Need to generate a trigger signal after each move- Anilam 1100

I have a 2 axis NC mill with anilam 1100 controller. I want to do some automated photo focus stacking which this seems ideal for, but somehow I need to generate a trigger signal to trip the shutter after each move. I was thinking the spindle control could do it, but it seems there is no command syntax for controlling the spindle in a program, only from buttons on the front panel.

How can I control the spindle, or what other way is there to generate a trigger signal after each move?

Possibly I could let the camera drive the move by inserting a Zmove between each XY move and issue a continue signal after each exposure. That would probably require hacking into the key panel to make that connection.

Any other ideas?

Thanks.

M3 turns the spindle on
M5 turns the spindle off.

That control should take a command like S1000 M3 (spindle speed = 1000 rpm, turn on spindle)
M5 can be on a line of it's own.

If you have the Spindle Manual/Auto switch on the back of the panel, the spindle relay might be installed.

I do have the spindle switch, but no external circuitry is actually set up to switch the motor. When I turn the switch to auto the servos do not engage. Probably some signal connections are not set up correctly. There is a round connector on the back of the control box, but it has nothing connected to it. This mill originally had a flood coolant device, but I don't know if there was any NC control provision for that.

Well, you could issue a M7 or M8 (coolant on) and see if a relay energizes. M9 turns the coolant off. Maybe that could be used to do what you want.

Can you trigger any io via sw ?

If not, might it be feasible to trigger action via a programmable relay, driven by the pc ?

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I want to do some automated photo focus stacking

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hi / why ? is like you wish to take a snapshot of the machine, like when runing in step-by-step

but why ?

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Originally Posted by deadlykitten

hi / why ? is like you wish to take a snapshot of the machine, like when runing in step-by-step

but why ?

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for macro focus stacking. See this link: Focus Stacking Tutorial From Start To Finish

Here is the edge of a starrett ruler (0.01 mil rules) taken with 35 200 microinch steps. The depth of field is so short that you can only form an image by using this focus stacking method.

https://flic.kr/p/2dtr3TN

aham, so you wish to use the cnc axis for positioning in order to take a photo of something ... i believed that you desired to take a photo of the cutting operation, or no ?! :)

what do you wish to photo ? kindly :)

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Originally Posted by deadlykitten

aham, so you wish to use the cnc axis for positioning in order to take a photo of something ... i believed that you desired to take a photo of the cutting operation, or no ?! :)

what do you wish to photo ? kindly :)

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No, not a photo of cutting operation. See the links in the previous reply to see examples of things a person my want to image in this manner.

Also see many samples here: https://www.flickr.com/groups/dof_stacking/

The larger items would not need such fine steps. Only things smaller than some fraction of an inch, and especially when using microscope objectives.

So what you are doing is using the mill as a stage. I would be tempted to access the encoders directly and feed that output into a counter that would trigger an output that would drive the camera trigger. I have done this with line scan cameras, but never tried it with a DSLR. I've gotten clear images of a 6 inch scale at 600 IPM that way, but not quite at the resolution you show in the image.

No, the ideal way is to be able to program the shutter in the machine code. That way you can specify any arbitrary step size, exposure time allowance and the start and end positions. I wouldn't want to try and mess with the encoders.

The spindle or coolant controls would be great to use, but I'm not sure if my mill has all the features necessary for those functions yet. According to some Anilam 1100 setup docs I found, I may need to have a 'distribution board' option as well as enable the function in the machine setup to make that work. Need to spend more time looking at the wiring and the machine specific HW manuals.

If that fails the only option may be to tap off the hot shoe flash control and adapt that signal with some circuit to drive the start button. Then run the camera in intervalometer mode so it drives the steps.

hi dbur, considering that you have all images, how do you create a single image from all of them ? is there a software that can decide what portion to keep ? and how does it do that, because, i believe that differences between consecutive photos are barely visible / kindly :)

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Originally Posted by deadlykitten

hi dbur, considering that you have all images, how do you create a single image from all of them ? is there a software that can decide what portion to keep ? and how does it do that, because, i believe that differences between consecutive photos are barely visible / kindly :)

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There are several SW's that can composite the image..
Zerene Stacker
Helicon Focus
Photoshop.
They keep the sharp parts of each image and blend together.

The difference from frame to frame is noticeable if you pixel peep since the depth of field is so short. If not then maybe you are taking smaller steps than necessary. Each lens setup will be different. If the step is too large the blended image will have blurred bands at focus depths where there is no sufficient sharp image available.

My setup menu indicates I do have a distribution board, though all my M codes in the config are set to zero, which supposedly means the M function options were not purchased with my machine. My docs show a control for an oiler pump and external start stop switches, so those might be options to use as well, if I can figure out how to invoke them.

Turns out my single box version of the 1100 has no ability to do M codes or to assert any output bit programmatically. I did find out I can install a remote start button which would then let me set up the camera to drive the mill steps.. When I tried this it seemed that it then disabled the key panel start button. I didn't get it fully working, but instead opted to install a small relay on the key panel PCB which I can then drive with an external switch closure. Had to reverse engineer the key panel connections to do that. Seems to work well and I can stop a prog with a Zmove, and then continue it with the external closure, which I will drive with the camera flash sync. Combined with dwell commands I think this will work.