Upgrading from Kmotion 4.33C to 4.34H

[CNCMAN172]

TK,

I decided to rebuild my dedicated XP computer that uses the KFLOP / KANALOG cards to control motion. To be able to take advantage of the Screen Editor feature available in later releases I decided to get Windows7 and a new hard disk. I did not like all the bloatware that Microsoft put on Windows8 and Windows10, since this computer is only used for the CNC machine.

The first thing I did was install Windows7 and got all the updates a four hour exercise, but all updates installed perfect and the computer works just fine.

The next thing I did was to install Kmotion 4.34H on the computer which was in my office, not in the garage with the CNC machine. After the software was installed I copied my c programs from the old install saved on a flash drive to the C program folder. These programs were all slightly modified so I had their names different that what I list below.

1) HomeMM_V7.c
2) InitStepDir3Axis.c
3) MPG-InitStepDir3Axis.c
4) SpindleMach3DAC.c

Then I went down to Kmotion434h/Kmotion/Data

I copied some of the .TXT files

Config.txt
GCodeConfig.txt
Threads.txt
Gviewer.txt

There are others I saved but I don't think I touched those not positive, need guidance since I could not find a guide on exactly how to do this type upgrade.


The software installed fine but when I started it it complained there were no USB drivers. I realized since I did not have the KFLOP plugged in the USB drivers never got installed. I went into control panel/device driver and pointed it to the Kmotion434h/USB Driver folder and the drivers installed in a few minutes.

Now I can start Kmotion and get no errors, but before I go on I believe I need to flash the unit. It warns me I will lose everything so I am checking to make sure I have everything done.

I think after I flash the unit, with the Kmotion 434h firmware, that I need to compile the C programs and download them into the KFLOP. Then I should be ready to go?


Have I forgot anything? Thanks


Russ

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[m_c]

The warning message only applies if you have user programs flashed into the KFlops memory. Updating the firmware in the KFlop erases everything in the KFlops flash memory.

Just had a quick search, and there is a guide to updating on the wiki at Upgrading from previous KMotion Versions - Dynomotion

[CNCMAN172]

m_c,

Thanks for that link. Looks like I have pretty much planned these exact steps, except TK does not mention you need to recompile your programs, but pretty sure you do so you can download them into the KFLOP.

Russ

[m_c]

Russ, the programs are recompiled automatically if needed, which is why no mention is made about it.

You just need to make sure you copy your own programs to the correct place.

[CNCMAN172]

M_C,

OK thanks, I have copied my C programs to the right place and when I start Kmotion prior to any flashing I can see it has loaded the programs in the correct threads. I will flash later today and keep my fingers cross everything says up and operational.

Thanks Again for your help

Russ

[CNCMAN172]

m_c

Well I took the plunge and went out and flashed my FLOP to 4.34h, and I could not get any of my motors to move. I doubled checked the right C programs were listed in each thread which all ended up being correct. I then compiled and downloaded each thread. Then I went over to the Axis screen and did test movements and got the motors moving on the machine again. I figured everything was great so I went ahead and started Kmotioncnc, and got an immediate error. It said it could not read GCodeConfigCNC.txt, so i went into the Kmotion4.33c directory which I saved on a flash drive and copied the file again and put it in C:\kmotion434h\Kmotion\Data, but got the same error. I had saved the original TXT files in a subdirectory so I figured I could get the default file and see if that would load. The default version that came with version 4.34h loaded immediately. All of the data fields were wrong, but I had made print screen images of each tab, and initialized that GCodeConfigCNC.txt file so it was populated like my version in 4.33c.

Upon restart Kmotioncnc came up without error and I loaded a small Gcode program and it worked fine. I did not test my spindle but will do that this evening and double check that my MPG pendant is still working etc. Anyway at least the machine is moving again.

Russ

[TomKerekes]

Hi Russ,

A common misconception is that KMotion.exe shows the loaded programs in KFLOP. This is not the case. See if this article helps:
KFLOP C Programs - Dynomotion

Regards

[CNCMAN172]

Thanks TK,

Yeah what confused me was after I flashed the KFLOP with 4.34h, I tried to move it and nothing moved. After I compiled the c programs and then tried to move axis in the axis screen then I got things to move. I was also a little surprised the 434h kmotion could not read on of the text file from 4.33c. Anyway looks like a good number of features were added since I originally build the machine a couple years ago. KmotionCNC is now moving the machine and appears like all the basic stuff is working. Still need to test the pendant and spindle but my guess is they will work as well. Now I can play with the screen editor.

