LinuxCNC: Software Configuration
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 มิ.ย. 2024
- Upshot: The last installment of this prototyping/demo work, discussing the software side of things. Now on to building the machine.
Topic index:
00:00 - Intro & other resources
02:16 - Virtual machines (and how they don't work)
03:53 - Installation
05:35 - Stepconf Wizard for stepper motors
07:00 - Stepper drive timing
08:50 - Thread timing, latency, & the realtime kernel
13:00 - Parallel port pin settings
15:25 - Axes configuration, lead pitch
16:49 - Axes configuration, velocity and acceleration
18:53 - Affects of hardware on step precision and speed
20:45 - Limits and homes
22:48 - Running the AXIS GUI
24:51 - Loading a gcode file
Russtuff's LinuxCNC playlist:
• LinuxCNC (v2.7) Tutorials
LinuxCNC docs:
linuxcnc.org/docs/
linuxcnc.org/docs/2.7/pdf/Linu...
LinuxCNC forums:
forum.linuxcnc.org/
The stepper drive timing wiki page:
wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki...
Here's the full plasma build series:
• CNC Plasma Build (Full)
Just the LinuxCNC stuff:
• LinuxCNC Guides
Additional LinuxCNC documents of mine, and links to other people's video and/or files can be found on my GitHub project here:
github.com/swolebro/swolebro-...
Help me make more cool shit:
paypal.me/swolebroshopworks - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
![[TH] VCT Masters Shanghai Playoffs - Grand Finals // GEN vs TH](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HL-hhLrtctw/mqdefault.jpg)
Nicely done. I didn't know about the latency plot, I'll need to play with that :)
Thanks for the shout!
Of course! The easier I can make it for people to find good info, the better for all of us.
There's a few gems like that hidden in LinuxCNC. You just kinda need to stumble into them in the docs or via tab complete in the shell. Two of my other favorites so far are `halmeter` (for monitoring halpins while debugging a running machine) and `halcmd -fk` (gives you a tab completable thing for entering hal commands while the machine is running). Also, the hal_input module and MDI_COMMAND (ini file option) let you rig up shortcuts on an XBox controller - very handy.
I got a series on that planned, but ffs, putting anything in video makes stuff takes 10x longer. Even this video was over a year ago now. lol
was standing on my head for the past many hours , eventually gave up , but you kknow our community has two attributes 1 they dont have life and iteration. The motors would jog perfet in config but machine wont run
after listening to 15 min of your presentation I found that the simulation was checked Rushed back to the machine counter un checked sim and there ya go. thanks for your presentation
Wow this is awesome, there is so little info about this on internet. Thank you. Liked and subscribed.
Thanks so much for this,. I have the longs kit and there is soooo little info on this. Really appreciate it!
swolebro, great information in this video sir. We the non-software people appreciate the down to earth version of the documentation. I hope to see some more tips and tricks about this software. Thanks again and keep up the good work. Now I am off to find stepper driver timing info for KL-6050's.
I'm glad you found it helpful! I figure if each video can save even a couple people a couple hours of head scratching, then it's worth the time to put together.
I took a quick poke at the internet to see what turned up for your KL-6050's. Found this page, with a PDF spec sheet listed:
www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/products-page/kl-stepper-drivers/kl-6050/
www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=198
From the looks of page 2, if you do 1.2us (1200ns) for the step timing and spacing, and 5us (5000ns) for the direction setup and hold, it *should* work. Give that a try, and see if all your steps come through and if they change direction when you tell them to change. If they do, then please add it to the wiki page!
If those timings end up dropping steps or changing directions late, you can always jack up the values artificially high (eg. 20000ns). Then the pulses will be so long that the drives can't possibly miss them... it just means the machine will run slower too. Not ideal, but maybe good enough.
And do be sure to check out Russ's videos too. He's got some good stuff up there, and lots of it.
@@swolebro Thanks for the intel. I actually read this document a few times and had no idea what those numbers were for. I will try these values out and update the wiki once a full test has been run. Thank you again for your time and effort.
thank you for that video!
Why is it crazy to recommend to read a documentation, is not everything should be done like that lol
Great tutorial , thanks a ton for sharing :)
Have a great week and stay safe during that human malware pandemic outbreak
I am watching your videos up and down! Great Infos on all of them!
I thought on the configuration of steppers the microsteps should be the one from the driver settings set with dip switches? ... Obviously not..
You mentioned in one video you use uc100 USB to Db25 . Is your configuration for Linux of the uc100 somewhere to be found in a video? Thx!
