Electronic Lead Screw Project

[Alan Wood 4Participant @alanwood4]

Hi Graham

Bearing in mind how long the project has evolved over, James was using version 9 of Code Composer.

Coming to the ELS late meant I was offered version 10 as a download of the latest version which I duly did. I struggled to make the ELS loading work so I cleared out v10 and loaded version 9 and then had success

It is a bit tenuous and I can't be 100% certain that this was the source of my troubles. It is more likely it was finger trouble on my part when trying to use v10. That said it might be worth bearing in mind unless anyone else can confirm success using v10.

Alan

[Graham TitmanParticipant @grahamtitman81812]

Thank you Roger and Alan for your help i will try again later or first in the morning and let you know how i get on. Thanks again Graham

Edited By Graham Titman on 21/12/2020 18:24:17

[Graham TitmanParticipant @grahamtitman81812]

Hi Roger the report below came up when i tried to import folder any idears..
Import failed for project 'electronic-leadscrew-1.3.01 (2)' because its meta-data cannot be interpreted. Please contact support.
Thanks Graham

[Roger ClarkParticipant @rogerclark]

Quick question, you are using files you have extracted?

I personally create an ELS folder and unzip files into that location rather than working in the download folder, I view that folder as a holding area for file before moving them into their 'forever' location. You also seem to have a number of duplicate files? I would delete those.

It might not make any difference but will help others to help you.

I'll pm you my mobile number as it might be quicker to talk over what you're doing.

Roger

[Kevin McCartneyParticipant @kevinmccartney]

Another quick question – maybe someone can point me in the correct direction?

My ELS has been running perfectly and tonight I've successfully updated it to v1.3.01 – the main reason being that I was keen to have the buttons disabled whilst running, as an accidental reversal during running would shatter my PLA gearing.

Another addition with this release is support for different gearing – if your lathe has separate lead screw and feed shafts. Mine is a Colchester student and I would like to customise this function so that the feed rate displayed is true to the carriage movement.

I can't find the file to customise, can anyone point me in the right direction – and even better can you give me the values required for a Student??

Kevin

[ZanParticipant @zan]

Long reply. Won’t work.. hit code of conduct not post and lost it

[JimmehParticipant @jimmeh]

Afternoon Kevin. At first glance I cannot see this new feature. You could adjust the feed rates the 'Tables.h' but this feels a bit dirty. It would be far better to introduce an extra variable to account for the difference in gearing. I've also updated the metric display output to have all output to 2 decimal places as its a little easier on the eye when changing options (maybe a little OCD).

I was also having problems with interference despite using shielded Cat 6 cable (RJ45 ports in the control boxes makes for ease plugging/unplugging). Improved grounding for each twisted pair as per SODs advice (thanks Dave!) helped greatly but I was still getting occasional interference (but only if the curt was really critical!). Upgrading to v1.3.01 has completely solved the problem for me now.

Cheers, James

Edited By Jimmeh on 23/12/2020 13:19:36

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

My Warco 290v ELS  is completely stable now due to the v1.3.01 upgrade, bloody frustrating before, Clough42 does go into some detail about various cable scenarios & the pros & cons of each, I sort of understood what he was talking about but in the end just want it to work.

Tony

Edited By Tony Pratt 1 on 23/12/2020 13:53:24

[Kevin McCartneyParticipant @kevinmccartney]

Posted by Jimmeh on 23/12/2020 13:18:49:

Afternoon Kevin. At first glance I cannot see this new feature. You could adjust the feed rates the 'Tables.h' but this feels a bit dirty. It would be far better to introduce an extra variable to account for the difference in gearing. I've also updated the metric display output to have all output to 2 decimal places as its a little easier on the eye when changing options (maybe a little OCD).

I was also having problems with interference despite using shielded Cat 6 cable (RJ45 ports in the control boxes makes for ease plugging/unplugging). Improved grounding for each twisted pair as per SODs advice (thanks Dave!) helped greatly but I was still getting occasional interference (but only if the curt was really critical!). Upgrading to v1.3.01 has completely solved the problem for me now.

