|
Brian, any movement on this? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Andy Wander via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2020 4:43 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Lathe-G76 and Turn Cycles? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments:
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments:
?
?
?
|
They guys should have been testing
it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it
as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Brian, any
movement on this?
?
?
Hey, man, any
word?
?
?
Good question! Let me talk to the guys.
This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :)
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hey, Brian,
has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens?
?
?
I don't know how long the coil winder
is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake
tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil
winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is
just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the
winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-I’m good for now.
?
I’ll nag
you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in
a couple of weeks.
?
?
Rob is on the floor now working on
the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We
are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set
lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev
out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t
want to forget about it.
?
I tested
the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all
working now as well.
?
Do the
only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being
reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4.
?
I got an
email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him,
but I just got a message telling me your hours, and
then some music.
?
I don’t
know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258
and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my
problems.
?
?
Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it
is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When
that is done he will go over what Rob has and building
a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by
his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to
you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your
progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over
the manual and checking them for the next release.
Attached you will find a section of header file, look
at that and tell me what you think (start at line
number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have
the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after
the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
1_ Has
there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen?
?
2_ I
didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that
most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS
v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm
that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked
out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that….
?
3_ Is
there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound
Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find
one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at
least one of the variables in there is wrong…..
?
4_ I’ve
got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle
speed and such between shutting down and restart
solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values
on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in
the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This
seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE
for the first time after startup, it overwrites the
correct value that has been put into the S DRO by
the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens
the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set
a value for S, it stays there through
DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look
for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen
scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE,
or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the
first time it is pressed after startup
?
?
?
Rob is done the first round of
getting machines ready for release testing so I have
told him today is your test of turn. He may be
contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob
got most of that done before his return back to
work. I was going to have Brett continue on with
this as soon as he is done the bending software I
have him doing. We have lots of projects we are
working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
Did
they get anywhere with the coil winder screen?
?
What
about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles?
(they sure are great, when they work!)
?
?
?
Hi
Brian-new update:
?
I was
able to finish the part I was working on, but I
started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun
errors from the ESS.
?
Then,
the ESS started randomly going offline without
telling me.
?
I
reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and
these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS
going offline.)
?
I
made a couple more parts using Late today, and
everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles
for Facing, Turning, and Threading.
?
Then
I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles.
?
The
Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the
roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the
stock, without actually cutting anything-then it
moved in to where it should have been and did the
single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock
that should have been done during roughing.
?
I
attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath
window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding
operation.
?
I
“may” have entered an incorrect setting in the
Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check,
I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing,
and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open
when clicking on their buttons. I get a message
that says,
Unable
to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour'
for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'.
Function
called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)'
- wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self),
wxColour)
?
I’ve
tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also
reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any
of the Turn Cycles.
?
?
Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a
few more machines we need to get working so we can
get to the testing of the next release testing. We
have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need
to get ready. The goal is to have them both
finished this week so we can start testing Friday.
This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
I
have some more info and results on the threading
cycle not working.
?
Today,
I backed up my current installation, and
installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517
?
I
needed to make a part that had a couple of
different diameters, and an external M14 thread
at each end.
?
The
turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn
Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14
thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the
G76 line just as the Internal thread had been
doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had
accidentally generated code for an Internal
thread, but, this time, it was different, as the
actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was
very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but
occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM.
This didn’t happen with the installation that I
originally reported this problem on.
?
So,
I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor
had gotten damaged or something. At this point,
I set the machine back to in/min mode, and
started the spindle up, and the on-screen
Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going
back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode,
the display was wonky again.
?
Then,
I remembered that the release notes for the ESS
v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new
check box to tell the ESS whether or not to
report the spindle speed. I found that check box
in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing
showed the same problem still remained.
?
I
then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS
setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”.
?
That
did it, the threading cycle now works, whether
ID or OD threading.
?
I
still have the smaller problem of the spindle
making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again
while it is already on. I went into config and
disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle
REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there
because I never disabled it when I went to my
Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no
difference, I still get the Clunk…
?
?
?
?
They
are working on a coil winder screen and have the
first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make
your issue happen. We have just started working
back at the office where we have all the
hardware for testing. We are getting the
machines ready for release testing now and one
of the things that will be tested is your issue.
We are doing the best we can in this screwy
time.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy
Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
Have
you had a chance to work on this?
?
Also
any? progress on the coil winder screenset?
?
?
That
may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating
the Modbus MPG register on my pendant.
?
?
Do you have any idea what
is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is
causing you an issue, it is just bad practice
and I would like to eliminate as many vars as
I can. I was going to see if I could clean the
profile and figure this out! I have a few
things going on but I am trying to get this
done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
I
used to use relays and PWM to control my
spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin.
?
I
think that I left the relay/PWM config
alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So
Mack4 may be sending controls for both
methods.
?
Pretty
sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V
from the VFD though. I will check that in a
bit.
?
?
I need your profile
please. I don't understand what is firing
output #54 I think I am getting a better
idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
The logging window
is confusing because the SAVE button is at
the bottom, but there is also a “log to
file” button up at the top. What does that
top button do?
?
I don’t think this
can be a hardware issue, as external
threading code from the Turn Cycle works
fine every time.
?
Also, yesterday,
after I STOPped an unworking internal
threading program, I came back a few hours
later, rewound and ran the same code, and
it worked! Just once though, after that it
would hang on the 2nd G76 line
uust like before.
?
Attached is a log
file; can you? see anything strange in
there?
Attachments:
?
?
?
?
?
?
Attachments:
?
?
?
|
Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Barker
Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 8:28 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments:
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments:
?
?
?
?
|
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Andy Wander via groups.io
Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2021 12:22 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments:
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments:
?
?
?
?
|
They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!?
Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder
screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens
page for Mach4.
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hey, Brian,
anything?
?
?
Hi Brian, it’s
been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been
any progress on this?
?
?
They guys
should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been
using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Brian, any
movement on this?
?
?
Hey, man, any
word?
?
?
Good question! Let me talk to the guys.
This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :)
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hey, Brian,
has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens?
?
?
I don't know how long the coil winder
is going to take but Brett seems to think the press
brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days.
Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it
is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive
the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-I’m good for now.
?
I’ll nag
you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing
in a couple of weeks.
?
?
Rob is on the floor now working on
the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :(
We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all
set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new
Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t
want to forget about it.
?
I
tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they
are all working now as well.
?
Do the
only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed
being reset when I first press ENABL after starting
Mach4.
?
I got
an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call
him, but I just got a message telling me your hours,
and then some music.
?
I don’t
know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS
258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of
my problems.
?
?
Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and
it is taking a bit more time than I would like :(
When that is done he will go over what Rob has and
building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by
his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to
you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your
progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over
the manual and checking them for the next release.
Attached you will find a section of header file,
look at that and tell me what you think (start at
line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to
have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that
after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
1_
Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder
Screen?
?
2_ I
didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that
most of my issues appear to have been solved by
ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to
confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles
getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance
to test that….
?
3_ Is
there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound
Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find
one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at
least one of the variables in there is wrong…..
?
4_
I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering
spindle speed and such between shutting down and
restart solved. I took the code that wrote the
saved values on startup, out of the Startup
Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section
of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT
that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after
startup, it overwrites the correct value that has
been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and
sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I
ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S,
it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any
idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything
in any of the screen scripts that does anything to
the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats
ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed
after startup
?
?
?
Rob is done the first round of
getting machines ready for release testing so I
have told him today is your test of turn. He may
be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen
Rob got most of that done before his return back
to work. I was going to have Brett continue on
with this as soon as he is done the bending
software I have him doing. We have lots of
projects we are working on so thanks for asking
about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
Did
they get anywhere with the coil winder screen?
?
What
about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles?
(they sure are great, when they work!)
?
?
?
Hi
Brian-new update:
?
I
was able to finish the part I was working on,
but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer
underrun errors from the ESS.
?
Then,
the ESS started randomly going offline without
telling me.
?
I
reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and
these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS
going offline.)
?
I
made a couple more parts using Late today, and
everything was working fine, using the Turn
Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading.
?
Then
I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles.
?
