Setting up EMC2 on PC.........??

[DR]

Sam,

Thanks for the info. I missed the coordinate rotation (buried in G10) when I previously looked over the Gcode listing.

I'll see if I can find and post a short bit of Centroid code in the next day or so. It has arcs in the XZ plane with coordinate rotation around the Z axis, I'm curious if that can be run in linuxcnc.

With user variables can you perform mathematical operations, sin, cos, etc, in addition to +,-,*,/,^?

[macona]

FWIW, I finally got my kflop installed with he Konnect IO expansion board. So far it runs well. Having a couple little programming bugs. Something wrong in my spindle program and home program with Mach3. But other than that it runs smooth.

[skunkworks]

Sure -
http://linuxcnc.org/docs/2.7/html/gc...code:functions

Here are some example programs using loops and conditionals also..

http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Oword

Here is a simple G18 arc rotated.. (you can see the Gcode)

Sam,

Thanks for the info. I missed the coordinate rotation (buried in G10) when I previously looked over the Gcode listing.

I'll see if I can find and post a short bit of Centroid code in the next day or so. It has arcs in the XZ plane with coordinate rotation around the Z axis, I'm curious if that can be run in linuxcnc.

With user variables can you perform mathematical operations, sin, cos, etc, in addition to +,-,*,/,^?

[DR]

Sam,

This is good stuff to know, thanks. As I said, a lot of these capabilities weren't obvious in the time I initially spent looking over linuxcnc. It's a considerably better system than I realized.

How about the mathematical operators, sin, cos, etc?

My reason for asking about the capabilities is some work I've been doing lately where it's easier to develop the tool paths in gcode using rotations, scaling and math operators than it is to actually draw the parts in CAD and then CAM the model. Instead of huge gcode files you get nice compact, easily modified pieces of gcode. One part with a CAD model was like a unicorn horn, hand coded in about 40 to 50 lines of gcode, instead of tens of thousands of lines when I used CAM on the CAD model.

[skunkworks]

Sure - the first link in my previous post..

logic expressions can be formulated with boolean operators ( AND, OR, XOR, and the comparison operators EQ,NE,GT,GE,LT,LE)

ATAN[arg]/[arg] Four quadrant inverse tangent

ABS[arg] Absolute value

ACOS[arg] Inverse cosine

ASIN[arg] Inverse sine

COS[arg] Cosine

EXP[arg] e raised to the given power

FIX[arg] Round down to integer

FUP[arg] Round up to integer

ROUND[arg] Round to nearest integer

LN[arg] Base-e logarithm

SIN[arg] Sine

SQRT[arg] Square Root

TAN[arg] Tangent

EXISTS[arg] Check named Parameter

Sam,

This is good stuff to know, thanks. As I said, a lot of these capabilities weren't obvious in the time I initially spent looking over linuxcnc. It's a considerably better system than I realized.

How about the mathematical operators, sin, cos, etc?

My reason for asking about the capabilities is some work I've been doing lately where it's easier to develop the tool paths in gcode using rotations, scaling and math operators than it is to actually draw the parts in CAD and then CAM the model. Instead of huge gcode files you get nice compact, easily modified pieces of gcode. One part with a CAD model was like a unicorn horn, hand coded in about 40 to 50 lines of gcode, instead of tens of thousands of lines when I used CAM on the CAD model.

[DR]

OOPS, I missed that.

As of now, pending exact details of the acorn board, I'm still thinking Centroid. Mainly because I'm very familiar with the control, have a desk simulator for the control, and a probe that may interface with the board. And, Centroid being on windows to easily use my software on the same machine.

Thanks to you though, I know there's a workable option for me if the Centroid is a dud.

[skunkworks]

Again - good luck. I hope it works out to your expectations.

(my $DayJob$ has 2 centroid controlled cnc's - they seem to like them but I don't think they are using them to their potential..)

sam

[DICKEYBIRD]

Well it appears that Centroid is now accepting orders for the Acorn: http://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_...ontroller.html Cool, I'll be raiding the piggy bank soon!

[skunkworks]

Cool.

"Centroid Pro CNC" software $99 (#14457)
"Centroid Ultimate CNC" software $499 (#14458)
Optional Factory Direct Technical Support: $90/hr.

Just for comparison..

https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=p...&product_id=66

$199
-Ethernet
-5 Axis of step &dir step motor or servo motor drives
-spindle encoder interface (ttl/differential)
-48 isolated I/O - 5V through 28V
-Expandable
-Linuxcnc free

sam

[DR]

Cool.

"Centroid Pro CNC" software $99 (#14457)
"Centroid Ultimate CNC" software $499 (#14458)
Optional Factory Direct Technical Support: $90/hr.

Just for comparison..

https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=p...&product_id=66

$199
-Ethernet
-5 Axis of step &dir step motor or servo motor drives
-spindle encoder interface (ttl/differential)
-48 isolated I/O - 5V through 28V
-Expandable
-Linuxcnc free

sam

sam, good point.......

In my case, acorn plus the $499 software package, plus software scaling option ($100?). Just short of $1000.

A thousand bucks is a thousand bucks....in the whole scheme of things that's barely a consideration. The biggest advantage for me is compatibility with my existing Centroid system. I have a dozen or so complicated 4 axis programs written in macro language, repeat jobs that could be interchanged between machines. Also hoping my Centroid probe will work on acorn, that was around $1500.

Coincidentally, since I started this thread I've run across two casual acquaintances who're running Linuxcnc. I will take a hard look at their setups and acorn before I do anything. My schedule is around mid to late summer so no big rush.

[skunkworks]

Sure - and it does make sense that you would want to stay compatible.. (and sticking with what you know)

[skunkworks]

BTW - it looks like they are using the beablebone black as the motion controller... (someone on the linuxcnc email list noticed it)

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12857

interesting.

sam

[DICKEYBIRD]

BTW - it looks like they are using the beablebone black as the motion controller... (someone on the linuxcnc email list noticed it)

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12857

interesting.

sam

The ad says "Beagle Bone Green," top left section. (Not that I know what the heck that is!) Who names this stuff anyway?

[skunkworks]

Oh - good eye! (no clue about the naming.. )

The ad says "Beagle Bone Green," top left section. (Not that I know what the heck that is!) Who names this stuff anyway?