anderswallin.net

For testing the servo-drives and all the electronics I found this test-panel for the HOSTMOT-4 conifiguration of the m5i20 quite useful.

It uses an XML file (iotest.xml) to define the pyVCP panel layout, and then a HAL file (pyiotest.hal) to hook up the IO pins of the m5i20 to the panel. I’m also using a shell script (iotest.sh) to start the realtime environment and run pyvcp followed by the HAL file automatically.

Compare this to my earler effort with the old VCP. Now with many more widgets in pyVCP I have better control of the DACs etc.

Stuart Stevenson wrote about his Dah-Lih EMC2 conversion on the emc-mailinglist, and has allowed me to publish these pictures of his mill. I’ve scaled the pictures to 1024 pixels wide - click the picture to see it in high-resolution.

Machine after conversion.

Machine before conversion. Pendant has original CRT and buttons.

Control electronics. Jon Elson’s PPMC cards at the top.

Relays and transformers.

The new control. The computer is a Gateway Profile 3.

There is a MagicTouch touch screen mounted in front of the computer.

Back side of control. The computer is connected to the PPMC cards by the parallel port only. Jog-wheel and buttons are wired directly to PPMC. The network cable goes to a Linksys WET11 bridge mounted on the back panel.