Best posts made by webdes03

@bonjipoo, I did. I'm just using a 24V Solenoid air valve (specifically this one: https://amzn.to/35cxang). It's connected to out9 and defined as P3...

M950 P3 C"out9" ; define P3 as mister

Then simply create M7.g and M9.g to turn it on and off...

M7:
M42 P3 S1 ; enable mister
G4 P2000 ; wait for 2 seconds

The 2 second wait just ensures that there's active mist/air before the machine moves on.

M9:
M42 P3 S0 ; disable mister

It should be noted that I haven't actually built my machine yet, but I've mocked up all of the electronics and relays on a test bench to prove out my design, and the mister does work (at least in a test setting).

I have relays connected to "out8" and "out9" on my Duet 3, for the purpose of powering a mister and vacuum.

;Set up vacuum and misting outputs
M950 P2 C"out8" ; define P2 as vacuum
M950 P3 C"out9" ; define P3 as mister

Everything works correctly, and I added M7/9/10/11.gfiles to enable those functions):

# M7.g
M42 P3 S1	; enable mister
G4 P2000	; wait for 2 seconds

# M9.g
M42 P3 S0	; disable mister
G4 P2000	; wait for 2 seconds

Now, I'm trying to create macros to toggle the mister and vacuum on and off, but I can't figure out how to read the outputs to determine if they're on or not so I can do the appropriate action of the toggle (turn it on of it's off, or off if it's on).

Presumably I can do something like the following, I just can't seem to master the right solution to make it work:

# ToggleMister.g
if P3 EQ 0
  M7
else
  M9

I'm currently building a CNC using a Duet3 and most of what you describe is already available. I've got air/mist cooling, vacuum, etc all setup via the onboard IO, so all of your cooling, air, extraction, etc is absolutely doable today just by wiring it up and putting together the right gcode and/or macros.

VFD/Laser is also supported via a dedicated PWM port specifically for that use. Where you'll potentially fall short is more in the UI since the DWC UI is very much designed for 3D printing, there's the Ooznest "theme" for DWC that gives more/better UI for CNC purposes, so you can certainly try that.

Duet seems to be pretty committed to advancing these boards both from an IO and firmware perspective. I'm positive you can make everything work today, and the support and feature set will only improve over time if their past performance and attitude is an indicator of what's to come.

@T3P3Tony I did look through the code. Unfortunately, .NET is where I'm least proficient... I can somewhat interpret what's going on, but I'd probably need to do it in React/TS/Node if I was going to be remotely productive. If I do something I'll open source it though so maybe I can try and fill that void if you guys aren't sure if you'll further mature the existing solution. I can't imagine the demand is that high--I actually wanted it less for full blown farm management and more for queuing for a single printer.

I built a MPCNC last year and am currently building an OpenBuilds machine to replace it. The MPCNC is great if you just want to cut soft wood or acrylic, or if you're just looking to learn the basics. The only way you're cutting anything harder than that is to build a very short machine, which makes it almost unusable (think Z capacity of 3-4cm), and even then the machine design is way too flexible for anything very hard. Unless your use case specifically matches the capabilities of the MPCNC then you'll probably quickly outgrow it. I struggled to mill any sort of hardwood without using painfully slow speeds.