LinuxCNC HAL #1: The Basics

[@SmallShopConcepts]

This is the best linuxcnc tutorial I've come across! I'm still learning Hal and look forward to the rest of your tutorials!

[@gadams809]

First thank you for the information. I have been doing machine tool building for 45 years. I have been wanting to build a Linux CNC controlled tool for years. Now I have the time. Just some info you mentioned you didn't know. RS274 is the name of the language your part program is written in. The G and M code (Part Program). It has become called G code and it is not the write term. You mentioned tiering code to a out put. This does not happen G codes are function in the CNC Operation engine. M codes are tied to outputs and such. This is not always true but 99.9% of the time it is. I started designing when the GE100P NC control was developed. Yes I am that old. LOL Thank you again. I look forward to seeing more of your stuff. It is helping me with Linux CNC a lot. Thank you again. Doug

[@DanielWood]

Thank you for taking the time to make these videos. I'm new to LinuxCNC and these videos are really helping me understand how to get going with it!

[@weirdsciencetv4999]

This is one of the best HAL tutorials i’ve encountered

[@chichcnc]

That was excellent. I read mountains of documentation over 4 years ago and your video made me remember lots of what I read. Keep your tutorials comming. Thank you.

[@swolebro]

Check the playlist in the video description, and there's several more already published. That'll probably be all for the next while, though. The machine is in a good place right now, and I won't be doing any overhauls or getting new machinery until I manage to move. Stupid life priorities, getting in the way of shop projects.

[@simranbal8668]

Thanks for your efforts. Much appriciated.

[@DPTech_workroom]

Finally a normal tutorial about Lcnc! I'm new in this.

[@peterjansen4894]

You fill the void that Jerry left. Great to see you stepping in. Very nice and good content, thanks!

[@keithscott9774]

Great tutorial, thanks very much. I'm moving over from UCCNC to Linuxcnc, and this is exactly what I need to ease the transition. I'm going to be using QTPlasmaC with Mesa cards, but no doubt I'll still be checking out what you have done with the Arduino and THC control.

[@AlexandrParshev]

Thanks! Very cool! Step by step. The picture is clear.Subscribed :)

[@satyat9059]

Really nice explanation about hal configs, thank you.

[@nsoutter]

Great info, thanks!

[@steveeparsonsjr7929]

Nice video, very informative...

[@gwheyduke]

What type older desktop do you recommend to run Linux CNC? I have a couple of older ones with Windows 8, installed, maybe I could use those for my Sherline mill ? The Sherline controller is set up for Linux.

[@swolebro]

I was using an old Dell Optiplex 780 with a *first generation* i7. That's a machine that would have been top-of-the-line back in 2008, hahah. It was already a decade old by the time I was using it. You certainly don't need anything modern. In fact, given how much LinuxCNC kernel updates lag, you might *want* something that's at least 5+ years old. Computers with the latest hardware also require the latest kernels in order to boot/run properly. A quick Google search on my end shows that the Sherline controller uses a parallel port interface, so it'd be best if you can find a machine that has one already. Otherwise, you at least want a PCIe slot for an expansion card.

[@phearl3ss1]

I am just starting Linuxcnc and this video. Hope it covers or leads me to configure a scara type machine

[@swolebro]

I don't cover anything other than basic kinematics in this series, but the HAL concepts are all the same. If you wanna mail me a FANUC arm, then sure, I'll take a crack at that. Hahahah. I don't exactly have $50k to burn in order to cover niche use cases.

[@phearl3ss1]

@@swolebro I bought the arm from an University Surplus Auction and only setting it up for the fun of it and have no use for it. So maybe I will but you will need to pick it up in Cal. The Robot is about 350 pounds and has 1/2" plate steel base and 1250mm x axis. kzbin.info/www/bejne/javHq4mKqKqFmbc Or if you want, I just purchased an old Del 755, installed Linuxcnc and I can give you control of the system plus I can set up a network video camera that you can control and you can make the video over the internet. Right now there is nothing on how to set one up. Not for linux, marlin or mach3. So anyone wanting something different would watch that video. and I am sure it would have lots of views.

[@swolebro]

​@@phearl3ss1 Ok, so I took a look at your video showing off the SCARA ad that's actually pretty cool. The LinuxCNC docs definitely don't cover the use of scara apart from mentioning that "scarakins" exists as an alternative to the standard "trivkins" (trivial kinematics engine). Luckily, they do at least provide two example configurations. github.com/LinuxCNC/linuxcnc/tree/master/configs/sim/axis/vismach/scara github.com/LinuxCNC/linuxcnc/tree/master/configs/sim/gmoccapy/non_trivial_kinematics/scara Comparing the INI and HAL file in there to the basic-bitch configs you get from running the Stepconf Wizard (as in my earlier video) or the HAL files I build through this video series, might help you figure it out. Though right off the cuff, it doesn't appear they're setting any values for the lengths of the arm segments, which according to the HAL module code itself, should be some pins labeled D1 through D6. So I dunno. github.com/LinuxCNC/linuxcnc/blob/master/src/emc/kinematics/scarakins.c I'd say once you read over the example configs and bumble through it a little bit, post on the forums and ask for some help connecting the dots. I certainly think it's interesting, but I'm not going to promise any of my time towards it, since I've got enough to do already. A couple more videos to knock out, then I really need to focus my energy on getting some house repairs done and moving the fuck out of this goddamn commie shithole that I'm living in. Got real-life priorities to handle. If you want, you can drop an issue on this GitHub project here so I don't forget entirely, but you're looking at months and months before I can have any free cycles to possibly spend looking at it. github.com/swolebro/swolebro-youtube

