Messages

3001

Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: 3d Probing on Granite slabs

« on: February 27, 2019, 05:55:39 AM »

Hi,

Otherwise I am ready to pay for Mach4 license and parallel port plugin - 225 USD in total.

No, I think that is a mistake, the Darwin plugin/motion controller is 'to have a play' with Mach4. This is likely
to end in you having a difficult time making the transition and  lose paying work as a result.

If you are serious you need to go the whole way and get a good motion controller and ideally Mach4Industial.

Projected cost Mach4Hobby/ mid-range motion controller/BoB =$500-$600
Projected cost Mach4Industrial / mid-range motion controller/BoB = $1700-$1800

There are several reasons:
1) A vastly increased range of PC's which can be used
2) Hardware/firmware support direct from he manufacturer
3) Mach4Industrial gives you one on one phone support

These combine to mean you get the easiest transition to Mach4 and maximum gain in profitable functionality
for years to come.

If you required a repair to your work vehicle of $500-$600 or even $1700-$1800 would you pay it? I imagine
that you would be hard pressed to earn a living without a work vehicle. Does your engraving mill fall into
the same category?

Craig

3002

Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: 3d Probing on Granite slabs

« on: February 27, 2019, 03:19:17 AM »

Hi,
just found the video that has just been released to show how it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4o6dfQrAo8

This looks to be perfect for OPs needs. It is Mach4 but it does the business.

Craig

3003

Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: 3d Probing on Granite slabs

« on: February 27, 2019, 12:17:25 AM »

Hi,
this afternoon I downloaded the current latest development build of Mach4. It has the new surface mapping
feature and I've been experimenting with it. I haven't had anything like the time to work out all the quirks yet
but this could, in fact almost certainly, be a worthy alternative to the Autoleveller solution.

I have attached a picture of the Surface Mapping generating screen. Note that it is in Machine coordinates and may
require a certain amount of thought before banging in some parameters.

The up shot is you program the X and Y extents of the area to be mapped, the target resolution between the sample points,
the probing speed, the Z axis retract height and the vertical Z probe movement the hit <Map Surface> and Mach obediently
probes the entire area and saves that as a map file. The mapping generator is a Wizard....too easy!!

I have yet to work out how Mach handles the results of the file, but it looks like you select the surface map file
in the Surface Map plugin and thereafter the Z axis machine coordinate Z datum goes up and down automatically.
So unlike Autoleveller you do not have to modify the Gcode to accommodate an uneven surface the datum goes up
and down instead.......how bloody clever is that!!

You might like Mach3 but you are being left behind BIGTIME!, get with Mach4, go mad early and beat the rush! 

Craig

3004

Mach3 under Vista / Re: USB to PARALLEL WIN 7

« on: February 26, 2019, 09:05:31 PM »

Hi,
to call a UC100 a plain USB to parallel converter does the UC100 a grave injustice.

Inside the UC100 is an FPGA and it is a genuine, if IO limited, external motion controller and is way WAY WAY
more clever than a USB to parallel converter.

The only caution is that there are a ton of Chinese made UC100 look-a-likes on EBay and Amazon.
If you are going to buy, buy direct from CNCDrive or their nominated distributor. You don't want Chinese
rubbish, they aren't a patch on the genuine article.

Craig

3005

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 jogging output.. diagnostics screen

« on: February 26, 2019, 08:49:03 PM »

Hi,

Yes, I installed the software usb drivers from cncdrive.  I did have to install special drivers using their installer.
Since Mach can operate my steppers, and gcode runs ok, I'm confident that I have real UC100s

Good news.

I use Machs 4 axis mill profile, or at least an individualized copy of it, and I have no trouble jogging in increments
down to 0.001 mm, ie 1 um, the limiting resolution of my machine. Its not impossible that the lathe profile differs somehow
but IF that were the case I imagine every man and his dog would be complaining about it. To my knowledge that is not the case.

There are a few other minor bugs I found in Mach, like when changing a motor parameter on one axis, the other axis becomes slaved to the motor I just changed.

