New build with recycled parts on a ridiculous budget 120cm*60cm work area

[Desertboy]

Yes Mesa 7i76e

I think you should take a step back and start with baby steps with Lcnc. Start by getting the homing sorted etc.
I have read your posts on the Linuxcnc forum and seen your ini and hal files they are different to the ones you have posted here try and be consistent with what you are asking.

I think your limits problem is that the machine does not know where it is, so get it homing first. I know where there is a working config for the 7i76e but it is for a plasma but is near enough.

edit : And just to keep you sane https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=bAdqazixuRY

The first ini I posted on linuxcnc didn't work I had set up A axis, the one I posted in the quote should have been the same one as I posted here but too early to check lol.

I've been looking at 7i76 for a little while but was confused on if 7i76 did step generation or you needed the 5i25 combo for step generation.

https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=p...&product_id=78

I guess what I'm asking is can I get away with buying the Ethernet version of 7i76 on it's own?

I'll get the switches on today hopefully my M3's have been shipped so should be today they come but I did try no forced homing as well as manual homing which I read should have made this go away but it did not lol.

When I press - on the manual move buttons for the Z axis should it move up or down? I'm guessing down at the moment mine moves up lol.

My friend keeps telling me to just use Mach 3 but if I do then I'd set up a pirate see if it works ok do some cuts then buy it and the inner tight guy inside me says just learn linuxcnc you idle twat lol and then the £200 you were going to use for Mach 3 will buy a 5i25 and 7i76 with the saved money ;)

[Desertboy]

I'm not sure about the AM882s, but with the software you can configure the EM806 so the fault output is active when ok (i.e. switched on), and goes inactive on fault (i.e. open circuit). That's how I configured my EM drives, which would allow you to loop through all the fault outputs and create a failsafe circuit.

I never understood what you wrote the first time but rereading it now it makes a lot sense basically setting the fault output to Normally Open. Basically doing the same as with microswitches setting them NC so if there's a dodgy connection line it will fault.

This is from the AM882 manual not got mine connected yet did make a cable but lost it lol but have more donor cables and usb to rs232 for the job.


I wonder if the AM882 software works with Wine if it does I could use the linuxcnc to talk to the drivers which would be convenient but it's nto a major hassle to drag a windows laptop to the drivers for tuning.

Alarm signal high/low will be it and also interesting I can inverse the AM882 direction in software although I can imagine annoying later down the line when you forgot what you did and are reusing the drivers lol.

I'm running the stall to the Estop so will need to swap the wiring round on the emergency stop button to NC to match and invert the Estop pin but no biggie.

[Clive S]

I guess what I'm asking is can I get away with buying the Ethernet version of 7i76 on it's own?

Yes as I said just the 7i76e.

When I press - on the manual move buttons for the Z axis should it move up or down? I'm guessing down at the moment mine moves up lol.

What do you mean by this it depends if you press on up or down keys

Also on the Z axis it should show -ve when going down. But in the the homing routine you can make it go either way it depends where the switch is ie you can change the travel to seek the switch out.

You are wasting your time playing without the homing switches on. As I said baby steps

[Desertboy]

Yes as I said just the 7i76e.

What do you mean by this it depends if you press on up or down keys

Also on the Z axis it should show -ve when going down. But in the the homing routine you can make it go either way it depends where the switch is ie you can change the travel to seek the switch out.

You are wasting your time playing without the homing switches on. As I said baby steps

-ve right I have it +ve at moment, and I have the router on the X axis going left -ve, right +ve and the Y axis -ve away from the front and +ve towards the front where I load.

As long as the M3's come today they're on ;) the wiring is already in place and connected to the BOB and spade terminal the other ends.
Stuck at home for an hour so can't play waiting for the guy to come see why my boiler stopped working it's going to be the thermocouple it always is. The house I live in was built in the 1920's and it's bloody freezing without heating lol.

The other error I kept getting was joint following error which I traced to the PC isn't fast enough really played with different latencies and ferror settings to no avail but I do know this PC is utter crap so will swap a different one in.

[Neale]

If you are standing at the machine with X going from left to right (- to +) then Y should be set with - at the front and increasing as it goes away. Convention says that X=0, Y=0 is the LH corner nearest you, although that's not essential. However, the relationship between X and Y is very important because your machine needs to be set up the same way as your CAM software. Z usually is zero at the top of travel and - at the bottom (so Z machine coordinates are always negative, except at the very top of travel).

If you are using F360, look at the little RGB axes that come up on the drawing screen, and imagine those transplanted on to your machine bed. Orientation of X, Y, and Z absolutely must match.

[Clive S]

I agree with Neale but I have to admit my X and Y 0 are at the top left of my router looking from the end so that the gantry is furthest away from me, this is so I can use the bed as a dumping ground when not in use.

[Neale]

In fact, on my machine, home and zero positions are bottom right-hand corner. Historical accident - I set up the machine with X along long axis, Y on gantry, intending to stand at the side for loading/operating. In practice, I stand at the end but haven't got round to resetting everything. I just have to remember when I set up a new piece of work. However, the really important point is relationship between axes. For example, it doesn't matter if you choose to home at max travel or min - just a simple setup matter. Just get those XY directions right!

[Desertboy]

Replaced the linuxcnc machine with a core i7 (Think I need to restrict the cores for max performance) and now I can run the machine fast enough to firing a stall protect consistently which I guess is my upper speed limit. Somewhere around 4m/min with the 1400mm ballscrew which is a little faster than I thought it would do this is no load any faster it makes a funny sound and stall protect I think this is screw whip but hey just guessing.

At moment I have it running 2.7 used stepncof to set the A step and dir pins to Y and we have as much control as I had on 2.8 lol, same errors firing up but had enough went through 4 pc's before finally giving up and using my fusion 360 CAM machine set up as a dual boot.

Have the switches on need to configure them as I was checking the switches I managed to pull the wire out the X dir socket on the BOB just enough to not work but not enough to actually be visible spent 2 hours tracing and fixing that this time I put crimped them with ferrule ends they're going no where.

Worst part about the cheap BOB's is the sockets are just crap you can work with them but I'd rather pay a few quid more for some decent connectors.

[Desertboy]

Mate wants a catweazle sign to name his pond so mocked him a quick on up last night.



Was discussing dust shoes last night and my mate suggested I buy a brush head cut the centre bristles out and drill 2 holes in it and add some magnets.

Found the idea interesting and also very simple so going to see what brush heads I can get today.

[Clive S]

Mate wants a catweazle sign to name his pond so mocked him a quick on up last night.

Was discussing dust shoes last night and my mate suggested I buy a brush head cut the centre bristles out and drill 2 holes in it and add some magnets.

Found the idea interesting and also very simple so going to see what brush heads I can get today.

Have you seen these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80mm-Spin...%257Ciid%253A1