Cheers, James

Edited By Jimmeh on 23/12/2020 13:19:36

Thanks for the replies. As it's working nicely I'll leave it alone, I thought if I could add the feed rates to match my lathe it would finish it the project nicely but for my use it is an unnecessary addition (patter!).

Kevin

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

I am just starting out on my journey with this project and have only got as far as ordering the major components, including the Clough42 kit of parts for the display. I thought it would be easy enough to source a die cast box to house the latter as James does say in one of his videos that he won't bother shipping them as "they are only about $4 each". Maybe in the States, they are, but not here in the UK! I have found a number of sources, but they mostly ship from the USA and the postal charges are massive, bringing the cost to nearer $40! To get to the point, at last, has anyone got any leads to where I can purchase an enclosure to match the Bud Industries CU-124 one that I need, at a sensible cost? Or maybe you have a spare one lying around?

Thanks,

John

[Phil GrantParticipant @philgrant54580]

I'm sure they are available on Amazon and ebay, is this one the right dimensions?

[Phil GrantParticipant @philgrant54580]

I'm sure they are available on Amazon and ebay, is this one the right dimensions?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everpert-Effects-Aluminum-Enclosure-Guitar/dp/B07C3SKLSM/ref=pd_day0_3/257-9596621-5587322?pd_rd_w=JxfKN&pf_rd_p=8ec13b8a-30d2-48fc-8503-84c56766370d&pf_rd_r=EG9PSEX2QZP352K5KK4B&pd_rd_r=9740a7a4-8e3d-44bd-b2c9-8b050cb85cee&pd_rd_wg=VEg0i&pd_rd_i=B07C3SKLSM&psc=1

Edited By Phil Grant on 26/06/2021 08:24:02

[Phil GrantParticipant @philgrant54580]

Or this one

**LINK**

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Farnell UK do them, but £16 odd delivery, you need the exact hole centres so the board fits straight on.

Tony

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Thanks, Phil,

They look like they might do the trick. But, what the heck is a "stomp box"? No wonder my search on eBay didn't turn up anything useful! I'll give it a go. Another member has PM'd me with a link to RS for the genuine article but they're out of stock, although an alternative looks promising, albeit on the pricey side once delivery and VAT are added on.

Either way, I seem to be sorted, so my thanks to all who responded.

John

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Tony,

I had a look on Farnell's site first and in stock at a fiver or so. Then I saw the delivery cost and dispatched from the USA and decided against it. Anyway, I've ordered an alternative at £6.80 from eBay, so if it's no good, I won't have lost a fortune.

John

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

The box arrived and it's a close clone to the BUD offering, soit will do for now, though the finish isn't brilliant.

However ……..

I've been having "fun" with the wiring and programming the XL board. I bought some 5-way connectors and duly wired up the LED display into the newly-acquired box and thence to the Clough ELS boost board. Followed the method described in his video to program the Launchpad chip to the letter and hey, presto – nothing! All appeared to go according to plan but nothing displayed on the LED/key pad. Wiggled the connectors and eventually got a momentary display of the version number and then the feeds etc. But they were very unsteady. As it was getting late, I switched everything off and set it aside for today.

Having read up a bit on the github comments pages, I set it all up again this morning with renewed hope, also having resoldered a few iffy-looking joints on the pcb. (My hands aren't as steady as they used to be!) Result: no lights on the ELS boost board, nor the LED display. Oh, I thought, power supply problem. Checked its output and found it OK. More connector wiggling. No joy. Whilst handling the various boards, I found a couple of components were rather hot. I suspect that I've somehow fried the Launchpad and/or the ELS boost board, neither of which are cheap to replace and take an age to arrive. I've no idea how to test them, either, except by substitution.

And to add insult to injury, the Code Composer Studio software has decided it can't communicate with the Launchpad board because it can't connect with XDS110, which has gone walkabout overnight. It was working OK yesterday, though. I thought I followed the remedial action in the readme file, but, apart from being gobbledegook, didn't do the trick – so that's another hurdle to overcome.

