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[00:00:16] <rharpham> we have g00 z30 m09, then g91 g28 z0, so go z0 home from the z30 above the job, what its doing is going to work zer0 first
[00:00:29] <gene> apparently nothing, no answer. Hundreds logged in, nobody reading the mail
[00:00:30] <rharpham> where g91 should stop it doing that, and just go z home from the 30 hight
[00:02:11] <SWPadnos> so you're trying to move to no waypoint (G91Z0), then to G28 home?
[00:03:57] <rharpham> g28 g91 z0, instruct it to return to home position on z only
[00:04:08] <SWPadnos> you don't need the G91
[00:04:24] <gene> I may have a clue finally. Inspecting the archive .deb with mc, I find it is in /usr/lib, maybe an lkdconfig is in order?
[00:04:25] <SWPadnos> http://www.linuxcnc.org/docview/2.2/html//gcode_main.html#sub:G28,-G30:-Return
[00:04:43] <SWPadnos> gene, could be
[00:05:10] <rharpham> g91 stops it going to abosule (work zero)
[00:05:20] <SWPadnos> in theory :)
[00:05:38] <rharpham> g90 it will return to work zero (wiping out my parts)
[00:05:55] <rharpham> it did it fine on the lath we did, older version of EMC
[00:06:07] <SWPadnos> you could just do G0 Z#5163
[00:06:10] <rharpham> v 2.0 something i think
[00:06:52] <SWPadnos> what is the Z value of the G28 position?
[00:06:57] <alex_joni> I don't think v2.0 had lathe support
[00:07:53] <rharpham> atryed with out g91 still does it, maybe its a graphics bug, as using the simulator here
[00:08:36] <alex_joni> good night all
[00:14:40] <rharpham> will G74 (left hand taping) be done with g84 when sorted? just inverse of g84 basily
[00:15:51] <rharpham> can it do left hand rigid taping?
[00:24:14] <rharpham> ok, we off to make new jig and tool holders, good night all
[00:24:28] <rharpham> ;) thx for help all,
[00:42:17] <gene> back agan, and emc is having the laugh of its life at me
[00:44:04] <gene> for some unk reason, after I'd hand installed it for the 20th time by taking the archive apart with mc and copying the files to where they went, and running an ldconfig, and 3 reboots, it suddenly started working, without X ever finding either the glx or the GLCore modules to load.
[00:44:42] <gene> and the ^#()^ overrun error is gone with a 38xxx base_thread
[00:45:22] <skunkworks> run latency-test for a while..
[00:45:32] <gene> Now the question is, why did emc spend all that time bitching about glx, when its not loaded right now?
[00:45:35] <skunkworks> It will give you a good idea of what the machine will do..
[00:48:13] <SWPadnos> heh - um, well. at least it seems to work now :)
[00:49:10] <SWPadnos> emc just wants a GL library. I guess if there's some misconfiguration (like trying to load the nvidia library, but not having the mesa library around), then there will be no GL support
[00:49:48] <SWPadnos> eventually, you probably had something that would have worked, but we were chasing the X errors, not looking at whether EMC2/AXIS would run
[01:48:45] <skunkworks> http://www.electronicsam.com/images/house/kitchenalmost.JPG
[01:48:49] <skunkworks> http://www.electronicsam.com/images/house/kitchenalmost1.JPG
[01:48:52] <skunkworks> http://www.electronicsam.com/images/house/kitchenalmost2.JPG
[01:48:57] <skunkworks> http://www.electronicsam.com/images/house/kitchenalmost3.JPG
[01:49:50] <cradek> hey you have my stove
[01:49:54] <cradek> (except mine's black)
[01:50:10] <cradek> that looks nice. I like the counter.
[01:50:32] <cradek> it's nice for folks to be able to be "near" (without being in the way) when someone is cooking
[01:51:22] <skunkworks> Yes - that is the main reasonn for the way it is layed out now. We would cook for friends and they would pull chairs into the kitchen to talk :)
[01:52:16] <skunkworks> Really like the stove..
[01:52:33] <cradek> yeah I like it
[01:52:47] <cradek> the only problem I have is it takes a while to boil water.
[01:52:55] <skunkworks> Yes - Same here.
[01:52:58] <cradek> maybe that's how gas ranges are. I've not had one before this one.
[01:53:08] <skunkworks> Same here :)
[01:53:39] <skunkworks> I know know that the big pot will take around 10-15 min to boil.. Just need to remember that ;)
[01:54:12] <skunkworks> but for sauteing and such - it is really nice
[01:54:33] <cradek> yep
[01:55:41] <skunkworks> have not baked anything complicated yet.
[02:20:46] <gene> One last thing, Steve, I found the /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers was still contaminated, one last reboot to clear that out if I can't rmmod it.
[02:21:16] <SWPadnos> uh
[02:21:24] <SWPadnos> you didn't delete that did you?
[02:22:17] <gene> sure did, it was the nvidia 169.09 version
[02:22:46] <SWPadnos> hmmm
[02:22:57] <SWPadnos> what chipset do you have in that machine?
[02:23:19] <gene> it rmmoded just fine, not in use at all, dunno, let me check dmesg
[02:23:53] <SWPadnos> I've just been used to nvidia-chipset machines lately, there's an nvidia module for thse as well I believe
[02:24:46] <gene> looks like everything is a VIA
[02:25:29] <SWPadnos> ok, then nvidia-named modules should be safe to remove ;)
[02:26:13] <gene> I just foolded around for aboutan hour, watching the motion...overruns sitting at 0, with a 28u-s base thread, sweet!
[02:26:14] <SWPadnos> if it's screwed up and won't boot, you should be able to select an older kernel with grub, and reinstall the latest kernel+modules
[02:26:18] <SWPadnos> cool
[02:26:50] <SWPadnos> if you choose, you might be able to use the nv driver. you should only have to change the word "vesa" to "nv" to do that, I think
[02:26:54] <gene> 2.6.15-magma?
[02:27:04] <SWPadnos> but after the trouble you've had, I'd say leave it alone if it's working :)
[02:27:18] <SWPadnos> dunno what it is right now, but that sounds about right
[02:27:26] <gene> I hear that, deafeningly loud!
[02:27:50] <cradek> you got vesa working and your rt errors are gone?
[02:27:51] <gene> that was a uname -r outrput
[02:28:00] <gene> yup, totally
[02:28:31] <cradek> yay
[02:28:52] <gene> whoopee, pass me another suds!
[02:29:47] <cradek> first close the package manager and step away...
