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OpenBuilds CONTROL Software

Discussion in 'Control Software' started by Mark Carew, Oct 8, 2018.

  1. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Reach out to them, they are a helpful team i hear, might know too
     
  2. Trooper11040

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    I got it working. Picsender was sending a file with my xcarve settings upon bootup. I disabled it! Now it’s saving the stock firmware settings for the lead
     
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  3. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Schweeet
     
  4. Hector Beltran

    Hector Beltran Well-Known
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    happy holidays everyone,

    I was wondering if there is a workflow to incorporate tool changes into this software.

    Thanks
     
  5. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Split gcode into seperate files per tool for now. Other than thay, proper toolchanges is on the roadmap
     
  6. Aussie58

    Aussie58 New
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    Hi
    I have finished building a OpenBuild C Beam XL
    Using Openbuilds control software with Arduino clone (Iduino) and cnc shield
    All grbl and software are up to date.
    Each axis - X,Y & Z move and are calibrated.
    I have mounted and wired limit switched for each axis using NC configuration.
    I am configuring each axis limit switch separately. An issue arises when I connect the y axis switches to the CNC shield.
    The shield generates an alarm when the switches are connected but not 'bumped'. I have tried $5=1 to 'reverse' the pin with no luck.
    When I wire the switches to a NO configuration, the control software will stop the axis when the switch is tripped.
    I am endeavouring to follow the recommended convention of a NC configuration for hard limit switching.
    Is this something that I can modify from within the control software or a grbl input ?
    Thank you in anticipation. Bill
     
  7. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Hi Bill, probably not software. Google around or open a new thread. Popular problem with the CNC shield (when not bought from Protoneer) - you need a v3.1 to support Grbl1. 1 without hacking. The fakes are usually old v3.0s for Grbl 0.8 from couple years ago, and have spindle enable and one of the limit switch pins swopped - that might be your problem

    See grbl/grbl for details on the grbl pin swop from 0.8

    See gnea/grbl for other nonstandard wiring and configurations. Our predefined configs cover controllers we sell only (tested configurations) and will need adaption for your own controller choices
     
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  8. David the swarfer

    David the swarfer OpenBuilds Team
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    when you compile 1.1 you can set an option to use the old pin configuration.
    the side effect is that you then cannot have spindle PWM speed control.
     
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  9. ClaudeJER

    ClaudeJER Well-Known
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    Hi guys,
    I'm not sure this is the right place for my question but here it is anyhow. I have been trying to figure how the Z probe works on the xpro v3 board and the Openbuilds controller. I don't know what is suppose to happen when the z probe is triggered but in my case all I see and get is the green button in the troubleshooter turn red and nothing else happens, the z axis keeps on moving past the trigger point and I don't get any alarms. I have been going though all the settings in the grbl setting tab many times and I still don't see what the probe is suppose to do if anything ???
    Am I just chasing a ghost ?
     
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  10. Rob Mitchell

    Rob Mitchell Well-Known
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    Paste your controller settings here.
     
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  11. ClaudeJER

    ClaudeJER Well-Known
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    Here's what I have for settings:
    OB Cntrl 1.JPG OB Cntrl 2.JPG OB Cntrl 3.JPG OB Cntrl 4.JPG OB Cntrl 5.JPG
     
  12. ClaudeJER

    ClaudeJER Well-Known
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    Looks like I'm missing 21 which is the hard limits and it is enabled as well.
     
  13. ClaudeJER

    ClaudeJER Well-Known
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    Hi guys,
    I'm still trying to figure this machine out. It looks like I had some of my controller settings wrong from what I posted a few days ago but I think I straighten those out and I was able to produce a carved piece without issues.
    In regards to the Z probe questions I have, I sent a message to Mark Carew asking about the Z probe functionality and received a confusing answer in which he also suggested I pursue my inquiry here so I'm back with my question...

    Can anyone tell me if the Z probe has any functionality when used with the XPro V3 controller with GRBL V1.1 which is what I am using right now ?
    I would love to know what that functionality is ??? ie, once triggered, the DRO gets reset to zero or maybe the Z axis reverses direction of travel after the trigger ?
    The answer I got back from Mark suggest that nothing has been written in the controller in respect to the Z probe other than a green button that turns red when the probe is triggered!
    Right now, I do fell like I am chasing a ghost with this Z probe feature! It's certainly not a necessity for the machine to be workable but if it's there, I'd like to be able to use it.

    Thanks for any explanation or comments.

    Claude.
     
  14. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Not yet. Sit tight, theres a new feature that will be released next week or the week after [EDIT: Update, released 2 mins ago]

    Preview:

    Z0 PROBE.gif

    PS: @sharmstr - release 1.0.124 also brings back the Go to Zero function you missed (; - no longer buttons (like they were when accidentally released in 1.0.110) , they are now in the dropdown menus next to each axis DRO.
     
    #74 Peter Van Der Walt, Dec 28, 2018
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2018
    David the swarfer and Mark Carew like this.
  15. ClaudeJER

    ClaudeJER Well-Known
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    I just tried it and It works awesome.

    Thanks.
     
    #75 ClaudeJER, Dec 28, 2018
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2018
  16. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Sweet! Glad you like it!
     
  17. Bernie CLark

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    Great little piece of software, is there a way to change the tool on values? My laser needs a max of 24000 or it will not work properly.
     