The
Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the
roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the
stock, without actually cutting anything-then it
moved in to where it should have been and did
the single finishing cut, taking off all of the
stock that should have been done during
roughing.
?
I
attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath
window, as well as the .tap file for the
Rounding operation.
?
I
“may” have entered an incorrect setting in the
Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to
check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for
editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles
to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a
message that says,
Unable
to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour'
for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'.
Function
called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)'
- wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self),
wxColour)
?
I’ve
tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also
reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any
of the Turn Cycles.
?
?
Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a
few more machines we need to get working so we
can get to the testing of the next release
testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma
table we need to get ready. The goal is to have
them both finished this week so we can start
testing Friday. This is when we will setup and
test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
I
have some more info and results on the
threading cycle not working.
?
Today,
I backed up my current installation, and
installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517
?
I
needed to make a part that had a couple of
different diameters, and an external M14
thread at each end.
?
The
turning was uneventful, but when I used the
Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the
first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung
up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread
had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that
I had accidentally generated code for an
Internal thread, but, this time, it was
different, as the actual Spindle Speed display
on the screen was very intermittent, usually
staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the
actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with
the installation that I originally reported
this problem on.
?
So,
I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor
had gotten damaged or something. At this
point, I set the machine back to in/min mode,
and started the spindle up, and the on-screen
Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going
back into the threading cycle, and in/rev
mode, the display was wonky again.
?
Then,
I remembered that the release notes for the
ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about
a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not
to report the spindle speed. I found that
check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it.
Testing showed the same problem still
remained.
?
I
then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS
setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”.
?
That
did it, the threading cycle now works, whether
ID or OD threading.
?
I
still have the smaller problem of the spindle
making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again
while it is already on. I went into config and
disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and
Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all
in there because I never disabled it when I
went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas,
this made no difference, I still get the
Clunk…
?
?
?
?
They are working
on a coil winder screen and have the first
part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make
your issue happen. We have just started
working back at the office where we have all
the hardware for testing. We are getting the
machines ready for release testing now and one
of the things that will be tested is your
issue. We are doing the best we can in this
screwy time.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy
Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
Have
you had a chance to work on this?
?
Also
any? progress on the coil winder screenset?
?
?
That
may be from my PLC script. I am
interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my
pendant.
?
?
Do you have any idea what
is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this
is causing you an issue, it is just bad
practice and I would like to eliminate as
many vars as I can. I was going to see if I
could clean the profile and figure this out!
I have a few things going on but I am trying
to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
I used to use relays
and PWM to control my spindle, but now I
use the Modbus plugin.
?
I think that I left
the relay/PWM config alone, and just added
the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending
controls for both methods.
?
Pretty sure I
disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from
the VFD though. I will check that in a
bit.
?
?
I need your profile
please. I don't understand what is firing
output #54 I think I am getting a better
idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
The logging window
is confusing because the SAVE button is
at the bottom, but there is also a “log
to file” button up at the top. What does
that top button do?
?
I don’t think this
can be a hardware issue, as external
threading code from the Turn Cycle works
fine every time.
?
Also, yesterday,
after I STOPped an unworking internal
threading program, I came back a few
hours later, rewound and ran the same
code, and it worked! Just once though,
after that it would hang on the 2nd
G76 line uust like before.
?
Attached is a log
file; can you? see anything strange in
there?
Attachments:
?
?
?
?
?
?
Attachments:
?
?
?
?
|
Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Barker
Sent: Monday, April 5, 2021 8:01 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Barker
Sent: Monday, April 5, 2021 8:01 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Good question.... BRB
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Brian:
?
Any word on
this?
?
?
They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!?
Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil
winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the
new screens page for Mach4.
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hey, Brian,
anything?
?
?
Hi Brian,
it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there
has been any progress on this?
?
?
They guys
should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been
using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Brian, any
movement on this?
?
?
Hey, man,
any word?
?
?
Good question! Let me talk to the
guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or
something :)
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hey,
Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder
screens?
?
?
I don't know how long the coil
winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the
press brake tables should be ready for testing in a
few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the
screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the
Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-I’m good for now.
?
I’ll
nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed
thing in a couple of weeks.
?
?
Rob is on the floor now working
on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in
:( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to
be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to
get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most
issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t
want to forget about it.
?
I
tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they
are all working now as well.
?
Do
the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle
Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after
starting Mach4.
?
I got
an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to
call him, but I just got a message telling me your
hours, and then some music.
?
I
don’t know if we really need to talk, though,
since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved
almost all of my problems.
?
?
Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and
it is taking a bit more time than I would like :(
When that is done he will go over what Rob has and
building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine
by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get
back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him
of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going
over the manual and checking them for the next
release. Attached you will find a section of
header file, look at that and tell me what you
think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to
have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do
that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
1_
Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder
Screen?
?
2_
I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report
that most of my issues appear to have been
solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I
still need to confirm that the issue with the
Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved;
haven’t had a chance to test that….
?
3_
Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound
Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to
find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know
that at least one of the variables in there is
wrong…..
?
4_
I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering
spindle speed and such between shutting down and
restart solved. I took the code that wrote the
saved values on startup, out of the Startup
Script, and put it in the “first-Run only”
section of the PLC code. This seems to work
fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the
first time after startup, it overwrites the
correct value that has been put into the S DRO
by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only
happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after
that, if I set a value for S, it stays there
through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what
to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of
the screen scripts that does anything to the S
word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE
differently on the first time it is pressed
after startup
?
?
?
Rob is done the first round
of getting machines ready for release testing so
I have told him today is your test of turn. He
may be contacting you... As for the coil winder
screen Rob got most of that done before his
return back to work. I was going to have Brett
continue on with this as soon as he is done the
bending software I have him doing. We have lots
of projects we are working on so thanks for
asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
Did
they get anywhere with the coil winder screen?
?
What
about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles?
(they sure are great, when they work!)
?
?
?
Hi
Brian-new update:
?
I
was able to finish the part I was working on,
but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer
underrun errors from the ESS.
?
Then,
the ESS started randomly going offline without
telling me.
?
I
reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322,
and these problems went away(the FIFO and the
ESS going offline.)
?
I
made a couple more parts using Late today, and
everything was working fine, using the Turn
Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading.
?
Then
I tried a Rounding operation using Turn
Cycles.
?
The
Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all
the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of
the stock, without actually cutting
anything-then it moved in to where it should
have been and did the single finishing cut,
taking off all of the stock that should have
been done during roughing.
?
I
attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath
window, as well as the .tap file for the
Rounding operation.
?
I
“may” have entered an incorrect setting in the
Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to
check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open
for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn
cycles to open when clicking on their buttons.
I get a message that says,
Unable to show wizard
4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for
parameter 2, but got a 'nil'.
Function called:
'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)'
- wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self),
wxColour)
?
I’ve
tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also
reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at
any of the Turn Cycles.
?
?
Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have
a few more machines we need to get working so
we can get to the testing of the next release
testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the
plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is
to have them both finished this week so we can
start testing Friday. This is when we will
setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
I
have some more info and results on the
threading cycle not working.
?
Today,
I backed up my current installation, and
installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517
?
I
needed to make a part that had a couple of
different diameters, and an external M14
thread at each end.
?
The
turning was uneventful, but when I used the
Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the
first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it
hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal
thread had been doing earlier! Then, I
realized that I had accidentally generated
code for an Internal thread, but, this time,
it was different, as the actual Spindle
Speed display on the screen was very
intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but
occasionally flashing the actual measured
RPM. This didn’t happen with the
installation that I originally reported this
problem on.
?
So,
I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed
sensor had gotten damaged or something. At
this point, I set the machine back to in/min
mode, and started the spindle up, and the
on-screen Spindle Speed display worked
perfectly. Going back into the threading
cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was
wonky again.
?
Then,
I remembered that the release notes for the
ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something
about a new check box to tell the ESS
whether or not to report the spindle speed.
I found that check box in the ESS setup, and
unchecked it. Testing showed the same
problem still remained.
?
I
then looked at the Spindle setting on the
ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to
“OB”.
?
That
did it, the threading cycle now works,
whether ID or OD threading.
?
I
still have the smaller problem of the
spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned
on again while it is already on. I went into
config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle
FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This
stuff was all in there because I never
disabled it when I went to my Modbus
controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no
difference, I still get the Clunk…
?