[02:30:16] <SWPadnos> then reboot and run! :)
[02:30:59] <gene> comment on the nv, its screen refresh rate is much slower that the 10fps axis assumes, vesa seems to be ok, even with a 28us base thread
[02:31:37] <SWPadnos> the nv driver could be a little faster, I think it has a few accel features (but not full 3D acceleration)
[02:31:52] <SWPadnos> that's "nv", not nvidia
[02:32:05] <gene> but i'll double that anyway as its still 50% faster than stepcobf chose, yes, i know the diff
[02:32:54] <cradek> SWPadnos: I've also seen overruns with nv that disappeared with vesa. I think nvidia hardware itself is trouble.
[02:33:13] <SWPadnos> that's entirely possible
[02:33:32] <SWPadnos> I've only used the nvidia proprietary driver lately, on non-RT machines
[02:33:39] <gene> its quitting time, i may have to swim 20 feet to get to the back porch now!
[02:33:52] <gene> there it works pretty good
[02:34:00] <SWPadnos> actually, I did try some experiments on a lower-end new nvidia card, but I don't remember the results
[02:34:29] <SWPadnos> they weren't good enough for me to replace the onboard video, which (since the machine was headless) still left me with 200ns latencies
[02:34:52] <gene> but i don't think its rt friendly at all. this is a gforce2 5200-128, cheap card 2 years back
[02:36:10] <gene> many thanks for your patience guys, bbl
[02:36:18] <SWPadnos> see you. glad it's working
[02:36:39] <JymmmEMC> SWPadnos: what was the name of that usb raid box?
[02:36:45] <SWPadnos> drobo
[02:37:11] <JymmmEMC> ty
[02:37:20] <SWPadnos> sure
[03:29:42] <tomp> SWPLinux: i scored some Peet's coffee before i left the east.... good stuff :)
[03:29:55] <SWPLinux> ewww :)
[03:30:04] <SWPLinux> Green Mountain Coffee Roasters :)
[03:30:29] <SWPLinux> did you experience any New England Coffee when you were here?
[03:30:41] <tomp> maybe on mass pike
[03:30:45] <SWPLinux> heh
[03:30:52] <SWPLinux> it's actually pretty good stuff
[03:31:15] <SWPLinux> they serve it at the close-by coffee shop (that I go to avery second day or so :) )
[03:31:18] <SWPLinux> -a
[03:31:22] <SWPLinux> every
[03:32:11] <tomp> anything but starbcuks burnt day old taste
[03:32:16] <SWPLinux> heh
[03:32:59] <SWPLinux> yes, Starbucks is like McDonalds to me. you can go into any one of them and get the same thing. It's not great, but it's pretty consistent
[03:33:18] <SWPLinux> I get used to it when flying, since that's what most of the airports have
[03:39:04] <fenn> starbucks is 'office rental' for 'virtual corporations' or at least that's the word on the intarweb
[03:40:42] <tomp> ? meaning people who run thier biz from the wifi at starbucks?
[03:41:04] <fenn> right, well, more like a place to meet and still have free wifi
[03:41:14] <SWPadnos> heh - I was trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean
[03:41:21] <SWPadnos> "the boardroom"
[03:41:26] <tomp> i guessed first !
[03:42:03] <SWPadnos> oh, you definitely got it well before me. :)
[03:43:00] <fenn> well, i've done it.. not at starbucks though
[03:43:00] <fenn> dpkg-shlibdeps is lame *whine*
[03:43:29] <tomp> Twingy's pkg problem?
[03:43:47] <fenn> more or less the same problem, yes
[03:51:50] <fenn> oo i think i got it
[04:06:32] <SWPadnos> man. every couple of days, I get a new email with even lower cruise prices. I'm waiting to see if they'll pay me to take the next one :)
[04:06:53] <SWPadnos> oh, actually these do net out about free
[04:06:57] <fenn> you could write it off as a business expense with a little wrangling
[04:07:18] <SWPadnos> well, I'm the president and my wife is the secretary of the company. we can have a board meeting ;)
[04:07:33] <fenn> beats starbucks i guess
[04:07:47] <SWPadnos> hmmm. well at least the coffee is free once you're onboard
[04:08:09] <SWPadnos> it's not all that great though
[04:08:22] <tomp> my brother in law went to sweden to install lighting systems on new cruise ships. i didnt like the construction details, sounded like crowded bar architecture ( as many as possible and damn the fire exits )
[04:08:54] <SWPadnos> well, they certainly have the lifeboats for it, but a fire onboard could be very annoying
[04:09:09] <SWPadnos> shouldn't spread too quickly given the steel construction though
[04:12:40] <tomp> i was looking for some animations of gcodes, found these, helpful for those who never saw/used 'em
http://www.xmlcreate.com/NCGuide/motion_codes.html
[04:12:57] <tomp> the pix dont show how the params relate to the motion tho
[04:16:18] <SWPadnos> damn. now I want some Indian food.
[04:16:39] <SWPadnos> just saw a listing for an indian restaurant, and now I can smell good food. must be hungry
[04:21:29] <fenn> it's probably all the acid you did in the 70's
[04:23:35] <SWPadnos> hmmm. well, that's one theory
[04:26:16] <fenn> SWPadnos: how do you go about bidding on jobs? like figuring out how much time it will take, and what you're worth
[04:26:27] <SWPadnos> that's a tough question
[04:26:41] <toastydeath> time is just experience
[04:26:52] <toastydeath> unfortunately
[04:26:54] <SWPadnos> for simple jobs, I can think of similar things I've done before, then add in some fudge factor
[04:27:26] <toastydeath> but other crap is consumables, how much one hour of machine time costs, and what you want to make per hour
[04:27:28] <SWPadnos> for more complex stuff, it's usually necessary to do some of the design work, so you can have a list of things that are simple enough to estimate reasonably well
[04:27:46] <tomp> ask local shops for quotes on some prints you give them, then be competitive in price and time
[04:27:48] <toastydeath> raw materials
[04:27:51] <SWPadnos> I haven't set up a shop rate, since I haven't retrofitted my shop :)
[04:27:58] <toastydeath> tomp: that's dangerous
[04:28:01] <SWPadnos> I'm talking about EE and software work here, of course
[04:28:04] <fenn> raw materials and such is easy to figure out
[04:28:06] <tomp> thats real
[04:28:35] <SWPadnos> CNC shop rates are anywhere from $50/hour to $200/hour, it depends
[04:28:53] <toastydeath> yeah, you can get two completely different quotes on the same part, and it's not always pure price anymore
