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  1. #21
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    Default Re: My dream machine controller would have...

    Quote Originally Posted by kstrauss View Post
    There are several issues that worry me about remotely operating the actual machine controller.

    You mentioned that the machine will usually continue running the current job but with a possibility that certain remote failure modes might leave a jog or other actions in progress. This soft of failure could be disastrous and needs careful analysis. However, a more dangerous situation may result from losing control due to a failure of the remote (or the link to the remote) and having a machining code failure. It could take many seconds before the operator realizes what happened, walks to the machine and hits the eStop.

    Security is also a huge issue. I don't just mean a malicious hacker that connects to your WiFi while parked outside. Many shops have multiple Tormachs. Consider the results of connecting to the wrong machine and commanding it to start machining!
    Well, let me me take that back. The controller can detect when its lost connection to the client, so yea, you lose connection the server stops the machine. I can add that in pretty quick. As far as the security, if I were to do this wirelessly, the planets (and stars) would have to align for this malicious hacker, whom was out driving around looking for tormachs to crash. He'd be more lucky just unlocking the gate and just crashing it if that were his goal. As far as connecting to the wrong machine, I am keeping it wired with a physical cable with a private network setup for just the machine. Yes, it can be configured wirelessly, but I am not sure the connection speed with be as good as physical cable. Okuma seems to have pretty good success with this approach.

    Thanks,
    Pete



  2. #22
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    Default Re: My dream machine controller would have...

    You're probably correct about the hacker connecting!

    If losing the connection (network failure or the remote machine crashes) stops the CNC then that makes machining dependent on the reliability of the remote pendant machine. Even if you just pause upon failure you are apt to mar the workpiece unless you're only cutting air at the time of failure. A significant advantage of a remote control computer is that one operator could keep tabs on two machines. Requiring a point-point hardwired connection makes that more challenging.

    From your comments I guess that you decided against using a stateless protocol such as http as used by the Okuma.



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    Default Re: My dream machine controller would have...

    Quote Originally Posted by kstrauss View Post
    You're probably correct about the hacker connecting!

    If losing the connection (network failure or the remote machine crashes) stops the CNC then that makes machining dependent on the reliability of the remote pendant machine. Even if you just pause upon failure you are apt to mar the workpiece unless you're only cutting air at the time of failure. A significant advantage of a remote control computer is that one operator could keep tabs on two machines. Requiring a point-point hardwired connection makes that more challenging.

    From your comments I guess that you decided against using a stateless protocol such as http as used by the Okuma.
    Yea, I started with UDP and as of yet, I don't see a need to go anywhere else. My ping is way under a ms (like .230ms I think?) and I wouldn't know it, but I don't appear to be missing any data on the other end. Keep in mind, the DRO that you see in the video, is my program requesting the position of each axis individually, and the controller replying with each axis individually. I am working on duplicating the linuxcnc python interface first, and then I will add in my own custom commands that... for instance send the three axis data in one request. If I lost the connection, the server could stop the program way before an operator could even dream about. I mean we are talking matter of milliseconds, versus, me freakin' out searching for the invisible e-stop button.

    The end goal, as mentioned before, is to develop better tool management, conversational, and controls. This is just the headache portion getting the comm's worked out. The other headache is getting a gcode file transfer under my belt, along with the tool height offset data file transfer.



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    Default Re: My dream machine controller would have...

    Also keep in mind, linuxcnc loads a program first, and then you instruct it to start running the loaded program. From there you can do a variety of tasks in the background, while it is reading/running the loaded program. What this means, if there was a connection failure, linuxcnc would continue to run the loaded program for these milliseconds, before my program could recognize that it lost connection and shut down. It would happen so quick, you wouldn't even know it until you saw the "lost connection" status.



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My dream machine controller would have...

My dream machine controller would have...