The microstep setting here should be the same as whatever you set on the DIP switches. If you set the DIP switches to x4, but tell LinuxCNC its x8, then you're going to get some wonky motion.
No UC100 required. That looks like it's a Windows/Mach thing. Just buy an old desktop computer with a parallel port already on it. (I got a 10+ year old Dell Optiplex 980 for $50.) The plug a $20 breakout board to that, and wire your stepper drivers to the BOB. If you need more pins later, you can buy a $10 PCIe to DB25 adapter (assuming your computer has spare PCIe slots, as per the wiring video (th-cam.com/video/vR2xxRQQtyQ/w-d-xo.html), then plug another $20 BOB into that.
If you ever want to get fancy, you can spend a $200-500 on adapter cards from store.mesanet.com, and then you'll have more driver outputs and I/O pins than you know what to do with. And they sell boards specifically for LinuxCNC - in fact, I'm 98% sure sure that Big John (prolific poster on the LinuxCNC) forums works for Mesa.
@@swolebro ok that makes the microstep settings clear. Thx
I have a 7i76e which got defective and mesa promised me to send me a replacement for free.
In order to play around I bought now a db25 12-05 and an uc100 already.... before your answer...
By the way I like the way you swap between man ..hal..ini using view ...efficient!! All the best!!
I think making it clear that this runs as an operating system is important to the installation approach
This is exactly the question I was looking to get answered. Tried setting this up before and now that I'm retired I'' have time to learn how to use it. Real great video
how connect and setting USB breakout board to linuxcnc, paraller port no have many pc. or how install pciE to paraller port card to linuxcnc. what drivers need install and working or not.
what need config home SW working, bush button home X and go to X left at beam . my machine go to left home SW but then go to back right and not stop move, what is wrong.
Well sir. The information you provided me WORKED!!!! Thats the good news! The other good news is that the z-axis rapid movement stalling is now repeatable. you would think the 500+ oz/in. nema 23 would handle it. In fact it does for about the first 5 minutes. Well its Keling equipment so I am thinking of going with a nema 34 and good driver to try to avoid this mess again. Do you have any particular thoughts on the matter? Also cant wait to see your build. I hope you are capturing it on video.
Solid. From the sounds of it, you've got this on an actual machine now, right? I'd recommend doing some thorough testing to make sure you aren't dropping steps or missing direction changes.
To test for dropped steps, you really just want to make a complicated doodle and run through it at variety of speeds and see that it's repeatable. A slow speed shouldn't drop any (because it's slow), and with any luck, the path will stay the same even as you turn up the speed. You can sketch the doodle in something like Inkscape and create the Gcode with its plugin (note: I've only dabbled with that part so far).
To test direction changes, you'd want to run Gcode along the lines of "back, forth, pause, back forth, pause..." The back & forth should mean any backlash cancels itself out, and the pause only after "forth" means if your direction change signals are being interpreted late, that you'd slowly drift in the "back" direction. The Gcode would be similar to this:
github.com/swolebro/caddyshack/blob/2a05880f2677a68f50e69760cb4f636cdd4839f3/scripts/household/watchwind.ngc
Which was a stupid thing I cobbled together to wind an electromechanical wristwatch of mine. You'd want to strip one of the G4 pauses out, make the other one shorter (just longer than your base step period), and maybe tweak the positions, speeds, and iteration count (eg. not 30,000). Note that in LinuxCNC's flavor of Gcode, "#100" is a variable and "o200" is how you do a loop.
And then any tests you run should be repeated with you actually putting the computer under some load (eg. watching 2 or 3 youtube videos simultaneously). Missing steps or direction changes can be hard to catch, but is a "Very Bad Thing" because it'll bite you in the ass when you go to make a some large, complicated piece, and all the misses add up, and ruin a $100 sheet of steel.
As for your Z, I'm not sure what's up with that. A NEMA 23 should be totally sufficient. Is it hard to turn the lead screw on it by hand? Something could be off kilter and increasing the resistance.
Have you tried checking how hot the Z motor gets vs. the X and Y? An infrared thermometer costs $15 and could do that. Or by touch, they should be uncomfortably hot, but not immediate-3rd-degree-burn hot.
It looks like your drives have current limiting as a feature on the dip switches, so make sure you didn't accidentally limit your 500 oz-in motor to being only 100 oz-in by choking the current! (Though you can probably do some modest current limiting your Z while maintaining adequate torque - the benefit of that being that it reduces heat/wear on the motors.)
