Holiday season is upon us, and with global warming being more and more aggressive, we cannot rely on much snow during the holidays. This leaves us with no other choice than to make snowflakes ourselves – using paper and CNC laser cutter. Luckily, PlanetCNC TNG software program feature Image Import comes in great help, so […]
Last part of this tutorial series will describe how to properly design the expression code for Modbus serial communication. In previous part we made two expression functions. One was responsible for turning relay ON the other one for turning it OFF. Our main concern was just to make it work, to see that relay clicks […]
In this part, we will use and configure Expr.txt file so that we will be able to control relay board via serial communication using Modbus protocol. Expression array and serial functions described in first two parts will be used in order to achieve this. Modbus supports communication to and from multiple devices connected to […]
We will continue with expression functions used for serial communication. In first part we described array expression functions, which are used to prepare the data for serial communication. Now we will describe serial expression functions that are responsible for actually sending the data. serial_list() – Displays all available COM ports of computer. serial_info(port) – Displays […]
This series of tutorials will try to explain and demonstrate how to use PlanetCNC TNG software for the means of serial communication. The final goal would be a successful control of external MODBUS input/output relay board, but, to achieve this, we need to start with the basics. PlanetCNC TNG software possesses all the tools […]
User can customize handwheel button functionality. This can be done by configuring the Handwheel.txt file. User manual for wireless handwheel is available here: Wireless handwheel user manual First, create a blank Handwheel.txt file and place it in your TNG profile root folder. You can create such file with any text editor. How to configure this […]
With PlanetCNC TNG software you can use Python scripts. This gives a user a whole lot of new possibilities on how to customize or accommodate his CNC application for really specific requirements. PlanetCNC TNG and Python relation Python(in further text – PY) is a programming language known for its simplicity and large standard library. PlanetCNC […]
In the last part of this tutorial series, we will connect the ExtInOut board with our controller and test the functionality of our Expr.txt file, finally! Before we continue, I would recommend that you go trough the user manual of ExtInOut board for more info about the hardware requirements and connections. ExtInOut board user manual […]
Many machines use two lead/ball screws or rack and pinion rods per machine axis. In most cases, the Y axis. Rods can be driven with one motor or two. One motor usually drives both rods using a timing belt, which also helps with synchronization. But you can also drive each rod with its separate motor. […]
At this step of the process we pretty much defined everything needed for semaphore application and we can begin writing the program. Diagram of program First we will illustrate simple program diagram(flowchart). Diagram is very helpful, because it visually illustrates the program flow(in this case state machine) which we can use as a reference when […]
What is a State Machine and how it is used? If you google State machine, this would be the average result more or less: “A state machine is a behaviour model. It consists of a finite number of states and is therefore also called finite-state machine (FSM). Based on the current state and a given […]
For this multi-part tutorial we will create CNC machine semaphore(signal tower lamp). We hope that this tutorial will serve as a good example on how to set application goals and requirements as also on how to define the tools and solutions for achieving them, while using powerful tools and flexibility of PlanetCNC motion control system. […]
