Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] T-Tech 5000 PCB Milling machine

On August 2, 2007 01:04 am, James Reed wrote:

> There were 2 versions of HPGL The first version went out with Windows95 or
> 98 (I forget which). The second was called HPGL II. The 2 are not totally
> compatible with each other, and, since HP started producing printers with
> HPGL II, Microsoft dropped support for the original HPGL. I have a
> plotter which uses the original HPGLm and have to maintain a laptop with
> Windows 95 on it just to keep the plotter from being useless. Perhaps you
> have the original HPGL format?
>
> I do know that there is quite a bit of communication to the plotter before
> the first line is drawn.

Thanks for the suggestion, but there's no doubt that this is not HPGL. (Note
that HPGL came out LONG before Win95 .. I have an HP plotter from the early
80s .. maybe even late 70s .. that I first used with a CPM machine that
speaks HPGL.)

HPGL specifies absolute XY positions in inches or mm.

What comes out of the ISOPRO SW is clearly relative steps, with the software
keeping track of absolute position.

HPGL never specified steps, as it needs to be universal across plotters with
varying resolutions.


I've decided to just scrap the existing controller and build my own, using
conventional CNC software (CNCPro) to run it.



Alan



--
Alan Rothenbush
Academic Computing Services
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada


The Spartans do not ask the number of the enemy, only where they are.

Agix of Sparta