Between holidays, work, workouts, and other workshop stuff, the build is taking some time. But yes, I should have some more progress to report on here soon. Very excited for it.
@@swolebro The Z-Axis appears to be off kilter. I am making a new motor mount for the mill today. Thanks for your help. I would not have thought about that unless you mentioned it. By the way I am glad to see your plasma build going well ( I see some new videos posted). Time to go watch and have some coffee.
I have Power Step PSD5042-2P drives. I have a signal sequence timing chart. I’m not sure how to convert that to Step Time, Step Space, Direction Hold, and Direction Setup. Can you help me?
Looks like the specs say it operates at 200kHz and 2.5us time increments. I'm pretty sure that'd mean the step time and step space would both be 2.5us. Not sure about the direction hold values.
In any case, if you're uncertain, err on the higher end. That means your machine will allow more time for each pulse/step to be generated, ie. it will have a lower theoretical top speed, but it will ensure that no pulse is so brief that the stepper driver doesn't have a chance to see it.
Sir, Can we use sensor to manipulate z axis?(Router)
so that sensor reads the distance between the ground and itself and provide it to the z axis.
You can! In fact, if you look later in the playlist:
th-cam.com/play/PL9xPdBFt5g3Qnn3ZY2wYh7L2yzZ377UwI.html
I've got a video on ohmic probing for my plasma cutter. You could follow the same basic principal for a router - even simpler, in fact, since you don't need to worry about high voltages arcing across to your breakout board.
You might need to watch some of the earlier HAL videos to get a feel for it, but take a watch, and let me know if you have questions.
@@swolebro Thank a lot for the response sir. . I will do the same as you suggested . . Thank u sir
@@shabantyagi7354 Heads up, KVV published a video today about setting up and testing a dedicated tool length probe. It's along the same general lines as ohmic sensing, but probably way closer to what you're going to end up doing in practice, particularly if you set up a tool table and use the G43 and TXX commands.
th-cam.com/video/SCPzcgQVGf4/w-d-xo.html
That guy is so thorough. Squeezing out tenths of a thou of accuracy from some bog-standard probe, and examining it from every possible angle. Highly recommend watching everything he does.
Down the rabbit hole I go I got motors power drivers arduino freecad and now I’m lost any advice to go from freecad to arduino also i was under the impression you can have usb to arduino and go
Well LinuxCNC shouldn't require an Arduino anywhere in the pipeline. Are you thinking of GRBL? That's the CNC controller that's meant to run on an Arduino. In that case, you'd only need a computer to send G-code to the Arduino (since GRBL can only process a couple lines at a time), but that computer doesn't need to be running LinuxCNC.
(As an aside: The standard 3D printer firmware, Marlin, is a souped up version of GRBL, and then most 3D printer control boards are just souped up versions of Arduinos.)
I seen someone load gcode on flash drive then to arduino but I have no idea how it was done I’m guessing GRBL
Hey, I'm planning on building a CNC plasma cutter and as a starting point I installed Linux CNC on a computer today. Based on the specs of the machine it seems I'm getting higher jitter then I should. I have read online about BIOS settings and stuff about isolcpus, but it all goes right over my head. Do you know of any resources which will explain how I can reduce jitter in layman's terms, or an easy to follow step by step guide? Thanks!
I got a hunch you installed a LinuxCNC with the PREEMPT-RT kernel. I forget where exactly I talked about this, but the kernel is basically the program that runs all your other programs. It's what makes Linux Linux.
By default, the kernel doesn't have any options for real-time control (needed for CNC), but since Linux is open source, the community has developed two add-on options. 1. PREEMPT-RT and 2. RTAI.
RTAI has lower jitter when using the CPU for step pulse generation, but PREEMPT-RT has more features that let you use it with external stepgen boards (ie. Mesa hardware). If you're doing a barebones built, the RTAI one is probably for you.
Check the output of `uname -a` on the command line and see which one it says. Easiest thing might be a reinstall if you've picked the wrong one.
@@swolebro Hey, thanks for taking the time to respond! I ran the uname -a line and I'm indeed running the preempt-rt. When I downloaded the ISO the linuxcnc site seemed to recommend the preempt-rt, so that's why I installed it. I'm planning to make a barebones build with a parallel breakout running the stepper drivers. I'll try reinstall the RTAI version instead. Thanks again!
@@pietzeekoe Yeah, that should fix you up. I paid $50 for my 10yr old Optiplex 980, works just fine.
