Messages

3311

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: continuous rotation in A B and C at the same time

« on: December 31, 2018, 02:23:04 PM »

Hi,
what setting have you made in Configure/Control/General?

The A,B and C axis DROs display the current angular position of each axis respectively. There is no DRO in Mach4 that displays rpm,
that is angular velocity, not angular position.

You could get Mach to display such a DRO but you would have to code it.

Craig

3312

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Plasma table - Dry Run feature in M3 macro

« on: December 31, 2018, 02:13:20 PM »

Hi,
you need to use two APIs:

LUA Syntax:
hSig, rc = mc.mcSignalGetHandle(
      number mInst,
      number sigid)

Description:
Register the IO device in Mach4Core so it can be mapped by the user and other plugins

And this one:

LUA Syntax:
rc = mc.mcSignalSetState(
      number hSig,
      number enabled)

mcSignalSetState( HMCSIG hSig, bool enabled); Description:
Set the state of a signal.

to end up with something like this:

local signalHandle=mc.mcSiignalGetHandle(inst, mc.OSIG_OUTPUT0)
mc.mcSignalSetState(signalHandle, 1)


Craig

3313

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Demo only reading 500 lines of code?

« on: December 31, 2018, 02:03:13 PM »

Hi,
no your table and its hardware will not work with Mach4.

What you can do is at least see that the job loads completely and displays completely on your PC. You will not be able to run the job.

If you want to use Mach software you have to buy it......that's normal isn't it? The company you bought your table off don't own Mach3
so they can't give it to you. If you had bought Chinese they would have given you a pirate copy probably and usually riddled full of bugs.

Craig

3314

Mach4 Toolbox / Re: Mach 4

« on: December 31, 2018, 01:57:33 PM »

Hi,
CS labs claim that their hardware supports Mach4 but their Mach4 plugin is just plain buggy.

Its a shame you didn't read the forum BEFORE you wasted your money.

Craig

3315

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Can Mach4 G10 L2 P0 R automatic angle compensation?

« on: December 31, 2018, 01:53:03 PM »

Hi,
that manual is a couple of years out of date so doesn't have anything about the Touch module.

It  has long been a complaint the Mach4 developments happen much faster than the documentation. You can moan and whinge that
the documentation should be up to date along with everybody else but it doesn't change anything. All these new modules and features come out
but the manuals don't reflect it.

It sais it does not?? support angled work coordinate systsems. right?

Wrong. If its just coordinate rotation you want then look at page 48 G68 and G69.

Craig

3316

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Demo only reading 500 lines of code?

« on: December 31, 2018, 01:33:46 PM »

Hi,
in Demo mode Mach3 will load, display and run 500 lines of code. When licenced it will load, display and run up to 10,000,000 lines.

I regularly run PCB isolation routing files of 100,000 lines and don't recall the last time I had a job of less than 500 lines.

I now use Mach4. When Mach4 is in Demo mode there is no line limit but the machine will run for only six minutes before it needs to be
restarted. You could download Mach4 and use the Sim(ulator) motion controller for free and without limit. That would allow you to load and
display files of any size...all for free and without time limit.

Craig

3317

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Can Mach4 G10 L2 P0 R automatic angle compensation?

« on: December 31, 2018, 06:38:30 AM »

Hi,
that link is to Mach Motion which is  a private company that uses Mach software but is not the owner or developer of it....that is
New Fangled Solutions, NFS. Also that link is 2-1/2 years old, in Mach4 terms it old hat.

Since that time a new probing module has been released and it will do as you want and so much more.

Craig

3318

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: continuous rotation in A B and C at the same time

« on: December 30, 2018, 11:32:15 PM »

Hi,

I can Jog each axis around and around as much as I want but can't to get it to go more than 360 using G code.

Why not? How are you generating your Gcode? I suspect you must be using a wizard or a CAM program that rolls over.
You don't have to do that....you can program a move like:

G0 A3600

and the A axis would rotate 3600⁰ or 10 revolutions.

You are correct if you wanted a rotary axis to rotate continuously then eventually when you get to the numerical limit of Mach4
then the DRO would overflow and fault. You would need to check with smurph but I think a number like 4.3 billion degrees,
or 12 million revolutions before that happens.

If you adopted that idea then you could cause coordinated rotation between all three rotary axes and coordinated with all three linear axes as well.
The rotational limit due to overflow would only present a problem with continuous rotation.

If you don't require coordinated motion then you can use up to six out-of-band axes that are supported by Mach4. An out-of-band
axis can be made to index, ie stop at a precise angle but cannot maintain lock step with another axis. All out of band axes can be jogged
in the usual manner (step and cont) which would allow you to have three continuously rotating (no DRO overflow) axes at different speeds.

Craig

3319

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cam generated line numbers

« on: December 30, 2018, 07:19:12 PM »

Hi,
you will have to modify the Post so that it prefixes a "N" infront of the line numbers.

Craig

3320

General Mach Discussion / Re: New build CNC slave axis stops working when jogging

« on: December 30, 2018, 06:44:12 PM »

Hi,
unfortunately the manual does not discuss the output circuits at all. There is no way of telling
whether they are open collector or totem pole types. If you can read the buffer ICs part number
that would tell you.

It may or may not interest you given that you have bought spares (are they that rubbishy that you need spares?) to have
a look at the Homann Designs MB02 that I use. If you download the manual you'll find Peter Homan has detailed how the outputs are
driven and you are not left to guess.

https://www.homanndesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=54_22&products_id=59&zenid=11oq21v419cogk8bc3fiaoren1

I have attached two pics using typical values that you might find in an open collector output BoB. The first shows sinking current. When the output transistor is
ON or conducting it sinks current from the stepper drive via the opto LED and the curent limit resistor. With 5V supplies the opto LED current is about
5 / 470 =10mA, easily enough to signal across the opto barrier. The second pic show the same BoB but sourcing current to the stepper driver.
When the output tranistor is OFF then the current flow from the 5V supply through the pullup resistor, thought the current limit resistor , through the opto LED
to 0V. The opto current is only  5 /(10000 +470) =0.5mA which is not really enough. Cheap stepper drive optos require 5-10mA to signal reliably.

I have probably, and deliberately, portrayed a worst case scenario to illustrate a potential problem. In absence of suitable documentation about
your BoBs outputs and your stepper driver inputs you can only guess. Unfortunately while these subtle details are often missed by documentation
what with the wide variance of design/manufacturing standards throughout the CNC world clashes of this type are common.

Unless you have some decent test gear and the knowledge to use it all you can do is guess.

Craig