ARC-OK -> Arc Not OK

Hello for today.

I am looking for ideas on manipulating the ARC-OK (or, more accurately, not OK) signal response. Usually all is fine and I like the use of the ARC-OK at a pierce, but am loosing my fondness during the cut. Until yesterday, axis movement would stop at the end of a cut when loosing a good arc signal and I would just restart at the next pierce. Yesterday, my arc path accidentally made it into a material gap in the middle of a cut and stopped moving. End result was a lost piece because I couldn't restart at that point. I might have been able to use the part with the missing material that halted the torch, but since I couldn't just restart in the middle of the curve I have more scraps,

What I would like is for the ARC-OK signal to be observed at the beginning of the cut, but to keep on cutting during the cut if the ARC-OK is lost. At least to be able to add a delay of 1-2 seconds before stopping to see if the ARC-OK signal returns would be nice.

Thanks in advance for pointing me in a direction.

Paul

Actually, I thought monitoring the arc full time was the intended, and only, way. My vlcdthc is setup for full time monitoring. Prior to this, I would put in an extra long wait at the pierce to cover the lack of using the ARC-OK signal.

How to you use the arc-ok signal at pierce and ignore it during the cut? Thanks!

Thanks John. Again!

I now remember seeing the M66 in your touch off routine. I wasn't using any ARC-OK information at that time. Your way is exactly what I am wanting. Thanks again...

John,

I think the Q variable of 5 is to wait upto 5 seconds for the arc-ok signal. What is supposed to happen after 5 seconds if no arc is detected? As I tested tonight, it would wait, but then continued on the path without the arc-ok signal. I was kind of expecting it to quit after the 5 seconds of no arc. The torch would continue before the 5 seconds were up when I tripped the arc-ok test switch.

That's pretty neat. Would an M0 also turn off the torch or simply hold motion and leave all else in their current states?
Paul

Thanks John. I ran a few parts last night using the M66 P0 L1 Q5 portion after reconfiguring my vlcdthc setup and it works great. I didn't add the call routine just yet, but will later. It would be nice to just pause with torch off (as opposed to ending) in case the job is midway through with multiple pierces in case the lack of the arc-ok signal can be remedied on the fly. Thanks.