Re: EMC & 2.2.13 getting closer to running

[Ray Henry <rehenry-at-up.net>]

At 09:37 PM 3/25/2000 -0500, Clint wrote:
<snip>
>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!

If you get a run script to load and show the gui, then you've got the plat
business set up correctly.  Save that ini file!

>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.

Yes you may be able to get it out of estop but IMHO it will not run unless
you have the second parallel port and it set up correctly.  Or the stg card.

>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.

These errors just mean that emc doesn't think that your axis are enabled
and ready to run.  In the recent releases there has been an effort to show
more problem messages -- and these are some of them.  They don't mean that
you have a problem with minimill.  They mean that minimill has a problem
with your drives or your specification of drives in the ini file.  I'll
paste in a copy of one drive spec from the minimill ini that I use.  

-----------my minimill ini drive spec------------------
; First axis
[AXIS_0]

TYPE =				LINEAR
UNITS =				0.03937007874016
HOME = 				0.000
MAX_VELOCITY =			1.2
P = 1000.000
I = 0.000
D = 0.000
FF0 = 0.000
FF1 = 0.000
FF2 = 0.000
BACKLASH = 0.000
BIAS = 0.000
MAX_ERROR = 0.000
DEADBAND = 0.000
CYCLE_TIME =			0.001000
INPUT_SCALE =			4000	0
OUTPUT_SCALE = 4000 0.000
MIN_LIMIT =			-10.0
MAX_LIMIT =			10.0
MIN_OUTPUT =			-10
MAX_OUTPUT =			10
FERROR = 1.000
MIN_FERROR = 0.010
HOMING_VEL =			0.1
HOME_OFFSET =			0.1
ENABLE_POLARITY =		0   	*	
MIN_LIMIT_SWITCH_POLARITY =	0   	*
MAX_LIMIT_SWITCH_POLARITY =	0   	*
HOME_SWITCH_POLARITY =	1		1
HOMING_POLARITY =		1
JOGGING_POLARITY =		1
FAULT_POLARITY =		1

-----end of ini chunk---------------

I don't use enable or limits so I set them to 0.  With my el-cheapo parport
this seems to mean that they are okay and minimill is happy.  (I put stars
after them so you can find the lines more easily -- don't put stars in your
ini)

You may also have to fiddle with home switch polarity if the axis you want
to home takes off but never reaches home.  

>Well, I think I'm fairly close to getting this thing running.

You betcha.

>What I think I need is help with the emc.ini file, particuliarly the
>"PLAT = ??????" thing and what to do about the errors in minimilltask. 

We all ocasionally need help with the ini file!

Ray