THC Plugin, Developer needed

[Mcasey]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone tried to make a THC Plugin for UCCNC?

It is something we have been thinking about for a while now but we just do not have the time resources to complete, so we thought this would be the best place to see if anyone would be interested.

It does at least seem like something that can be done, maybe I am wrong. Use the analog voltage input for the arc voltage reading (0-5v from a 50:1 divider card), clean up the signal and then use internal signals for THC control.

If anyone on here thinks they could do it, I would be happy to pay them for the development.

Thanks
Mike

[Robertspark]

it needs more than a plugin, it needs a firmware change

the problem is windows + the use of a motion controller

how are you intending to use the sampled analog input?

imo the data arriving for the plugin to do anything with it will be too late to do anything with it as the event would have already past.

I think the fastest sample rate from motion controller to plugin (from memory) is 25hz (25x per second)

the highest federated I have seen on an air plasma cutter are 400ipm (10160mm/min), at 25 Hz the torch would have moved 0.267" (6.7mm), the plugin would need to do something with that data and tell uccnc to do something with it in the next 1/25th of a second.... whilst the torch has moved another 6.7mm.... whilst it's skimming over the metal at ~1.5mm and maintaing that height....

that is why unless there is a firmware change (sample rate increased to 1khz) and the thc is an internal (firmware function) people use external thcs.

if you wish to use Windows you are limited to an external thc issuing thcup or thcdn signals, or a stand alone thc.

[Mcasey]

Thanks very much Robert, I didn't realise how slow the sampling rate actually is, that's unfortunate, back to the drawing board

[Robertspark]

unfortunately with uccnc (mach3, mach4) you are in need of an external thc

[Mcasey]

I think I will just use a little PLC, unitronics standard plc will sample around 600hz, doing the math, at 10160mm/min that should be a signal every 0.28mm, which hopefully should work okay. If I'm only cutting at 6000mm/min this is 0.167mm