Slow loading Mach3 with MSM

[amorris]

Hello, 3 issues I would like some help on.
#1 - Mach with MSM takes a lot longer to load than any other screensets with Mach. Is there a way to speed up the loading?
#2 - I use the Galil plugin with MSM and Mach and most of the time I usually do not get a connection with the Galil control on the first load of Mach then I have to shut down Mach, shut down the Galil control, start the Galil control again and then restart Mach with MSM. This did not happen with the other screensets I have used. They have always connected the first time.
#3 - My hand pendant will not change jog speed any more as it did when I used the standard Mach screensets. Am I missing something?

Thanks,
amorris

[DaveCVI]

Hi,

Hello, 3 issues I would like some help on.
#1 - Mach with MSM takes a lot longer to load than any other screensets with Mach. Is there a way to speed up the loading?

the load time is due to two things:
1) MSM has more pages than the 1024 screens and they use bitmap graphics and buttons.
2) Mach loads all graphics at once into memory when loading a screen set and seems to take forever to do so. Mach has no concept of caching or loading pages as they are needed etc. I've talked to Artsoft about this over 4 years ago; at that time they said they had no interest in making it better (it was another one of those things that does not matter as they were working on the "ever just around the corner" mach 4...) So it's been this way ever since then.

The only thing I could do is not use graphics and loose many pages - and then MSM would not be MSM...

Hello, 3 issues I would like some help on.
#2 - I use the Galil plugin with MSM and Mach and most of the time I usually do not get a connection with the Galil control on the first load of Mach then I have to shut down Mach, shut down the Galil control, start the Galil control again and then restart Mach with MSM. This did not happen with the other screensets I have used. They have always connected the first time.

I'm guessing here - but when Mach start up and loads a screen set it goes essentially totally unresponsive (another aspect of it's less than optimal screen set loading). It could be that the Galil plugin is looking for some response during that time period. OTOH, I have OEM customers that use the Galil plug in with MSM and they do not experience this issue.

I know that the Galil plug-in has multiple versions. What version are you using?
I can ask my other clients what version they have - maybe that would help identify a version that would work better for you.

#3 - My hand pendant will not change jog speed any more as it did when I used the standard Mach screensets. Am I missing something?

Thanks,
amorris

I'd need some more info about what your hand pendant is and how it interfaces to mach before I could hazard a guess re this.

Dave

[DaveCVI]

In case this helps:

The folks I contacted that are running Galil controller cards are running the 4.5 version of the mach plug-in.
There is also a 4.4. version on the machsupport web site.
I understand that the 4.5 plug-in rev requires "new" Galil side software (I am not familiar with Galil controls personally so I don't know how to translate "new" to something more specific). I'm also told that they have run plug-in 4.5 with both old and new Galil software and have had no problems. In addition they run MSM as the default UI with mach and the Galil cards; when I asked, they told me they have never had a timeout problem with the Galil + MSM combination.

Dave

[amorris]

Dave,
I am using V4.5 plugin and it is with a USB connected DMC2030 control. According to what I have found the USB connections did not work as well as ethernet however I do not have that connection on mine. Perhaps I should try V4.4 and see how it works.
Thanks