Upgraded Timber Harvester Setworks Smart-Set

tylerltr450 · December 23, 2019, 01:15:25 PM

Well folks its been over two years of working on an updated setworks for the Timber Harvester Mills and I am proud to say I almost completed this task.

The purpose of this project was to have a backup for an ever aging mill that has no support for setworks. Reason for working on this project was because I have had the computer go down on me 3 times already (lucky I was able to get it back). Due to the issues with computers in mills I wanted to make something better than what came stock.

The goal was to keep the same functionality that the mill has today.
Buttons for lumber sizes
Shift Toggle
Program button
Home button
Half Up button

I have successfully coded the complete functionality while giving a little extra.

I have been able to add 8 lumber size buttons along with the ability to add a shift which means 16 lumber sizes
I also have kept the program ability for a specific button
the home and half up still work
and I was able to give an LCD screen to tell you what button was clicked. Plus extra

Timber Harvester Upgraded Setworks - YouTube

Setworks with advance button setting home
https://youtu.be/IBGZR49cQFc

I am working on doing a drop in replacement to what was already in the mill however i still haven't wired up computer to the mill yet. I only have been doing test bench work.

LCD Customizeable Start Screen

Programming a custom cut size.

When you click the programmed button to drop the head

The ability to cut an extra 1/8 ontop of the preset depth.

barbender · December 23, 2019, 06:12:17 PM

Now that's cool!

tylerltr450 · December 23, 2019, 08:32:28 PM

Quote from: barbender on December 23, 2019, 06:12:17 PM
Now that's cool!

Thank you! This took many hours to do and I plan to make it even better yet!

tylerltr450 · December 29, 2019, 05:41:52 PM

Made new adjustments to show cut depth and blade height off the bed of the mill.

Cut Depth is saved by using the head advance button. This will zero the cut depth and afterwards you can get an accurate depth based on last cut.

The bed height is set by turning the computer on when the head is at resting on the bed. This will establish that the blade is 1 inch off the bed.

tylerltr450 · December 29, 2019, 05:51:12 PM

I was able to data log the encoder from the mill while using the old setworks and I was able to get an accurate count to finalize my code. I am now able to complete this project just need to finalize some little items like a box for the screen and adding more buttons for the setworks.

Since the original setworks only had 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4

Mine has 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, 8/4, 10/4, 12/4, 16/4

I will be moving the computer to the control box where the operator stands instead of being up top with the encoder. Reason is because it is not water proof in the black box and that is where i started having issues with my original setworks.
The only items in the black box going forward will be 2 relays and the encoder which will not be in the water if there is a leak. I also am changing the thin gray cable with a cat 5e outdoor cable so I can have proper communication with the encoder and relays.

tylerltr450 · December 30, 2019, 09:05:28 AM

I also forgot to add. When you program the custom User preset button the screen reads out what the depth of cut is set. This allows for someone to know exactly what they are cutting.

Should have this put into the mill soon, just purchasing the last couple items like push buttons and weather proofing.

Jcald327 · December 30, 2019, 11:53:45 AM

I hope others are excited for this as there are plenty of problems that arise from a piece of 8th inch steel round stock pointing at a tape on an upright. Your sight picture being one, the inherent inaccuracies of a pointer that large ect. The mill I used didnt use a thread pitch that was conducive to say 1 turn per 1/4 or something like that, just feel that I am far more accurate going to between 1145 and 1215 on the 'clock's scale knowing at 1/4 per turn I'm within a 1/16th of an inch even with that large of an error.

But this has applications to self learn thread pitch, integrate a simple version of something like a DRO used on machine equipment, and can also serve to be a display for things like rpm, load, blade speed, amperage load, coolant or exhaust temp ect for 10-20$ a sensor vs 50-150$ a guage. The sky is the limit.

tylerltr450 · December 30, 2019, 01:03:15 PM

Quote from: Jcald327 on December 30, 2019, 11:53:45 AM
I hope others are excited for this as there are plenty of problems that arise from a piece of 8th inch steel round stock pointing at a tape on an upright. Your sight picture being one, the inherent inaccuracies of a pointer that large ect. The mill I used didnt use a thread pitch that was conducive to say 1 turn per 1/4 or something like that, just feel that I am far more accurate going to between 1145 and 1215 on the 'clock's scale knowing at 1/4 per turn I'm within a 1/16th of an inch even with that large of an error.

But this has applications to self learn thread pitch, integrate a simple version of something like a DRO used on machine equipment, and can also serve to be a display for things like rpm, load, blade speed, amperage load, coolant or exhaust temp ect for 10-20$ a sensor vs 50-150$ a guage. The sky is the limit.

You are correct. I am going to make a bigger project which will include ECT and maybe RPM so I will know when my blades are gettin dull and also to know if my engine is getting hot on those 100 degree days.
DROs are great in their own application but you loose a lot of the AI like knowing blade width and how much extra to cut when your manually cutting lumber.
I had 2 goals for this project 1 was to prove I could do it and the other was 2 make as close to a drop in replacement as I could.
For my bigger project I will also use the sensors for 0 and max height.
This will allow for the user to push 1inch down and when the trigger is hit the head will stop moving down.

tylerltr450 · January 09, 2020, 10:24:08 AM

Well I have completed my version of the updated Timber Harvester Setworks.

I added some more functions so that it will be better to use.

I have added logic that if the the head was manually dropped 1.5 inch below the last cut and the user clicks 1 inch the head will move up .5 so the cut will be 1in. Also if the user moves the head down manually to 1in and they click the 2 inch button. The head will drop an additional 1 inch to make the cut 2 inch total. This allows for both up and down functions from anywhere off the cut.

I have also added the ability to save the Kerf of the blade, this is useful because it a person gets a thinner blade they can adjust and it will save to the computer.

I have also adjusted the logic to always add Kerf to the cut. This will allow for the programmed cut height to give a user exactly what they want, instead of the user having to calculate that into the head drop.

Next goal is the start adding this to the mill so I can make sure it works as expected. Good news is all the extra parts needed are here.

tylerltr450 · January 13, 2020, 08:28:03 AM

Here is a quick video of the new setworks in aciton. It is very short due to the fact it was late and I still has some work to do but the mill works as it should.

Timber Harvester Custom Upgraded Setworks - YouTube

tylerltr450 · February 06, 2020, 01:37:50 PM

For people that are still interested here is some pics of the before and after.
I know the wiring management is not the best but its cold out and wiring isnt fun in the cold and rain. And like anything else when it works you just forget about it haha.

This is the original setup in the controller box