I think that is the case. @GeoffH suggested this on page 10 of @Colin Mccourt's thread "the bee and me" I think he had a bit to say about how it worked. Alex.
For anyone else wanting to setup their Duet Controller as a wi-fi hotspot, here are the instructions I followed. I noted these down from the video linked by @Alex Chambers, in the message above. This is for the wi-fi version of the Duet Controller. 1. Download the latest firmware for your WorkBee and upload to your CNC. This was v1.0.3 at the time of writing this. 2. In the Duet Controller interface: 2a. Go to Settings > System Settings 2b. Navigate to the "config.g" file and open. 2c. Locate line 552 S1. Change S1 to S2. Save. 2d. Reboot the Duet Controller when prompted. 3. Your network connection will no be lost between your WorkBee and computer. 3a. Connect the usb between the Duet Controller and your computer. 3b. Open your terminal program. I used YAT to setup my WorkBee. 3c. Type M115 > Send text to machine to confirm the computer and WorkBee are talking to each other. 3d. Type M589 S"WorkBee" P"your_network_password" Ithe_IP_address_you_have_previously_used (you don't need to use " " for the IP address) 3e. Send the text to your WorkBee. Your emulator should acknowledge you have sent the text. 4. Turn off your WorkBee. 5. Unplug the USB connecting the WorkBee to your computer. 6. Turn on your WorkBee. 7. On your computer, open your wi-fi networks. 7a. Locate the network named "WorkBee". 7b. Connect to the WorkBee network and insert your network password when prompted. 8. Perform a "jog" on your machine to confirm you are connected, and have control through the network.
Hi G-Wizard Can I ask you put a copy of that Duet Controller post in the "Helpful Tools" section, and anywhere else you think others may look for it?
Haven't had to much time with the WorkBee unfortunately, however I did get to performing some Pythagoras last night. Checked the machine for square using the 3, 4, 5 triangle method. Here are the results if anyone's interested... Note, 1 unit = 200mm Y-Axis - jogged machine 600mm (3x 200mm). Measured 602mm X-Axis - jogged machine 800mm (4x 200mm). Measured 803mm Hypotenuse should have been 1000mm (5x 200mm). Measured 1003mm The good thing is, this is accurate to the actual measurements I had taken. But I need to correct the steps/mm to correct the distance I am travelling in both the X and Y directions. Cheers, Graeme
Hi Folks, Done a test run with the WorkBee tonight using a sharpie, rather than an end mill. Worked well for the most part... When I pressed "home all" axis once the toolpath was finished, the Z-Axis crashed in to the spoiler board. This happened every time, resulting in me hitting emergency stop. Any idea what would cause this? Hopefully just something I've overlooked in the setup. Cheers, Graeme
Hi @G-Wizard, I am assuming you homed all axes when you switched your machine on, and you have disabled "allow moves without homing", in which case, as this is an Oozenest machine I would suggest checking your Z axis stepper cable - especially the Duet end. If there is a bad connection to one phase of your stepper it can cause it to go in the wrong direction. Alex.
Thanks @Alex Chambers. Yes, I homed all the axis prior to setting the workpiece zero. Not checked the "allows moves without homing" setting. I've seen you mention it before as well. I was sure all was working as expected until now. Cheers, Graeme
I found that if "allow moves without homing" is allowed the machine gets confused about where it is. But the Z axis going in the wrong direction seems more like a cable problem to me. Alex.
I'll give the connections a look tomorrow. I cut and soldered them all as there where quite a few loose connections when I first made them up to the Duet. Z-Axis has definitely been working in the correct direction. Certainly every time I've jogged or homed the machine. Cheers, Graeme
My Y axis went bananas after about 8 weeks recently due to poor crimps. It is not good practice to solder crimps - the point where the solder ends is a weak point where vibration can cause metal fatigue (and the tin in the solder creates an alloy - brass - with the copper which is more brittle). As the solder can "wick" along the copper wires the weak point can be inside the insulation where you can't see what's happening. I used to teach electronics to A level and we had lots of failures with soldered multi-strand wire until we realised that the wire had to be mechanically supported to stop it moving close to the solder join. Alex.
Bah! Didn't know that! I had access to a friend with a soldering iron, and the rest is history. I'll be sure to check them. Thanks.
PS I followed your example and checked if my machine is square. I got almost identical results to yours but I am not going to bother trying to get it more accurate - 0.3/0.4% error is more than good enough for me at the moment. I will repeat the test a few times though - I will be interested in how repeatable the machine is. Alex.
Yeah, I thought that kind of accuracy was pretty good straight off the bat. I'll check mine for accuracy once I've cut something in anger, and possibly look at adjusting the steps/mm. I was on the phone to Ooznest today about my issue. Sent them a video and some files. So fingers crossed the come back with a solution. I checked all the connections as per your advice, but all looks ok. I think it's a glitch with homing. Cheers, Graeme
What happened with mine was that some of the crimps were not properly inserted in the plastic housing so the header pins on the Duet board pushed them further in - only the tip of the pin was making contact but that was not visible until I took the connector off and peered in the end. On my duet web control there is a tick box under settings/user interface that says "allow moves without homing" which I unchecked. If you haven't got that box there is another way to disable it, but I'll have to remember who found it and what they did. Alex.
I had a look for that option earlier, but couldn't see it anywhere. I definitely can't jog the machine prior to homing it. Get an error message along the lines of "insufficient axis homed..."
In that case that problem has been solved and is not the cause of your Z axis problem. Homing your Z axis should only move it up until it hits the limit switch. Downward movement is almost certainly (I can't think of anything else that would cause it) one poor connection to the stepper. Alex.
Thanks for the advice Alex, I really appreciate it. When I home the machine initially, all axis behave exactly as they should. Even jogging the machine afterwards is fine. The issue comes after I've ran g-code, then home the machine. The g-code runs fine. When I home after the g-code, it crashes the z-axis up then down. Its a repeatable problem. Done it about 4 times now, and it's exactly the same each time. If I turn the machine off and on again, all is good again... until I home after the g-code. Depending on what Ooznest get back to me with, I'll maybe strip the fans off the Duet and disconnect the connectors. I only gave the wires a shoogle earlier. Cheers, Graeme
This was exactly what my machine was doing....If in doubt the first port of call is the wiring to the steppers (the crimps in the white plastic connector blocks at the Duet end) Note the Green wire crimp has actually dropped off.
Post your G-code Graeme - I'm no expert but I'll have a look to see if it's resetting any modal commands that are screwing things up (and someone who knows more may pick up on it) Alex
Your last post arrived while I was typing mine I didn't realise the Z axis was going up then down. Are you working in inches or mm? Definitely post your G code. Alex
@Colin Mccourt - I had the exact same issue with the majority of mine as well... As discussed with Alex previously, I ended up soldering the crimps on to the wires. Wrongly, after Alex's advice...
Ok, thanks. I was trying to open it on my laptop with no luck. I have attached it here. PS, pretty sure I'm working in mm.
