Thread: Console the ModIO Method

Love the look of the small LCD screen DRO. Great Job, keep it up.

Daniel

Fantastic Rod
can't wait to see it as you progress.
You have given me hope that with my total lack of electronic know-how, even i might be able to follow you along succesfully.
many cheers
Noel

Hi Noel,
Make no mistake I am probably the worst person on this forum to have a go at this so I am sure you will be able to follow along.
I am being a bit cagey about it as i do not want to give wrong information so hang in there and I will eventually get this down in laymans terms.

I have been wondering what is so good about the ModIO compared to the Pokeys. The Pokeys is a breeze to hook up and cetainly a lot easier that ModIO. They are both software controlled by Mach3 so there is no difference there. It does make you wonder why I am bashing my head around all this new terminolgy and fighting with the electrickery bit of the ModIo but something I read last night expalined it to me.

The ModIO has a feature that enables a thing called a charge pump. Yeah another flash name for an interface to your machine and spindle. This works in a way that if the communication from the computer stops it shuts down your machine. If you only have software control on your machine and the plug to your computer is pulled (yeah I have tripped over the lead before) or your machine locks up then your machine will continue to operate. The charge pump wiill detect the computer failure and automatically shut down your machine. A very handy feature and one that justifies to me the value of going the ModIO path.

Rod

The charge pump you describe is a standard Mach feature.

See "ports and pins" - outputs. Also Mach Mill User Guide PDF section 4.13

A lot of the BoBs that you can buy for the LPT have circuitry on board to make use of the charge pump.

Once the charge pump signal is lost then the BoB will cut the enable signal to the drives and-or other actions.

A good safety feature perhaps but not limited to the ModIO.

One thing that would make me interested in the ModIO is the LCD that you showed earlier.

I can imagine that in a pendant that shows the DROs or maybe the axis selected for MPG or some other feedback that is in the palm of your hand (pendant).

Greg

Hi Greg,
It is good to have you around to clarify these things. I am going to leave the charge pump till last while I work out all the inputs first.
My task tonight is to get the axis selction working through a 12 position switch. Peter has a switch set up on a board that has 390 ohm resistors between the pins so you only need one input and the voltage change is detected by the Modio/Mach3. A clever way of getting 12 inputs through one pin. It will take me five minutes to hook up and the rest of tonight to program it. I will make all this code available once it is tested on a machine but usual scaredy cat rider - all care but no responsibility.

I must admit to being a little baffled by the ModIO but last night things started to come together.
I got the 12 postion switch working by modifying a bit of code Peter had in his ModIO manual. I now have the LCD panel, Potentiometer and 12 way switch working on the following code. The MPG works by settings the inputs in Mach3 to match the ModIO terminals.
Not being 100 percent confident I am posting it in hope that somebody can scan it and make suggestions should there be any gremlins in there.

Option Explicit
'Feed Rate Override variables
Dim fro As Integer
Dim lastfro As Integer

'lcd variables
Dim axisID As Integer
Dim LCDString As String
Dim SVal As String
Dim axisName As String

'Jog Mode variables
Dim MPGAxis As Integer
Dim State As Integer

'Feed Rate Override Potentimeter
fro=getinput(64) 'read analogue 1
fro=(fro*95.0)/(1024.0/3) 'range 5 to 300 percent
lastfro=getDRO(21) 'used to average the reading due to fluctuations in pot
setDRO 21,Round((fro+5*lastfro)/6,0) 'sets the value in Mach3

'Setting Jog Mode through Analogue 2
MPGAxis=GetInput(65) 'analogue 2 input through Modio
Select Case MPGAxis
Case<47 DoOEMButton(276) 'switch is off so defaults Mach3 to continuous jog on start up
State=0
Case<140
If GetOEMLED(14)=0 Then 'tests if for continuous jog
DoOEMButton(276) 'sets contiuous jog
End If
If State<>1 Then
Speak"Continuous"
End If
State=1
Case<233
If GetOEMLED(15)=0 Then 'tests for step mode jog
DoOEMButton(275) 'sets step mode jog
End If
If State<>2 Then
Speak"Step"
End If
State=2
Case<326
If GetOEMLED(57)=0 Then 'tests for MPG mode
DoOEMButton(327) 'sets MPG mode
End If
If GetOEMLED(59)=0 Then 'test for X axis
DoOEMButton(185) 'sets X axis
End If
If State<>3 Then
Speak "X"
End If
State=3
Case<419
If GetOEMLED(57)=0 Then 'tests for MPG mode
DoOEMButton(327) 'sets MPG mode
End If
If GetOEMLED(60)=0 Then 'tests for Y axis
DoOEMButton(186) 'sets Y axis
Speak "y"
End If
State = 4
Case>=419
If GetOEMLED(57)=0 Then 'tests for MPG mode
DoOEMButton(327) 'sets MPG mode
End If
If GetOEMLed(61)=0 Then 'tests for Z axis
DoOEMButton(187) 'sets Z axis
Speak"Z"
End If
State=5
End Select
'Note there are 7 additional cases availalbe on switch values 512,605,698,791,884
'977 and 1023 as I am only using 5 of the 12 positions on the switch