[04:28:59] <toastydeath> especially not in american manufacturing
[04:29:05] <SWPadnos> for my time, I have a fixed rate of $75/hour (though I'm considering raising it this year)
[04:29:06] <toastydeath> most of the cost-only stuff went overseas long ago
[04:29:18] <toastydeath> "value added" is the big question
[04:29:49] <SWPadnos> you have to be able to eat a little time if you quote something you need to learn about while you're doing it
[04:30:07] <tomp> look at quotes from online mfctring sites for rough prices, sometimes you can use online calculators, differnt machines are priced with diferent rates
[04:30:39] <tomp> drill press tie cheap, jig grinding expensive
[04:30:49] <tomp> time
[04:31:03] <fenn> well, i dont have a jig grinder so that doesnt really bother me
[04:31:15] <tomp> lathe is less than mill
[04:31:16] <SWPadnos> hmmm. the only online quotes I've seen are from e-machineshop, and they're about 3x "normal", from what I've seen
[04:31:31] <toastydeath> if you don't have a VMC you are going to have to compete on engineering prototype services
[04:31:45] <toastydeath> or a turning center, for that matter
[04:32:24] <fenn> yes that's what i'm doing, trying to figure out if it's worth it for me to tell someone i can build their prototype turbine design
[04:32:49] <SWPadnos> that should be pretty lucrative, if you have 5-axis capability
[04:33:05] <SWPadnos> unless the blades don't overlap or something lucky
[04:33:07] <fenn> not that kind of turbine, and it's not lucrative (he doesnt have much money really)
[04:33:07] <toastydeath> and if you can measure things that come off a 5-axis machine
[04:33:23] <SWPadnos> oh, then I'd do it if you're interested, but not ootherwise
[04:33:42] <toastydeath> if you really want to start making money i suggest you take it at cost
[04:33:46] <toastydeath> to learn
[04:33:49] <SWPadnos> one thing I've found to be true (you'll see it everywhere) - if you do favors for someone, they expect you to keep doing them favors
[04:34:00] <fenn> i dont think there's any money in the machining business, honestly
[04:34:23] <toastydeath> that's not what job shops buying new HMC cells think
[04:34:26] <SWPadnos> so you can tell them you're giving him a discount because you think it's a neat project, or because you're just starting out, or whatever, but don't just quote a low price
[04:34:33] <fenn> but i dont want to get taken advantage of just because i'm learning about it
[04:34:47] <SWPadnos> there's plenty of money to be made from machining, but you have to find the right market
[04:34:51] <toastydeath> i don't think you are going to be able to not get taken advantage of here one way or the other
[04:35:12] <SWPadnos> if you want to be the guy that inventors can come to for help getting their designs out of their heads and into metal, then you could do well
[04:35:24] <SWPadnos> making pencils won't make you much money unless you have a very good lathe :)
[04:35:31] <JymmmEMC> open a place that has all those cheap tools and rent it out to ppl
[04:35:39] <fenn> ugh no way jymmm
[04:35:45] <SWPadnos> heh
[04:35:56] <fenn> dealing with stupidity is not my idea of fun
[04:35:59] <SWPadnos> it seems to work in the SJC area - who knows about IN
[04:36:06] <SWPadnos> no, you charge them for it!
[04:36:26] <JymmmEMC> fenn:
http://techshop.ws
[04:36:36] <toastydeath> fenn: i don't think you have the tooling to quote "fairly" on a pure machining job.
[04:36:53] <JymmmEMC> damn this array is taking FOREVER to build =(
[04:36:58] <toastydeath> if you were engineering, i think you could do it.
[04:37:05] <fenn> JymmmEMC: it's a cool idea but there's not really a market here
[04:37:11] <SWPadnos> malloc (N*M*sizeof(int)) - what's so hard? ;)
[04:37:22] <JymmmEMC> SWPadnos: 1.7TB
[04:37:23] <SWPadnos> and that's for a 2D array even!
[04:37:34] <JymmmEMC> RAID5 punk!
[04:37:42] <SWPadnos> heh - so that's why you wantede to know what the drobo was called :)
[04:37:52] <SWPadnos> you can't beat it for power, I think
[04:38:27] <SWPadnos> hey - they have a CNC plasma cutter now
[04:38:29] <JymmmEMC> SWPadnos: Actually... it has a seperate power supply - fsckers, I have evenough dman pwr cubes under my desk already
[04:38:56] <JymmmEMC> and the NAS accessory is $200 - oh wth
[04:39:10] <fenn> who has a plasma cutter?
[04:39:24] <SWPadnos> techshop
[04:39:35] <SWPadnos> at least, they now have a safety class for one
[04:39:36] <JymmmEMC> and a laser too
[04:39:50] <JymmmEMC> and a tank full of sharks!
[04:40:16] <SWPadnos> ONE MILLION DOLLARS!! muahahahahaha
[04:45:50] <fenn> i wonder how much debian-maintenance skills were won through much gnashing of teeth
[04:46:20] <fenn> i mean, do people read about this stuff for fun?
[04:48:29] <tomp> if i look at youtube for gcode examples, i learn that g-code is ghetto-speak for living by the gun/living like a gangster
[04:49:31] <fenn> gbushido
[04:50:49] <toastydeath> we are clearly gangsters
[04:50:55] <toastydeath> 1500 ipm 4 lyfe
[04:55:02] <tomp> hmm, stumbled on Mike Lynch's 'Parametric Programming for CNC Machine Tools, & Touch Probes'... looks like handy examples, will see if used at Powells
[04:55:36] <tomp> not likely, its an SME publication
[04:55:52] <fenn> hooray for closed information
[04:56:02] <fenn> your tax dollars at work
[04:56:34] <tomp> wait, the amazon page has a very friendly button 'find at a library' and there's a few that have it!
[04:56:49] <tomp> http://worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/37450727
[04:57:07] <tomp> 2 in Ft Wayne!
[04:57:21] <fenn> fort wayne has amazing libraries, yo
[04:58:57] <SWPadnos> um- that was supposed to be "we are clearly gangsters, yo"
[04:59:03] <fenn> so it's a real book, that's something at least
[05:00:38] <tomp> none near chicago, but one in cleveland, and some in michigan, so maybe when i'm on the road..., even New Britain CT ( new brih-en as they say it )
[05:01:02] <SWPadnos> heh - yeah, that's the closest one to me that I don't have to cross the border for
[05:01:24] <fenn> you can request inter-library loan
[05:01:55] <tomp> interstate inter-library?