?
?
?
They are
working on a coil winder screen and have the
first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not
make your issue happen. We have just started
working back at the office where we have all
the hardware for testing. We are getting the
machines ready for release testing now and
one of the things that will be tested is
your issue. We are doing the best we can in
this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM,
Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Have you had a
chance to work on this?
?
Also any? progress
on the coil winder screenset?
?
?
That may be from my
PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus
MPG register on my pendant.
?
?
Do you have any idea
what is spamming for the MPG? I don't
think this is causing you an issue, it is
just bad practice and I would like to
eliminate as many vars as I can. I was
going to see if I could clean the profile
and figure this out! I have a few things
going on but I am trying to get this done
as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
I used to use
relays and PWM to control my spindle,
but now I use the Modbus plugin.
?
I think that I
left the relay/PWM config alone, and
just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4
may be sending controls for both
methods.
?
Pretty sure I
disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V
from the VFD though. I will check that
in a bit.
?
?
I need your profile
please. I don't understand what is
firing output #54 I think I am getting a
better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
The logging
window is confusing because the SAVE
button is at the bottom, but there is
also a “log to file” button up at the
top. What does that top button do?
?
I don’t think
this can be a hardware issue, as
external threading code from the Turn
Cycle works fine every time.
?
Also, yesterday,
after I STOPped an unworking internal
threading program, I came back a few
hours later, rewound and ran the same
code, and it worked! Just once though,
after that it would hang on the 2nd
G76 line uust like before.
?
Attached is a
log file; can you? see anything
strange in there?
Attachments:
- G76 that
stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
?
Attachments:
- MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Good news! They have been working on the webpage and they have
showed me where it is at now. They are ironically working working
in the screen page now. The plugins page looks really nice. This
is going to make it easy to get this stuff. Hang in there! It's
actively being worked on
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Brian:
?
Any word on
this?
?
?
They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!?
Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil
winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the
new screens page for Mach4.
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hey, Brian,
anything?
?
?
Hi Brian,
it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there
has been any progress on this?
?
?
They guys
should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been
using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Brian, any
movement on this?
?
?
Hey, man,
any word?
?
?
Good question! Let me talk to the
guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or
something :)
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hey,
Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder
screens?
?
?
I don't know how long the coil
winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the
press brake tables should be ready for testing in a
few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the
screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the
Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-I’m good for now.
?
I’ll
nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed
thing in a couple of weeks.
?
?
Rob is on the floor now working
on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in
:( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to
be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to
get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most
issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t
want to forget about it.
?
I
tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they
are all working now as well.
?
Do
the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle
Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after
starting Mach4.
?
I got
an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to
call him, but I just got a message telling me your
hours, and then some music.
?
I
don’t know if we really need to talk, though,
since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved
almost all of my problems.
?
?
Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and
it is taking a bit more time than I would like :(
When that is done he will go over what Rob has and
building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine
by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get
back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him
of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going
over the manual and checking them for the next
release. Attached you will find a section of
header file, look at that and tell me what you
think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to
have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do
that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
1_
Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder
Screen?
?
2_
I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report
that most of my issues appear to have been
solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I
still need to confirm that the issue with the
Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved;
haven’t had a chance to test that….
?
3_
Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound
Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to
find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know
that at least one of the variables in there is
wrong…..
?
4_
I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering
spindle speed and such between shutting down and
restart solved. I took the code that wrote the
saved values on startup, out of the Startup
Script, and put it in the “first-Run only”
section of the PLC code. This seems to work
fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the
first time after startup, it overwrites the
correct value that has been put into the S DRO
by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only
happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after
that, if I set a value for S, it stays there
through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what
to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of
the screen scripts that does anything to the S
word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE
differently on the first time it is pressed
after startup
?
?
?
Rob is done the first round
of getting machines ready for release testing so
I have told him today is your test of turn. He
may be contacting you... As for the coil winder
screen Rob got most of that done before his
return back to work. I was going to have Brett
continue on with this as soon as he is done the
bending software I have him doing. We have lots
of projects we are working on so thanks for
asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
Did
they get anywhere with the coil winder screen?
?
What
about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles?
(they sure are great, when they work!)
?
?
?
Hi
Brian-new update:
?
I
was able to finish the part I was working on,
but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer
underrun errors from the ESS.
?
Then,
the ESS started randomly going offline without
telling me.
?
I
reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322,
and these problems went away(the FIFO and the
ESS going offline.)
?
I
made a couple more parts using Late today, and
everything was working fine, using the Turn
Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading.
?
Then
I tried a Rounding operation using Turn
Cycles.
?
The
Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all
the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of
the stock, without actually cutting
anything-then it moved in to where it should
have been and did the single finishing cut,
taking off all of the stock that should have
been done during roughing.
?
I
attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath
window, as well as the .tap file for the
Rounding operation.
?
I
“may” have entered an incorrect setting in the
Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to
check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open
for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn
cycles to open when clicking on their buttons.
I get a message that says,
Unable to show wizard
4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for
parameter 2, but got a 'nil'.
Function called:
'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)'
- wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self),
wxColour)
?
I’ve
tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also
reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at
any of the Turn Cycles.
?
?
Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have
a few more machines we need to get working so
we can get to the testing of the next release
testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the
plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is
to have them both finished this week so we can
start testing Friday. This is when we will
setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
I
have some more info and results on the
threading cycle not working.
?
Today,
I backed up my current installation, and
installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517
?
I
needed to make a part that had a couple of
different diameters, and an external M14
thread at each end.
?
The
turning was uneventful, but when I used the
Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the
first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it
hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal
thread had been doing earlier! Then, I
realized that I had accidentally generated
code for an Internal thread, but, this time,
it was different, as the actual Spindle
Speed display on the screen was very
intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but
occasionally flashing the actual measured
RPM. This didn’t happen with the
installation that I originally reported this
problem on.
?
So,
I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed
sensor had gotten damaged or something. At
this point, I set the machine back to in/min
mode, and started the spindle up, and the
on-screen Spindle Speed display worked
perfectly. Going back into the threading
cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was
wonky again.
?
Then,
I remembered that the release notes for the
ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something
about a new check box to tell the ESS
whether or not to report the spindle speed.
I found that check box in the ESS setup, and
unchecked it. Testing showed the same
problem still remained.
?
I
then looked at the Spindle setting on the
ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to
“OB”.
?
That
did it, the threading cycle now works,
whether ID or OD threading.
?
I
still have the smaller problem of the
spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned
on again while it is already on. I went into
config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle
FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This
stuff was all in there because I never
disabled it when I went to my Modbus
controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no
difference, I still get the Clunk…
?
?
?
?
They are
working on a coil winder screen and have the
first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not
make your issue happen. We have just started
working back at the office where we have all
the hardware for testing. We are getting the
machines ready for release testing now and
one of the things that will be tested is
your issue. We are doing the best we can in
this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM,
Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Have you had a
chance to work on this?
?
Also any? progress
on the coil winder screenset?
?
?
That may be from my
PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus
MPG register on my pendant.
?
?
Do you have any idea
what is spamming for the MPG? I don't
think this is causing you an issue, it is
just bad practice and I would like to
eliminate as many vars as I can. I was
going to see if I could clean the profile
and figure this out! I have a few things
going on but I am trying to get this done
as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
I used to use
relays and PWM to control my spindle,
but now I use the Modbus plugin.
?
I think that I
left the relay/PWM config alone, and
just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4
may be sending controls for both
methods.
?
Pretty sure I
disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V
from the VFD though. I will check that
in a bit.
?
?
I need your profile
please. I don't understand what is
firing output #54 I think I am getting a
better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
The logging
window is confusing because the SAVE
button is at the bottom, but there is
also a “log to file” button up at the
top. What does that top button do?
?
I don’t think
this can be a hardware issue, as
external threading code from the Turn
Cycle works fine every time.
?
Also, yesterday,
after I STOPped an unworking internal
threading program, I came back a few
hours later, rewound and ran the same
code, and it worked! Just once though,
after that it would hang on the 2nd
G76 line uust like before.
?
Attached is a
log file; can you? see anything
strange in there?
Attachments:
- G76 that
stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
?
