Messages

441

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 20, 2016, 07:42:57 AM »

Hi Dave
I think you are looking at the problem with the wrong eye ... Try the left one?
Cheers
Roger

442

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 20, 2016, 07:21:07 AM »

Oh VERY nice!
I haven't got that far yet: all I have bothered with has been isolation routing, rather than defining actual tracks. The isolation stuff is dead easy with almost zero learning curve. Actually making tracks means brushing up on a PCB program - and the only ones I have are ... antique. Anyhow, other fish to fry right now (always a good excuse). What do you use?

Cheers
Roger

443

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 20, 2016, 06:01:53 AM »

I like.
Getting PCBs made locally is a bit more $$. So I engrave my own using double-sided laminate. Earth on top side, tracks the other.
I do it on a vacuum table. Not as smooth-looking as yours.

Cheers
Roger

444

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 20, 2016, 05:26:26 AM »

Oh, for sure. Until I get into the surface-mount devices. Some of the stuff seems to be only available these days as SMDs.
Cheers
Roger

445

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 20, 2016, 05:16:21 AM »

Well, yes, that is another way of doing it.
My concern is that every time I do something like that, the chip dies and it is then a huge hassle replacing it. Murphy!
Cheers
Roger

446

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 20, 2016, 04:09:21 AM »

You will also find little screw connectors at RSComp, as shown here. They are really very nice - beats the hell out of soldering the wires to pads on the board. And you can stick the voltmeter probe on the recessed screw heads as well.
The central PCB is actually 3 encoders' worth of optical isolation. It may be overkill - or it may not.

Cheers
Roger

447

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 20, 2016, 03:46:53 AM »

They work well, but you need to mount them right at the encoder for best effect.
Single-ended encoder signals in - you may need pull-up resistors there.
Differential output: you will need screened 8-core cable from the encoder to the driver. 2 wires for power and ground, 2 wires for A, 2 for B and 2 for I.
Put a 0.1 uF cap across the supply at the chip.

Cheers
Roger

448

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 19, 2016, 03:22:26 AM »

Aaahhh - I may well be misunderstanding you here, but ...

set a reference Z (in machine coords, lets call it Zm) using my Haimer against the the touch plate.
But this Zm is meaningless once you replace the Haimer with a tool bit! You have not allowed for the length of the Haimer have you?
Of course, I may have completely misunderstood what you wrote, which is easily possible.

IF I am right (IF), what you need is a ZTO: a Haimer or some such set up on the mill table, to register the tip of each tool. But in addition, you need to know where the ZRO is wrt the surface you are about to machine. In fact,you often need TWO touch probes for this work. First, a ZTO on the mill table to calibrate each tool, and second one in the spindle to measure the ht difference between the work surface and the ZTO on the mill table.

On the other hand, I may have misunderstood everything, as (MYOG) touch probes and ZTOs are what I am working on myself right now. Biased perspective.

Cheers
Roger

449

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 18, 2016, 07:11:48 PM »

so it must be the way the auto routine is doing things rather than the table itself.
Reckon.  I rarely trust someone else's code. (Voice of 50+ years of programming experience there.)
Cheers
Roger

450

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Offset Macro...

« on: August 18, 2016, 06:12:28 PM »

I don't think it is the tool table itself which is the problem. I use gang tooling on the lathe: it is a bit of a pain to set it up but then it works very reliably. One outside tool, one boring bar, one drill bit and one parting-off tool. Swap between them with T0n0n all the time. That manages to hold a few microns in production runs.

However, that is on the lathe. I have not used the tool table (yet) on the mill. As I use an ER25 collet and the tools don't have stops on them, I probably can't either. I will have to to use a ZTO instead, so I hope it works! Just use tool 0 and tweak the zero.

About all I can suggest is some mindlessly simple testing. Clear the whole tool table to zero, then cycle through 5 tool numbers and see what happens as you probe with each tool number. I find trying to take big steps usually results in them being into an abyss.

Cheers
Roger
PS: I think it will all work in the end - once all the unknown, unstated, and unsuspected assumptions/errors have all been sorted out.