Wizard and initial motor bench testing (closed)

[ScotY]

I must be doing something really dumb. I used the Wizard to set up my initial configuration for Clearpath 800 count motors. I have the just one motor wired to the Acorn as shown in the wiring diagram. I also have input 8 for e-stop connected to 24v ground. I do not have the HLFB or limit switches wired in.

When I run CNC12, it showed the limit switches are tripped. Also, the DROs are dashed with no values shown. So, I figured because I don't have any limit switches hooked up, I should go back to the Wizard. I did and changed the limit switches and "Drive OK" to NO. I saved the settings and a window popped up saying the settings were saved. However, the green light on the Ethernet port is solid green so I'm wondering if the settings are actually being saved?

So, back to CNC12 and it now says the limit switches are cleared. I guess the settings were saved? DROs still show dashes and when I press cycle start, it says home not set. The motor has a solid amber light on it which I believe means it's not active. Basically, it seems nothing is working. I am unable to move the motor. The big red e-stop button also seems to do nothing when pressed.

Any ideas on what I have done wrong this time?

[ScotY]

Ah, what the heck...I went back to bench test mode, disconnected the motor, and ran CNC12 again. There was a warning to cycle power to the Acorn. Did that and started CNC12 again and bench test mode worked normally. Went and changed back to Clearpath 800 and again got the warning to cycle power on the Acorn. It did not give me that warning the first time. Cycled power, restarted CNC12 and it works!!! Hey, I fixed it myself!

[ScotY]

When I select MDI, something on the board makes a click sound. I'm assuming it's one of the relays. What I don't know is why it's being activated by MDI. Anyone know?

[cnckeith]

Hello.
Please post a report.zip file so we can "see" the cnc configuration. On this forum you'll find a post by Marty and a video that he made that explains how to make a report and the advantages of it. This way we'll be able to see how you have your particular setup configured and will be able to answer your questions quickly and specifically.

[ScotY]

Hi Keith,
I'll attach the report to this post. Something clicks on power up/down also. I'm assuming it's normal but not sure what it's doing.
Thanks, Scot

[martyscncgarage]

There is a NEAT diagnostic display that shows you the status of the inputs and outputs and when they change. You will note F3-MDI is available to you on this screen. Watch the diagnostic LED's

From the main screen, press ALT-I
Inputs are at the top upper most corner
Outputs are just under them.
You are looking at the first 8

Have you searched YouTube for Centroid CNC Acorn Videos?

Start watching at about 18 minutes
https://youtu.be/jWTMriBlB6Q

I have a hunch that relay one is closing when CNC12 is in the ready state. That is the Estop relay. That is normal. Look at OUTPUT 1 in the Wizard, does it say NO FAULT OUTPUT? This relay is very handy to use to enable or disable other systems in your machine if CNC12 is not on line or faults. The relay OPENS when there is a fault

Marty

[ScotY]

Thanks, Marty. First, let me say your videos are EXCELLENT and very helpful. However, when searching Youtube, the titles of the videos do not really give you an indication of content. And, for some reason, there seem to be a lot of duplicated videos in various locations. Thank you for all your assistance and advice. I'm learning...slowly.

[ScotY]

I have the motor on the mill now and have been doing some testing/learning. Once again, I must be doing something wrong. Here's what I'm seeing...when I make a change using the Wizard and save the settings, I get a message saying the settings are saved. When I restart CNC12 (I shut it down to start the Wizard), it seems like the program really didn't shut down because it does not ask me to home and cycle start. Also, the changes I make using the Wizard aren't working. Yesterday when I was testing, I noticed this and also noticed a few times I got a message in CNC12 saying changes had been made and I needed to reboot the Acorn. So, today, I'm not getting these reboot messages and, since I saw the message yesterday, I know I need to cycle the power on the Acorn to get the changes working. I must be doing something wrong as this seems a little cumbersome and very odd that sometimes I get the reboot message and other times I don't.

What is the proper way to make changes using the Wizard? What I mean by this is what is the sequence...shut down CNC12 or is there some other way to minimize it so I can get to the Wizard? Is a reboot of Acorn always necessary? Why, when I exit and restart CNC12, does it appear to not have actually been shut down?

Otherwise, things seem to be going well. The Clearpath motors are very quiet and I really like CNC12 and the VCP...the touchscreen function is really cool. I need to read the manual and watch videos now so I can figure all the other stuff out. Prior to all this, I was mostly concerned with learning the initial setup stuff.

[martyscncgarage]

Once you first power up Acorn and CNC12, you are prompted to home the machine. As long as you don't power down ACORN, you won't be prompted or need to re-home the machine. If you are homing to switches, you can hit the Reset Home button to re-home the machine. (Axis will move to the home/limit switches, trip them and reset machine home. To see machine home position from part zero, press Alt-D. Press Alt-D to go back to the part position on the digital readouts.

If you are doing Simple Home (jog the machine to it's Home Position and hit Cycle start), you can't use the reset home position button on the Virtual Control Panel, if you do you will set machine home right where the axis currently sit. To reset machine home on those machines, you need to power down ACORN, jog the machine to home position, then hit Cycle start button.

What makes you think your changes aren't being made? You are pressing the Write Settings to Machine button after you make your changes right? (Might be a worded a bit different, I'm not in front of a machine right now ) once you do that, close the Wizard and reopen it. Your changes should show in the Wizard.

The Wizard writes your settings to the PLC. It also READS from the PLC when you open the Wizard. The PLC is part of CNC12.

Marty

[ScotY]

The reason I know the changes aren't being made is because I've been trying to set the travel limits for the machine. No limit switches hooked up yet. I make the change using the wizard and it will still move past the travel I've set. Cycle power on the Acorn and restart CNC12 and it will then respect the travel limit.

What I also don't understand is why when I restart CNC12 as stated above, it does not ask to set home and cycle start. There's stuff in the dialog window that looks like stuff that was there from before I quit the program to get to the wizard. Hope that makes sense?