[05:02:01] <tomp> ;)
[05:02:08] <fenn> i think so
[05:02:40] <tomp> hell, worth a shot, good idea. if it works, thats a whole new resource
[05:03:35] <tomp> i got a Krall book on APT from Champaign to the local Elgin lib that way ( still all Illinois )
[05:03:40] <fenn> libraries tend to be much more generous with dead trees than bits, for some reason
[05:04:25] <tomp> yeh mine says free ebooks, but wont let you just download it
[05:04:39] <tomp> you gotta pick up a disk
[05:04:43] <fenn> ew
[05:15:46] <tomp> a few other cnc books from the SME may be of interest
http://www.cncci.com/pdf/ss-books.pdf
[05:19:06] <tomp> wow, wanna be pissed about pay-for-information?, look at a place where you can rent this 90$ book for only 35$ per month!
http://www.bookrenter.com/products/details/9780872634817/Parametric_Programming_for_Computer_Numerical_Control_Machine_Tools_and_Touch_Probes_CNCs_Best_Kept_Secret/M_Lynch/?utm_source=googlebase_purchase&utm_medium=cpc
[05:41:37] <fenn> 90 UKP is not quite 90 USD
[05:43:18] <fenn> eh, nevermind :)
[05:44:25] <SWPadnos> it's not $35 per month, it's $35 for one month
[05:44:38] <SWPadnos> $49.74 ffor 125 days ...
[05:59:41] <dimas> tomp: yes?
[05:59:53] <dimas> hello all
[06:00:12] <tomp> alex had some comment about your question if you scroll back
[06:00:33] <tomp> way way back
[06:01:34] <dimas> seems I do not have backlog that large
[06:02:55] <tomp> log is at
http://www.linuxcnc.org/irc/irc.freenode.net:6667/emc/2008-03-20.txt, sorry, seems to be no info really, just a comment
[06:05:14] <tomp> dimas: actually from previous day "<alex_joni> there was a guy in here a while ago, that wanted to build a stepper driver from a lot of resisters and transisters"
[06:05:51] <SWPadnos> maybe he was thinking of Bo^dick
[06:06:03] <SWPadnos> or BoDick^ or whatever
[06:06:09] <tomp> if i've been here for more than a day, i gotta go
[06:06:15] <tomp> gnite
[06:06:23] <SWPadnos> heh - see you
[06:09:20] <dimas> tomp thanks
[06:11:47] <dimas> alex_joni: yes, it was me, what would you suggest? a lot of resisters is not mandatory
[07:22:44] <fenn> better to put complexity in software than hardware - or lacking software, in electronics rather than mechanics
[07:23:14] <fenn> so, circuits with lots of resistors have their place
[07:34:40] <dimas> critical parts for me - pcb's ans special microchips
[07:35:41] <dimas> if alex could suggest another design - i'll check both for available parts
[07:36:13] <dimas> and some pile of resistors I have inhouse already
[08:34:32] <alex_joni> dimas: no, not suggesting anything else
[08:34:44] <alex_joni> was just wondering what happened to your project ;)
[08:41:55] <dimas> alex_joni: it's not yet started :)
[08:50:50] <fenn> number one cause of failure
[08:52:51] <alex_joni> heh
[09:40:17] <fenn> mmm soggy spinach pizza
[13:27:46] <alex_joni> idea: would it be interesting to have an event log in emc2?
[13:27:57] <alex_joni> things the user did, error messages, etc
[13:28:08] <alex_joni> (most of the machines I worked with all have that)
[13:32:26] <BigJohnT> it would if you could find it from the menu or someplace that is intutive...
[13:33:20] <BigJohnT> that would help newbees I'm sure
[13:33:34] <alex_joni> BigJohnT: I'm more concearned about integrators that need the feature
[13:33:43] <alex_joni> to see what operators did/borked
[13:33:56] <BigJohnT> ic
[13:34:23] <BigJohnT> if your a bork and are trying to build your machine it might help that group too...
[13:34:42] <BigJohnT> except for Gamma-X LOL
[13:38:13] <skunkworks_> *rim shot*
[13:58:52] <archivist> hehe
[13:59:19] <skunkworks_> TGIF is all I have to say
[13:59:26] <archivist> * archivist thinks of a few others with the "need"
[14:01:28] <BigJohnT> * BigJohnT agrees with archivist
[14:01:49] <archivist> unit41 and kev from last night
[14:02:25] <archivist> the log should have LARGE RED ERROR messages
[14:02:45] <alex_joni> archivist: that's part of the log-viewer
[14:02:46] <BigJohnT> for us old farts that need help seeing smallprint
[14:03:02] <alex_joni> the log should have [err:], [warn:], [info:] or whatever
[14:03:06] <BigJohnT> what's a log-viewer?
[14:03:06] <alex_joni> and be in plaintext
[14:03:20] <alex_joni> probably in /var/log/emc2/configname.loh somewhere
[14:03:22] <alex_joni> log even
[14:03:48] <alex_joni> BigJohnT: the stuff you use instead of a regular text viewer, if you want to look at LARGE RED ERROR messages
[14:03:58] <BigJohnT> do I need to know grep to find it?
[14:04:06] <alex_joni> that is, if anyone is motivated enough to write one
[14:04:10] <archivist> hmm plaintext may not be plain enough for some, with added cluestick
[14:04:36] <BigJohnT> I'm thinking a shock collar hooked to it
[14:05:07] <alex_joni> * alex_joni was beeing serious
[14:05:23] <BigJohnT> alex_joni: write what?
[14:05:31] <alex_joni> the logviewer
[14:05:42] <BigJohnT> something in python?
[14:05:43] <alex_joni> I am interested in putting the other part in place some day
[14:05:56] <alex_joni> emc2 writing things to /var/log/emc2/foo
[14:06:21] <alex_joni> for now this probably will go to the features one day might make sense
[14:06:54] <cradek> users can't write to /var/log. you could use syslog, but you can't ask it to create new files.
[14:07:21] <alex_joni> then maybe creating the files during postinst ?
[14:07:30] <alex_joni> or sudo make install?
[14:07:42] <alex_joni> just brainstorming here..
[14:08:12] <BigJohnT> you can't just create a log file where you want it?
[14:08:28] <alex_joni> BigJohnT: you can probably create one in the config dir
[14:08:44] <skunkworks_> logger_emc: bookmark
[14:08:44] <skunkworks_> Just this once .. here's the log:
http://www.linuxcnc.org/irc/irc.freenode.net:6667/emc/2008-03-20.txt
[14:09:04] <BigJohnT> would you just overwrite it on boot up so it won't grow forever?
[14:13:12] <alex_joni> BigJohnT: dunno.. syslog has a very nice way of dealing with these things
[14:13:16] <alex_joni> logrotate & all
[14:13:45] <alex_joni> (plus we have some RT printk's which could make it directly to the syslog - maybe)
[14:13:52] <BigJohnT> ok, I'm just thinking out loud...
[14:14:10] <BigJohnT> now your talking greek lol
[14:23:04] <cradek> alex_joni: can you back up and say what your goal is please. seems like you started with a solution [write some stuff to /var/log] and I don't see how you got there
[14:23:30] <alex_joni> 15:20 < alex_joni> idea: would it be interesting to have an event log in emc2?
[14:24:02] <alex_joni> a place to log various things about emc2 running, with 2-3 message levels (err, warn, info), etc
[14:24:45] <cradek> why?
