Re: EMC & 2.2.13 getting closer to running

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

Clint Bach wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Well, I'm getting closer to having an operating machine... I can
> actually get the tkemc interface to come up. I just can't get the
> machine out of estop and turned on. I have gotten the machine out of
> estop but it won't turn on.

This is actually quite a bit of progress!

> Here is what I did so far:
>
> 1.I followed the instructions in install.phil to get rtlinux2.0
> installed and running. Previously I had stopped short of getting
> everything put in the right places. I do have a few things in the kernek
> I don't need like pcmcia and scsi support but it does run. More is not
> necessarily better but less won't work all the time.
>
> 2. Installed the EMC. Nothing seems to be wrong there... But what do I
> know.
>
> 3. The emc.ini file seems to be a problem for me. There are several
> places where the file asks for PLAT = ?????.  I'm not really sure what
> is supposed to go where there but in the original ini file there is no
> mention of linux_2_2_13 but in the emc install mylog files there are
> lots of referrences to linux_2_2_13.
> I hammered away with different combinations of linux_2_2_13 and
> rtlinux_20 until I got some thing that worked. Some help on what PLAT =
> goes where would be a great help!

Depending on whether you are running a 2.0.36 kernel or a 2.2.13 kernel,
you put the appropriate value there.  The rtlinux version is specific for
whichever rt patch you are running (it would be the one specific for your
kernel version).  Linux announces the kernel version when it boots up.


> 4. bridgeporttask and bridgeportio allow me to load EMC and bring up
> tkemc but I can't get the machine out of estop and turned on regardless
> of the estop polarity settings. I thibnk I have evn gotten ity out of
> estop but it won't turn on.

Do you have a servo-to-go card?  These are needed to do much of
anything with the bridgeport or minimill configurations.  There is a line
in the .ini file that tells the servo motor io routine what address the STG
card is at (usually 0x200 or 0x300).  Bridgeportio (or minimillio) need
to know the address of the parallel port that has the estop signals on
it.

Once you have the STG card and the parallel port set up right, and giving
the right polarity to come out of estop, you then have to satisfy the limit
switch conditions, or override them (there should be a screen button
to override limit switches).  With them all reporting not-on-limit, or
overridden, then you can turn the machine on.

> 5. minimilltask and minimillio have something dreadfully wrong but I can
> still get the tkemc to come up. I get an error message while still in
> the terminal window but the tk gui still comes up. the error message is:
> "minimilltaskintf.cc 923: error on axis 0" I get the same error for axis
> 1 and axis 2 also... three almost identical error messages in all.
>
> Well, I think I'm fairly close to getting this thing running.

Yup, quite close.

Jon