Welcome to Our Community

Some features disabled for guests. Register Today.

How do I connect to the Blackbox Controller from Ubuntu 18

Discussion in 'Controller Boards' started by Dave Pinchbeck, May 19, 2020.

  1. Dave Pinchbeck

    Builder

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2014
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    3
    Hi all

    For a couple of months not I have been having issues with getting my Blackbox controller to run my Workbee 1510. Slowly I have gotten to the stage where I could run a complete gcode file through the system without it stopping or buffering UNTIL it started the 1.5kw Spindle motor. I was continually faces with an Error code 31. It turns out that this Error code 31 seems to relate to the fact I was using my 8 year old laptop to do the work.

    So I decided to switch over to my main workshop computer and install the openbuilds software onto a Dell PC running Ubuntu 18.04. The software opens and seems to work fine on the PC.

    HOWEVER, though I am now presented with a multitude of options of /dev/tty connection options and 1 FTDI USB to Serial option I can not connect to the black box though any of them

    20200519_164418.jpg

    Any suggestions welcome
     
  2. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
    Staff Member Moderator Builder Resident Builder

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2017
    Messages:
    13,749
    Likes Received:
    4,070
    Access Denied error in screenshot: Your user account does not have permission to use the Serial ports

    1) Add your user to the dialout group (the dialout group has permission to access ports)
    sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

    2) Reboot


    False, Error 31 comes from the OS, and tells you the port was disabled, usually because of EMI - VFD spindles cause a tonne of EMI, refer to For those with noise issues.
     
    David the swarfer likes this.
  3. Dave Pinchbeck

    Builder

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2014
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    3
    Thanks Peter.

    Going to run with the user update tomorrow morning. as i'm the only user, I had never looked at setting up accounts on the Linux machine as it seemed to do everything I wanted.

    I looked into the EMI side of things and because everything is using shielded cables I grounded them all. The 7 leads from the blackbox were grounded together through a bus bar, and the spindle is grounded separately. The USB cable from the laptop is also shielded and has a ferrite magnet as well. Even with all this the error still kept coming up, which is why I have moved to the desktop option.
     
  4. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
    Staff Member Moderator Builder Resident Builder

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2017
    Messages:
    13,749
    Likes Received:
    4,070
    Look for one (or buy some extra clip on ferrites) with a ferrite on each end of the cable

    That said, VFDs (especially the budget chinese ones) are a huge pain, all the cost cutting means they have very little filtering left inside.

    Laptops are a little worse (plastic cases, components much closer together, no AC earthing, etc), so the desktop might behave a bit better, but don't be surprised if EMI crops up again sadly.

    Linux doing what it should (keeping things secure) > would you really want a "regular" user controlling access to connectivity, or (thinking of typical linux use case as a server) would the root user / someone with sudo priviledge, rather be in charge of setting up connectivity :)


    • dialout: Full and direct access to serial ports. Members of this group can reconfigure the modem, dial anywhere, etc.
     
  5. Dave Pinchbeck

    Builder

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2014
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    3
    here is how I fixed it in the end

    How to manage users and groups using GUI?

    a) Open TERMINAL (Ctrl + Alt + t)
    b) Paste and run this line: sudo apt-get install gnome-system-tools
    c) Press 'y' to continue.....
    d) Close Terminal window
    e) Open 'users and groups' ' in software....
    f) click 'advanced'
    g) enter password
    h) click 'user privileges'
    i) select unticked items..........

    close, and restart.......

    Now if only I could get the Blackbox to control the VFD / Spindle speed, this would be perfect for a dumb user like me. FOr now though Ill just stick with the manual speed setting on the VFD - if it aint broke, dont touch it :)
     
    that-jim likes this.
  6. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
    Staff Member Moderator Builder Resident Builder

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2017
    Messages:
    13,749
    Likes Received:
    4,070
    OpenBuilds BlackBox 4X Documentation - in particular refer to the bottom of that page, right above the picture for links to known working configs

    Has its merits as well!
     
  7. Webweave

    Webweave New
    Builder

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2017
    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    2
    This worked for me, thanks!
     
    Peter Van Der Walt likes this.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice