Go To Zero

[ventuseu]

Dave,

Nice work! Everything loaded cleanly (after a couple of minor screw-ups on my part - failure to read directions). After I cloned a new set-up and copied in the appropriate config settings for my machine, everything seemed to run as advertised...

(I'm using the CandCNC BOB, and after I remembered to activate the CandCNC pugins, everything it was supposed to do also seemed to work).

I'm having two minor problems, which I suspect are not Screen set problems, but may be interaction issues between the CandCNC plugins and MachSTDMill:

1. When I hit the "go to Zero" button on the Run screen, the X&Y axes move simultaneously to zero, and then the z axis moves to its zero. (Obviously, not the desired sequence). Changes to the safe Z setting seem to have no effect.
2. On initial start-up, I always get the mach "Reset Command failed-Limit Switch Active" message. If I have Mach toggle the switches, and go through this sequence twice(??), everything functions normally for the rest of the session.

Any thoughts on these two things??

I've cut a couple of small parts without problems, other than the two noted above.

Again, the screens are great- clean and well organized. I'm really looking forward to using the probing functionality...

Ventuseu

[DaveCVI]

Hi Ventuseu,

A) re goto zero -
The button in MSM actually does exactly the same action as the 1024 screens do.
I understand this to be a long standing controversy within the mach user community.

The two arguments are:
1) if "going to zero" means that you want to go down to the part zero point (i.e. where set the part's WC origin zero is set to), then, on a typical mill, XY followed by Z is just what you want.

2) if "going to zero" means that you want to go (generally) upward to a typical mill machine coordinate zero point, then you more likely want Z followed by XY.

I can see both viewpoints as having merit. I actually had a discussion with Scott at NFS about this the week before we released  MSM for Beta. This is one of his top support issues. But I can't magically make MSM read a users mind and know which meaning of "goto zero" they assumed. So I opted to make MSM do what 1024 does.

The default could be changed, we could even make it a config screen option a user could set.
What we (I and Scott) need is a clear preference expressed by the user community.

Perhaps others will offer their opinions in this thread.


B) re the "reset command failed - limit switch active" message - i think that that is coming from mach (at least it's not an MSM message) - or could it be coming from a plugin for your hardware?

The timing and sequence of what mach does when initializing did change internally with 3.43.10 - if some plugin code is assuming something it shouldn't, it may be seeing this change as an error.

I'm just guessing here. MSM does nothing wrt to plugins and has no knowledge that such a thing even exists.

Dave

[ventuseu]

Dave,

Thanks for quick response.

Yeah, I suspected that these aren't really Screen issues. I'll forward this to To the CandCNC folks so they can add it to their list.

Meanwhile, back to learning how to use this great stuff... (Did I mention I really like the high-res screens?)

Cheers,

Ventuseu

[ventuseu]

Well, I suspect that I'm overlooking something simple, but this "Go to Zero" sequence is bothering me...

With the earlier versions of Mach3, setting the "Safe Z Height" is Machine Coordinates caused the the "Go to Zero" behavior to go to Safe Z first, and then to X&Y
(See http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,14585.0.html).

In my previous set-up with a slightly modified 1024 screenset, an earlier version of Mach and a safe Z set in Machine coordinates, this was the "Go to Zero" sequence - raise to safe Z, than translate to X&Y.  For the life of me, now I can't seem to get the "Safe Z" setting in "Config" to have any effect.

Any thoughts on what I'm overlooking?

Thanks

ventuseu

[DaveCVI]

I found a bug where the MSM did not do exactly the same actions as 1024.set.
This is why the safeZ was being ignored.
It is fixed and will be in the next beta release.

Dave

[ventuseu]

Thanks.

That's what beta testing is for, and I'm glad I was able to help...

ventuseu

[DaveCVI]

This issue has been corrected in MSM Beta 2.
Dave