Will LinuxCNC allow this type of commands

[smokediver576]

Need some direction before jumping into LinuxCNC.

I have an older (1996) CNC fabric cutter (Carlson Design - Simplicity · Precision · Performance) that I'm wanting to upgrade with new motors, controls and software (linuc cnc or similar). I can figure the standard XY side of the motors and controls however the machine uses an air solenoid to move the cutting head up and down (speed controlled by needle valves and dwell settings) as well as a pen. The "Z" motor actually steers the cutter in the direction it needs to roll the blade. For the cutter, think of a pizza wheel cutter. It uses a 28mm round razor blade that has to track in the direction it's headed and then lift up, turn and drop back down for corners or angles that exceed its steering limit.

Looking for info pointing me in the right direction for where to start searching this type of controls. Right now I don't even know where to start searching.

Thanks for the help!

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[routalot]

Are you saying in a roundabout way that the cutting wheel rotates around the Z axis in a manner dictated by the program?Or is it free to swivel as the machine moves?LinuxCNC can certainly handle the number of axes although configuring the Z and rotation might be a challenge.Have you asked the dedicated LinuxCNC forum at https://forum.linuxcnc.org/ ?There is a lot of knowledge there and somebody may have experience of something similar.

[rodw]

I'm sure what you want to do can be handled by LinuxCNC but you will need to define what is handled in gcode and what is done in the system,. There was one guy who built a stone cutter which had to control the direction of the saw much like your cutter. The real strength of LinuxCNC is the ability to write custom components that become part of the core system just as if it was a standard component. Plus you have access to the amazing Mesa ecosystem which allows you to basically infinite expansion and the ability to control just about any stepper or servo known to man. Firing signals to activate a solenoid is not an issue and I'm sure a PWM control could manage your needle valves.

as far as your first step goes, I think your next best step would be to introduce yourself on the LInuxCNC forum https://forum.linuxcnc.org/ and I'm sure the guys there will have the expertise to guide you along your journey.

[smokediver576]

This is basically a drag knife (however uses a round blade). If you go to either carlsondesign.com or autometrix.com you will see these machines.

The 28mm razor blade just rolls along (sort of like a pizza cutter does). The Z axis steers the blade in the direction of the XY motion. On the Autometrix machine the blade holder is fixed and not allowed to swivel which is better than the carlson system that allows it to swivel. We've bad both machines. I kept the old carlson machine and am just trying to upgrade it.

I posted over in the LinuxCNC forum but got no response....

[PCW_MESA]

This is basically a drag knife (however uses a round blade). If you go to either carlsondesign.com or autometrix.com you will see these machines.

The 28mm razor blade just rolls along (sort of like a pizza cutter does). The Z axis steers the blade in the direction of the XY motion. On the Autometrix machine the blade holder is fixed and not allowed to swivel which is better than the carlson system that allows it to swivel. We've bad both machines. I kept the old carlson machine and am just trying to upgrade it.

I posted over in the LinuxCNC forum but got no response....

AFAIKR this has been done in LinuxCNC. The implementation I saw did not use modified Gcode but rather a real time hal component that
basically took the arctangent of the velocty vector to generate the wheel angle, but a implementation that uses Z as an angle should be straight forward