[@Roddzilla71]

I'm not a linux guy, but some of your commands don't work on my computer. I've got the debian wheezy 2.9 installed. Are some commands not used across all ditros? For example where you typed "tree", doesn't work in my terminal. Thanks

[@swolebro]

Some of the commands don't come by default, but are available if you know where to look. (Which is usually a Google thing; "tree" specifically comes in the "moreutils" package.) I talk about the other tools I like in video 1b, and have the quick write-up of how/what to install here: github.com/swolebro/swolebro-youtube/blob/master/linuxcnc/misc/installing-software.rst Finding out a tool even exists... that just takes time. Same thing as when you've been drilling and tapping holes all your life, then one day, someone hows you those combination drill-taps, and your mind is blown.

[@lorispraolini2260]

Thanks a lot for your video, you are the best! If you have time could you do a video that explain the procedure to build tool change?

[@swolebro]

That one's a bit beyond my shop right now, since the plasma is just a plasma. I'll keep making more videos as I get around to doing/learning more, but milling isn't going to happen any time soon. These guys might have some videos already, or would likely be able to provide some pointers: kzbin.info - wrote a good chunk of FreeCAD's Path workbench, runs a mill conversion kzbin.info/door/y5Dnc0yhIVGIDhsLnDgxGg - dude has one of the smaller Tormach machines and he's got some videos on working with the LinuxCNC bits under the hood kzbin.info - guy is setting up some old, monstrous size mill with LinuxCNC/Mesa hardware The rest of the HAL videos here will probably still prove useful though - particularly the ohmic probing one, if you want to automatically measure Z offsets every time you chuck a mill in a collet.

[@raoufmagdy3661]

Hey I am currently working on a scara robot project (I am very beginner to Linuxcnc) and I found some code for kinematics and inverse kinematics, does anyone know where shall I write this code like in HAL or INI or sth like that (sorry for the question but things are not clear for me)

[@TechBuild]

I am into a weird problem. First, when I boot into the normal mode(1st option), I don't get any output on the VGA port of the PC, when I boot into the failsafe mode(2nd option), everything works normally, except when I reboot, all the saved data, including the stepper config files, get erased from the hard disk. Please help.

[@swolebro]

Have you actually installed the system or are you only running it off a live USB? If you're running off the USB, click the wizard on the desktop and go through the install process. Not sure why your VGA is acting whack, and that's not a problem I can help with either.

[@xiaoshang6098]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!! Do you have any idea if LinuxCNC can be used to control a Siemens S7 PLC with PROFINET?

[@swolebro]

That's probably a question for the LinuxCNC.org forums. I'm just a homegamer - no experience with the industrial stuff.

[@xiaoshang6098]

@@swolebro You are absolutely right! Thanks for reminding me about the existence of the forum. Just about to get started with linuxcnc for a lab project.

[@davidjupin8797]

I have a Linux question. I'm running Debian and at first could not see desktop icons. I've solved that issue but now I can't launch Linuxcnc from the icons. Could you point me in the right direction? Thanks.

[@swolebro]

Usually the desktop shortcuts are made when you walk through the Stepconf Wizard. If you right click and look through the properties on it, there should be a field for a shell command that'll have something like "linuxcnc /path/to/your/config.ini". Check and make sure that's set up correctly.

[@davidjupin8797]

​@@swolebro Unfortunately, no luck. The desktop icon created looks like a shell script when I open it with the text editor and it has the proper ini file with the right path. Double clicking on it just doesn't do anything. Seems like maybe a permissions issue.

[@swolebro]

@@davidjupin8797 Could either be that it somehow got the executable bit unset. Check with `ls -la` and see what the permissions are, and `chmod +x` if that's it. Might also be something with mime or XDG settings, but then we're getting into stuff that cant really be debugged via KZbin comments, particularly when I don't have a Debian/LinuxCNC machine of my own to look at right now.

[@ETsBees]

When i type in "tree it says bash: tree: command not found" What am i doing wrong?

[@swolebro]

That tool doesn't come by default on every distro. Usually it's in a package called "tree" or possibly "moreutils" which you'd install using apt-get. I'm a bit hazy on the specifics by memory since it's been a while, but video #1b in this series (Linux basics) probably covers that for ya.

[@banefsej]

hello . am a noob and try to learn everything about cnc's and hopefully ill DIy a CNC mill for fun and learning purposes . i think before everything its going to be nice to know why linuxcnc and nat ether systems and what features it have and haven't compared to ether systems . so it will make sense to me and noobs like me :) . thanks in advance and keep the good work

[@proengeleceng6861]

my usb stick could not be detected by the linuxcnc 2.7.14 debian wheezy pls help

[@swolebro]

USB stick for what, just general storage? My first guess would be to check what filesystem its formatted for. Once I get back to shooting videos, I plan on doing one about putting LCNC on a modern Linux Mint install. Should let you have more up to date software/drivers on it.

[@tayyabali4743]

Tree command is not working

[@swolebro]

Install the `moreutils` package: github.com/swolebro/swolebro-youtube/blob/master/linuxcnc/misc/installing-software.rst

[@RadekMarko]

Please add info how to add extra LPT port - it's not rival and might be useful - forum.linuxcnc.org/10-advanced-configuration/38798-second-lpt-port-solved?start=10