Arduino has brought out a new Nano that has a lot of enhanced features.
Before buying one I thought I would ask if anyone has tried one with Estlcam yet
Hi,
Estlcam can only use the ātraditionalā Arduino UNO and Nano with Atmega328 processor.
Iām not sure anymore, but I think you got an issue with your Mega with the CNC program stopping shortly after starting in Version 12 but not 11? I found the reason a few days ago: on some Boards the āProgram startā input is always on. Version 11 ignored this because the signal never switched but Version 12 misinterpreteded it as start and stop signal. It has been fixed since.
Christian
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Thanks for that Christian,
I have downloaded the latest version of 12 and will try it again soon. I also noticed that often the probe is activated on start-up, even if there is no probe connected. Any movement will release the probe immediately This is not happening in 11, same computer, same file, same machine.
Up until now I have been designing in version 12 and processing that file with 11 without issues, however the nice additions in 12 are not available that way, so I hope I can use 12 from now on.
Maybe adding a pull up resistor would help? I think that the probe input pin is floating.
Estlcam enables the processors internal pull-up resistors to prevent floating inputs - but those are quite weak.
It seems to be a design issue on some boards that pulls this pin low (or some intentionally placed component if the board is designed with other functionality in mind):
- For most boards the pin is at a stable high level - as intended.
- But the one the issue was finally discovered with had a stable low level, despite the pull-up.
This is also why it took me so long to figure this out - Iāve tested countless times with my 2 boards after more reports like yours came in - but my boards had the expected stable high level and the issue never showed up.
All further complicated by the fact that USB interferences during spindle motor power up are a quite common issue, so I assumed this to be the primary cause and attributed differences between V11 and V12 to more communication with the controller in Version 12 and therefore larger timeframes for interferences to disrupt communication.
Christian
I am not having any issues with either 11 or 12 on spindle start-up, however with 11 I often get an issue when the spindle stops. I just have to move one of the axis a little and the problem goes away (I could press F11, but it is very difficult to do on a laptop, having to press two keys to perform that, on the 12 machine I have a button to press on the console that works very well.)
It appears to be at the very end of the spindle stopping, a click is heard and then the error appears on the screen. Possibly a big EMI spike at that time.
I have fitted ferrite beads on the 3 output lines of the VFD.
I have not experienced this problem with 12, but I havenāt used 12 much so far and another difference is that the spindle has a braking resistor added. I will add a braking resistor to the 11 machine and see if that makes any difference. Both machines use the same type of VFD and spindle.
And here is why.
Are you saying that āMachine projectā (and the v12 controller interface) works with the v11 firmware? Iāve been curious about the opposite (v11 > v12) because it appears I will always need to be able to use v11 (pocket/carve groups, spiral 3D, insert pause, climb cut engravingā¦).
From my experience due to 12 not performing as it should I was designing everything in 12 CAM and sending out the file to the machine with 11 CNC. I never had an issue that way, but the extra goodies that are in 12 CNC were not available, like the additional button controls that I really like.
The latest version just released seems to work okay on my machine now, so whatever the problem was has been fixed. I will keep checking as I work my way forward.
I still am getting the probe activated on start-up, but I havenāt added an additional pullup resistor yet.
Thatās something I want to avoid. I havenāt put v12 on my machine, but I have the firmware on a spare Nano and its not complaining when I use the v11 controller interface with it.
Do you have an optocoupler (e.g. like on the Estlcam board) or capacitor on the probe input? I did try the recommended 100nf (an SMD, possible installation issue), but had to go back to the (no false triggers) 10nf disk I started out with (because itās all I had).
Hello,
Version 11 and 12 CAM and CNC control can be combind - but āStart machiningā in V11 CAM will always start V11 controller and āStart machiningā in Version 12 CAM will always start V12 controller.
So the way to go is to use āSave CNC programā instead and then open the CNC program file with the desired controller version.
Firmware in V12 is identical to V11 - mixing controller Versions is usually no problem, but you need to configure both Versions independently.
V12 made hughe leaps forward in the last month. By now I consider it almost on par in terms of reliability and well ahead in terms of functionality.
However - it is still work in progress - if any issues are found please drop me a mail - Iāll try to fix bugs as quick as possible.
Christian
Yes I have a 0.1uF ceramic cap. There doesnāt seem to be a problem after starting, it happens on start-up only. After clearing the error it doesnāt appear again (so far)
I have some PC817 opto couplers, but not sure how to wire up for a probe as it really only goes from signal to ground.
I have no idea what the cause or solution might be, but hereās the inputs portion of the Estlcam board schematic:
That answers my question, thank you.
One of the key reasons I use Estlcam for control is multi purpose/use project files and being able to pause the controller and make on-the-fly changes while machining, i.e. āSave CNC programā is the last thing I want to use.
The mixed CAM/controller interface features/functions could get frustrating and I may need to revisit my v12 missing necessities list in the hopes youāll reconsider.
Thanks Dave, that is what I needed. I will add that into the circuitry and see if it makes a difference. 