Programming Physical Buttons on Camsoft Unit

[Bohemund]

My Camsoft unit (using Camsoft Pro) has 3 buttons on it that do not activate anything ... yellow, green, and an emergency stop. How and where do I program a function for these?

My intentions are to use the yellow as Feedhold (pause/continue if possible), green as start/stop and the emergency as emergency stop.

[Karl_T]

Ah, you're moving along quite well. This is where Camsoft really excels. You want to investigate the inputio.fil and its function.
You can put in something like this for beginners:

IF#16=1 THEN FEEDHOLD 'input16 feedhold button
IF#17=1 THEN CYCLESTART 'input 17 cyclestart button
IF#18=1 THEN ESTOP 'input 18 estop button

You can get FAR more sophisicated.

You'll want more buttons to get the most out of Camsoft. I'd suggest getting an adlink IO board model 7296 when you're ready to do serious IO

Karl

[Bohemund]

It didn't work. My INPUTIO is blank except for ...

IF#16=1 THEN FEEDHOLD 'input16 feedhold button
IF#17=1 THEN CYCLESTART 'input 17 cyclestart button
IF#18=1 THEN ESTOP 'input 18 estop button

I think I may have to link somewhere that the yellow physical button = 16, green physical button = 17, and red-emergency physical button = 18 unless these three numbers are defaults. Where is this done?

And in designing my digital OPERATOR INTERFACE in the CNCSETUP/USER DEFINED BUTTONS, I assume I need to create a macro for the MCODE I call out? Where would I make this macro and what would it look like?

[Karl_T]

You take me to literally. This was a for example.

I don't know what inputs you hooked your buttons to. read up on it. Lots of examples in your manual. Go to diagnostice and press your buttons, what light up?


User defined buttons run an Mcode. The mcode can be coded right in Mcode.fil or can call a maco in macro.fil. You need to do some reading here first. I know there are exapmles in the manual.

Karl

[Bohemund]

I tried the Diagnostics and see no activity when depressing the three buttons on the Camsoft Touchscreen unit.

At the moment we have no I/O card or strip only an ICM 2900 to operate the stepper motors. I only assumed the buttons were connected digitally to the unit, namely to start, stop, pause. Any ideas?

[Karl_T]

most likely you haven't done the hardwiring yet.

[Bohemund]

Yup that was it, and thanks again for the help.

[Bohemund]

Thanks again Karl. I connected a 9-pin cable to the appropriate places and everything works super now. The info you provided for programming the INPUTIO also works well once I matched the correct I/O as indicated in the DIAGNOSTICS.

Next question is how do I change the INPUTIO lines....

IF#21=1 THEN FEEDHOLD 'input 21 feedhold button
IF#22=1 THEN CYCLESTART 'input 22 cyclestart button

to make these into latching push buttons instead of momentary? The FEEDHOLD command is acting like CYCLESTART with it forgetting where it is in the program and restarts it. I normally use G91. Should I start using absolute to get the FEEDHOLD to work?

Soon all these beginner questions will end, classes in manual CNC programming begin next week.

[Karl_T]

...
to make these into latching push buttons instead of momentary? The FEEDHOLD command is acting like CYCLESTART with it forgetting where it is in the program and restarts it. I normally use G91. Should I start using absolute to get the FEEDHOLD to work?

Soon all these beginner questions will end, classes in manual CNC programming begin next week.

you want momentary contact. I haven't seen the behavior you describe. FEEDHOLD pauses the program. CYCLESTART resumes if one is still running.
G91 or G90 should make no difference.

You'll have to go to the experts at Camsoft on this one. let me know what you learned.

Karl

[Bohemund]

And nothing wrong with this program which is a simple box that repeats 3 times?

N10 G91
N20 G01 X0 Y0 F23
N100 G01 X1.0
N110 G01 Y1.0
N120 G01 X-1.0
N130 G01 Y-1.0
N200 G01 X1.0
N210 G01 Y1.0
N220 G01 X-1.0
N230 G01 Y-1.0
N300 G01 X1.0
N310 G01 Y1.0
N320 G01 X-1.0
N330 G01 Y-1.0
N400 M30

or my INPUTIO?

IF#21=1 THEN CYCLESTART
IF#22=1 THEN FEEDHOLD

[Karl_T]

And nothing wrong with this program which is a simple box that repeats 3 times?

N10 G91
N20 G01 X0 Y0 F23
N100 G01 X1.0
N110 G01 Y1.0
N120 G01 X-1.0
N130 G01 Y-1.0
N200 G01 X1.0
N210 G01 Y1.0
N220 G01 X-1.0
N230 G01 Y-1.0
N300 G01 X1.0
N310 G01 Y1.0
N320 G01 X-1.0
N330 G01 Y-1.0
N400 M30

or my INPUTIO?

IF#21=1 THEN CYCLESTART
IF#22=1 THEN FEEDHOLD

I don't see anything

[Bohemund]

Stating again exactly what's happening....

When I press the assigned FEEDHOLD button, it stops the program nicely.
When I press the assigned CYCLESTART button, the motors return to x0.000 and y0.000 coordinates then restarts the program without stopping... so long as I am depressing the CYCLESTART button. If I let go the motors stop immediately.

My problems seem to be the CYCLESTART.

Camsoft, any ideas?