FYI, later in the playlist I've got a bunch of videos on configuring the HAL files for ohmic probing and such. You're going to want to take a look at those once you've got the gantry rolling.
@@swolebro As an update for anyone who has a similar experience, I installed the RTAI version of LinuxCNC and my max jitter went from 75000 down to about 1100. I've actually watched your HAL series, but i'll probably need to go through it again once I get the mechanical side sorted ;).
any chance you could give some advice please?
machine is built, up and running , I installed switches on x and y axis on both ends , Ive set the closest to me left hand corner as home with the y axis being forward and back and the x axis left and right , when i want to tell x & y to go find the home switch the machine creeps slowly as it should but it goes the wrong way , Ie it goes away from me and to the right ,instead of towards me and to the left , how do i tell the software to switch this around ?
I'm forgetting what the setting is in the stepconf wizard, but if you look to the INI file it generates, there's a couple HOME_SEARCH_VEL and HOME_LATCH_VEL options that you can make negative. That'll turn it around. For example:
github.com/swolebro/swolebro-youtube/blob/hal-tutorial-pt09/linuxcnc/configs/hal-tutorial/hal-tutorial.ini#L96
@@swolebro fantastic thank you, all sorted
One more question please if I may, now that my homing is working correctly, how do I zero the DRO once in the home position, currently it shows negative numbers, cannot find it in Linuxcnc wiki
OK. Ignore that, I've got it sorted, thanks for the help :)
6:01 I am using mesa boards with clear view servos. Why wouldnt I use linuxCNC? Even the design engineer at teknic recommended it!
Oh, you definitely should, you just don't use the Stepconf Wizard! The Pncconf Wizard is the one for you. :p
I don't have any experience with those yet, but once you get the basic setup done, all the HAL concepts are the same, and I got a pretty detailed tutorial on those later in the LinuxCNC playlist.
@@swolebro Cool, I am still designing the table, doing research and talking to people to figure out what works. Thanks for the video. I am watching your 80/20 video now (an option but I will probably fab my own aluminum gantry)
could you suggest how to configure linuxcnc to run in phase control mode (step gen type 7, 4 wires), and not step/dir mode?
Huh, I'm not familiar with that type of stepper driver, but the stepgen HAL component does offer a lot more than what the Stepconf Wizard provides.
If you take a look at the manpage for stepgen (type `man stepgen` at the commandline), there's a number of different settings for the step_type, one of which might have you covered. Using that is going to mean hand-configuring all your HAL totally from scratch, though. I have plenty of other videos showing how to work with HAL, but none specifically covering customizing stepgen, since the basic wizard setup works for 99% of users (myself included).
If you have a link to an English spec sheet on the drivers, then I might be able to help a bit better.
@@swolebro Thanks a lot for your response! I have browsed internet extensively for how to configure linuxcnc for L298N driver.
I must say that just before loosing my hopes, I have found the following (I paste here my findings, so others could use it as well):
1. forum.linuxcnc.org/38-general-linuxcnc-questions/27452-direct-phase-driving-of-stepper-machines
2. www.cnczone.com/forums/stepper-motors-drives/264850-software.html
3. www.cnczone.com/forums/linuxcnc-formerly-emc2-/107778-cnc-forum.html
It speaks how to configure linuxcnc for stepgen 7.
This is the driver I am using:
a) driver: components101.com/sites/default/files/component_pin/L298N-Module-Pinout.jpg
b) data sheet: www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/pdf/22440/STMICROELECTRONICS/L298N.html
Also, I do remember seeing youtube video how to configure parallel port in linuxcnc with 4 wire output...however, I cannot find it anymore :(
I would be grateful for any of your help!
@@KEcAzZ1 Ok, taking a look at those docs, I think I get what you're working with, and this guy seems to have the right idea as far as the HAL parts go.
www.cnczone.com/forums/linuxcnc-formerly-emc2-/107778-cnc-forum.html#post794985
Before I go dumping a bunch of crap you're not going to understand into TH-cam comments, how much of my HAL series have you watched? eg. Do you understand the concept of how a signal connects HAL pins?
Also, how many motors are you trying to connect here? A DB25-1205 is only going to give you 12 output pins, and each of the drivers will take 4. So if you're doing three motors, that already means you won't have anything for spindle control, etc.
