re:Cncpro/Gcode

taus,

Keep in mind the time of year (holiday season) and that CncPRO is
a 'second job' for Doug. Vacations, etc.

(snips, inserts below)

>1) What is F5-F8 I01-I04 for?

Keys F5 thru F8 are used for turning the output 'bits' of the p-port
control register on and off. You would typically use these to
activate the spindle, or vacuum, or clamps, or coolant... In the
setup screens, you can rename IO1-IO4 to something more useful.(IO1
means input/output number 1). The pins used are also determined by
the setup screen. You can assign IO1-4 to pins 1,14,16,17 of the 25
pin dsub connector on the PC.

2) He talks about V (varibable) but I am not sure how to us this?

Variable usage is a long topic, and i won't go into it here.
Basically, CncPRO allows the use of V0 to V100 to refer to a
previously set value. This value is set as shown below (pulled from
the website under specs, scroll down):

V (not available in CNC Pro Lite)
set or use a variable. specify
V0 through V100 eg. "V59=2.34"
use V0 through V100 eg. "G01 XV59"

In the example above the 'variable number 59 is set to 2.34 units.
Then later in the program, it is used be the linear interpolation at
feedrate command G01, which will result in a move of, or to an X co
ordinate 2.34 (depends on whether we're in absolute or relative
motion)

>3) He talks about L (loop g-code) but I am unsure how to put this
>into a line, can anyone please provide me with an example?

Okay. loops are often used with G91(incremental motion).

G91
G81 X1.25 Y0 R.1 Z-.5 L5

In this example,the X axis will move 1.25 units, then the z axis
will "drill" down .5 units, retract to a position .1 above the work
surface (0 at material surface is assumed)and repeat 5 times. Or at
least that's what 'should' happen... Some of the Gcode interpreter
functions in CncPRO perform poorly, and others cannot be used
together in ways which are common. Doug came only lately to CNC and
Gcode, and some things are not implemented in standard or useful
ways. Not singling him out, most Gcode implementations have
some 'strange' bits about them...

4) what is E-stop for? (emergency stop??)

I think Jon E answered this one. It's a HARDWARE BASED "shut down
NOW" function of any safe CNC machine. The Estop bit in CncPRO is
there (to be wired in to your hardware shutdown circuit) to let the
control know to "stop sending pulses, we've got a problem out here!"

5) How and why do you use subroutines?

Again, I'm sure Jon covered this. Subroutines let you repeat parts of
programs (which make the code file shorter). Also allows you to use
proven, repeatable code for things you do more than once. In the
above L loop example, I 'could' call a subroutine to do a certain set
of machining functions, instead of "just" 'drilling' some holes.

>6)& 7) Covered already? Jons' post?

>8)do I generally want to keep <V> const. contour off or on?

On. This is the CncPRO 'switch' for lookahead. Either turn it on
before processing a file or include G64 in the file to turn it on.
Again, see the specs part of the website.

Hope this helps.

Ballendo