'LCD display
LCDString="" 'Clears LCD String
'update the LCD
For axisID = 0 To 2
Sval=Right(" " & Format(getdro(axisID),"+0.0000;-0.0000")&String(17-Len(Format(getdro(axisID),"+0.0000;-0.0000"))," "),18)
'gets the dro value for the axis then pads the right end with spaces so it formats on each line of the LCD display
axisName=Mid("XYZABC",axisID+1,1) 'selects the axis
LCDString=LCDString & axisName & ":" &SVal ' strings the axis name and value
Next axisID
SetModIOString(6,0,0,LCDString) 'writes it to the dro

A couple more nights working the scripts and help again from Peter has resulted in a move forward so that I now have LED lamps and input switches working on the ModIO.
I have added another 12 position switch to set the step increment and a switch to reset the feedrate to 100% as well as LED's to indicate machine conditions. See photo of lash up.

The VB code is getting longer and I will not post any more of it until this project is finished. Don't be put off by the VB code as there is a perfectly good plugin you can install that avoids all the mumbo jumbo of writing code. I am one of those difficult people that if I can't achieve it myself then I don't get any satisfaction from the project.

Now I am over the learning curve things are clearer and I am in a position to start designing the console panel. I have cut steel tube and dropped it off to get welded for a stand to attach to Morphy. I have done some research and found a bi-fold arm for a LCD TV which will be suitable for mounting the console - I hope. There will be an aluminum tray underneath the console to hold a mini keyboard and a mouse. A 17 inch touchscreen will add to the arsenal. So there will be three options - ModIO operated switches on the console, keyboard/mouse combo and touchscreen controls.

Ah well if you are going to do it you may as well go the full monte.

As I will not be using my exisiting console which has a computer mounted inside it (see photos) I need to think of a suitable computer and where to mount it on Morphy. I have a couple of options and more on that when I get my act together there. I am sure my son will appreciate the old console to operate Obott.

Hi Rod,

Sounds like it is starting to come together. I'm looking forward to seeing the metal work.

Cheers,

Peter.

Knocked up the carcase for the console tonight out of 1mm galvo sheet. Nothing special but by making it it has fixed the size to 500mm by 400mm and 65mm deep. I had to get SWMBO to swing on the bender with me as I didn't have any lighter gauge material on hand.

It is heavy already so I hope my console support arm is up to the task.

The way I have designed this I will be able to position the console over the table of the router to be able to access the controls when setting up a job then swing it ouside the machine while the job is running. This will mean I do not need at pendant. If you make enough of these you end up getting it right eventually.

I am waiting on some switches so not much more I can do until they arrive. They are triangular buttons normally used on Video Arcade machines so I hope they are as good as the photos on ebay as they will be perfect for jogging switches.

I have quite a bit of lathe work for another job so it will be a good opportunity to tackle that tomorrow therefore there will probably be nothing more on this thread until later in the week.

Nice work Rod. I must get around to making one of those pan brakes one day.

The switches came today but unfortunately a little large for the space I have available. They are 43mm along the flats and would have been terrific being different colours (five flavours) and led internal lamps. You can also slip the clear cover off and put a printed label in there. See photo

Never to be beaten I say so back up plan was a set of Arcade joysticks in the same parcel. Just modifed one of them and pleased with the result. Cut off about 25mm from the stem and turned and polished a slick aluminum gear shifter.
I think I will be playing race cars instead of machining.
Photo shows before and after. I will use one for X and Y and the other for Z and maybe A if I get around to it.

Rod,
I 'luv' the joystick ... that is something I can really relate to! Must be my deprived childhood (no X boxes back then!). Did you get these from your Chinese ebay man?

These would work OK with the Pokeys system as well wouldn't they?

Cheers,

Alan

Originally Posted by Zoot

These would work OK with the Pokeys system as well wouldn't they?

Pokeys has five analogue inputs. Say two for FRO and Spindle OR, That leaves one input for each of three axis.

Having never played with one of these joysticks I am not sure whether they need one input per axis or two. I am guessing they need two.

Rod you are the procurement or ebay king.

Where do you get these joysticks? Might have a play with some.

Greg

EDIT: On closer inspection I think these are microswitch operated joysticks. (Rod can confirm that) Therefore analogue inputs are not applicable. I jumped to the conclusion that they were proportional.

So any of the 55 available digital inputs would be fine. Four per joystick.

You could combine that with a separate pot or dial, to one analogue input to provide the jogging speed control. That should work OK.