[jttoner]

While I was waiting for my PP 2.0.0 to arrive, my hard drive crashed so I ordered a new one. Well the PP 2.0.0 arrived before the new hard drive so thought I'd try and make it work on the bad drive. I had to load linix then the original PP followed by v. 1.9.13, then finally 2.0.0. It worked like a charm until a few days ago when it refused to boot. Just to see what would happen,I inserted the USB device with PP 2.0.0 on it and the thing booted and runs fine. I know it's just a matter of time before I'll have to change out the flakey hard drive. For now it's doing ok.

I also have that low price probe by Wild Horse. I removed it's shank and probe tip then set it up as an ETS. Works great. Beats $1,000 plus by about $900

[popspipes]

Congrats John on the PP upgrade! I cant tell any difference in the way it operates, just a few more features is what I have noticed.
I am having a glitch with PP.1.6, the "copy from usb" button at times doesnt show on the screen and I am wondering if it could be my harddrive as its been in the machine for over 7 years now.

[jttoner]

I can tell no functional difference between PP1.9.13 and PP 2.0.0. Probably I'm just haven't discovered it's advanced features. I am, however, super happy with my poor man's ETS. Works great and the price was right.

[spyderguy550]

PathPilot v2.0.0 is over a year old. Grab the latest release v2.1.6 from the Tormach website.

[rdsi]

I know it's just a matter of time before I'll have to change out the flakey hard drive.

Get yourself an SSD instead of hard drive.

I also have that low price probe by Wild Horse. I removed it's shank and probe tip then set it up as an ETS. Works great. Beats $1,000 plus by about $900

I'm pretty happy with the ETS I got from Amazon described here: $100 China Made ETS's on Ebay ??

It comes with more features than the Wild Horse & is even cheaper.

[MFchief]

Sorry to be a bit off topic, but :

RDSI, the probe you bought off Amazon is listed as NO, did you find that to be true? I've seen a number of post on line lately saying that people have purchased ETS's on eBay listed as NO that turned out to be NC.

Terry

[rdsi]

I bought the one listed on Amazon here & it was NO on the brown & orange leads. There is another contact that is NC on the green & blue leads but this opens on over travel & can be used to e-stop the machine.

Note: the NO contacts (the brown & orange leads) are really connected to an internal FET that is either a very high resistance, NO, or when activated a very low resistance when NC. This works just fine using the Tormach accessory input connected as I described in the link.

In the settings menu on PP v2.x you must select the active probe radio button - Digitizing Probe (PN 31858), Tool Setter (PN 31875), otherwise the logic will be reversed.

[CL_MotoTech]

I use my WIld Horse probe as a tool setter too (I'm on Mach3). It's pretty damn repeatable and it does well with flood coolant unlike other methods, not sure I'd leave it in there full time though. I will say that packing the thing to about half full with dielectric grease makes sure it stays dry and prevents corrosion on the contacts while also lubing the action and really takes it to the next level.

[MFchief]

Thanks for the quick reply, and the answer was what I was hoping, for since I use the Tormach Digitizing Probe now, and wanted to avoid having to switch back and forth on the settings page.

I ordered the probe on Amazon (supposedly last one in stock), so we'll see if it's the same one you received. I am sort of a pessimist at heart, and sometimes Amazon and eBay suppliers buy from different sources and don\t always change their ads.

Thanks again for the response and also the details on the wiring!

Terry

[rdsi]

I am sort of a pessimist at heart, and sometimes Amazon and eBay suppliers buy from different sources and don\t always change their ads.

I definitely know what you mean. So far I've had good luck with them.

I made a dual T-Nut for mounting to the table.
I also hooked up a solenoid/air line to it that works good - operates using a M1xx code.
As mentioned in the above link the cable sheath is very tough stuff. Practice stripping it before you commit to a length. Unbelievably they claim it's a special 3M product, but whatever, it's gorilla tough.

Also note; the ETS is designed to work up to 24VDC. It works fine using the Tormach 12VDC on the accessory plug but the ETS LED is a little on the dim side but is certainly observable.

Let us know how it goes ...

[MFchief]

Thanks for more info, I'll let everyone know when I try it out.

Terry

[Steve Seebold]

I’ll stay with my Mach III. It does everything I need it to do.

[MFchief]

Hey everyone, and especially RDSI. I recieved the ETS I ordered from Amazon, and it appears to be identical to the one RDSI has.

First, you were sure right about that plastic sheath on the cable! that is some tuff stuff. I experimented with various cable tools to cut it, but never was able to get a good cut without damaging the covers of the interior wires. I ended up cutting it long then splitting the outer sheath lengthwise with a hobby knife, got a little damage at the start, then was able to stay in the small gap between the wires to get it finished.

Wired it up the same as RDSI did, and it works fine on my machine.