@@swolebro Thanks for your help! I am new to both CNCs and LinuxCNC all together. I saw some tutorials, and based on them, I bought several L298N just to realize that its kinda wrong way to control cd/dvd rom stepper motors. With that being said, I found (which I then lost) a youtube video on how to configure 4 wire parallel port control of stepper motor, which gave me some hope. I am currently looking at your videos, trying to familiarize myself a bit with HAL and ini files.. Also, I am setting up PC for some tests (it might take some time, as I found out my old PC HDD to be dead).
At the beginning, I would like to control 1 motor, then 3, and finally 5. For some very first tests, both - 1 parallel port, 1 L298N, and 1 stepper motor should suffice. Later, I have seen that using "out" port configuration, you get 12 pins from parallel port. This could give me 3 motor control. And finally, after adding another parallel port, I should be able at the end to control 5 motors. That is the plan.
Cheers!
@@KEcAzZ1 Well, the step/dir based drivers are definitely easier to work with, require fewer wires, and can be obtained inexpensively. The ones for my machine are $40 a pop, but for a CD-sized stepper motor, you could make due with the same kinds 3D printers use, that are more like $5-15.
If you want to try using the phase drivers for the learning experience though, that's still laudable. I'd say to watch the first few videos on my HAL series (don't skip #1(b) either), and by that point, you should have enough of an idea of how this works that you can blunder through what that guy on CNCZone was talking about. Blundering through is half of working with tech anyway. Hahah.
I installed Linnux cnc onto an old Compaq computer With 2Gb of memory. It installed nicely but when I go to log in with my password it doesn't accept it. I reinstalled 4 times with the same results. Do you have any idea why that would Happen. Thanks
Huh, that's an odd one. I can't really imagine that being a software issue.
You loaded up the live USB, installed it to the hard drive, then rebooted from the hard drive? When you were on the live USB, did you try typing in a text editor ("Mousepad" is a default one on LCNC v2.7) to make sure capslock wasn't on and all the keys are functional? Are you using some sort of foreign language keyboard?
I forget what prompts were available in the installer, but there may also be an option to just forego the password entirely. Hahah. That's what I do on mine. Instinctively, you might think that's insecure, but given that the machine is only accessible on my network and powered off 95% of the time, you'd have to be in my shop anyway... at which point, you could just steal the computer if you wanted to... Or the plasma cutter, which is 40x more valuable!
Go to your bios and disable useless hardware if any such as sound card network.......
I have different drivers for each axis
Hello, i want to send u a video on mail, îs posibile?! I need hellp with machine thanx
what motor setting need use, today i has make stepper wizard my motors, max has only 30mm/S velocity, what normal used. and why not can use MY-MILL move motors. i has setting now wizard motor tuning and test, move ok but if start my-mill after setting motors not move, same hall meter not show E-stop or probe true/false. has connecter to breadboard 2 button and wired, e-stop pin 10 and probe pin 15 but not working true/false at hall.meter. what need do next. my-mill display not have active, see only e-stop have bushed left up corner. debian 10 preem-rt have and linuxcnc only paraller port, config need be ok, but not sure, jitter i not undertand anythink test but have alltime different. nema 23 2Nm motors. hobby budget not can buy biggest motors, 2Nm 3A motors cost 50$/4axis. biggest cost 100 or more $/axis not can buy. table size 1000x800x200mm
forum not help any to dual Y axis config and working, i try many answers at forum but any not help, not working newer only come lot lot more errors and change many different code to config ini file but not working. forum not have sure egualice, all help has totally wrong and not newer working.
You say because Murcia. I say fraction conversion tables ...😬
Nevermind the fact that our machinists use milli-inches as the standard unit of measure... But we call them thou as to not cede any ground to the euro-scienticious types.
@@swolebro that's very informative..
any who Great informative video 😊 👍🤘
linuxcnc documentat not have any good no tell how you use dual Y axis , i has try million time make dual Y motor working but only one working. XYZA config use second Y motor only angle run, not same than Y1, not possiple use. and then has lot error i add joint 2 to Y axis, copy joint 1 Y axis to joint 2 axis need run sametime, ok sometime working but lot errors, all homing not working, Y axis go to home not working ,not have aktive to display, how can go home first, not can run cnc if not can go home all axis first. ewery homing axis start lot errors.
I'm the only person in the world who likes to read manuals...
I like them when I can find the answer. Hahah. The LinuxCNC docs are really some of the best I've seen for open source projects (working as a software developer). Very structured, thorough, and accurate - albeit, a bit overwhelming for new users, which is why I try to cover the highlights.