  18. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Which firmware are you using? Grbl defaults to 0-1000

    For running jobs, Gcode S values come from CAM. Is this a question about openbuilds CAM? (posted under CONTROL) or do you refer to the testing menu on the toolbar? (only used for focus/test, has no impact on running gcode)
     
  19. Bernie CLark

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    I am referring to the testing menu on the toolbar.
     
  20. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Which firmware?

    Assuming Grbl, set $30=1000 gnea/grbl
     
  21. Bernie CLark

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    Not the firmware :) was just wondering if I could change the values in your program or if they are set? Seems like they may be set values so no worries :)
     
  22. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Well, yes and no. It is a firmware issue. We send S1000, because its the standard default. If we make it configurable, it just adds another complexity for a newbie to have to figure out.

    The problem isnt what we send, its that you have $30=24000

    Now (lack of info not withstanding, i am making educated guesses) - there isnt a good reason to have $30 as 24000. Those settings are purely cosmetical for guys with VFD spindles to have Grbl do the math for them, of which of the 255 value increments between 0-255 (0-5v) equates nearly to the RPM they are interested in. Setting it to 24000 doesn't change the fact that its an 8 bit timer, with just 255 steps. That's a hardware limitation (Atmega328) - so as such, following the standard default just makes more sense as its the same as everyone else (also, especially since its a laser, 0-1000 is easy to calculate percentages in your head. S50 = 5%, etc). When you bring yourself back into standard, there's no compromise, the test function works, CAM works (with defaults) etc
    It is a policy to not require any config before using CONTROL, it should just work out of the box, to help newbies get going :) - hope you understand
     
  23. Terpax

    Terpax New
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    Hi, my name is Shawn and I'm a N00b... :cry:

    I just finished my first build and everything is wired up on my new LEAD. I've downloaded CONTROL but it's not seeing my xPRO V3 in the dropdown, all I see are BlueTooth devices. The xPRO has a 5V LED lit up that it's receiving power from the port. I'm on a MacBook Pro that only has USB-C ports so I have to use a dongle for the standard USB connection.
     
  24. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Install the FTDI usb serial drivers Virtual COM Port Drivers, if not already installed.

    Other tips: check your Device Manager (as its known on Windows, as a Mac user, adapt this advice to whatever they call it) to see if it found the USB device (else it could be the Dongle at play, not sure)

    Either way, its just hardware/drivers, not an OpenBuilds CONTROL issue, we can only show you serial ports that the Operating System tells us about :) - so unfortunately you'l have to dig into the Mac troubleshooting to get it to see the hardware first
     
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  25. ClaudeJER

    ClaudeJER Well-Known
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    Here's my results with my Lead machine, Dewalt router, XPro V3 controller, ESTLCAM application and machine controller, the PCB was originally made with Solidworks then I switched to Fusion360 to get the DXF file, I find that Fusion 360 is a lot more "newbie" friendly and somewhat intuitive.
    My only complaint with the machine is the noise level from the Dewalt router. I am looking into a 1.5 KW VFD system, we'll see...

    The dimensions of this board are 6.35mm X 76.5mm:
    . CNC Test PCB.JPG

    BTW, Thank you guys for your help, I greatly appreciate.
    Claude.
     
  26. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Looks good Claude

    (; we are hijacking our own thread here though as its more about CAM than Control (and we are in the CONTROL thread at the moment) - but I'll be guilty myself to give you a quick (last time please, in future lets fire up a new thread or post it in the relevant thread) update:

    I've added some code that allows the use of Open vectors (lines) if you can live with no offsetting for now (will add merging/offsetting later)

    Settings: NB Select one of the "No offset" options
    no offset2.PNG

    and the result
    no offset.PNG


     
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  27. Terpax

    Terpax New
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    I've installed the FTDI and D2xx drivers (as well as the D2xxHelper). CONTROL is still only displaying BlueTooth devices in the dropdown.

    I followed the directions in the FTDI video walk-thru https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir2PVz1870E and everything went smoothly. He then entered this Terminal command:
    sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI
    I got back the message:
    (kernel) Kext com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI not found for unload request.
    Failed to unload com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI - (libkern/kext) not found.

    It appears the Controller is showing up in my System Information as:
    FT231X USB UART:
    Product ID: 0x6015
    Vendor ID: 0x0403 (Future Technology Devices International Limited)
    Version: 10.00
    Serial Number: DN05JLOP
    Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
    Manufacturer: FTDI
    Location ID: 0x14300000 / 1
    Current Available (mA): 500
    Current Required (mA): 90
    Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
    Let me know if there's a better thread for this discussion, but I couldn't find anyone else having my issue in the forums.
     
  28. ClaudeJER

    ClaudeJER Well-Known
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    Terpax, not sure what the source of your issue is but when I first powered up my machine, I was using my MacBook Pro with no such issues, I then switched to my Windows laptop to have the F keys and so on but it worked with the Mac
     
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  29. Terpax

    Terpax New
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    Glad to hear! I'm not sure what's causing it either. I feel like I've installed everything properly and the board is showing up in my system profiler, but for whatever reason CONTROL isn't able to see it as a viable com port. I also tried my sons Windows 10 laptop but we couldn't get the drivers to install on his machine... Feeling pretty frustrated that I'm stuck at the last step before it's operational.
     
  30. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    On both Win and Mac, you need the device drivers. Once you do, the device will show up as a VCP (Virtual Com Port).

    See https://www.ftdichip.com/Documents/InstallGuides/Mac_OS_X_Installation_Guide.pdf

    If you are not technically inclined, you can call a local Mac specialist / IT guy to come help get this installed for you. Windows would be easier (windows 10 grabs that driver online automatically)
     

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