Attachments:
- MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Barker
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 10:50 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? Good news! They have been working on the webpage and they have showed me where it is at now. They are ironically working working in the screen page now. The plugins page looks really nice. This is going to make it easy to get this stuff. Hang in there! It's actively being worked on ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ? ? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
I see that the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try to download it I get: ? Epic 404 - Article Not Found ? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Barker
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 10:40 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? Good question.... BRB ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ? ? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
That is not Epic at all! LOL
I will see if I can get it to download
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I see that the
Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try to
download it I get:
?
Epic 404 - Article Not Found
?
?
?
Good question.... BRB
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Any word on
this?
?
?
They have it and I asked them to send it to you months
ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The
Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released
on the new screens page for Mach4.
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hey, Brian,
anything?
?
?
Hi Brian,
it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there
has been any progress on this?
?
?
They
guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have
been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Brian,
any movement on this?
?
?
Hey, man,
any word?
?
?
Good question! Let me talk to the
guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or
something :)
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hey,
Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil
Winder screens?
?
?
I don't know how long the coil
winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the
press brake tables should be ready for testing in a
few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the
screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the
Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-I’m good for now.
?
I’ll
nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle
speed thing in a couple of weeks.
?
?
Rob is on the floor now working
on the laser we are putting new motors and drives
in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem
to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying
hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix
most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just
don’t want to forget about it.
?
I
tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and
they are all working now as well.
?
Do
the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle
Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after
starting Mach4.
?
I
got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried
to call him, but I just got a message telling me
your hours, and then some music.
?
I
don’t know if we really need to talk, though,
since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved
almost all of my problems.
?
?
Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM
and it is taking a bit more time than I would
like :( When that is done he will go over what
Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the
machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he
didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have
informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going
over the manual and checking them for the next
release. Attached you will find a section of
header file, look at that and tell me what you
think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want
to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets
do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
1_
Has there been any progress on that Coil
Winder Screen?
?
2_
I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report
that most of my issues appear to have been
solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I
still need to confirm that the issue with the
Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved;
haven’t had a chance to test that….
?
3_
Is there an accurate list anywhere of the
Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been
able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer,
and I know that at least one of the variables
in there is wrong…..
?
4_
I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering
spindle speed and such between shutting down
and restart solved. I took the code that wrote
the saved values on startup, out of the
Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run
only” section of the PLC code. This seems to
work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for
the first time after startup, it overwrites
the correct value that has been put into the S
DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This
only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4,
after that, if I set a value for S, it stays
there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea
on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything
in any of the screen scripts that does
anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place
that treats ENABLE differently on the first
time it is pressed after startup
?
?
?
Rob is done the first round
of getting machines ready for release testing
so I have told him today is your test of turn.
He may be contacting you... As for the coil
winder screen Rob got most of that done before
his return back to work. I was going to have
Brett continue on with this as soon as he is
done the bending software I have him doing. We
have lots of projects we are working on so
thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
Did
they get anywhere with the coil winder
screen?
?
What
about this weird problem with the Turn
Cycles? (they sure are great, when they
work!)
?
?
?
Hi
Brian-new update:
?
I
was able to finish the part I was working
on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity
Buffer underrun errors from the ESS.
?
Then,
the ESS started randomly going offline
without telling me.
?
I
reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322,
and these problems went away(the FIFO and
the ESS going offline.)
?
I
made a couple more parts using Late today,
and everything was working fine, using the
Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and
Threading.
?
Then
I tried a Rounding operation using Turn
Cycles.
?
The
Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all
the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end
of the stock, without actually cutting
anything-then it moved in to where it should
have been and did the single finishing cut,
taking off all of the stock that should have
been done during roughing.
?
I
attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath
window, as well as the .tap file for the
Rounding operation.
?
I
“may” have entered an incorrect setting in
the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went
to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to
open for editing, and I can’t get any of the
Turn cycles to open when clicking on their
buttons. I get a message that says,
Unable to show
wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for
parameter 2, but got a 'nil'.
Function called:
'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)'
- wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self),
wxColour)
?
I’ve
tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also
reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at
any of the Turn Cycles.
?
?
Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We
have a few more machines we need to get
working so we can get to the testing of the
next release testing. We have the Matsuura
500 and the plasma table we need to get
ready. The goal is to have them both
finished this week so we can start testing
Friday. This is when we will setup and test
the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
I have some more
info and results on the threading cycle
not working.
?
Today, I backed up
my current installation, and installed ESS
v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517
?
I needed to make a
part that had a couple of different
diameters, and an external M14 thread at
each end.
?
The turning was
uneventful, but when I used the Turn
Cycles screen to generate code for the
first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it
hung up on the G76 line just as the
Internal thread had been doing earlier!
Then, I realized that I had accidentally
generated code for an Internal thread,
but, this time, it was different, as the
actual Spindle Speed display on the screen
was very intermittent, usually staying at
“0”, but occasionally flashing the actual
measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the
installation that I originally reported
this problem on.
?
So, I thought maybe
my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten
damaged or something. At this point, I set
the machine back to in/min mode, and
started the spindle up, and the on-screen
Spindle Speed display worked perfectly.
Going back into the threading cycle, and
in/rev mode, the display was wonky again.
?
Then, I remembered
that the release notes for the ESS v257
plugin had mentioned something about a new
check box to tell the ESS whether or not
to report the spindle speed. I found that
check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked
it. Testing showed the same problem still
remained.
?
I then looked at the
Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and
changed it from PWM to “OB”.
?
That did it, the
threading cycle now works, whether ID or
OD threading.
?
I still have the
smaller problem of the spindle making the
CLUNK when it gets turned on again while
it is already on. I went into config and
disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and
Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was
all in there because I never disabled it
when I went to my Modbus controlled
s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I
still get the Clunk…
?
?
?
?
They are
working on a coil winder screen and have
the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not
make your issue happen. We have just
started working back at the office where
we have all the hardware for testing. We
are getting the machines ready for release
testing now and one of the things that
will be tested is your issue. We are doing
the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM,
Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Have you had a
chance to work on this?
?
Also any? progress
on the coil winder screenset?
?
?
That may be from
my PLC script. I am interrogating the
Modbus MPG register on my pendant.
?
?
Do you have any idea
what is spamming for the MPG? I don't
think this is causing you an issue, it
is just bad practice and I would like to
eliminate as many vars as I can. I was
going to see if I could clean the
profile and figure this out! I have a
few things going on but I am trying to
get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
I used to use
relays and PWM to control my spindle,
but now I use the Modbus plugin.
?
I think that I
left the relay/PWM config alone, and
just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4
may be sending controls for both
methods.
?
Pretty sure I
disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V
from the VFD though. I will check that
in a bit.
?
?
I need your profile
please. I don't understand what is
firing output #54 I think I am getting
a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
The logging
window is confusing because the SAVE
button is at the bottom, but there
is also a “log to file” button up at
the top. What does that top button
do?
?
I don’t think
this can be a hardware issue, as
external threading code from the
Turn Cycle works fine every time.
?
Also,
yesterday, after I STOPped an
unworking internal threading
program, I came back a few hours
later, rewound and ran the same
code, and it worked! Just once
though, after that it would hang on
the 2nd G76 line uust
like before.
?
Attached is a
log file; can you? see anything
strange in there?
Attachments:
- G76 that
stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
?
