Re: Pendant

[Jon Elson <jmelson-at-artsci.wustl.edu>]

"Arne Chr. Jorgensen" wrote:

> Operators Panel:
> -------------
> ( mode buttons need to have a led or some kind of annunciation - YES
>
> 1.  Essential:
> - button  - program/cycle start
> - button  - stop
> - button  - single step
> - button  - retrace  (do you mean go back one line?  Yes, I'd like that,

            but, don't ask Fred - it looks hard to do.  the interpreter is a one
            way street, the way it is written, and changing it could be a real
bear.

   - 2 buttons - auto / manual  (MDI needs only to be enabled from the keyboard,
            but if in MDI, the pendant auto or manual buttons will go from MDI to
            the selected mode.)

>
> - button  - coolant on/off
> - dial (var resistor )  - feed-rate override
> - 3+ buttons  - selected axis : x,y, z ..
> - 3 buttons - spindle forward/reverse/stop
>
> - dial ( encoder     )  - axis jog

   - buttons to select dial or jog joystick.  Maybe it could be set so that
a move of the joystick (when in manual) would enable the joystick, but
that you had to push a button to enable the jog dial, as it is too easy to
bump the dial, and you wouldn't want the machine to jog any time the
jog dial is bumped.  For safety reasons, maybe you need a button to enable
the joystick, too.  I'd like an analog joystick, but I could be happy with
a simple joystick with plain switches in it.  But, I think a joystick would
be less likely to be pushed the wrong way than a bunch of buttons.

>
> - dial ( var resistor )  - spindle RPM ?
>

As for how to do it, there are companies that make cheap chips and
fairly inexpensive boards that connect between the keyboard and
CPU, and insert messages of your choice that look like key strokes.
There is even a VERY fancy one that will run LED digital displays and
read analog signals and quadrature encoders.

But, I was thinking that the jog dial could be run to a DRO board or
STG card's spare encoder counters.  An analog joystick could also
be connected to the STG's analog input channels.

I don't see a problem with having a wire on the pendant.  I'd be a
bit concerned with reliability of an IR link and a battery-powered
pendant.

Jon