I have not encountered that problem either throughout a number of builds of Mach. I have just within the last few minutes
downloaded and installed build 4095. Time will tell if a bug has crept in since the previous 3084 build I had.

By the way, cncdrive has been 0 help, and just say its Mach4's fault. 

To be fair to CNCDrive Mach4 is a competing product to their own software. Having said that I have heard several users
make similar comments....'The fault is in Mach4....not our controller or plugin'.

So I can't touch off using my pendant, or the screen jogs

What pendant do you use? Even if the pendant was faulty somehow it still would not describe the behavior of the button jogs.

The only other question I have is 'does the UC100 plugin have the numerical resolution to enact such small increments?'.

Even if the jogging problem can be solved you still have the problem of backlash compensation. At this stage I'm 95%
confident CNCDrive devices DO NOT support backlash comp in their Mach4 plugin.

Craig

3006

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 jogging output.. diagnostics screen

« on: February 26, 2019, 07:48:21 PM »

Hi,
maintain the acceleration as high as your steppers allow. That gives your machine the best possible chance
to maintain any given toolpath. Reducing velocity is  beneficial if your machine is struggling to keep to a given
toolpath.

How long have you had the UC100?

When you got it did you have to install the CNCDrive USB driver?

I'm beginning to think there is a problem with the UC100. There are a ton of Chinese UC100 rip-offs on
EBay, Amazon etc. Is it possible that you have inadvertently picked up such a device?.

My understanding is that genuine UC100's require a special driver be installed on the PC prior to the UC 100 being
able to communicate with Mach. The Chinese made units rely on the standard Windows USB drivers and require no
installation on your part.

I would recommend that you contact CNCDrive or the CNCDrive forum to get some help.

Craig

3007

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 jogging output.. diagnostics screen

« on: February 26, 2019, 06:59:05 PM »

Hi,

According to their documentation it does have backlash comp, at least for Mach3

That may be the case for Mach3 but my understanding is that is not the case for Mach4. You will have to check with CNCDrive
directly on that matter.

Thanks for the double check of the active motion device status.

Did you notice in the logfile that the increment between successive time slices are 16. I'm wondering if the motion controller is
not responding fast enough. May I suggest lowering the Jog Rate (in Mach) down to a very slow speed, say 2% and try
again.

Craig

3008

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Is it possible to call an M code from a different M code?

« on: February 26, 2019, 06:30:31 PM »

Hi,
when you are in the editor the external function call fails.

If you run Mach then all the functions in the Macros folder get compiled into the chunk and are therefore available
to any other function within the chunk.

The simplest way to get over that is to include the code for the required function in the same file as m6, it would
then be compiled with m6 and available to it.

I thought to separate each function from m6 to reduce the confusion and should you wish to make some changes
it would be easier to find.

When I single stepped through each function but I stepped 'over' the function calls in m6 to avoid calling a none existent
function. As far as the editor is concerned the external functions are 'nil'.

Craig

3009

Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: 3d Probing on Granite slabs

« on: February 26, 2019, 06:19:32 PM »

Hi,

Overtravel could be accommodated by spring mounting the switch

Agreed, at the cost of complexity, but entirely possible.

These (Honeywell/Omron) switches have a 'sensitive' version and a standard version. The standard version has
according to the spec I posted, a max operating force of 3.61N, equivalent to 361 gram force. The sensitive version
reduces that to about 100 gram force, still not feather weight.

Either 100g force or 360 g force is not going to upset a granite slab at all!

Craig

3010

Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: 3d Probing on Granite slabs

« on: February 26, 2019, 05:48:38 PM »

Hi,

There are many suitable switches, but be sure to get one rated for low current. High power appliance switches sometimes need the high current to keep the contacts clean and can fail when used on low DC current.

That is true. The Honeywell switch I linked to has silver contacts and would ideally be switching rather more current
than the gold contact one MN300 linked to. Having said that I have used these Honeywell switches (Omron make identical units)
for years at low currents without difficulty.

As MN300 comments there are any amount of switches that would work. I think however that plenty of overtravel is
the critical characteristic rather than switch current.

Either way the simple idea of a spindle mounted carrier should enable OP to make a probe for way less than buying one.

Craig