnc.info/bob_wiring_diagram.png
02:22 PM CaptHindsight[m]: https://forum.linuxcnc.org/media/kunena/attachments/491/BOBwiringdiagram.png
02:26 PM ESSad: Am I seeing that correctly? The bob accommodates the 28byj-48 motors? https://components101.com/motors/28byj-48-stepper-motor
02:27 PM CaptHindsight[m]: Stride Angle: 5.625°/64 ^^
02:28 PM CaptHindsight[m]: yes but fewer steps per rev than the more common 1.8 deg steppers
02:28 PM CaptHindsight[m]: ESSad: what are you building?
02:30 PM CaptHindsight[m]: the spec sheep mentions use for a CNC machine but it is more common for consumer product mechanisms
02:30 PM ESSad: A makerspace is redoing it's CNC router (with Gecko G203v drivers). I'm exploring a LinucCNC option.
02:32 PM ESSad: I believe the 28byj-48 is mostly used in HVAC to open and close vents
02:33 PM CaptHindsight[m]: which motors are on the CNC router now?
02:33 PM ESSad: and to teach the basics of stepper operation with RPi and python
02:35 PM ESSad: Nema 34 I believe
02:37 PM CaptHindsight[m]: with much higher torque than that pancake you posted
02:39 PM CaptHindsight[m]: ESSad: have you tested the latency of the donor PC yet?
02:50 PM ESSad: No I haven't
09:56 PM Tom_L: haha
09:56 PM Tom_L: one more thing i just noticed
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09:58 PM Tom_itx: halui.mdi-command-XX <= halui.program.is-paused
09:58 PM Tom_L: that's legal but whether it would work might be another question
09:58 PM Tom_L: then mdi-commandxx executes your subroutine
09:59 PM Tom_itx: you might have to run halui.program.is-paused thru a one shot
09:59 PM Tom_itx: to trigger the command
10:01 PM Tom_itx: i use an edge trigger on my pendant button
10:02 PM Tom_itx: robin_sz: http://linuxcnc.org/docs/2.8/html/gcode/overview.html#gcode:ini-hal-params
10:02 PM Tom_itx: now that the logger is awake..
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10:07 PM Tom_itx: the next issue would be to get it to resume
10:07 PM Tom_itx: after it ran the sub
10:19 PM Tom_itx: problem with that is the interpreter may not run the sub if it's paused :)
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