There are a number of posts on the forum outlining issues with hitting the EStop. Out of habit, I guess I always reach for my mouse and hit the black square stop button rather than estop. I’ve not timed myself, but I can’t imagine there is much difference in time. This may be because I start each cut with my mouse hovering over the stop button in case I’ve done something daft (usually origin set up in the gcode or a duff home). Estop issues raised in the forum aside, are there any benefits of Estop vs Black Square stop?

The estop kills all power to the machine. The stop sends a stop command. There may be delays with the stop command actually taking hold

Hey Andy, [image] AndyP: Estop issues raised in the forum aside, are there any benefits of Estop vs Black Square stop? :triangular_flag_on_post: EDIT: The following sentence applies only to Original Buildbotics Controller. As Onefinity stated here, their Hardware Emergency Stop button is not wired to “estop” of the mainboard! yet I don’t know, but one thing is clear, the Hardware Estop button is just read out by one of the Input Pins of the AVR ATxmega on the Controller Mainboard (PF3, see circuit diagram, page 3), and triggers the execution of a piece of code. I assume the Estop button on the screen triggers the same piece of code. Buildbotics calls this the “estopped” state. None of these Estops are real Emergency Stop Buttons. That’s why it says in the Buildbotics Manual: :warning: The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA 79) requires that the class of emergency stop button be determined through a risk assessment. The soft “emergency stop” button on these web pages and the estop pin (pin 23 on the DB25 I/O connector) are both software controlled, and cannot be used for safety . If your risk assessment requires an emergency stop button to be installed for safety purposes or mission critical applications, then Buildbotics LLC recommends installing a “listed“ hardware Emergency Stop button in line with system power. Even if we purchased the Onefinity CNC for using it with another Controller, I ordered a Onefinity Controller with it because I’m fascinated by the Buildbotics project and want to have a look at Onefinity’s implementation of it. Yet I didn’t have the time to do that, so I asked myself the other day, what indeed does the “estopped” state in detail? Back to your question, I’d ask you back, does the Black Square Stop Button do what you expect it to do when you hit it? Does it stop the spindle?

[image] 349iq2345: Back to your question, I’d ask you back, does the Black Square Stop Button do what you expect it to do when you hit it? Does it stop the spindle Yes it does. It is just not big and red

The big red estop on top of the controller box kills ALL power to the box (will not turn of spindle). It’s connected directly to the power supply. The digital estop on the upper right of the screen is a ‘digital’ estop and will turn everything off and reset all zeros without killing all power. The stop button will just stop the program. You’ll retain zeros, position, etc when using the stop button. Good practice is to push the ‘start’ button and watch as the machine starts it’s process. Usually within the first 30 seconds - 1 minute, you’ll know if the cut will be go. We like to keep our finger hovering over the ‘start’ button as it changes to a pause button. If something is wrong, we’ll hit pause. If it’s something we’ll need to restart, we’ll then hit stop. If it’s something we can adjust (clamps, material, dust, etc), we’ll adjust it while it’s paused, then hit the pause button again to resume the cut. If all &@^( breaks loose, slam that big red button! :stuck_out_tongue:

[image] OnefinityCNC: The big red estop on top of the controller box kills ALL power to the box (will not turn of spindle). It’s connected directly to the power supply. Then this big red button is not connected to “estop” on mainboard, okay this answers the question in Emergency Stop issue. Thanks.

[image] OnefinityCNC: kills ALL power to the box (will not turn of spindle). It’s connected directly to the power supply. That would be ok. I have the vfd programmed to expect a frequent signal from the controller and if it doesn’t get three (I think) it switches off.

yes you have. I know. But I can only shake my head in disbelief on what safety issue wiring the Emergency Stop Switch this way that is. Cutting the power from Z stepper motor while at same time having no control over stopping the milling motor, that is simply crazy.

[image] 349iq2345: Cutting the power from Z stepper motor while at same time having no control over stopping the milling motor, that is simply crazy. Well, it’s a 90% solution. It will stop all movement except for the rotating bit. Unless there’s some serious inertia at play in terms of the X or Y continuing to move without power, the bit won’t even slam something. To get full kill, we’ll need to wire an estop button into the main power line going to our machine. For me I could do it between the extension cord inlet & the outlets and power strip I have everything plugged into. Or I can just pull the extension cord because all my table power ultimately comes from there.

Hey Jim, [image] JimHatch: [image] 349iq2345: Cutting the power from Z stepper motor while at same time having no control over stopping the milling motor, that is simply crazy. Well, it’s a 90% solution. Jim, this is not a solution. Just because you are only used to hobbyist machines where steppers who are suddenly powerless in fact in most cases don’t move freely you shouldn’t think that Safety Standards dealing with this generally assume that of rotating power machines. What do you think why buildbotics created the “estop” input functionality on its mainboard?

[image] 349iq2345: steppers who are suddenly powerless in fact in most cases don’t move freely PS: And even on hobbyist machines, this cannot be assumed :slight_smile:

EStop or Black Square?

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349iq2345 December 2, 2021, 6:02pm 6

Then this big red button is not connected to “estop” on mainboard, okay this answers the question in Emergency Stop issue. Thanks.

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EStop or Black Square?

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