Re: Pixie error connection

Mark,

Jim Cullins has suggested using ULN2803A which is a darlington array
general purpose IC. I have to wait until tomorrow to see if the local
electronics supply place has something similar. It does seem like the
load is too much for the Pixie when connected to the relay. Could a
resistor somehow be placed to make it work, even by trial and error?
How would I connect such a resistor if you think it might work?

Thanks,
Keith

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Vaughan" <mark@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Kieth
>
> No problem helping, we all bat things between each other here, that
way we
> all learn.
>
> When the pixies fail they release the enable line to your analogue
cards, so
> if you trust the pixie logic that should adequately shut off all
movement,
> in reality tripping with an error should be a very rare event, on my
machine
> it might occur if I hit a limit which freezes mach and my analogue
card, if
> mach freezes quick enough even this shouldn't trip the pixie. If you
have
> additional Estop limits after your main limits then you are covered
should
> a card fail and motor go wild, I've had this happen with Rutex
cards. If I
> were to wire the pixie error into the Estops, so much power is
pulled that
> no led's would be left active to tell me how the fault occurred.
>
> As to your solid state relay, it is probably just too much load, so the
> relay itself pulls the inputs all too low and they trip into fault mode.
>
> If we knew what they are using on the pixie card for their open
collector
> output then we might be able to add a little more resistor pull up so it
> could drive the relay. I haven't any boards at hand at the moment to
have a
> look, but the tracks aren't easy to track so even then we might have a
> problem. I would just put a transistor on the output, something like an
> MPSA13 darlington transistor and use that to drive a relay.
>
> I have emailed Rick at Skyco for details about the error lines, and
enable
> output lines that feed the analogue cards, but didn't get a response
>
>
>
> Regs Mark
>
>
>
> Dr. Mark Vaughan Ph'D. B.Eng. M0VAU
>
> Managing Director
>
> Vaughan Industries Ltd, reg in UK no 2561068
>
> Water Care Technology Ltd, reg in UK no 4129351
>
> Addr Unit3, Sydney House, Blackwater, Truro, Cornwall, TR4 8HH, UK.
> Phone/Fax 44 1872 561288
>
> RSGB DRM111(Cornwall)
>
> _____
>
> From: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of toolspindoctor
> Sent: 15 July 2007 16:43
> To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Pixie error connection
>
>
>
> Mark,
>
> I appreciate your input! I had envisioned the Pixie error circuit as
> you described. I still don't understand why the error output would not
> be sufficient to drive a DC solid state relay. When I connect the
> error to the relay is just goes into an error state. There must be
> something different about the open collector, which I don't
> understand. Jim Cullins, who designed my breakout board has suggested
> interfacing with an IC with Darlington arrays.
>
> I have all the safeguards with limit switches etc. The system shuts
> down everything during an estop coming from my servo amps or from
> Mach3, the estop switch etc. However, the final protection is to get
> the servo amps to shut off (signal the Mach3-Campbell estop)when the
> Pixies fail. Now of course, the Pixies go into an error condition
> without triggering an estop.
>
> Thanks again,
> Keith
>
> --- In CAD_CAM_EDM_ <mailto:CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO%40yahoogroups.com>
> DRO@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Vaughan" <mark@> wrote:
> >
> > The pixie error output is am open collector output, and an input
> with pull
> > up resistors. What this means is each pixie card has a little
transistor
> > switch that switches the line to 0V when there is an error. When
> there isn't
> > an error the pull up resistor keeps the output at 5V, but being a
> resistor
> > it is low current. The idea is that you can wire all the pixie card
> error
> > wires together so which ever one faults pulls the line of all the
> others to
> > 0V which the others see as an input and stop themselves so when it
goes
> > wrong all pixie cards will stop so there will be no axis movement.
> >
> > As to interfacing to other systems, the output can only drive 5V
logic,
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>