Rods "Spaceship" Scratch built Plasma Cutter build

Strrewth! How is a man supposed to get work done when everybody is talking to him!

Grotius, yes, I am keen to try some other methods but if I can nail this,we might be able to get something into master branch.

Tommy, There are positives for either the single component or the multiple component approach. Either way there still needs to be a THC component if only just to collect all of the signals. By working with separate components, its easier to develop a system and I think it is more in keeping with the LinuxCNC HAL paradigm. Some of the standard components are only 3-4 lines long... Plus its easier to debug and less likely to go wrong. The downside is there are many more pins to manage. Dewey's approach to this was to have a custom hal file as a library component that made all of the boiler plate connections for you automatically and just leave half a dozen or so, maybe less the user needed to connect. Thats what I will try to do.

Well, I got my prototyping done.
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I've got so much clearance between the swaybar and the braces, I'm going to redesign them!

I did get some Sheetcam cut rules done and found they made a huge difference. I also got caught with the digital outputs staying sticky between different G code files so I just need to tweak the POST one more time. I've been caught with this before. To me its buggy behaviour as to my mind, a gcode program should start from a known state and if you use digital outputs it doesn't!

Are the g codes included in the INI file under RS274NGC_STARTUP_CODE sent every time a gcode file is opened or only on linuxcnc startup?

Are the g codes included in the INI file under RS274NGC_STARTUP_CODE sent every time a gcode file is opened or only on linuxcnc startup?

I believe that is a one time read and that you should put the preamble at the top of every gcode file.

Thanks Clive, I suspected as much. I'm not a machinist but it seems poor form to me to not restore the state to what it was in the beginning

It is, but... Things go wrong, what happens when a program gets aborted before completion with who knows what settings in place?

Well, I did not get much done today. I went and saw the company I purchased my plasma cutter from on my rounds today to get some consumables and they sold me over $400 worth of consumables for $100.

I also came back with some 12mm and 16mm flat bar and sorted out stuff for supply of plate steel. I found a company that will cut 1200x2400 sheets in half for me which will be handy.

I twas so hot here today and hit over 36 degrees C. It was that hot, I grabbed a bottle of water and went down to the back of my shed but by the time I got there, I had to come back for another drink! I think Islander said it was about -4 at his place the other day!

Anyway, I got to the bottom of my digital output issue. It comes about because the Sheetcam post I used as a base always kept the THC disabled when idle. With a hpid config, its the other way round. Only hold THC action for short periods when you need to. So when I realised it ws not going to be one line of code fix, I retired to the airconditioning to work on it which kept me amused for the rest of the afternoon. Anyway, now I have a working post processor and checked all the code it generates so hopefully LinuxCNC won't complain in the morning. There is now a lot of redundant code in the POST. One day I'll clean it up.