Hi all For a couple of months not I have been having issues with getting my Blackbox controller to run my Workbee 1510. Slowly I have gotten to the stage where I could run a complete gcode file through the system without it stopping or buffering UNTIL it started the 1.5kw Spindle motor. I was continually faces with an Error code 31. It turns out that this Error code 31 seems to relate to the fact I was using my 8 year old laptop to do the work. So I decided to switch over to my main workshop computer and install the openbuilds software onto a Dell PC running Ubuntu 18.04. The software opens and seems to work fine on the PC. HOWEVER, though I am now presented with a multitude of options of /dev/tty connection options and 1 FTDI USB to Serial option I can not connect to the black box though any of them Any suggestions welcome
Access Denied error in screenshot: Your user account does not have permission to use the Serial ports 1) Add your user to the dialout group (the dialout group has permission to access ports) sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER 2) Reboot False, Error 31 comes from the OS, and tells you the port was disabled, usually because of EMI - VFD spindles cause a tonne of EMI, refer to For those with noise issues.
Thanks Peter. Going to run with the user update tomorrow morning. as i'm the only user, I had never looked at setting up accounts on the Linux machine as it seemed to do everything I wanted. I looked into the EMI side of things and because everything is using shielded cables I grounded them all. The 7 leads from the blackbox were grounded together through a bus bar, and the spindle is grounded separately. The USB cable from the laptop is also shielded and has a ferrite magnet as well. Even with all this the error still kept coming up, which is why I have moved to the desktop option.
Look for one (or buy some extra clip on ferrites) with a ferrite on each end of the cable That said, VFDs (especially the budget chinese ones) are a huge pain, all the cost cutting means they have very little filtering left inside. Laptops are a little worse (plastic cases, components much closer together, no AC earthing, etc), so the desktop might behave a bit better, but don't be surprised if EMI crops up again sadly. Linux doing what it should (keeping things secure) > would you really want a "regular" user controlling access to connectivity, or (thinking of typical linux use case as a server) would the root user / someone with sudo priviledge, rather be in charge of setting up connectivity dialout: Full and direct access to serial ports. Members of this group can reconfigure the modem, dial anywhere, etc.
here is how I fixed it in the end How to manage users and groups using GUI? a) Open TERMINAL (Ctrl + Alt + t) b) Paste and run this line: sudo apt-get install gnome-system-tools c) Press 'y' to continue..... d) Close Terminal window e) Open 'users and groups' ' in software.... f) click 'advanced' g) enter password h) click 'user privileges' i) select unticked items.......... close, and restart....... Now if only I could get the Blackbox to control the VFD / Spindle speed, this would be perfect for a dumb user like me. FOr now though Ill just stick with the manual speed setting on the VFD - if it aint broke, dont touch it
OpenBuilds BlackBox 4X Documentation - in particular refer to the bottom of that page, right above the picture for links to known working configs Has its merits as well!