[14:25:19] <alex_joni> cradek: most (if not all) commercial machines I worked with have such a feature
[14:25:33] <cradek> most applications I use don't :-)
[14:25:45] <cradek> I just wonder what problem you are trying to solve by adding this complexity
[14:26:27] <cradek> once we know the problem maybe we can pick the best way to solve it
[14:27:34] <alex_joni> this is not solving any problem per se
[14:36:17] <BigJohnT> cradek: thanks for the formulas the other day, I'm almost finished writing the Arc Buddy software now...
[14:36:37] <cradek> BigJohnT: you're welcome, but I don't remember what I did
[14:36:48] <BigJohnT> the right angle formulas...
[14:38:23] <cradek> oh right, the trig stuff, you're welcome
[14:38:45] <skunkworks_> right angle trig is one of the few things I still sort of remeber.
[14:39:19] <alex_joni> cradek: usually an integrator supplies machines.. right?
[14:40:11] <cradek> brb
[14:40:17] <acemi> is there a special language to control scara robot?
[14:40:51] <alex_joni> acemi: not in emc2
[14:41:39] <acemi> now I controlling a scara with emc2 but I use G/M code
[14:42:26] <skunkworks_> are you using the scara kins?
[14:42:29] <acemi> but for some movements, G/M code is a bit complex
[14:42:37] <alex_joni> acemi: I agree with you
[14:43:02] <acemi> skunkworks_: no, I use default kinematic
[14:45:06] <alex_joni> acemi: trivial kins?
[14:45:23] <acemi> yes
[14:46:18] <acemi> I generate path with a python script
[14:50:48] <skunkworks_> yikes. if you made some kins for it - your work area would make sense..
[14:51:12] <skunkworks_> you could program normal x,y,z coordinates.
[14:52:02] <acemi> what is the status of scara kins which is in EMC2?
[14:53:47] <alex_joni> acemi: the kins work right
[14:53:58] <alex_joni> you need to adapt the numbers to match your robot though
[14:54:04] <alex_joni> arm length, etc
[14:54:12] <acemi> hmm okay
[14:54:16] <alex_joni> there are some issues regarding max vel/accel
[14:54:45] <alex_joni> there's even a simulation called scara-something.py
[14:54:51] <alex_joni> (try the scara config in emc2)
[14:55:55] <acemi> scara config crashes X window sometime in my machine
[14:56:14] <acemi> I didn't find the cause
[14:56:34] <alex_joni> ouch
[14:58:47] <acemi> to adapt the scara kins to my system, do I need to edit src/emc/kinematics/scarakins.c ?
[14:59:56] <acemi> or edit the hal file is OK?
[15:03:08] <alex_joni> * alex_joni looks
[15:04:02] <alex_joni> hal-file should be enough
[15:04:16] <alex_joni> setp scarakins.D1 .. scarakins.D6
[15:06:37] <acemi> I have a user interface based on tkemc. I think to use scara kins with this interface
[15:15:47] <skunkworks_> So you can adjust the arm lengths within the hal file?\
[15:16:07] <alex_joni> skunkworks_: sure
[15:16:16] <alex_joni> this is nifty stuff..
[15:16:28] <alex_joni> you could thoretically adjust it during operation :D
[15:16:36] <alex_joni> taking into account thermal expansion of the arm length
[15:17:53] <fenn> acemi: x windows crashes when you run axis + scaragui but not tkemc + scaragui?
[15:21:55] <acemi> fenn: I dind't try scaragui with tkemc yet
[15:22:25] <acemi> axis + scaragui crashes sometime
[15:23:11] <skunkworks_> Very cool
[15:23:19] <acemi> my system is debian lenny
[15:24:19] <fenn> acemi: i had the same problem but it would crash every time. it also crashed when running two instance of glxgears though
[15:24:35] <fenn> (also debian lenny)
[15:30:39] <BigJohnT> bbl
[15:32:25] <BigJohnT> * BigJohnT going fishing
[17:29:57] <skunkworks_> alex_joni: when you guys where getting low jitter numbers - how where you doing that?
[17:50:09] <archivist> jmkasunich, would the list item about two motors also get an accuracy error due to twist in the shaft and possibly an extra resonance mode
[17:52:08] <alex_joni> skunkworks_: got lucky on a good machine i guess
[17:53:18] <alex_joni> skunkworks_: but the lowest numbers I saw on SMP machine
[17:54:31] <skunkworks_> for the most part - I have not seen anything consistantly under 10us. I did do an smp kernel but it was like a 600mhz dual machine.
[17:54:52] <alex_joni> yeah, maybe a more recent one has more chances to work better
[17:55:08] <alex_joni> around 10us is probably the best it gets
[17:56:03] <skunkworks_> these drives require only 200ns step len and step space
[17:56:35] <alex_joni> sounds like special HW to me
[17:56:41] <alex_joni> not parport based step/dir
[17:56:59] <ken> hello all
[17:57:21] <alex_joni> hi
[17:57:35] <ken> hi alex
[17:57:46] <ken> busy day ?
[17:58:02] <alex_joni> it was
[17:58:32] <ken> what's happening here ?
[17:58:40] <ken> everyone else working ?
[17:58:56] <alex_joni> ken: you gotta have patience in here..
[17:59:13] <alex_joni> people have other things going on, but they delurk once in a while
[17:59:14] <ken> i know...been here..thanks
[17:59:21] <alex_joni> usally after US working hours :P
[17:59:46] <ken> maybe you could help me
[17:59:50] <alex_joni> I can try
[18:00:01] <ken> i read the manual for g2 and g3
[18:00:15] <alex_joni> ok..
[18:00:29] <ken> i try to do that and it says...begining and end od arc different
[18:01:53] <ken> i can get a circle at i and j but no arc
[18:01:58] <skunkworks_> This is as good as this computer gets..
http://www.electronicsam.com/images/pent4.jpg
[18:02:14] <alex_joni> ken: what values did you try?
[18:03:41] <ken> arc begins at x .1 y.95 ends at x.35 y 2.2 1/4" rad
[18:05:12] <ken> i.25 j0
[18:06:48] <alex_joni> probably need a bit more precision
[18:06:54] <alex_joni> in the math..
[18:07:03] <cradek> no, I think you mean it ends at y1.2
[18:07:12] <ken> add zeros ?
[18:07:18] <cradek> no
[18:07:23] <cradek> your endpoint makes no sense
[18:07:27] <alex_joni> * alex_joni didn't check the math
[18:07:28] <ken> oops thats 1.95
[18:07:37] <skunkworks_> ken - do you have any cad program that outputs dxf? (that you know how to draw in?)
