Re:Servos in EMC and the probe

Message: 18
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 23:37:41 -0600
From: "Tim Goldstein" <timg@...>
Subject: RE: EMC-programming request

As long as we are making request, I will put mine in also:
1 - Backlash compensation for steppers
2 - Read the Kulaga/Mauch DRO board for feedback input to created a closed
loop stepper


Tim
[Denver, CO]

To this I might add a request to support the pic-servo board. I enquired
about the compatability of their board with EMC, (still trying to figure
out a retrofit for my big servo mill) but Jeff Kerr replied there were no
suitable driver options that he knew of, and suggested going the
step/direction route instead, or using Flashcut.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dan Falck <dfalck@...>
>
> I have a request for the programmers who are working on EMC (Fred, Will,
> etc...):
> Would it be possible to make a probe (CMM type) software interface with
> XEMC? It would be great to be able to digitize a part in XEMC and then
> output a basic x,y,z coordinate file. It would be nice to make a teach
> mode for it at the very least.
> I would like to be able to write a G-code program that would move in .100"
> increments over a part, slowly lower the spindle, touch the part with a
> crude microswitch rigged probe, stop spindle movement, record the
> position,
> and move on...

> Dan

[MaxNC sells a device like this which I own, a probe which fits in the
spindle which picks up the z axis when it runs into something. I must
confess I haven't gotten along with it too well. It does plot points at
about .10" intervals, but it arranges them as a series of line segments
.10" long stuck together end-to-end along one long meandering path, which
is a difficult thing to deal with. The Visual Basic software isn't much fun
to use either. (If somebody out there is a programmer with some time on
their hands, I'd love to see a program that would address these
deficiencies)

If you're thinking of doing something like this, realize the "slowly
lowering" mode is going to eat up time in an already slow process. Some
other things to consider might be connecting the dots in one curve,
stopping the curve when it changes direction, and providing a way to
integrate passes in the cross direction to make a curve network, which
defines the geometry better than a series of parallel curves, and which
Rhino can use to build a surface.]

Andrew Werby

Andrew Werby - United Artworks
Sculpture, Jewelry, and Other Art Stuff
http://unitedartworks.com