Unusual use of TinyG (2 Dimensions)

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  • October 22, 2019 at 2:06 pm #11626
    MonkeyManGuy
    Member

    I am searching for advice on how I can create a UI and Gocde that will enable me to run only 2 stepper motors from the TinyG. The machine I have created will polish the inside of paintball gun barrels. This involves pushing a rod in and out of the barrel several thousand times and rotating it each time its been retracted

    I have 1 stepper motor connected to a belt drive for the X-Axis, and a second connected to the rod for rotation (y-axis for now).

    Something along the lines of this should get the job done:
    g0 x100
    g0 x0
    g1 y2
    g0 x100
    g0 x0
    g1 y4
    g0 x100………etc

    I need to learn how to attach these lines of code and get the TinyG to execute 1 line & then move to the next. Apperantly this is not done by seperating them with commas! lol

    Next up is getting the process repeat for a set # of times and the ability to set the length of X travel a single time at the begining (to match the barrel length).

    Does anyone have suggestions as to how to achomplish this?

    October 22, 2019 at 3:08 pm #11627
    Zootalaws
    Member

    You don’t need to create a UI – there’s plenty out there to use.

    Do you want to dedicate a computer to the job, or use a microcontroller or SBC like an ESP32 or Raspberry Pi?

    If it was me, I’d buy a cheap Orange Pi clone and run some sort of GCode sender, like UGS: https://winder.github.io/ugs_website/

    Load your Raspberry OS, load UGS, connect, send.

    Doesn’t get much easier than that.

    I would question the use of a TinyG for such a trivial task. A $10 Arduino shield would do the same job.

    • This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Zootalaws.
    October 22, 2019 at 6:12 pm #11629
    MonkeyManGuy
    Member

    Zootalaws, thanks for the reply. Ill look into UGS for my Raspberry Pi.

    When searching I actually didnt see any Shields that would handle the 2 amps I need for the main motor. Theres a chance Ill have to upgrade that motor even so.

    Further development will involve running 2 machines from this TinyG to utilize the other 2 motor ports, as well as getting the rod to twist while traveling on the X-axis, and having this twist slowly fade away over a few thousand repititions. Until it finishes on a straight line.

    Theres also a feature I built in that will allow it to sense the pressure being applied to the rod; as if it drops too low the machine must halt for an adjustment. This could allow software to develop a map of the inside the barrel, where the internal diameter begins restricting or enlarging.

    More complexity is certianly in the works for this TinyG. Im taking it 1 step at a time.

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