Setting up a manual axis for spindle angle display
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2022 3:31 pm
A question was asked in another thread if it was possible to display the spindle angle on the DRO. If you have a spindle encoder mounted on your machine, you can do this with a manual axis. This will work for a mill or lathe and could be useful for things like single point broaching of multiple keyways or splines etc.
This is done my manually editing the parameters and machine setup so it will be over written if you use the Acorn wizard to make changes afterwards.
First, MAKE A BACKUP!!! F7 Utility/F7 Create Report
Then open the parameter setup (F1 Setup/F3 Config/F3 Params) and not the value of the spindle encoder counts P34, and the spindle encoder axis #, P35.
Now select and axis to use for the manual display. I chose axis 8 on my machines since I would be unlikely to use that for anything else in the future.
Now, change the Axis Setup Parameter for the axis you chose to 11. I my case I set P169=11. Change the Encoder Setup Parameter for the chosen axis number to be the same value as P35 (i.e. if axis 8, change parameter 315 to have the same value as P35).
Hit F10 to save the changes. You will get a warning message about a duplicate encoder entry; this is safe to ignore. You will also be told you have to restart for the changes to take effect, hit F2 for reboot later and escape back to the home screen.
Now, we need to set up the rotational display. Hit F1 Setup/F3 Config/F2 Mach/F2 Motor. Cursor down to the line for the axis you chose earlier. Change the axis label to "M", set the" Motor revs/in" to .002777777778 (i.e. 1/360), set the "encoder counts/rev" equal to the absolute value of P34. If P34 was negative, then cursor over to the "Dir Rev" column, and use the space bar to toggle it to "Y". Hit F10 to save.
Escape back to the home screen restart the computer and the Centroid controller.
You should now have a manual axis that displays the spindle rotation angle. Home the machine and it should be set to 0.0000°. Rotate the spindle by hand and verify that one rotation is 360°.
You can zero the spindle angle DRO by using MDI and entering M26/M and pressing cycle start. You can also zero the degree DRO or preset it using variables in MDI.
To zero the DRO, set the DRO value to the MCS Value for the axis you chose earlier. I.e. for a manual axis 8, you would enter #3200=#5028 in MDI and press cycle start. To preset and axis add the preset amount to the MCS value. If you changed "Dir Rev" to Y above you'll need to subtract the preset amount from the MCS value.
For example, using axis 7 as the manual axis and presetting to 123.456° when direction reverse was chosen (negative value in P34), your would type the following in MDI: #3100=#5027-123.456 and press cycle start.
If you were using axis 8 and had a positive P34 value and wanted to preset the DRO to 987.654°, your would MDI the following: #3200=#5028+987.654 and press cycle start.
You can turn this display on and off by simply changing the axis label on the motor setup screen between "N" (no display) and "M" (display) at any time. You do not need to change any of the other parameters back.
This is done my manually editing the parameters and machine setup so it will be over written if you use the Acorn wizard to make changes afterwards.
First, MAKE A BACKUP!!! F7 Utility/F7 Create Report
Then open the parameter setup (F1 Setup/F3 Config/F3 Params) and not the value of the spindle encoder counts P34, and the spindle encoder axis #, P35.
Now select and axis to use for the manual display. I chose axis 8 on my machines since I would be unlikely to use that for anything else in the future.
Code: Select all
AXIS# Axis Setup Encoder Setup
1 P91 P308
2 P92 P309
3 P93 P310
4 P94 P311
5 P166 P312
6 P167 P313
7 P168 P314
8 P169 P315
Hit F10 to save the changes. You will get a warning message about a duplicate encoder entry; this is safe to ignore. You will also be told you have to restart for the changes to take effect, hit F2 for reboot later and escape back to the home screen.
Now, we need to set up the rotational display. Hit F1 Setup/F3 Config/F2 Mach/F2 Motor. Cursor down to the line for the axis you chose earlier. Change the axis label to "M", set the" Motor revs/in" to .002777777778 (i.e. 1/360), set the "encoder counts/rev" equal to the absolute value of P34. If P34 was negative, then cursor over to the "Dir Rev" column, and use the space bar to toggle it to "Y". Hit F10 to save.
Escape back to the home screen restart the computer and the Centroid controller.
You should now have a manual axis that displays the spindle rotation angle. Home the machine and it should be set to 0.0000°. Rotate the spindle by hand and verify that one rotation is 360°.
You can zero the spindle angle DRO by using MDI and entering M26/M and pressing cycle start. You can also zero the degree DRO or preset it using variables in MDI.
Code: Select all
AXIS# DRO Value MCS Value
1 #2500 #5021
2 #2600 #5022
3 #2700 #5023
4 #2800 #5024
5 #2900 #5025
6 #3000 #5026
7 #3100 #5027
8 #3200 #5028
For example, using axis 7 as the manual axis and presetting to 123.456° when direction reverse was chosen (negative value in P34), your would type the following in MDI: #3100=#5027-123.456 and press cycle start.
If you were using axis 8 and had a positive P34 value and wanted to preset the DRO to 987.654°, your would MDI the following: #3200=#5028+987.654 and press cycle start.
You can turn this display on and off by simply changing the axis label on the motor setup screen between "N" (no display) and "M" (display) at any time. You do not need to change any of the other parameters back.