Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 I've added some hints to my post above. Please try them …

Nightowl

@infiniteloop It says ~~the file's not found, but it's deffo there in my \sys folder!~~

Error: in file macro line 28 column 26: meta command: control character in string

OK, there was a " missing on the last line...

Nightowl

@infiniteloop Now the file looks like this:

; RestoreSpindleSpeed.g
; Spindle speed saved from running "null" CNC file

; set up the global variable abort_process so we can abort further execution of resurrect.g:
if {!exists(global.abort_process)}
    global abort_process = true
else
    set global.abort_process = true

; now comes the dialog:
M291 S3 R"Resurrect:" P"Continue with <null>?"

; we will only arrive here if the dialog was closed with OK:
set global.abort_process = false
M3 S0

;EOF

I'll have another go at the power fail test...

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

Now the file looks like this:

That's perfect. Before pulling the plug again, you should call resurrect-prologue.g from the console to see if you still get an error. Note, however, that your router might execute the homing moves if the construct works as expected.

Nightowl

@infiniteloop

Same problem. Only half a RestoreSpindleSpeed.g file...

Nightowl

@infiniteloop

OK, so I called resurret-prologue.g which gave a prompt to carry on. I clicked OK and the homing sequence completed.

Then i got these errors:

31/05/2022, 12:19:04 	M292
Error: Bad command: {1}
31/05/2022, 12:19:04 	m98 P"resurrect-prologue.g"
Error: Bad command: {1}

EDIT: I've deleted the {1}

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

Same problem. Only half a RestoreSpindleSpeed.g file...

So we've localised this problem: rapid power loss …

In the meantime, please test with a RestoreSpindleSpeed.g which you generate from the command line

M98 P"SaveSpindleSpeed.g"

Proceed as suggested in my last post. Feel free to edit the S parameter of M3 if want your spindle to turn

Nightowl

@infiniteloop

That seems to work now.

Shall I try the ultimate test?

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

Then i got these errors:

That are these empty line marks who seem to be generated when I put my stuff into the code (black) box.
Simply remove all occurrences of {1}… I just see: you did that already while I was writing

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

Shall I try the ultimate test?

Without enough power to safely complete macro execution at power off, what is the definition of "ultimate"?

Nightowl

@infiniteloop As everything is hunky dory, the "ultimate" test would be to see if everything does work. If not, a UPS might be in order

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

a UPS might be in order

Do you have a separated 5V rail (with its own PSU) just to power the Duet?

Nightowl

@infiniteloop Nope. It's just my 24V PSU

I wouldn't know how to do that, but it's only the Duet that's powered from the 24V, as the spindle has it's own power supply.

Still, the "ultimate" test failed at the same point, so I'm going to need to look at the 5V - or UPS - option!

But surely, if the power fails, it fails. What use is a 5V supply if it's on the same mains circuit?

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

Nope. It's just my 24V PSU

If you put your UPS on that, the Duet won't notice the loss of mains power: Without a voltage drop, M911 won't be executed … until the UPS runs out of juice. But then, you face the same situation as now.

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

What use is a 5V supply if it's on the same mains circuit?

You could either use a large capacitor, a tiny UPS or a power bank to keep the 5V alive for a while.

Nightowl

@infiniteloop
If you don't mind, is this something you would plug into the Duet's USB port, and would the power bank stay charged/charging whilst connected, then slowly (slower than the PSU) drain down giving more time to save what I need to save?

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

is this something you would plug into the Duet's USB port

Never. All the Duet boards I know of (don't know all of them) have an optional 5V input.

would the power bank stay charged/charging whilst connected

That depends on the power bank. Sorry, but due to my limited knowledge, I can't give you recommendations for specific devices. Have you searched the forum on this topic yet? I didn't, but I stumbled across some related posts in the past.

Nightowl

@infiniteloop OK, thank you. I'll ask this question separately then, burt I didn't want to seem impatient

Again, I really appreciate the time and effort you've put in to help me with this - you've been brilliant

infiniteloop

@nightowl999 said in Power failure and resurrection on a CNC machine:

I'll ask this question separately

Maybe you search before you ask? Chances are good that then, your questions are more specific. Fore example, I still face the miracle that my Duet doesn't execute the M911 command sequence if I shut off my large power supply but keep the 5V rail alive. Remember, I came across that when I ran some macro tests for this thread on my Duet.

So I'll dive into the ocean of Duet3D documentation and figure out how and when resurrect.g is triggered. This, in turn, seems to depend on how I configure and supply my various voltages.

What I mean is: if you ask how to connect a UPS (or a power bank), the replies don't include the aspect of recovery from power failure. Is the way we elaborated in this thread still viable, or do you then need a different solution? Or: depending on your power setup, you might be able to came along with a simple capacitor - which won't work well if all your steppers suck from that, too.

I suggest you go to the hardware section first (as a first read, I suggest this, this and something like this) and figure out how to separate the 5V from the rest. If you got the idea, ask the forum - not the other way round, because then, there's too much noise in the replies.

Nightowl

Thanks, @infiniteloop. I do try to search the forums and the documentation first, but I don't seem to find anything descriptive enough to work from so ask on the forum.

Of course, as I get to know stuff, I'll be asking fewer questions and giving more help

Thanks again, my friend