Russ

[durundal]

Hi Tom,

I am trying to upgrade from 4.33 to 4.34h and running into a problem with the Kanalog board disconnecting. Everything appears to go well up until I use a Kanalog FET switch to ground to enable a servo drive (24V signal) and then command the servo with the Kmotion step response screen. As soon as I send the command the Kanalog loses communication with the Kflop (and my main power relay kills the servo drive since the SWE FET on Kanalog is part of my estop chain). The Kanalog LED goes out but the KFLOP still responds to queries (like version, reboot, etc. I don't command any hardware directly through the Kflop itself to check otherwise). Sending Reboot! through the console seems to bring the Kanalog back online again. I have verified that the problem occurs in software, no touching of any hardware between 4.33 and 4.34h upgrade/downgrades.

Any ideas of what's up? It works fine in 4.33, I tried 4.34f before adding a Konnect board and later 4.34h with the same response and no hardware changes, and downgrading to 4.33 after each attempt at 4.34 works fine. I am guessing there is a log somewhere of what the error is but I don't know where to go looking for it.

Thanks,
Andy

[TomKerekes]

Hi Andy,

Strange. I can't think of any reason any Version would behave differently in regard to power or communication issues. Are you sure the sequence, configurations, and so forth are exactly the same in both Versions? Maybe something is changed inadvertantly?

It isn't clear when the Kanalog LED goes out? Is it when you switch the FET? Or when the Move on the Step Response Screen is performed? Are the screen settings in KMotion Correct (Config/Flash and Step Response and Filters)? Pushing "Move" will download the configuration in the screens to KFLOP. Downloading an invalid configuration (ie Step/Dir) would kill the Kanalog Communication.

How are you supplying +5V power?

I'm not able to follow which boards you have in the system and which you are changing with which Version.

If you send me your initialization C Program we can try it with KFLOP+Kanalog and Version 4.34h

Regards

[CNCMAN172]

durundal,
I have upgraded my machine to 4.34H, at least the computer and have the KFLOP and KANALOG. I just got back from vacation so I will give it a spin tomorrow and see if I have any communication issues.
Russ

[durundal]

Hi Andy,

Strange. I can't think of any reason any Version would behave differently in regard to power or communication issues. Are you sure the sequence, configurations, and so forth are exactly the same in both Versions? Maybe something is changed inadvertantly?

It isn't clear when the Kanalog LED goes out? Is it when you switch the FET? Or when the Move on the Step Response Screen is performed? Are the screen settings in KMotion Correct (Config/Flash and Step Response and Filters)? Pushing "Move" will download the configuration in the screens to KFLOP. Downloading an invalid configuration (ie Step/Dir) would kill the Kanalog Communication.

How are you supplying +5V power?

I'm not able to follow which boards you have in the system and which you are changing with which Version.

If you send me your initialization C Program we can try it with KFLOP+Kanalog and Version 4.34h

Regards

Hi Tom,

I am semi-sure they are the same (I haven't made many modifications other than starting figuring out C code to handle limit switches and such). I followed the upgrade instructions on the wiki and am not using Mach or anything beyond Kmotion at the moment, and nothing was running in threads 1-7. I will doublecheck the configurations when I am at the machine next and retrieve the initialization program.

The Kanalog LED goes out after sending a torque command to the servo. It stays operational when the FET is grounding the servo-enable signal but no motion has yet been commanded through the +/- 10V DAC pins.

5V power is coming into the Molex plug on the KFlop from a PC power supply, which shares a ground with the 24V supply.

The sequence of events was:
1) operational on 4.33 with Kflop and Kanalog
2) took the system down to do some wiring (moving wires into connectors and adding a Konnect)
3) brought it back up with 4.34f (that I had downloaded and had been meaning to install for a while) & discovered the issue
4) reverted to 4.33 to make sure I didn't goof something up with my wiring; it worked like in step 1
5) tried 4.34h (got the latest version), same issue
6) reverted to 4.33, it worked (no hardware changes between 4 and 6)

Thanks,
Andy

[durundal]

Aaaaand... user error. It looks like I set everything except for the Step/Dir to Servo DAC. Thanks for the quick reply.

[TomKerekes]

Glad you figured it out and thanks for posting back.

Regards