[drb_001]

Hi Tom -

I've been using Kmotion/KFLOP on a converted Supermax 3 axis mill for a couple years and am very happy with it. I generally do everything via Gcode or purely manual so this has not been an issue before...but, my current project needs XY precision but the material is very delicate and I have not had success drilling it via automation. How can I turn off the Z axis servo (free-wheel/manual), retain the Z axis position display, keep XY servos 'on', all from Kmotion? I found a couple hints (below are the excerpts), but can not seem to get it to work. It would be nice to have one of the user buttons basically turn on/off the z servo, i'm just not that smart. Can I hand-jam something like (CMD, PWMC8=0), but then how do I undo that?

"Regarding free-wheeling the motors: I think if you set the Peak Current Limits to zero this will put SnapAmp in current fault mode with all MOSFETs turned off. PWMC8=0 may also work. Commanding a current of zero should be like an open circuit."
and
"I would think that you can configure everything like a normal 3 Axis XYZ servo with encoder feeback. But then in KFLOP set the Output Type to "None" and set a large following error so the axis never faults. In this case it would be just like a real XYZ servo system where the Z axis just happens to never be commanded to move from zero and where "large following errors" occur and (are displayed) by your manual motions."

Thanks,
Brian

[TomKerekes]

Hi Brian,

Try the Attached Program. It should enable/disable the Servo Output and toggle a KFLOP LED to show the current mode Auto/Manual. You will need to change the file name extension to .c and assign it to a User Button.

Just writing zero current (one time) to the PWM wouldn't work because the servo is continuously writing commands to the PWM.

I wasn't sure about your Servo Type, Axis Channels, or PWM Channels so you may have to tweak the program for those.

HTH
Regards

[drb_001]

Thanks Tom, I'll try it tonight. I really appreciate it!!

Brian