Attachments:
- MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Hi Brian: ? I finally downloaded and started to use the Coilwinder Mach4 screen a couple of weeks ago. ? I had to modify it to fit my setup but I also found a couple of issues with the screenset as downloaded. ? -The screenset is set up to use the A axis in units of revolutions instead of degrees. I would bet most people use degrees as the units for their rotary axes. ? -The “Write G Code” button does not do what it says; instead it saves the Gcode to a string and then executes it immediately as an MDI command. ? -The generated Gcode does not return to G90 Absolute coordinates after running the code. ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Barker
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2021 7:55 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? That is not Epic at all! LOL ? I will see if I can get it to download ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander wrote: I see that the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try to download it I get: ? Epic 404 - Article Not Found ? ? ? Good question.... BRB ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ? ? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Hi Andy, You are correct about degrees for machining.? I have used a lot of different coil winding machines and it is always using turns. Degrees would be a pain to use to wind for example, a 2372 turns coil. Bertho ? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Andy Wander
Sent: Sunday, March 6, 2022 2:37 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? Hi Brian: ? I finally downloaded and started to use the Coilwinder Mach4 screen a couple of weeks ago. ? I had to modify it to fit my setup but I also found a couple of issues with the screenset as downloaded. ? -The screenset is set up to use the A axis in units of revolutions instead of degrees. I would bet most people use degrees as the units for their rotary axes. ? -The “Write G Code” button does not do what it says; instead it saves the Gcode to a string and then executes it immediately as an MDI command. ? -The generated Gcode does not return to G90 Absolute coordinates after running the code. ? ? That is not Epic at all! LOL ? I will see if I can get it to download ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander wrote: I see that the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try to download it I get: ? Epic 404 - Article Not Found ? ? ? Good question.... BRB ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ? ? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Hi Bertho: ? Good point, for anyone using a dedicated coil-winding machine, turns/minute would probably be the desired setup units. ? I didn’t think of that since I am using my mill with a 4th axis. ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Bertho
Sent: Monday, March 7, 2022 9:05 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? Hi Andy, You are correct about degrees for machining.? I have used a lot of different coil winding machines and it is always using turns. Degrees would be a pain to use to wind for example, a 2372 turns coil. Bertho ? ? ? Hi Brian: ? I finally downloaded and started to use the Coilwinder Mach4 screen a couple of weeks ago. ? I had to modify it to fit my setup but I also found a couple of issues with the screenset as downloaded. ? -The screenset is set up to use the A axis in units of revolutions instead of degrees. I would bet most people use degrees as the units for their rotary axes. ? -The “Write G Code” button does not do what it says; instead it saves the Gcode to a string and then executes it immediately as an MDI command. ? -The generated Gcode does not return to G90 Absolute coordinates after running the code. ? ? That is not Epic at all! LOL ? I will see if I can get it to download ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander wrote: I see that the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try to download it I get: ? Epic 404 - Article Not Found ? ? ? Good question.... BRB ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ? ? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
For my use, I modified the screenset ?so that I can enter the desired number of turns, but this is converted to degrees for the G-code. ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: ohawiseguyeh@... <ohawiseguyeh@...>
Sent: Sunday, March 6, 2022 2:37 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? Hi Brian: ? I finally downloaded and started to use the Coilwinder Mach4 screen a couple of weeks ago. ? I had to modify it to fit my setup but I also found a couple of issues with the screenset as downloaded. ? -The screenset is set up to use the A axis in units of revolutions instead of degrees. I would bet most people use degrees as the units for their rotary axes. ? -The “Write G Code” button does not do what it says; instead it saves the Gcode to a string and then executes it immediately as an MDI command. ? -The generated Gcode does not return to G90 Absolute coordinates after running the code. ? ? That is not Epic at all! LOL ? I will see if I can get it to download ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander wrote: I see that the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try to download it I get: ? Epic 404 - Article Not Found ? ? ? Good question.... BRB ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ? ? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
I think I like turns better but we can make it a selection.. The
other 2 points seem easy enough
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 3/6/2022 2:37 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Brian:
?
I finally
downloaded and started to use the Coilwinder Mach4 screen a
couple of weeks ago.
?
I had to modify
it to fit my setup but I also found a couple of issues with
the screenset as downloaded.
?
-The screenset
is set up to use the A axis in units of revolutions instead
of degrees. I would bet most people use degrees as the units
for their rotary axes.
?
-The “Write G
Code” button does not do what it says; instead it saves the
Gcode to a string and then executes it immediately as an MDI
command.
?
-The generated
Gcode does not return to G90 Absolute coordinates after
running the code.
?
?
That is not Epic at all! LOL
?
I will see if I can get it to download
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
I see that
the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try
to download it I get:
?
Epic 404 - Article Not Found
?
?
?
Good question.... BRB
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Any word on
this?
?
?
They have it and I asked them to send it to you months
ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off..
The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be
released on the new screens page for Mach4.
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hey,
Brian, anything?
?
?
Hi Brian,
it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if
there has been any progress on this?
?
?
They
guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have
been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Brian,
any movement on this?
?
?
Hey,
man, any word?
?
?
Good question! Let me talk to the
guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or
something :)
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hey,
Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil
Winder screens?
?
?
I don't know how long the coil
winder is going to take but Brett seems to think
the press brake tables should be ready for testing
in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got
the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make
the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-I’m good for now.
?
I’ll
nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle
speed thing in a couple of weeks.
?
?
Rob is on the floor now
working on the laser we are putting new motors
and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right
now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with
it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and
I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just
don’t want to forget about it.
?
I
tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and
they are all working now as well.
?
Do
the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle
Speed being reset when I first press ENABL
after starting Mach4.
?
I
got an email from Rob this morning, and I
tried to call him, but I just got a message
telling me your hours, and then some music.
?
I
don’t know if we really need to talk, though,
since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have
solved almost all of my problems.
?
?
Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM
and it is taking a bit more time than I would
like :( When that is done he will go over what
Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the
machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he
didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I
have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going
over the manual and checking them for the next
release. Attached you will find a section of
header file, look at that and tell me what you
think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want
to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets
do that after the rest of this is done please
:)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi
Brian:
?
1_
Has there been any progress on that Coil
Winder Screen?
?
2_
I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to
report that most of my issues appear to have
been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4
4517. I still need to confirm that the issue
with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is
solved; haven’t had a chance to test that….
?
3_
Is there an accurate list anywhere of the
Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been
able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer,
and I know that at least one of the
variables in there is wrong…..
?
4_
I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not
remembering spindle speed and such between
shutting down and restart solved. I took the
code that wrote the saved values on startup,
out of the Startup Script, and put it in the
“first-Run only” section of the PLC code.
This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I
hit ENABLE for the first time after startup,
it overwrites the correct value that has
been put into the S DRO by the PLC script,
and sets it to 0. This only happens the
first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I
set a value for S, it stays there through
DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to
look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of
the screen scripts that does anything to the
S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats
ENABLE differently on the first time it is
pressed after startup
?
?
?
Rob is done the first
round of getting machines ready for release
testing so I have told him today is your
test of turn. He may be contacting you... As
for the coil winder screen Rob got most of
that done before his return back to work. I
was going to have Brett continue on with
this as soon as he is done the bending
software I have him doing. We have lots of
projects we are working on so thanks for
asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Did they get
anywhere with the coil winder screen?
?
What about this
weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they
sure are great, when they work!)
?
?
?
Hi Brian-new update:
?
I was able to finish
the part I was working on, but I started
getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun
errors from the ESS.
?
Then, the ESS
started randomly going offline without
telling me.
?
I reverted to ESS
v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these
problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS
going offline.)
?
I made a couple more
parts using Late today, and everything was
working fine, using the Turn Cycles for
Facing, Turning, and Threading.
?
Then I tried a
Rounding operation using Turn Cycles.
?
The Gcode looked OK,
so I ran it, and it did all the roughing
cuts about ?” out from the end of the
stock, without actually cutting
anything-then it moved in to where it
should have been and did the single
finishing cut, taking off all of the stock
that should have been done during
roughing.
?
I attached a screen
shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well
as the .tap file for the Rounding
operation.
?
I “may” have entered
an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle
entry screen, but when I went to check, I
cannot get the saved cycle to open for
editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn
cycles to open when clicking on their
buttons. I get a message that says,
Unable to show
wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour'
for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'.
Function called:
'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)'
- wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self),
wxColour)
?
I’ve tried closing
and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling
Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the
Turn Cycles.
?
?
Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We
have a few more machines we need to get
working so we can get to the testing of
the next release testing. We have the
Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need
to get ready. The goal is to have them
both finished this week so we can start
testing Friday. This is when we will setup
and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
I have some more
info and results on the threading cycle
not working.
?
Today, I backed up
my current installation, and installed
ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517
?
I needed to make a
part that had a couple of different
diameters, and an external M14 thread at
each end.
?
The turning was
uneventful, but when I used the Turn
Cycles screen to generate code for the
first M14 thread, and tried to run it,
it hung up on the G76 line just as the
Internal thread had been doing earlier!
