Topics

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General Mach Discussion / Side mount tool changer controlled by Mach3? Has anybody done it?

« on: June 15, 2016, 06:50:16 PM »

Wondering if anybody here has used mach to control a side mount tool changer? Im wondering how you deal with keeping track of where all the tools are? For example if you have Tool 1 in spindle and change to Tool 2, Tool 1 is now in the pocket where Tool 2 came from. So the pocket numbers dont match tool numbers, and they float around all over the place as you run numerous cycles. Seems like it would be complicated. Would this be tricky to do or is it easily done with variables some how?

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General Mach Discussion / How many people here are running mach3 on industrial machines?

« on: February 24, 2016, 08:38:10 PM »

Curious how many people on here are using mach3 retrofits on industrial mills and lathes? Ive been keeping an eye out for a cheap VMC for my garage mostly for hobby use and also to maybe make a few bucks in spair time. I have been considering buying a broken or older machine and retrofitting but the more i read on here, the more uncertain i am. I see alot of posts about bugs, random moves, unexplained crashes, etc. And ive learned there will be a delay in feed hold, homing wont be accurate since it does not use index pulse of encoder, etc.

Anyway just wondering if many people here have done successful retrofits on industrial machines? Are you happy with performance and reliability? Should i go this way or save a little more for a newer VMC with a decent controller from the factory?

What about the toolchanger? I could live without toolchanger for a while but would like to have it working eventually. Is this possible in mach with basic electrical knowledge? Im a mechanical technologist, with some electrical skills (confident in rest of retrofit) but certainly not a electrical engineer. Should i be looking for a machine with a carousel tool changer (like fadal and hass machines) or a side mount toolchanger with arm (mazak or Hass SS machines)?

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General Mach Discussion / How does feed hold work when using a smooth stepper? Is it delayed?

« on: February 21, 2016, 09:59:07 PM »

Curious how feed hold works when using a ESS? I understand there is sort of a buffer of moves sent to the ESS in case there is a slight delay with mach right? So what happens when you hit feed hold? Does the ESS handle the feed hold command and stop instantly or do you have to wait for this "buffer" to run out and the feed hold command from mach finally reaches the ESS?

Typically how long is this buffer? Are we talking fraction of a second? few seconds? Even longer? Thanks.

Mark