Now a couple of questions for RDSI. and really all the folks who use ETS's.
Do you leave them on the table all the time, or only get them out when needed? My current plan is to mount it to a small AL block with embedded magnets to hold it to the table. Can't think of a reason for side forces that would cause a problem with the magnets. I am with RDSI on the reason to have the ETS, I use a nearly identical Hi Speed spindle and it would simplify tool length setting a great deal.

Last question, are these things supposed to be coolant proof? That would only be an issue if you left it mounted all the time.

OK really last question, has anyone played with setting up a G code block to check tool length on every tool change

Terry

[kstrauss]

Hey everyone, and especially RDSI. Wired it up the same as RDSI did, and it works fine on my machine.

Mine looks exactly like the RDSI one but my contacts are NC rather than NO ones on his. Mine has an overtravel NO contact. The point being that items that look alike are not always the same and never believe the adverts.

Now a couple of questions for RDSI. and really all the folks who use ETS's.
Do you leave them on the table all the time, or only get them out when needed? My current plan is to mount it to a small AL block with embedded magnets to hold it to the table. Can't think of a reason for side forces that would cause a problem with the magnets.

I secure mine to the table with a cheap Chinese magnetic indicator base. The magnet release lever makes it easy to position exactly where I want it and then remove. It is important to have the top surface parallel to the table so I put two small aluminum disks with setscrews between the ETS and the magnetic base to allow me to adjust for parallelism.

Last question, are these things supposed to be coolant proof?

The top shroud is not really sealed to the base so I would worry about splashy coolant getting inside. I use mist and that has not been a problem.

[MFchief]

I agree, with you about the advertising, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, I was concerned about that, so that's the main reason I ordered from Amazon, if you like nothing else about them, they are great about returns.

Mine was setup as RSDI's, main contact NO, overtravel NC, this is what I wanted since that is how my probe is setup.

I suspect you are correct about the coolant being a potential problem, that's why I intend to do the magnetic base thing like you did.

Did yours come with the little pneumatic puffer (it least that's what I think it is) like RSDI's, guess that could be useful in some setup's with constant mounting, but since I intend to remove after use, I just took that bit off to keep chips and stuff away from it and keep it out of the way of tools.

Thanks
Terry

[kstrauss]

Mine was setup as RSDI's, main contact NO, overtravel NC, this is what I wanted since that is how my probe is setup.

Did yours come with the little pneumatic puffer (it least that's what I think it is) like RSDI's, guess that could be useful in some setup's with constant mounting, but since I intend to remove after use, I just took that bit off to keep chips and stuff away from it and keep it out of the way of tools.

Thanks
Terry

Both my probe and my ETS are NC so I'm happy. I currently have no connection to the overtravel contacts but have considered wiring it into my eStop chain. That requires converting it to a NC.

Yes, mine also has the puffer but that feature is currently unused. I plan to puff with a solenoid operated pneumatic valve as soon as I get time to make a proper enclosure for my clone of the Tormach USB relay I/O board.

[Fenichel]

Both my probe and my ETS are NC so I'm happy. .

I think I have just got the same ETS as you (sold as a SHINA SK-66; touch connection red & orange, NC; overtravel connection blue & green, NC; puffer present), but my 770 is ignoring it.

Sitting on my desk, the NC touch connection has a resistance of about 1 ohm untouched, off the scale (>66M) touched.

The supply voltages at the DIN-5 connector on my Tormach are at nominal values. With nothing connected, the voltage at the sense pin is +2.9 VDC. My touch probe (one of Cliff Hall's impact-tolerant probes) works fine connected here.

When I connect the ETS to the 770, with the red wire connected to either the +12 VDC supply (pin 3) or the +5 VDC supply (pin 1) and the orange wire connected to the sensing input (pin 5), the voltage at the sensing input is the same as that of the red wire untouched and +2.7 VDC touched.

My guess is that +2.7 VDC is too high, and that all might be well if I just threw a pull-down resistor into the circuit. I haven't tried this yet. Has anyone else had a similar problem with this ETS?

[kstrauss]

Shouldn't the ETS wires go to ground (pin 4 in the DIN5) and input (pin 5 in the DIN5)? I believe that the Tormach has a pullup resistor between +5 volt and the input pin. Search for PN 31039 in your Tormach Operator Manual for a schematic.

[Zetopan]

When I connect the ETS to the 770, with the red wire connected to either the +12 VDC supply (pin 3) or the +5 VDC supply (pin 1) and the orange wire connected to the sensing input (pin 5), the voltage at the sensing input is the same as that of the red wire untouched and +2.7 VDC touched.

Yikes! The probe wires should connect between the input sense and GROUND! The input has a pull-up resistor to +5VDC and the input is expecting to see a signal change between 5VDC and zero volts, in whatever direction your mill is set up for (positive for some and negative for others, mine is set up for positive which is an open circuit when my Renishaw probe contacts something).

[Fenichel]

Yes, of course. How could I have done that? Stay tuned to this channel for more bonehead adventures.