Then, I realized that I had accidentally
generated code for an Internal thread,
but, this time, it was different, as the
actual Spindle Speed display on the
screen was very intermittent, usually
staying at “0”, but occasionally
flashing the actual measured RPM. This
didn’t happen with the installation that
I originally reported this problem on.
?
So, I thought
maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had
gotten damaged or something. At this
point, I set the machine back to in/min
mode, and started the spindle up, and
the on-screen Spindle Speed display
worked perfectly. Going back into the
threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the
display was wonky again.
?
Then, I remembered
that the release notes for the ESS v257
plugin had mentioned something about a
new check box to tell the ESS whether or
not to report the spindle speed. I found
that check box in the ESS setup, and
unchecked it. Testing showed the same
problem still remained.
?
I then looked at
the Spindle setting on the ESS setup
page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”.
?
That did it, the
threading cycle now works, whether ID or
OD threading.
?
I still have the
smaller problem of the spindle making
the CLUNK when it gets turned on again
while it is already on. I went into
config and disabled the Spindle ON,
Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in
Mach4. This stuff was all in there
because I never disabled it when I went
to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas,
this made no difference, I still get the
Clunk…
?
?
?
?
They are
working on a coil winder screen and have
the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could
not make your issue happen. We have just
started working back at the office where
we have all the hardware for testing. We
are getting the machines ready for
release testing now and one of the
things that will be tested is your
issue. We are doing the best we can in
this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM,
Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Have you had a
chance to work on this?
?
Also any?
progress on the coil winder screenset?
?
?
That may be from
my PLC script. I am interrogating the
Modbus MPG register on my pendant.
?
?
Do you have any
idea what is spamming for the MPG? I
don't think this is causing you an
issue, it is just bad practice and I
would like to eliminate as many vars
as I can. I was going to see if I
could clean the profile and figure
this out! I have a few things going on
but I am trying to get this done as
quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
I used to use
relays and PWM to control my
spindle, but now I use the Modbus
plugin.
?
I think that I
left the relay/PWM config alone, and
just added the modbus stuff. So
Mack4 may be sending controls for
both methods.
?
Pretty sure I
disconnected the relays and
PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I
will check that in a bit.
?
?
I need your
profile please. I don't understand
what is firing output #54 I think I
am getting a better idea what is
going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
The logging
window is confusing because the
SAVE button is at the bottom, but
there is also a “log to file”
button up at the top. What does
that top button do?
?
I don’t
think this can be a hardware
issue, as external threading code
from the Turn Cycle works fine
every time.
?
Also,
yesterday, after I STOPped an
unworking internal threading
program, I came back a few hours
later, rewound and ran the same
code, and it worked! Just once
though, after that it would hang
on the 2nd G76 line
uust like before.
?
Attached is
a log file; can you? see anything
strange in there?
Attachments:
- G76 that
stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
?
Attachments:
- MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Keep in mind that that often there are fractional turns, usually in practice ? or ? turns to match the pinouts on the bobbin used. Also partial turns are used for inserting insulation between layers. ? This also applies to coil spring winding. ? So in summary, in the turns count field one ought be able to enter a decimal value, for example, 19.75 turns. ? Take Care, Stay Well & Safe, ?????? Bertho ? ? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Barker
Sent: Monday, March 7, 2022 9:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? I think I like turns better but we can make it a selection.. The other 2 points seem easy enough ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Development ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Webpage: On 3/6/2022 2:37 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I finally downloaded and started to use the Coilwinder Mach4 screen a couple of weeks ago. ? I had to modify it to fit my setup but I also found a couple of issues with the screenset as downloaded. ? -The screenset is set up to use the A axis in units of revolutions instead of degrees. I would bet most people use degrees as the units for their rotary axes. ? -The “Write G Code” button does not do what it says; instead it saves the Gcode to a string and then executes it immediately as an MDI command. ? -The generated Gcode does not return to G90 Absolute coordinates after running the code. ? ? That is not Epic at all! LOL ? I will see if I can get it to download ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander wrote: I see that the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try to download it I get: ? Epic 404 - Article Not Found ? ? ? Good question.... BRB ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ? ? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Hi Brian: ? I got another one for ya’. ? I copied and modified one of the Axis Zero buttons on the Coilwinder Screen. ? I changed it from having a Left Down Action of “Zero Y” to having a Left Down Script. The script grabs a number from a register and sets the Y machine position to that number. ? The script itself works fine, and the button works fine if I single-left-click it with the mouse. But if I press the button on my touch screen, it only works maybe one in 10 times. Pressing it always highlights the button, but the script doesn’t seem to run most of the time-if I press it on the touchscreen. It works every time with the mouse. ? I’ve tried re-making the button, and also tried having using a Left Up Script or a Clicked Script, with the same results. ? Any idea what I might be doing wrong? ? Andy ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Barker
Sent: Monday, March 7, 2022 9:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Mach4 Coil Winder Screen? I think I like turns better but we can make it a selection.. The other 2 points seem easy enough ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Development ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Webpage: On 3/6/2022 2:37 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I finally downloaded and started to use the Coilwinder Mach4 screen a couple of weeks ago. ? I had to modify it to fit my setup but I also found a couple of issues with the screenset as downloaded. ? -The screenset is set up to use the A axis in units of revolutions instead of degrees. I would bet most people use degrees as the units for their rotary axes. ? -The “Write G Code” button does not do what it says; instead it saves the Gcode to a string and then executes it immediately as an MDI command. ? -The generated Gcode does not return to G90 Absolute coordinates after running the code. ? ? That is not Epic at all! LOL ? I will see if I can get it to download ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander wrote: I see that the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try to download it I get: ? Epic 404 - Article Not Found ? ? ? Good question.... BRB ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Any word on this? ? ? They have it and I asked them to send it to you months ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off.. The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be released on the new screens page for Mach4. ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, anything? ? ? Hi Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you know if there has been any progress on this? ? ? They guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Brian, any movement on this? ? ? Hey, man, any word? ? ? Good question! Let me talk to the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old or something :) ______________________________ ? Brian Barker Engineering / Devlopment ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions Livermore Falls, Maine (USA) Phone: 207(618)1449 Webpage: On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hey, Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil Winder screens? ? ? I don't know how long the coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to think the press brake tables should be ready for testing in a few days. Coil winder is after that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-I’m good for now. ? I’ll nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle speed thing in a couple of weeks. ? ? Rob is on the floor now working on the laser we are putting new motors and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Thanks, Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just don’t want to forget about it. ? I tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and they are all working now as well. ? Do the only problem I now have is #4, the Spindle Speed being reset when I first press ENABL after starting Mach4. ? I got an email from Rob this morning, and I tried to call him, but I just got a message telling me your hours, and then some music. ? I don’t know if we really need to talk, though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to have solved almost all of my problems. ? ? Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I would like :( When that is done he will go over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone going over the manual and checking them for the next release. Attached you will find a section of header file, look at that and tell me what you think (start at line number 2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would want to have the Spindle Speed at start up but lets do that after the rest of this is done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? 1_ Has there been any progress on that Coil Winder Screen? ? 2_ I didn’t hear from Rob, but I wanted to report that most of my issues appear to have been solved by ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still need to confirm that the issue with the Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved; haven’t had a chance to test that…. ? 3_ Is there an accurate list anywhere of the Pound Variables for Mach4? I have only been able to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer, and I know that at least one of the variables in there is wrong….. ? 