Re: Axis brakes - operation & control?

Brad Heuver wrote:

> From: "Brad Heuver" <bheuver@...>
>
> On machines with brakes on all the axis, are they released once the CNC
> control takes over, never to be applied again under controlled
> operation?

Generally, that is the way it is done.

> Alternatively, if the program calls for a long X-axis only
> cut, is the Z and/or Y brake allowed to apply? I'm guessing that the
> servo's hold the position, with the brakes off, but wanted some
> feedback.

Yes, the servos do a fine job of holding position. I've never seen
mine drift even one (displayed) count, under hard cutting loads.

> Next, is EMC set up to control the brakes, or is this accomplished in
> another fashion?

You could connect fail-safe (power off) brakes to the emergency stop
circuit, so whenever the machine came out of E-stop, the brakes were
released.

> Lastly, I know this has been asked before, but does
> anyone know if emcmot will work with the servotogo series 2 card?Since
> the series one is not readily available, my conversion may require
> programing knowledge otherwise...

This is in the works. Apparently, NIST has the series 2 card and
docs, and has a rough draft written. The final testing of that driver
version was not complete last time I looked into it. It should
be done within a couple of weeks, at the latest, is what I heard.

Jon