Softlimit settings

[sn96]

Well I tired setting Max Z @ 0 and Min Z @ -5.00 with no luck. I was not able to turn on softlimits without errors and I was not able to run the program. The spindle line shows it going through the part in fact. The only thing that seems to work half way are these values:

Z Max 5.00 and Z Min 0

I still get soft limit errors but I can at least run the program, jog etc. I just keep getting an annoying Bleep! telling me there is a soft limit error. Its hard to know whats going on without it connected to any motors. Perhaps when I get my steppers connected I can get a better idea of what's going on. If I could find someone who has a Sherline mill, I would like to see what values they have as well as if they have reversed checked or not.

Safe Z is another confusing factor. It seems as though I can jog regardless the height of my spindle.

[ger21]

To use Softlimits correctly, you really need to home the machine first, to get a reference position for the softlimits. If you home to the top of the Z axis, which is typical, then Z max=0, an Z min= some value less than 0.

Since you aren't actually running a machine, if you want to play with softlimits, you need to pay particular attention to the axis DRO's, and make sure that the position the"machine" is in would be valid. Sounds like you are jogging outside of what the actual limits should be.

Safe Z doesn't restrict movement. It's a feature to lift the spindle to a safe height to prevent the tool from hitting clamps or other things.

[RICH]

May be of value.
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,11409.msg72346.html#msg72346

RICH

[sn96]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the help.

Rich, I downloaded and printed out the PDF file and it has really helped me to make sense of it all. It really is quite simple, but after thoroughly confusing myself messing around with so many things, I really need to stop and think about what I'm doing.

Part of my problem was not zeroing the machine, so things were getting out of wack combined with improper values, and in some cases I had the motors reversed only to add to the chaos.   Your directions should get me back on track.

Thanks!

[sn96]

Success! The settings Rich provided did the trick. Mach now behaves as expected. I have a new question however. When I click Cycle Stop, the Z goes to zero as it should, but when I click Cycle Start again according to the DRO, Z remains on Zero instead of going back down to resume cutting at the desired depth. Do you have to manually set the Z depth before hitting cycle start again?

[ger21]

First, if you plan on resuming, you should only use Stop after the using Feedhold and waiting until movement stops. If you click Stop while the machine is moving, it will lose position.

If you want to resume, it will do exactly what the current line of gcode tells it to. Mach3 has no memory of what it was doing.

A better option may be to use Run From Here.