4_ I’ve got the issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle speed and such between shutting down and restart solved. I took the code that wrote the saved values on startup, out of the Startup Script, and put it in the “first-Run only” section of the PLC code. This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when I hit ENABLE for the first time after startup, it overwrites the correct value that has been put into the S DRO by the PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4, after that, if I set a value for S, it stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I couldn’t find anything in any of the screen scripts that does anything to the S word on ENABLE, or any place that treats ENABLE differently on the first time it is pressed after startup ? ? ? Rob is done the first round of getting machines ready for release testing so I have told him today is your test of turn. He may be contacting you... As for the coil winder screen Rob got most of that done before his return back to work. I was going to have Brett continue on with this as soon as he is done the bending software I have him doing. We have lots of projects we are working on so thanks for asking about the progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Did they get anywhere with the coil winder screen? ? What about this weird problem with the Turn Cycles? (they sure are great, when they work!) ? ? ? Hi Brian-new update: ? I was able to finish the part I was working on, but I started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer underrun errors from the ESS. ? Then, the ESS started randomly going offline without telling me. ? I reverted to ESS v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS going offline.) ? I made a couple more parts using Late today, and everything was working fine, using the Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and Threading. ? Then I tried a Rounding operation using Turn Cycles. ? The Gcode looked OK, so I ran it, and it did all the roughing cuts about ?” out from the end of the stock, without actually cutting anything-then it moved in to where it should have been and did the single finishing cut, taking off all of the stock that should have been done during roughing. ? I attached a screen shot of the Mach toolpath window, as well as the .tap file for the Rounding operation. ? I “may” have entered an incorrect setting in the Turn cycle entry screen, but when I went to check, I cannot get the saved cycle to open for editing, and I can’t get any of the Turn cycles to open when clicking on their buttons. I get a message that says, Unable to show wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour' for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'. Function called: 'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)' - wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self), wxColour)
? I’ve tried closing and reopening Mach4, and also reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t get at any of the Turn Cycles. ? ? Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction! We have a few more machines we need to get working so we can get to the testing of the next release testing. We have the Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we need to get ready. The goal is to have them both finished this week so we can start testing Friday. This is when we will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? I have some more info and results on the threading cycle not working. ? Today, I backed up my current installation, and installed ESS v257, and Mach4 4.2.0.4517 ? I needed to make a part that had a couple of different diameters, and an external M14 thread at each end. ? The turning was uneventful, but when I used the Turn Cycles screen to generate code for the first M14 thread, and tried to run it, it hung up on the G76 line just as the Internal thread had been doing earlier! Then, I realized that I had accidentally generated code for an Internal thread, but, this time, it was different, as the actual Spindle Speed display on the screen was very intermittent, usually staying at “0”, but occasionally flashing the actual measured RPM. This didn’t happen with the installation that I originally reported this problem on. ? So, I thought maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor had gotten damaged or something. At this point, I set the machine back to in/min mode, and started the spindle up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed display worked perfectly. Going back into the threading cycle, and in/rev mode, the display was wonky again. ? Then, I remembered that the release notes for the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned something about a new check box to tell the ESS whether or not to report the spindle speed. I found that check box in the ESS setup, and unchecked it. Testing showed the same problem still remained. ? I then looked at the Spindle setting on the ESS setup page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”. ? That did it, the threading cycle now works, whether ID or OD threading. ? I still have the smaller problem of the spindle making the CLUNK when it gets turned on again while it is already on. I went into config and disabled the Spindle ON, Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in Mach4. This stuff was all in there because I never disabled it when I went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle. Alas, this made no difference, I still get the Clunk… ? ? ? ? They are working on a coil winder screen and have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could not make your issue happen. We have just started working back at the office where we have all the hardware for testing. We are getting the machines ready for release testing now and one of the things that will be tested is your issue. We are doing the best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian On 6/11/2020 8:07 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? Have you had a chance to work on this? ? Also any? progress on the coil winder screenset? ? ? That may be from my PLC script. I am interrogating the Modbus MPG register on my pendant. ? ? Do you have any idea what is spamming for the MPG? I don't think this is causing you an issue, it is just bad practice and I would like to eliminate as many vars as I can. I was going to see if I could clean the profile and figure this out! I have a few things going on but I am trying to get this done as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander wrote: I used to use relays and PWM to control my spindle, but now I use the Modbus plugin. ? I think that I left the relay/PWM config alone, and just added the modbus stuff. So Mack4 may be sending controls for both methods. ? Pretty sure I disconnected the relays and PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I will check that in a bit. ? ? I need your profile please. I don't understand what is firing output #54 I think I am getting a better idea what is going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander wrote: Hi Brian: ? The logging window is confusing because the SAVE button is at the bottom, but there is also a “log to file” button up at the top. What does that top button do? ? I don’t think this can be a hardware issue, as external threading code from the Turn Cycle works fine every time. ? Also, yesterday, after I STOPped an unworking internal threading program, I came back a few hours later, rewound and ran the same code, and it worked! Just once though, after that it would hang on the 2nd G76 line uust like before. ? Attached is a log file; can you? see anything strange in there? Attachments: - G76 that stops on second G76 line.log
?
?
?
?
?
? Attachments: - MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Printed it off and I will drop it off to one of the guys to work
on.. Shouldn't be much of an issue to get this. I would like to
see this ready for the new release we are finishing now.
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 3/13/2022 9:12 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Brian:
?
I got another
one for ya’.
?
I copied and
modified one of the Axis Zero buttons on the Coilwinder
Screen.
?
I changed it
from having a Left Down Action of “Zero Y” to having a Left
Down Script. The script grabs a number from a register and
sets the Y machine position to that number.
?
The script
itself works fine, and the button works fine if I
single-left-click it with the mouse. But if I press the
button on my touch screen, it only works maybe one in 10
times. Pressing it always highlights the button, but the
script doesn’t seem to run most of the time-if I press it on
the touchscreen. It works every time with the mouse.
?
I’ve tried
re-making the button, and also tried having using a Left Up
Script or a Clicked Script, with the same results.
?
Any idea what I
might be doing wrong?
?
Andy
?
?
I think I like turns better but we can make it a selection..
The other 2 points seem easy enough
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 3/6/2022 2:37 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
I finally
downloaded and started to use the Coilwinder Mach4 screen
a couple of weeks ago.
?
I had to
modify it to fit my setup but I also found a couple of
issues with the screenset as downloaded.
?
-The
screenset is set up to use the A axis in units of
revolutions instead of degrees. I would bet most people
use degrees as the units for their rotary axes.
?
-The “Write G
Code” button does not do what it says; instead it saves
the Gcode to a string and then executes it immediately as
an MDI command.
?
-The
generated Gcode does not return to G90 Absolute
coordinates after running the code.
?
?
That is not Epic at all! LOL
?
I will see if I can get it to download
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 6/11/2021 12:37 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
I see that
the Coil Winder screen is on the website, but when I try
to download it I get:
?
Epic 404 - Article Not Found
?
?
?
Good question.... BRB
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/28/2021 9:51 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Any word
on this?
?
?
They have it and I asked them to send it to you months
ago!? Blah, I will tell them again to get it sent off..
The Coil winder screen is one of the screens set to be
released on the new screens page for Mach4.
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 4/4/2021 8:55 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hey,
Brian, anything?
?
?
Hi
Brian, it’s been a couple of months again-do you
know if there has been any progress on this?
?
?
They
guys should have been testing it...
I will hit them again for a status.. Sorry they have
been using it as fill in work.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 11/30/2020 11:44 PM, Andy
Wander wrote:
Brian,
any movement on this?
?
?
Hey,
man, any word?
?
?
Good question! Let me talk to
the guys. This slipped my mind. I am getting old
or something :)
______________________________
?
Brian Barker
Engineering / Devlopment
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Phone: 207(618)1449
Webpage:
On 9/1/2020 10:11 PM, Andy
Wander wrote:
Hey,
Brian, has there been any progress on the Coil
Winder screens?
?
?
I don't know how long the
coil winder is going to take but Brett seems to
think the press brake tables should be ready for
testing in a few days. Coil winder is after
that. Rob got the screen done so it is just the
Lua code to make the Gcode files to drive the
winder.
On 7/6/2020 12:57 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-I’m good for now.
?
I’ll
nag you about the Coil Winder and the Spindle
speed thing in a couple of weeks.
?
?
Rob is on the floor now
working on the laser we are putting new motors
and drives in :( We are juggling a TON right
now. If you seem to be all set lets roll with
it. We are trying hard to get a new Rev out
and I think it will fix most issues.
On 7/6/2020 11:03 AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Thanks,
Brian-no big rush on the coil winder, I just
don’t want to forget about it.
?
I
tested the Turn Cycles yesterday evening and
they are all working now as well.
?
Do
the only problem I now have is #4, the
Spindle Speed being reset when I first press
ENABL after starting Mach4.
?
I
got an email from Rob this morning, and I
tried to call him, but I just got a message
telling me your hours, and then some music.
?
I
don’t know if we really need to talk,
though, since ESS 258 and Mach4 4517 seem to
have solved almost all of my problems.