Can you tell that electronics is not my forté?

I'm still waiting for the encoder to arrive from China, so I can't progress any further on the hardware front, either. I'm beginning to think it's all a bit of a stretch and is it worth the effort (and expense)?

John

P.S. If anyone was following this sorry saga on YouTube, be aware that I've deleted the one and only video, as I'm pretty sure there won't be any more.

[Roy VaughnParticipant @royvaughn26060]

John, sorry to hear the troubles you are having. The approach I took to building the system, which worked first time, was to start with the components on the bench connected directly to one-another, this eliminates the considerable uncertainty introduced by connectors. Build the system up step-by-step, e.g. start with Launchpad powered by the USB (and everything else disconnected) and do the download, then add the boost board, then the Lauchpad external PSU and other components incrementally. Maybe this is what you have done in which case apologies. Make sure the Launchpad switches are set correctly. Also, be very careful with the download, it can look as if it's worked when it hasn't. When cabling the system up in its final packaging with connectors, check continuity of individual signals end-to-end with a meter as you go. Check and recheck that power supply polarities are correct! It's a pernickety business but you'll be delighted when it's running. Hope this helps, Roy

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Thanks for the gee-up, Roy. You describe the procedure that I followed, except for the component connections. As it happens, the encoder came about 15 minutes after my last posting, along with some toothed belting, a pulley and a replacement led/keypad. The one that arrived from James Clough had a scratch on it and chipped display edge anyway. I'm taking a break from it for a while but will give it another go next week. I just hope that the Launchpad isn't cooked. At £40+ each with p&p, they're an expensive mistake to make!

John

Oh, I forgot. I managed to snap the plastic earth pin off the 5v wall wart, too!  Another one on order, but it won't be here until Wednesday or Thursday.  Not one of my best weeks!

Edited By John Hinkley on 10/07/2021 15:36:22

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Well, I couldn't just leave it alone, could I?

Connected the LaunchXL board up to the computer without the ELS board to try to flash the program. Guess what? Yep, it's fried! Don't ask me how – I don't know. The isolated corner where the usb input is located has a tiny black chip which gets extremely hot, very quickly – so that's what's wrong, I guess. I've ordered a new card from Mouser at vast expense and it should be here next week by express snail.

Anyone want an non-working launchXL? Might be salvageable with some surface mount chip replacement – I have neither the skill nor eyesight to perform such surgery.

John

[Roy VaughnParticipant @royvaughn26060]

With some trepidation I ask, have you put the power supply links between the USB section and the main board in place? Roy

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Roy,

Yes. I replaced them in their as-supplied positions, after removing the els boost board.

John

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Well, I've only gorn an' done it! The new LaunchXL board arrived yesterday swiftly followed by the replacement 5V power wart. Too late in the day to start faffing about, so it had to wait until after the Tesco raid this morning. First go with Code Composer studio V9.1 was unsuccessful, (it said it was unable to communicate with the board). So I uninstalled it and replaced it with version 9.3 with a full complement of debugger add-ons. More memory, but what the hell? Following James Clough's video, yet again, everything went swimmingly, first with the debug build to test it, then the release version. I had to change a couple of values in the configuration file to suit my set-up, but I'm now ready to connect the encoder and stepper motor and see what happens.

Work slowly progressing on the stepper and encoder mounts but, onwards and upwards……..

John

[Phil GrantParticipant @philgrant54580]

John,

Great, glad you got it working

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

It's taken a while, but I now have the set-up working, at least on the bench.

YouTube video here

"All" there is to do now is to mount everything in the enclosure and fit that to the lathe stand as well as fit the servo and encoder to the lathe. Unfortunately, the lathe VFD decided to stop working on yesterday – just wouldn't fire up – so I've ordered a replacement Huang Yang one, like the unit I have fitted to the mill. That should be here in a couple of days and will be a straight swap for the existing cheap version. (I know, buy cheap, buy twice!)

That little lot should keep me occupied for a few days.

John

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