Messages

401

PoKeys / Re: VERY Minor bug fix on the PoKeys.set coming out.....

« on: January 03, 2011, 03:45:58 PM »

    I put a "Memeber Doc", in the member dos section, on how to do a painless PoKeys Upgrade with the installer so it wont overright your current settings.

Where is this "Memeber Doc" file? I can't find a member doc section here, FTP, anywhere. On Yahoo? Where?

Thanks,
Tom

402

General Mach Discussion / Re: .m3p file

« on: December 28, 2010, 05:10:12 PM »

I don't know anything about NCPod either, but do you need to go to Config/Plugin Config and turn it on, or put a green check by it first, and did you?

Tom

403

PoKeys / Re: PoKeys is working great! Thanks!

« on: December 10, 2010, 09:21:53 AM »

I can vouch for Arturo's PoKeys stuff, works great, gives you options and better wire terminals. One issue is you need the PoKeys without the wire terminals to fit to his motherboard, so if you have a wire terminal one you need the other one. For me it was worth it. I liked the LEDs on the add-on boards for trouble shooting while setting up all my buttons and stuff. Once setup the LEDs just sit there and glow, but it's great for troubleshooting/setup. Learn about all the combinations before you buy because there are lots of choices!!!

Good stuff!

JH,

Have you seen the mother board and expansion boards we have made for the PoKeys? : http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/product_info.php?cPath=54&products_id=219, http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/index.php?cPath=54.

They make this kind of setups doable for a lot of people.

Arturo Duncan
http://cnc4pc.com

404

SmoothStepper USB / Re: If you have noise issues this might be worth a try

« on: November 24, 2010, 01:35:43 PM »

VFDs are even noisier than a regular induction motor. Wiring layout is VERY critical, you can even get 'VFD' cable to run from the VFD to the motor that is really well shielded. Go here: http://www.soigeneris.com/Documentation-content.aspx and look for the 'Installation Tips' in the SmoothStepper section. Also make sure you are NOT pulling the file from a USB drive, a network file, etc...

Hmmm......I've printed and read your Installation Tips for SS and consider it the gospel.

Now, pulling from network. I DO have my G-code files on a Windows Home Server. I'll stop doing that and store them locally. I'd NEVER consider THAT and might should have as I've only had it do this lately doing lithopanes with a .040 ball endmill and 60,000 line files. Local only for me now, thanks a million for THAT tip!!

OH, and a tip on where to get this VFD specific wire?


Tom

405

SmoothStepper USB / Re: If you have noise issues this might be worth a try

« on: November 24, 2010, 11:52:18 AM »

There are three phase line filters as well, they will cost about $100 USD or so. How are you turning the motor on/off? Are you using a VFD on it?

Yes, VFD, Hitachi SJ200 sized for my motor. I'm just trying to figure what might be causing Mach3 to eStop VERY randomly. I run a 60k line program and it runs for an hour and a half and suddenly it estops. No M5 or M9, nothing near where it estops, just a bunch of X/Y/Z moves. Last two times it did it it happened near the end of those 60k lines!!

Not trying to hijack the thread, was just wondering about these noise filters.

Hood, if you were asking me and not Phil (?), it's a 6.2 Amp motor, but I'm wondering if Jeff is pointing me at the fact that the VFD is doing this filtering already? Besides, shipping to the US from Scotland would seem prohibitive. Thanks for the offer. I'd just buy one if I need to.

406

SmoothStepper USB / Re: If you have noise issues this might be worth a try

« on: November 24, 2010, 10:45:20 AM »

Jeff,

Is there a way to supress the noise of a 3ph 2HP induction motor? I know you sell some motor line supressors, but will those work on my motor or might there be something else?

Tom

407

SmoothStepper USB / Re: If you have noise issues this might be worth a try

« on: November 22, 2010, 11:58:09 AM »

Is removing these two components effectively the same as removing the ground shield on the USB cable going into the SS as discussed originally on the Yahoo group?

Tom

408

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to control the water coolant by mach3?

« on: November 17, 2010, 08:21:46 AM »

Yup, I know about SSR's. I was interested in your "cheap" comment! US places like DigiKey have them but they're pricey. DC more pricey than AC. I found some AC SSRs at, http://www.futurlec.com/ a Chinese company, but shipping is cheap to US, and they seem to ship FedEx Next Day (!) for their cheep prices by default. I got a couple DC SSRs from them last year, they were out of 20 AMP so they sent 40 AMP for the same price, and they got to the US from China overnight for like $5!! It was interesting to track them from China, thru Alaska, to my door in one day.

I THINK SSR's fail closed, something to keep in mind when using them. I'm not the expert on this, but others have warned me of this condition.

Thanks for the link. I'll also check eBay US. I always forget that!

409

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to control the water coolant by mach3?

« on: November 16, 2010, 02:15:44 PM »

Tweakie,

Where to buy? A link perhaps, or some other info?

Thanks!!

410

General Mach Discussion / Re: Ref All Issues

« on: November 13, 2010, 02:20:52 PM »

images of the problem!

What direction are you approaching those switches? For example, in the bottom photo, the ramp or whatever is going to trip the switch needs to approach from the top as the photo is oriented. Switch moving UP or ramp moving down in that photo. I can't imagine how you'd bend the arm on the switch like that if it were approaching correctly. With those switches with the long leaf spring actuator, you need to set the ramp/tripper to hit low on the leaf or it won't be too accurate as it bends before tripping the switch. There are better switch types for this, like these, http://www.pmdx.com/Limit-Std  where the ramp/tripper hits the roller which it right OVER the switch. No bending the arm before the switch activates.