Messages

361

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: problems with mach4 and pmdx 422 controller.

« on: December 19, 2014, 04:43:10 PM »

on the go to zero.

Check your email.  I've sent you an updated screen set that should fix this.

Bob

362

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: problems with mach4 and pmdx 422 controller.

« on: December 17, 2014, 10:24:13 AM »

after further review I found that my Mach4 when run in simulation mode, doesn't return the z axis to zero after the x & y are at zero. I have always used either Mach 2 or Mach3 and they returned Z to zero after X & Y had reached zero. I guess that is just a change for Mach4? Everything else is working correctly.

Are you seeing this when clicking on the "Goto Zero" button?  Or while running GCode?

Bob

363

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: problems with mach4 and pmdx 422 controller.

« on: December 16, 2014, 04:24:13 PM »

After connecting the 422 directly into my system by-passing the Mach3 buffer bd most everything is working correctly. I saw there is  new firmware for the jog stepping underruns but haven't downloaded yet. I still have a problem with Z axis not returning to zero location after a request for go to zero. no errors just no response from the Z axis, yet I can jog the Z axis.

First, please download and install the new plug-in.

Now, help me understand your setup - when you have the PMDX-422 connected "directly to your system", what exactly is it connected to?  And how is it connected?  For example, from looking at your order, is the PMDX-422 connected to the PMDX-134 using the ribbon cable and then the PMDX-134 is plugged into the Gecko drivers?

And a few more questions to help clarify things:
- Do you have a licensed file for your Mach4 install?  If in doubt you can verify that the license is installed correctly by going to the "Help->About" menu in Mach4.
- You say that you can jog the Z axis.  Can you jog it in both directions?
- When you try to get the Z axis to return to zero, exactly how do you do that?  Do you click on the "Goto Zero" button?  Do you enter a command like "g0z0" or "g1z0" in the MDI window and click "Cycle Start"?  Is this part of a canned GCode file?
- When you try to get the Z axis to return to zero, does it move at all?  Or does it stay in place?
- Does the DRO for the Z axis change?
- Does Mach4 still respond to your input?  For example, *after* you try to return the Z axis to zero and you get "no response", can you jog or move any other axis in either direction? Can you move the Z axis in the positive direction (away from zero)?
- Presuming this is a milling machine, is Z axis motion "toward zero" moving the head up or down?
- What is your "jog rate"?  Click on the "Jogging" tab in the lower portion of the Mach4 screen and look at the slider and "Jog Rate" field at the bottom.  It should be a percentage value like 50%.
- If the "jog rate" is not at 100%, what happens if you set the jog rate to 100% and try to jog the Z axis up and down?

Bob

364

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: problems with mach4 and pmdx 422 controller.

« on: December 16, 2014, 11:05:24 AM »

I've posted a new version (version 0.14.72) of the plug-in on our download page:

http://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-SmartBOB-USB-Plug-In

This version fixes the bug that produces buffer underrun errors when jogging in "step" mode with small step sizes.  You should see the firmware download dialog the first time you start Mach4 with this version - make sure to allow the plug-in to download the new firmware.

Bob.

365

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: problems with mach4 and pmdx 422 controller.

« on: December 15, 2014, 04:30:00 PM »

Sorry - as I was sending my previous reply I finally did see the phrase "underrun failures" in your original message.  So if you are indeed seeing the "PMDX-SmartBOB-USB INTERNAL ERROR - Motion buffer underrun" message, let me know.

Bob

366

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: problems with mach4 and pmdx 422 controller.

« on: December 15, 2014, 04:11:10 PM »

I get under run failures with jog steps less than 1.0. If i go to zero from 10 inches it will lock up at about half way with no error indication. I have Mach4 build 2057. and PMDX 422 drivers from 12 dec 2014. Brand new board.

I presume you mean Mach4 build 2157 (not 2057).

Just to make sure I understand: you have Mach4 set for "Jog Mode" = "Step", and are trying to use jog steps < 1.0 (i.e. 0.1000 or 0.0100, etc by clicking on the "Cycle Jog Inc" button).  You have the axis positioned at 10" and then try to jog back to zero.  This should take many clicks on the jog button (or keystrokes if you have the keyboard plugin running), correct?

Do you have a license file for Mach4?  Since didn't buy Mach4 through us, you need to contact whomever you bought it from to get a license.  Or if you haven't purchased a license yet, you can here:

                       http://pmdx.com/mach4hobby

And when you are trying to jog the machine with small jog increments, the machine "locks up" - can you be more specific (and I apologize for playing 20 questions with you here but it helps me know exactly what you are seeing):
- Does the machine stop moving (I presume so)?
- Does Mach4 respond to any mouse clicks or keyboard input?
- Is the "Enable/Disable" button flashing?  Green?  Red?
- Can you click on the "Enable/Disable" button in Mach4 and have it respond (i.e. change colors)?
- Can you exit Mach4 by clicking on the red "X" in the upper right corner, or do you have to kill it using Windows Task Manager?
- Do you see any message in the Mach4 status line (bottom left of the window, next to the "History" button)?
- If you select a jog step 1.000 or higher, you have no problems, is that correct?  If so, at what step value do you start to see the "lock up"?

I am seeing an issue here with jog steps set to 0.010 and I get a "PMDX-SmartBOB-USB INTERNAL ERROR: Motion queue underrun" message in the Mach4 status line and the "enable" button is flashing.  For my motor tuning setup, a jog step size of 0.100 works fine.  I am working on a fix for this issue, and I would like to see if what you are experiencing is the same issue.

Bob

367

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: Cannot get driver to run

« on: November 07, 2014, 11:58:00 AM »

It looks like there is a problem with our latest installer, compounded by a quirk of windows "uninstall" function that masked this problem on my test machines.

If this is the first time you have installed our plug-in, then follow these steps to install the VCP driver.  If you are updating from an older version of our plug-in you DO NOT need to and SHOULD NOT do the following as the VCP driver is already installed (even if you un-installed the older version of out plug-in).

Please go here:
http://www.pmdx.com/Downloads_Utilities/

and manually download the ST Virtual COM port driver:
     For 32-bit windows:    VCP_V1.3.1_Setup.exe
     For 64-bit Windows:    VCP_V1.3.1_Setup_x64.exe

Save the installer somewhere convenient on your computer and then run it (double-click on the file name).  This should install the driver for the PMDX-422.  Note that it will actually go through TWO sets of installation dialogs (though you only need to tell it to start one).

If you run the VCP installer and see a message asking if you want to "Modify, Repair or Remove", then click on CANCEL - the VCP driver is already installed and you do not need to install it again.

As an aside, on some Win7 systems, the first time you plug our device in (with valid drivers :-) Windows will try to search for updated drivers (without asking first - how rude).  If you see this dialog, click on "cancel".

Let us know if this doesn't solve your problem.

Bob

368

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: Installing Mach4Hobby license files

« on: November 06, 2014, 04:55:20 PM »

As of Mach4 Hobby build 2071 (released on 3 Nov), Mach4 should take license files with either .DAT or .TXT extensions.  This is according the Newfangled Solutions folks, I haven't tried it myself.