Messages

221

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: June 10, 2018, 03:30:20 AM »

Another issue,

I am trying to work a part that needs both sides machining, flipping on X axis, Y is against the fixed vise jaw.

Y alignment is perfect but X is shifted +0.5mm on the reverse side so the front and back have a step.

I have tried two probes for X ref - electronic and mechanical, same result so it's not the probe or any macro.

The code seems perfect - i simplified it to just two points, the front was perfect and the rear was shifted, the code is easy to read - front X40 rear X-40.

I was previously flipping Y axis and the fault moved to the Y plane instead.

It seems I cannot work one side in X+ and the reverse in X- or Y+ and Y-

Any ideas, this machine is doing my head in, its all pointing towards controller or Mach3 now.

I have one more test to run today but I'm not holding much hope.

All previous work was one sided so no issue.

222

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: June 09, 2018, 01:21:04 PM »

Sorry, not enough info

The error with the index was in the Z axis only

The positioning error was in XYC axes

Somehow something changed - i have my setter position stored in the screenset, it has worked well up to today when it was off by a few MM in three axes.

223

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: June 09, 2018, 07:02:34 AM »

Mill strikes again


Ref all axes and the z fails with encoder too far from index pulse - it has done this before and it's an easy fix, just flip the belt round one step on the pulley and re-ref = all ok.

Went to set new tooling for a job, tell it to go to my tool setter position and find it's about 5mm out in X and 3mm in Y, Z is always Zero/home so that can't be out.

So, i re-homed and it did exactly the same thing, with no other option i reset the the setter ref positions and carried on.

Now, with a little red alarm going off in my head, I thought to check my master height probe position - easy to do as it is always tool 100 so i just set it as tool 99 so i can compare the two positions in the table.

Sure enough it was 3mm off!

So that is X/Y/C axes ALL lost or changed their home/ref position??

No switches have been moved so now i can't trust the machine again.


It's getting worrying now as i have started to use it more and more but yet again I find I can't trust or rely on her


Anyone have any ideas on what can cause this - don't forget this is a servo machine with CSMIO-IP/a controller and Mach3.

Thanks

224

General Mach Discussion / Re: Really basic "beginner advice" needed please !!!

« on: June 02, 2018, 03:19:51 AM »

In relative terms £500 is pretty cheap - you could not build one, even a small one for that price, BUT they are very good at glossing over the pitfalls. I can almost guarantee they will now offer a partial refund in exchange for good feedback, then offer some more, in the end it nearly always ends up being a struggle with the card company or Paypal, the Chinese suppliers do not care one bit, all they want is their positive feedback.

I bought a laser cutter, a big one, and it had some broken bits etc plus the tube was not as listed (lower power) I argued and in the end (2 months later) I had about a 50% refund and still kept the machine. Its still running today as i had some knowledge of CNC so could fix it up, one thing they are good at is building chassis and frames out of thin metal so the cabinet was good, I just fixed the busted parts and fitted new mirrors and lens.

225

General Mach Discussion / Re: Really basic "beginner advice" needed please !!!

« on: June 01, 2018, 04:43:01 AM »

Stan, if this machine was sold as a working unit i.e. plug in and play, then seriously, go back to the seller and request either....

Full setup instructions and software
Or
A refund

Without one of these and a lot of knowledge, you are into a world of pain IMHO

226

General Mach Discussion / Re: Optimizing Isolation Routing and Motor Tuning questions

« on: May 30, 2018, 10:14:11 AM »

While this represents a considerable improvement over open loop steppers I still regard the premium paid for feedback steppers to be unjustifiable when for a small extra sum you could be into
genuine AC servos which kick stepper anus all day long!

Craig

Got that right I nearly got closed loop steppers for my last build, fell for the hype and sales blarney, luckily I was guided towards AC servos and got some imports from AliExpress - when testing one on the bench, found they were 100% amazing devices, no steps, practically strong enough to break any machine i could build and instant success, full torque from standstill to full pelt too.

227

General Mach Discussion / Re: SetToolX() documentation

« on: May 23, 2018, 04:35:48 PM »

Nice

228

General Mach Discussion / Re: torch stopped mid cut can't get it to fire

« on: May 22, 2018, 02:09:02 AM »

If the air blows when the relay closes, the fault must lie within the plasma unit surely?

229

General Mach Discussion / Re: SetToolX() documentation

« on: May 13, 2018, 03:16:29 PM »

Yep

Don't forget to save the tool table after, its DoOEMButton(316)

230

General Mach Discussion / Re: SetToolX() documentation

« on: May 13, 2018, 10:26:18 AM »

Dim Tool
Dim MyParam

Tool = GetUserDRO(1010)
MyParam = GetUserDRO(1011)

SetToolParam(Tool, 2, MyParam)



This assumes you have added two DRO's - 1010 and 1011
Tool parameter 2 is the the tool length offset

For Mach3Mill:
1 = Diameter
2 = Z Offset
3 = X Wear
4 = Z Wear

For Mach3Turn:
1 = Tip Type
2 = Tool Radius
3 = X Offset
4 = Z Offset
5 = X Wear
6 = Z Wear
7 = Turret Angle

You can't alter tool zero.


Dave