[18:07:53] <ken> autocad
[18:07:54] <cradek> that arc works fine then
[18:07:54] <alex_joni> notecad
[18:08:06] <cradek> I just tried it
[18:08:15] <ken> i just get ends are different
[18:08:26] <cradek> g0x.1y1.95
[18:08:26] <alex_joni> x.1y1.95 -> x.35 y2.2, i.25 j0 ?
[18:08:30] <cradek> g2x.35y2.2i.25j0f10
[18:08:51] <skunkworks_> Then I would use either cradeks relize script and create tool paths directly from acad
http://timeguy.com/cradek/autocad
[18:09:39] <cradek> yes but it's still good to know basic gcode
[18:09:52] <cradek> ken: the error message will tell you what it thinks the two radii are. what does it say?
[18:09:55] <skunkworks_> Or output dxf from autocad and use ace converter
http://www.dakeng.com/ace.html
[18:10:16] <ken> tha's what i wrote....i get different ends
[18:10:17] <skunkworks_> Yes it is... (know basic gcode)
[18:10:43] <ken> i'm new to this and want to learn the codes
[18:10:59] <cradek> Radius to end of arc differs from radius to start: start=(X0.1000,Y0.9500) center=(X0.3500,Y0.9500) end=(X0.3500,Y2.2000) r1=0.2500 r2=1.2500
[18:11:13] <cradek> ^^ this is what I got when I used the first numbers you said
[18:11:19] <cradek> you can see r2 is too big by an inch
[18:11:27] <ken> this is what i wrote for the first arc........
[18:11:30] <cradek> likewise, your error message should help you see what's wrong
[18:11:36] <ken> g1 x.1 y.1
[18:11:41] <ken> y1.95
[18:12:11] <ken> g2 x.35 y2.2 i.25 j0
[18:12:38] <ken> xg1 x.9
[18:12:50] <ken> g1 x.9
[18:12:56] <cradek> df
[18:12:59] <cradek> oops
[18:13:08] <alex_joni> no space left on target device
[18:13:17] <cradek> rm -r ~alex
[18:13:20] <ken> error mess says different ends
[18:13:26] <alex_joni> permission denied
[18:13:31] <alex_joni> ken: what emc version?
[18:13:35] <ken> 2
[18:13:40] <cradek> ken: it works for me. it would help if you paste the entire message.
[18:13:45] <ken> emc2 mini
[18:13:45] <alex_joni> 2 is kinda vague
[18:13:51] <ken> great
[18:14:05] <alex_joni> ken: we have currently 2.2.4 released as the last version
[18:14:32] <alex_joni> when you start emc2 you should have a splash wich says v2.2 or something like that
[18:14:58] <cradek> unfortunately, in mini, help/about doesn't show the version number
[18:15:06] <ken> i got 2.2
[18:15:17] <ken> mini help is nothing
[18:15:41] <ken> i tried it in axis same results
[18:16:14] <alex_joni> ken: don't you get a more explicit error message in AXIS?
[18:16:38] <ken> i'll tyr again brb
[18:18:26] <cradek> the error message is the same
[18:19:35] <skunkworks_> (around 60Khz)
[18:19:55] <skunkworks_> you really start to see the jitter on the scope at those frequencies
[18:20:50] <alex_joni> sure you do.. 60 kHz is 0.00001 sec period
[18:21:17] <alex_joni> is that with double step or not?
[18:21:30] <skunkworks_> yes - double step
[18:21:52] <alex_joni> ok, so 30kHz effective -> 30 usec period
[18:22:03] <alex_joni> 10 usec latency surely is noticeable there
[18:22:38] <skunkworks_> 1/2 division on the scope at 2us
[18:22:46] <skunkworks_> ummm
[18:23:06] <skunkworks_> that was wrong
[18:23:06] <alex_joni> my math is probably borked.. it's 8pm after a long day
[18:23:50] <skunkworks_> the jitter could be as much as 5 divisions on the scope?
[18:23:54] <skunkworks_> yikes
[18:24:13] <alex_joni> well.. it's hard to sync to that signal
[18:24:29] <alex_joni> you mostly care at distance between two consecutive pulses..
[18:27:06] <ken> brb...emc froze
[18:27:28] <skunkworks_> the jitter seems to be less than 1 division while watching it.. But you know
[18:32:59] <jepler> fwiw I tested on mini and it does give the full arc error under "messages".
[18:33:00] <jepler> 5 - Radius to end of arc differs from radius to start: start=(X0.0000,Y0.0000) center=(X0.0000,Y1.0000) end=(X1.0000,Y0.0000) r1=1.0000 r2=1.4142
[18:51:37] <ken> hello again
[18:51:44] <SkinnYPupp> http://pastebin.org/24611 http://pastebin.org/24612 I threw together some simple box examples for ken but I gotta run, If someone would pass these along if he returns
[18:51:48] <ken> thanks for all ya'll help
[18:52:07] <ken> thanks Skinn
[18:56:32] <ken> i tried the first...works fine
[19:06:34] <ken> i posted what i wrote at
http://pastebin.org/24615
[19:06:55] <ken> i get three different results at three corners
[19:07:39] <ken> first=worked second=1/2" circle third=different ends
[19:09:41] <cradek> ken: your center points are wrong. the center i,j is specified relative to the beginning point of the arc.
[19:10:19] <jepler> Radius to end of arc differs from radius to start: start=(X1.1500,Y0.3500) center=(X1.4000,Y0.3500) end=(X0.9000,Y0.1000) r1=0.2500 r2=0.5590
[19:10:23] <cradek> the arc on line 9 wants a center below (negative J) the start point but you have it to the right (positive I)
[19:10:37] <cradek> the arc on line 11 is even worse
[19:11:00] <cradek> you cannot just copy i.25 and hope it works. you have to understand i,j and fix them for each arc
[19:11:11] <skunkworks_> Is there a limit to the number of printer ports in emc2?
[19:11:25] <skunkworks_> I should say - 3 should work - correct?
[19:11:27] <ken> i didn't copy antthing...i wrote each arc
[19:11:55] <jepler> skunkworks_: if you want more than 8 ports, you have to make a trivial modification to the source code.
[19:13:04] <skunkworks_> ah - thanks jepler.
[19:13:17] <alex_joni> I think there have been reports of people running onboard + extra 2
[19:13:25] <ken> the third arc....says different ends
[19:13:45] <cradek> that's because the center point (i,j) is wrong
[19:14:22] <SWPadnos> did anyone notice the targeted advertising on those pastebins?
[19:14:31] <SWPadnos> EditCNC software ...
[19:14:39] <acemi> skunkworks_: I used 3 parallel port ( 1 onboard + 1 PCI with two port)
[19:14:42] <ken> they're all i.25 what do you mean?
