PathPilot, 7i92, G540 HAL file

Hi All,
I'm attempting to get PathPilot 2.8.3 to interface to a G540 controller via a Mesa 7i92 Ethernet card.I'm selecting the machine as a 1110-3 and can set the G540 .bit file in tormach_1100-3_7i92_specific.ini
I now need to modify the HAL file to link the necessary PathPilot signals to the Mesa card input/output pins.
This is where my talent has run out. image missing /media/kunena/emoticons/sad.png  
Has someone done this previously and have the files with the necessary changes? My understanding is that I need to change the HAL file tormach_mill_mesa.hal

I understand the concept around the HALfile but have no experiencing creating or editing one.

I have a backup solution of using a small circuit board to do the rerouting the signals but I'd prefer to to it in software. I did jury rig the connections to the G540 using a RS232 DB25 breakout box to show that it would work. I'd need to use a small micro to convert the step frequency spindle control to a PWM signal for the G540.

Cheers,
Peter
 

I would use firmware that matches the hardware
and get things working one section at a time:

Axis motion, home switches, spindle, chargepump etc

Can you post the hal and ini files here?

PCW wrote:

I would use firmware that matches the hardware
and get things working one section at a time:

Axis motion, home switches, spindle, chargepump etc

Can you post the hal and ini files here?

Thanks for the reply.
I've attached the three files below, although I'm not sure that for this issue I need to change the tormach_mill_base.ini as the  items in tormach_1100-3_7i92_specific.ini overwrite the same named items in the base ini file.

In the tormach_1100-3_7i92_specific.ini you can see I changed the bit file to 7i92_G540x2D.bit
The issue with this is that the HAL file does not match it.
Below are the current pin assignments on the left. On the right is what I need it changed to for the G540. Apart from the different pin assignments, the other change is that the G540 need to accept a PWM spindle control signal with a base frequency of 50 Hz

The charge pump needs to be a frequency of 10Khz or above.

                             Current                              G540
Mill Function       7192 DB25 Pin            7192 DB25 Pin
Spindle Speed        1                                     14      (Needs to be  PWM with 100Hz base frequency
Coolant                  14                                     1
X Direction             2                                       3
Estop Reset           15                                    15
X Step                   3                                       2
Spindle Dir            16                                     17
Y Direction             4                                      5
Charge Pump        17                                    16 Frequency of 10Kz or above.
Y Step                    5                                      4
Z Direction             6                                       7
Z Step                   7                                       6
A Direction             8                                      9
A Step                   9                                       8
X Limit                 10                                      10
Y Limit                 11                                       11
Z Limit                 12                                       12
Probe In              13                                      13

Cheers,

Peter
 

I know you've been on this for a while.
I sometimes think it would be a better path to just get linuxcnc working on a default axis install and then migrate to PathPilot once you have a working config and a better understanding of linuxcnc.

Unless you have Tormach hardware, PathPilot just adds a whole layer of complexity and to deal with that first up before understanding how linuxcnc works just makes a much bigger and more complex job. I have no interest in even trying it.

You never know, you may find another config that meets your needs and never go to PP. Gmaocappy is not bad really.

Hi Rod,
If I can't sort this out I'm sure I'll be following your advice.Then I'll be asking you questions. image missing /media/kunena/emoticons/smile.png

I quite like this screen set used by Dr Flo
www.drdflo.com/pages/Projects/CNC-Mill.html#linuxcnc

It uses the Simple Probe screenset here;
kcjengr.github.io/probe_basic/index.html

That said I just like the PathPilot interface and I want to use the probing routines and the rigid tapping.
Currently, I'm using Mach3 and the Aqua screenset. It's similar to PathPilot and suits my workflow.
www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=11115.0

   

​​​​​​​
Cheers,

Peter

Note that none of the stepgen pins needs any changes
as they are addressed as stepgen 0..4 in the hal file
not by pin number so there are only a few GPIO changes
needed (1/14 - GPIO 0,1 and 16/17 = GPIO 5/7)

There's a lot of Tormach specific code on the hal file that
IMHO is best removed (especially the shared probe/limit pins
and the spindle control stuff)

You will also need to delete all the step output inversions
since the G540 has active high step inputs:

# P3 pin 3 gpio 004
# X step
setp hm2_[HOSTMOT2](BOARD).0.gpio.004.invert_output 1
^^^^^^^^^^^^ delete all lines like this
This is using a deprecated (GPIO dependent) way to invert the step outputs
but you dont want inversion at all