Millport VMC1660 Centroid Upgrade (Leadshine EL7)

[cnckeith]

Yes, it stays red when it boots red.

I do think it might be related to the boot timing, because when I have manually switched on the Hickory after a delay, I have never seen the failure (sample size of 3). It is possible that the times I have simply rebooted the hickory, and didn't see it change may have been the result of power cycling it too quickly.

This is still a guess, though, because it doesn't fail every time. I have had it fail multiple times in sequence, but today it booted with no issues and no forced delay for the hickory.

Cycling the estop does not clear it, no.

I'll explore more next time it fails.

where do you have the operator control panel on the ethercat chain? first or last?

[cnckeith]

Unrelated to the y-axis boot error:

After any probing maneuver or tool check, the jog speed defaults to 'slow.' Is there an easy way to change that, or is it part of each individual macro?

the VCP default fast/slow incremental/continuous mode on boot up are selectable via P856

Top Tip: press ALT P in the Hickory Wizard and it shows you the parameters it is adjusting

[KreiderMachine]

Keith,

Sorry for the delay:
See Attached.

The sequence for the ethercat buss is:

CNCPC -> X EL7 -> Y EL7 -> Z EL7 -> Operator's Panel

boot sequence.

thanks for the information on your boot sequence observations.
we are exploring this with a test mule machine.
please post another fresh report.zip so we have your latest settings and message logs.

[cnckeith]

thanks for the info.
at first we thought it might be related to the position in the chain and we were thinking to perform a shift in the chain to see what the results would be as a test. since then we have identified what the EL7 is doing (or not doing) and have modified the Hickory firmware to take care of it.
so for now, just start up the EL7's before the Hickory to give them time to boot before the Hickory.
then the next release of CNC12 will have a software solution for it!

[KreiderMachine]

Nice work!

Thanks, Keith

[KreiderMachine]

Unrelated to the y-axis boot error:

After any probing maneuver or tool check, the jog speed defaults to 'slow.' Is there an easy way to change that, or is it part of each individual macro?

the VCP default fast/slow incremental/continuous mode on boot up are selectable via P856
vcp on power up.png


Top Tip: press ALT P in the Hickory Wizard and it shows you the parameters it is adjusting

So, I have played with these settings, but it still reverts to slow jogging after every probing action. Is there another parameter responsible for this? Would it be something in a macro that resets the jog speed every time?

[KreiderMachine]

Also on my coworker's "punch list:"

He would like to be able to just swap the probe in and out for probing functions without needing to actually do a toolchange to the tool associated with the probe. On the old centroid control, he could just plug the probe in and go, but the new one uses the tool offset from whichever tool was last loaded, even though it recognizes the probe.

Is CNC12 just different in this way, or can this be fixed?

[Allin1Chris]

So, I have played with these settings, but it still reverts to slow jogging after every probing action. Is there another parameter responsible for this? Would it be something in a macro that resets the jog speed every time?

This is part of Probe Protection, it will set the Jog Rate to Slow if the Probe is Tripped while not actively in a job. What is likely happening is that the job (or probing cycle) completes while the probe is still tripped.

I see you have some customization to your PLC already, you could edit this line and remove this feature if you wish found in the probe protection section of the PLC.

Code: Select all

;--Set Slow Jog Rate anytime Probe or TT is Tripped while not running job.
IF (ProbeToolTripped_M || AuxToolTripped_M) && ProbeProtectionEnable_M && !SV_PROGRAM_RUNNING
  THEN SET FastSlowLED_O

Also on my coworker's "punch list:"

He would like to be able to just swap the probe in and out for probing functions without needing to actually do a toolchange to the tool associated with the probe. On the old centroid control, he could just plug the probe in and go, but the new one uses the tool offset from whichever tool was last loaded, even though it recognizes the probe.

Is CNC12 just different in this way, or can this be fixed?

Looking into this, CNC12 does not require you to change tool to the probe. For example, i was using Tool 134, Removed that tool from the spindle and replaced it with the Probe (Tool 10). On the Z Part 0 screen, i made sure that it said Tool 10 in the field before performing the Auto Measurement. It Measured fine, i then removed the Probe and Replaced it with T134 again. Ensure to perform a G43 H134 in MDI to set the correct Height offset for the tool again. No need to do a tool change. What probe cycle are you using that forces this?

[KreiderMachine]

Sorry for the delay on this, Keith. I've been busy with the lathe, and as long as the guys have been able to work around the issue, I've been leaving it be. The probing cycle would have been the work-zero measurement. If we just put the probe in, it detects it (at least it indcates that the spindle is disabled) but then the z-measurement is based on the tool that was supposed to be there, rather than the probe (if my memory serves.)

I'll revisit this issue at some point and try to get some fresh observations.

In the mean time, we have had a recurring issue when using intercon with an imported .dxf. We had an issue with a windows error coming up that says: "A fatal exeception has been detected. The application will be terminated." And then crashes CNC12. It isn't the same file each time, but it was the same project.