[19:14:51] <alex_joni> I see TOrchmate cnc cutting machinery
[19:15:01] <alex_joni> ken: I and J refer to the relative location of the circle center
[19:15:08] <alex_joni> relative to the current location
[19:15:09] <ken> yes
[19:15:18] <alex_joni> having all i=.25 can't work for all cases
[19:15:21] <ken> o ok
[19:15:23] <cradek> if they are all i.25, that means you are telling it the center of each arc is .25" to the RIGHT of the start points
[19:15:34] <ken> ooooooo
[19:15:35] <cradek> that's true for the first arc, but not for the rest of them
[19:15:36] <ken> ok
[19:15:43] <ken> let me try
[19:15:54] <cradek> " I and J are the offsets from the current location (in the X and Y directions, respectively) of the center of the circle."
[19:16:29] <ken> yes
[19:16:46] <ken> i understand i =x j=y
[19:18:18] <ken> but then wouldn't i.25 be 1/4" from x1.15 y1.95 ?
[19:18:30] <jepler> http://jmkasunich.dyndns.org/pics/gcode-ref-back.pdf
[19:19:27] <ken> so ia j are the start and xy the end of the arc
[19:19:28] <ken> ?
[19:19:36] <ken> i went look at the pdf
[19:21:02] <jepler> the start of the arc is whereever you are at the end of the prior move. I and J define the center of the arc relative to that point. X and Y define the end point of the arc.
[19:21:10] <skunkworks_> radion 9200 runs glxgears smooooth.
[19:31:14] <cradek> http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/03/19/phonograph-disk-directs-automatic-machine/
[19:31:33] <ken> so g2 x1.15 y1.95 i.9 j1.95 this ?
[19:34:39] <skunkworks_> cradek: neat. can emc do that ;)
[19:35:11] <ken> ok
[19:35:38] <ken> i did it ... i had to use negative i or j
[19:37:08] <skunkworks_> Is it me - or are there shavings on the record?
[19:38:09] <ken> this worked at
http://pastebin.org/24622
[19:38:25] <cradek> excellent ken
[19:38:54] <ken> i now get i and j(i think:) thanks cradex
[19:39:05] <cradek> welcome. glad you got it.
[19:41:06] <skunkworks_> Guest145: hello
[19:41:29] <Guest145> hello
[19:43:20] <Guest145> my name is Alessandro and i live in Florence (Italy)
[19:45:40] <skunkworks_> Hello from Wisconsin usa
[19:47:47] <Guest145> i trying an emc system whit Mesa m5i20 - 7i33 and two 7i37
[19:48:10] <Guest145> i have some questions
[19:48:27] <Guest145> is the rigt forum ?
[19:48:34] <cradek> yes
[19:50:19] <Guest145> sorry for my bad english but the italian school.....
[19:53:55] <Guest145> first question : who load the firmware hal_m5i20 into the board ?
[19:56:47] <skunkworks_> Emc loads the firmware onto the board when it is hal component is used in the hal file. There is a sample config here
[19:56:48] <skunkworks_> http://cvs.linuxcnc.org/cvs/emc2/configs/m5i20/
[19:57:02] <skunkworks_> (also on the livecd
[19:57:03] <skunkworks_> )
[20:05:07] <Guest145> ok second question : i reed in emc manual the pin allocation of P2 P3 P4 connectors where P2 is the encoders and dac connector and on P3-P4 there are other 4 encoder and mask
[20:05:10] <micges> hi all
[20:05:51] <Guest145> can i use P3 and P4 as general i/o ?
[20:11:22] <skunkworks_> I think that is the default 4 axis setup. p2 is the 4 axis servo/encoder counter and p3 and p4 is i/o.
[20:13:24] <skunkworks_> (but you can use them as extra encoders if you want)
[20:16:54] <Guest145> i need only 3 axis, but i put on p3 or p4 two input for an handwheel
[20:19:17] <Guest145> I have seen the plan on anderswallin
[20:21:55] <SWPadnos> Guest145, I don't know if the secondary encoders on P3 are used with the EMC2 driver
[20:22:59] <SWPadnos> for a handwheel you don't need the hardware encoder input
[20:23:32] <tomp> i have an m5i20. i just loaded the stock emc configuration. here's halcmd show's output
http://pastebin.ca/950743 ( i have no real hdwr hooked up , just the m5i20 in a slot )
[20:23:53] <tomp> may be of use
[20:24:10] <SWPadnos> ok, all 8 encoders are there. thanks
[20:24:34] <SWPadnos> I guess those are inputs by default, and if you don't want to use the encoder feature, just don't connect the output :)
[20:24:59] <SWPadnos> (the hal output m5i20.0.enc-0[4-7]-* inputs, that is)
[20:25:22] <tomp> yeah, dont worry about the names
[20:25:31] <SWPadnos> wow, I think I've lost my ability to make a coherent sentence
[20:27:41] <alex_joni> you ever had that?
[20:27:48] <SWPadnos> yes
[20:28:31] <alex_joni> humm
[20:28:35] <alex_joni> * alex_joni goes to bed
[20:28:37] <alex_joni> night guys
[20:28:43] <SWPadnos> good night
[20:32:10] <Guest145> excuse me, if i use all the p3 and p4 input as i/o what happens
[20:32:36] <SWPadnos> nothing bad will happen, you just won't be able to use the extra encoder inputs that are on P3
[20:33:36] <SWPadnos> tomp, were you working on some document that shows the connector pinout <-> HAL pin translation?
[20:34:14] <tomp> yeah, but i forgot where i put :-(
[20:34:21] <tomp> i'll look
[20:34:23] <SWPadnos> heh
[20:34:52] <SWPadnos> I had considered changing the pin names in HAL to reflect where they are (like parportT), but that would be a pretty big config change, for litttle gain
[20:35:46] <SWPadnos> then there's the idea that it's not much of an Abstraction Layer if you need to change all the higher level configs when low-level stuff changes :)
[20:36:04] <tomp> the old meaning of cpp was the c preprocessor, which allowed name changing
[20:36:18] <SWPadnos> #define foo=bar
[20:36:21] <SWPadnos> woohoo! ;)
[20:36:36] <SWPadnos> (more correctly, "#define foo bar")
[20:36:45] <tomp> yeh, i used it as a sort of mini language
[20:37:23] <SWPadnos> I attended a class where the instructor mentioned that people actually make programs that run int he C++ template system
[20:37:25] <SWPadnos> scary stuff
[20:40:26] <tomp> found it! hal pin to phys pin
http://pastebin.ca/950773
[20:41:04] <tomp> accuracy not guaranteed
[20:41:11] <SWPadnos> heh - cool. thanks
[20:41:55] <Guest145> in italy are 9.40pm and is the time to close pc , thanks to all
[20:42:09] <tomp> buona notte
[20:42:14] <SWPadnos> si
[20:43:12] <skunkworks_> jepler: pluto step doesn't have an encoder counter?