?
?
Hi Andy,
1. I have Brett working on a screen for an
OEM and it is taking a bit more time than I
would like :( When that is done he will go
over what Rob has and building a release.
2. Rob had a setup to test the ESS on the
machine by his desk Friday. I didn't know he
didn't get back to you, sorry about that. I
have informed him of your progress.
3. Check the mill manual, I have someone
going over the manual and checking them for
the next release. Attached you will find a
section of header file, look at that and
tell me what you think (start at line number
2113)
4. I don't fully understand why you would
want to have the Spindle Speed at start up
but lets do that after the rest of this is
done please :)
Thanks
Brian
On 7/5/2020 3:45 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
1_ Has there been
any progress on that Coil Winder Screen?
?
2_ I didn’t hear
from Rob, but I wanted to report that most
of my issues appear to have been solved by
ESS v258 along with Mach4 4517. I still
need to confirm that the issue with the
Turn Cycles getting locked out is solved;
haven’t had a chance to test that….
?
3_ Is there an
accurate list anywhere of the Pound
Variables for Mach4? I have only been able
to find one dated 2015 by Scott Shafer,
and I know that at least one of the
variables in there is wrong…..
?
4_ I’ve got the
issues with Mach4 not remembering spindle
speed and such between shutting down and
restart solved. I took the code that wrote
the saved values on startup, out of the
Startup Script, and put it in the
“first-Run only” section of the PLC code.
This seems to work fine, EXCEPT that when
I hit ENABLE for the first time after
startup, it overwrites the correct value
that has been put into the S DRO by the
PLC script, and sets it to 0. This only
happens the first time I ENABLE MACH4,
after that, if I set a value for S, it
stays there through DISSABLE/ENABLE
cycles. Any idea on what to look for? I
couldn’t find anything in any of the
screen scripts that does anything to the S
word on ENABLE, or any place that treats
ENABLE differently on the first time it is
pressed after startup
?
?
?
Rob is done the first
round of getting machines ready for
release testing so I have told him today
is your test of turn. He may be contacting
you... As for the coil winder screen Rob
got most of that done before his return
back to work. I was going to have Brett
continue on with this as soon as he is
done the bending software I have him
doing. We have lots of projects we are
working on so thanks for asking about the
progress!
Thanks
Brian
On 6/28/2020 4:35 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Did they get
anywhere with the coil winder screen?
?
What about this
weird problem with the Turn Cycles?
(they sure are great, when they work!)
?
?
?
Hi Brian-new
update:
?
I was able to
finish the part I was working on, but I
started getting FIFO Velocity Buffer
underrun errors from the ESS.
?
Then, the ESS
started randomly going offline without
telling me.
?
I reverted to ESS
v254, and Mach4 V4.2.0.4322, and these
problems went away(the FIFO and the ESS
going offline.)
?
I made a couple
more parts using Late today, and
everything was working fine, using the
Turn Cycles for Facing, Turning, and
Threading.
?
Then I tried a
Rounding operation using Turn Cycles.
?
The Gcode looked
OK, so I ran it, and it did all the
roughing cuts about ?” out from the end
of the stock, without actually cutting
anything-then it moved in to where it
should have been and did the single
finishing cut, taking off all of the
stock that should have been done during
roughing.
?
I attached a
screen shot of the Mach toolpath window,
as well as the .tap file for the
Rounding operation.
?
I “may” have
entered an incorrect setting in the Turn
cycle entry screen, but when I went to
check, I cannot get the saved cycle to
open for editing, and I can’t get any of
the Turn cycles to open when clicking on
their buttons. I get a message that
says,
Unable to show
wizard 4: wxLua: Expected a 'wxColour'
for parameter 2, but got a 'nil'.
Function called:
'SetBackgroundColour(wxButton, nil)'
- wxWindow::SetBackgroundColour(wxWindow(self),
wxColour)
?
I’ve tried closing
and reopening Mach4, and also
reinstalling Mach4, and I still can’t
get at any of the Turn Cycles.
?
?
Hi Andy,
This is a step in the right direction!
We have a few more machines we need to
get working so we can get to the testing
of the next release testing. We have the
Matsuura 500 and the plasma table we
need to get ready. The goal is to have
them both finished this week so we can
start testing Friday. This is when we
will setup and test the ESS.
Thanks for the report
?Brian
On 6/13/2020 3:16 PM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
I have some more
info and results on the threading
cycle not working.
?
Today, I backed
up my current installation, and
installed ESS v257, and Mach4
4.2.0.4517
?
I needed to make
a part that had a couple of different
diameters, and an external M14 thread
at each end.
?
The turning was
uneventful, but when I used the Turn
Cycles screen to generate code for the
first M14 thread, and tried to run it,
it hung up on the G76 line just as the
Internal thread had been doing
earlier! Then, I realized that I had
accidentally generated code for an
Internal thread, but, this time, it
was different, as the actual Spindle
Speed display on the screen was very
intermittent, usually staying at “0”,
but occasionally flashing the actual
measured RPM. This didn’t happen with
the installation that I originally
reported this problem on.
?
So, I thought
maybe my lathe Spindle Speed sensor
had gotten damaged or something. At
this point, I set the machine back to
in/min mode, and started the spindle
up, and the on-screen Spindle Speed
display worked perfectly. Going back
into the threading cycle, and in/rev
mode, the display was wonky again.
?
Then, I
remembered that the release notes for
the ESS v257 plugin had mentioned
something about a new check box to
tell the ESS whether or not to report
the spindle speed. I found that check
box in the ESS setup, and unchecked
it. Testing showed the same problem
still remained.
?
I then looked at
the Spindle setting on the ESS setup
page, and changed it from PWM to “OB”.
?
That did it, the
threading cycle now works, whether ID
or OD threading.
?
I still have the
smaller problem of the spindle making
the CLUNK when it gets turned on again
while it is already on. I went into
config and disabled the Spindle ON,
Spindle FWD and Spindle REV pins in
Mach4. This stuff was all in there
because I never disabled it when I
went to my Modbus controlled s[pindle.
Alas, this made no difference, I still
get the Clunk…
?
?
?
?
They are
working on a coil winder screen and
have the first part of it done.
They did a bunch of testing and could
not make your issue happen. We have
just started working back at the
office where we have all the hardware
for testing. We are getting the
machines ready for release testing now
and one of the things that will be
tested is your issue. We are doing the
best we can in this screwy time.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/11/2020 8:07
AM, Andy Wander wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
Have you had a
chance to work on this?
?
Also any?
progress on the coil winder
screenset?
?
?
That may be
from my PLC script. I am
interrogating the Modbus MPG
register on my pendant.
?
?
Do you have any
idea what is spamming for the MPG? I
don't think this is causing you an
issue, it is just bad practice and I
would like to eliminate as many vars
as I can. I was going to see if I
could clean the profile and figure
this out! I have a few things going
on but I am trying to get this done
as quickly as I can.
Thanks
Brian
On 6/3/2020 12:46 PM, Andy Wander
wrote:
I used to
use relays and PWM to control my
spindle, but now I use the Modbus
plugin.
?
I think that
I left the relay/PWM config alone,
and just added the modbus stuff.
So Mack4 may be sending controls
for both methods.
?
Pretty sure
I disconnected the relays and
PWM/0-10V from the VFD though. I
will check that in a bit.
?
?
I need your
profile please. I don't understand
what is firing output #54 I think
I am getting a better idea what is
going on!
Thanks
Brian
n 6/3/2020 11:09 AM, Andy Wander
wrote:
Hi Brian:
?
The
logging window is confusing
because the SAVE button is at
the bottom, but there is also a
“log to file” button up at the
top. What does that top button
do?
?
I don’t
think this can be a hardware
issue, as external threading
code from the Turn Cycle works
fine every time.
?
Also,
yesterday, after I STOPped an
unworking internal threading
program, I came back a few hours
later, rewound and ran the same
code, and it worked! Just once
though, after that it would hang
on the 2nd G76 line
uust like before.
?
Attached
is a log file; can you? see
anything strange in there?
Attachments:
- G76
that stops on second G76
line.log
?
?
?
?
?
?
Attachments:
- MachAPI.h
?
?
?
?
|
Bertho