[20:43:26] <Guest145> tomp sai l'italiano ?
[20:43:51] <tomp> non parle italinao, solo un picolo ( -10 spelling :-)
[20:44:02] <SWPadnos> heh
[20:44:19] <tomp> i like the way it sound tho :)
[20:44:20] <SWPadnos> due cappuccini, per favore :)
[20:44:30] <Guest145> ah ah
[20:44:32] <SWPadnos> (had to learn to order coffee in Firenze ;) )
[20:44:45] <tomp> stutta, con grappa
[20:44:53] <Guest145> ok per i coffe
[20:45:00] <Guest145> stutta????
[20:45:06] <Guest145> what is?
[20:45:09] <tomp> short
[20:45:15] <Guest145> ah
[20:45:20] <tomp> half the water
[20:45:24] <Guest145> caffe ristretto con grappa
[20:45:37] <tomp> caffe corretto
[20:45:42] <Guest145> water in the coffe ????????????????????
[20:45:58] <tomp> yes, half the volume, same caffeine
[20:46:02] <skunkworks_> SWPadnos: the universal stepper controller could use the encoder counter for threading - couldn't it?
[20:46:09] <Guest145> noooooooooooooooooo
[20:46:13] <SWPadnos> not really
[20:46:17] <skunkworks_> oh
[20:46:35] <Guest145> correto yes but water never
[20:46:43] <tomp> hahaha
[20:46:49] <skunkworks_> so you can't get to them from hal?
[20:47:23] <SWPadnos> the hardware allows you to ge teither the step count or the encoder feedback per channel, but not both
[20:48:11] <skunkworks_> I was reading - that make sense now.
[20:48:25] <tomp> walkies!, bbl ( io pedo )
[20:48:48] <skunkworks_> darn - so there is really no one hardware step generator solution for a lathe. (with encoder counter) yet
[20:49:18] <SWPadnos> maybe, maybe not
[20:49:39] <cradek> it's easy to use a software encoder for the spindle
[20:49:54] <Guest145> bye bye next time i register my name as "albova" good night
[20:49:54] <SWPadnos> not with a USC input
[20:49:57] <cradek> spindles are sloooowwwwww
[20:50:07] <skunkworks_> heh
[20:50:13] <SWPadnos> you'd have to add a secondary input device, like a second parport
[20:50:17] <cradek> sure
[20:50:34] <SWPadnos> unless 1-2 KHz is fast enough to count spindle pulses, which I doubt in many cases
[20:50:40] <skunkworks_> http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54431
[20:50:48] <cradek> yeah doubtful.
[20:51:04] <SWPadnos> however, if you use a USC channel as the spindle drive, you can just use feedback on that channel rather than the step count
[20:51:32] <SWPadnos> so something like a gecko drive or a frequency-to-voltage converter could be used on that channel
[20:52:03] <SWPadnos> (along with encoder feedback from the spindle, on that channel)
[20:53:04] <skunkworks_> I was going to give him some hardware options.. but there isn't really an easy 1 soluton. I also thought the pluto step had 1 encoder counter.. but it doesn't (as far as I can tell)
[20:53:52] <cradek> I don't think jepler recommends pluto step yet
[20:54:29] <cradek> I don't see where he says he is using steppers
[20:54:36] <SWPadnos> it looks almost as though the present setup has a step/dir drive for the spindle
[20:54:51] <SWPadnos> if that's the case, the USC will work right out of the box
[20:55:06] <SWPadnos> (assuming you can dedicate a channel to the spindle, which should be possible with a lathe)
[20:55:12] <skunkworks_> that one LPT port is not enough to fully control lathe (beside step/dir, home/limit switches, spindle encoder there must be spindle on, turret control, coolant on signals \
[20:55:13] <cradek> when people say step/dir spindle, do they mean pwm+dir for velocity control?
[20:55:23] <SWPadnos> dunno
[20:55:37] <SWPadnos> with the right motor, a gecko can drive a 2HP+ motor
[20:55:57] <SWPadnos> other high power drives also have step/dir as an option
[20:56:04] <skunkworks_> I think there are mach interfaces that use the step/dir output to run a spindle.
[20:56:19] <SWPadnos> there's one called the pixie, which I think may be no more
[20:56:20] <cradek> but those aren't positioning devices are they? it's really just pwm?
[20:56:27] <SWPadnos> freq -> voltage converters
[20:56:48] <SWPadnos> to let mach (which only does steps) work with real servos that need analog
[20:57:16] <cradek> oops, I just noticed I stopped caring about this
[20:57:20] <SWPadnos> heh
[20:57:52] <SWPadnos> ok - he does say he'll have a step/dir driver for the spindle, so a USC is perfectly fine, with feedback
[20:58:03] <skunkworks_> and mach only requires 1 index for threading.. ;)
[20:58:28] <SWPadnos> which works perfectly, or so I've heard :)
[20:58:37] <SWPadnos> from someone who heard it from someone
[21:10:41] <skunkworks_> heard it from a friend who... heard it from a friend who.. Heard it from another you've been messin around..
[21:13:17] <SWPadnos> thank you, Mr. Speedwagon
[21:17:11] <skunkworks_> ;)
[21:19:21] <skunkworks_> as a friend pernounced it out like rio grande
[21:23:37] <skunkworks_> pronounced
[22:37:11] <jepler> skunkworks: no encoder counters on pluto step.
[22:38:15] <jepler> I've talked about adding one (for spindle feedback) but there's not room without removing something else .. and anyway, I'm not that interested in developing pluto-step any more
[22:38:32] <jepler> I'd rather wait for seb k. to finish support for all the things that the vastly superior Mesa parport product can do
[23:20:11] <awallin> yay, got the drop-cutter code going again:
http://imagebin.org/15087 the plan was to make this fancy search tree to dramatically speed up the algorithm - but I've seem to have slowed it down :)
[23:26:24] <jmkasunich> archivist: regarding screw twist - it will be no worse than with a single motor
[23:26:40] <tomp> i find lotsa web info on how to extend battery life of laptops, but where can i find which ones have a long life ( look for really heavy ones?? )
[23:26:40] <jmkasunich> with one motor, all the torque comes from one end of the screw, and twists it a lot (relatively speaking)
[23:27:11] <jmkasunich> with two motors, some torque comes from both ends, so the torque in any part of the screw is less, and it twists less
[23:27:13] <tomp> oh, is that what the 2 motors on 1 screw is about!
[23:28:19] <tomp> a case for turning the nut and locking the ends down maybe
[23:31:36] <fenn> wow this is really lame. ubuntu ftl:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/sudo/+bug/32906
