Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: kolias on August 19, 2009, 02:55:54 PM
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Pretty soon I will be able to do the first real try on my CNC router. I plan to do a dry cut with a pen holder and a piece of paper on the table and run the roadrunner program.
My question is how do I know the physical size of roadrunner? Like should I tape a piece of paper on the table 12”x12” or 24”x24” or what?
I did run the roadrunner program without the machine been connected and did not notice anywhere what the actual physical size of the cut is
Nicolas
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Look at the Toolpath page, you should see the X Y and Z extents there.
Hood
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Look at the Toolpath page, you should see the X Y and Z extents there.
Hood
Exactly, and don't forget you can scale it down as well using the scale function. You did read the Mach 3 manual, right? ;)
Dave
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You did read the Mach 3 manual, right? ;)
Dave
Nope afraid I have never done that yet :)
Hood
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My comment was actually kind of "tounge-in-cheek" as quite a few have not read the manual as the rules are changing all the time anyway. :D
Dave
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In the tool path I have at the top right a small display with the X,Y,Z DROs which mach my offset numbers and next to it there is another small display “Program Limits” with two set of numbers for each of X,Y,Z coordinates and underneath this display it says “Absolute Coordinates”. The numbers there are +7.7282 for X, +6.3797 for Y and +0.2000 for Z. Are these the numbers for the size of roadrunner?
Hood I have seen in some of your post the equipment you have and if you are able to operate / modify these machines I dont think that you need to read any manuals LOL
Dave I have read the manual and looked at the videos many times and although both are very good documents there are a few things that either are not explained or I have missed them. Yes scaling down a drawing I got that.
Mach3 is a beautiful program and the manuals / videos which are provided for free are excellent. However for the beginner in the CNC arena it is a daunting task and without this forum it would have been impossible for many of us to continue.
Nicolas
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Mach3 is a beautiful program and the manuals / videos which are provided for free are excellent. However for the beginner in the CNC arena it is a daunting task and without this forum it would have been impossible for many of us to continue.
Nicolas
I couldn't agree with you more, my friend as I'm also very much a newb in this area. It's not only fun to learn about but addictive as well ;)
Yes, the numbers you posted are indeed the roadrunner size in inches.
Ask as many questions as you like, the folks here are incredibly helpful and kind and can even take a joke now and then - ;D Heck, I may even be of some help once in awhile!
Hood is a crazy man that knows waaaay too much more than a "normal" human should. 8)
Dave
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than a "normal" human should. 8)
Dave
Dave
That is one thing I have never been accused of being ;D
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You couldn't even fix my double typing of my name? :D
Dave
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I could have but then that would have made you look good :D
Hood
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Nicely said Dave
Thank you both
Nicolas
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I have a question about the min and max DRO's. I put a set for X (OEM's 4 and 10), Y (OEM's 5 and 11) and Z (OEM's 6 and 12) on the main page of my Tormach screenset.
The DRO's don't reflect the actual motion extents of the loaded gcode file. Is there anything special I need to do, or are the DRO's supposed to automatically parse the file and find the limits? I couldn't find any documentation in the PDF's or Wiki, and this was the closest thread I could find.
Thanks,
Randy
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Please attach your screenset.
Hood
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It's at http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=11968.0;attach=16166 already and the board won't let me upload another copy.
Thanks,
Randy
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Randy,
Once you "Load the G code" into Mach 3, the program extends will already show, NOTE it goes by the current work offset when you load the code.
scott
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Your screenset is working fine here and showing correctly when I load code. If you are still having issues can you post your xml so I can check with your settings.
Hood
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Scott, then my setup is not working correctly. When I load a new gcode, the mins and maxes are way off what I know are the extents of even the rawstock. And the mins and maxes are generally the same number.
Hood, can I copy the XML while Mach is running? It's doing a 4+ hour contouring job right now.
Thanks,
Randy
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Shouldn't be a problem but probably best just to wait. I will check in the morning, or I should say I will check back later in the morning as its 01:40 here ;D
Hood
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try zeroíng all axis's and regenerate the the path. works for me. if x is at say +100 when i load the code and the code has an actual X- of 20 and a X+ of 20 mach will show it as being X-20min and X+120max
if you use arcs forget it. still not figured out how to get that working properly. i had to switch off softlimit because when i load arc codes my min and max on all the axis's can be as far out as 1200mm sometimes.. and i only cut jewellery ;)
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Hood, here's my XML.
Chris, I'll read about how to regen the toolpath. I always start by touching the first tool in x, y, and z (in that order) on the rawstock so the tool does end up within the x-y machining envelope, but above in Z. My toolpaths are usually a combination of lines and arcs.
Thanks,
Randy
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Seems to work fine here, do the extent DROs on the Toolpath page work right?
Hood
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Randy, does the code have any rapid moves far away from the stock? That'll show up in the min/max DRO's.
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OK, an update. Chris, your suggestion of regenerating the toolpath did it, even with a gcode with arcs. Doh, I've been using the machine for almost 3 years and never noticed the large "Regenerate Toolpath" button under the toolpath display.
If I regenerate the toolpath having just zeroed the Z (i.e. X and Y are within the machining envelope and Z is just touching the top of stock) the X and Y extents show properly. The Z, however, seems to have the current tool offset added to its minimum number. Hood, the extent DRO's on the toolpath page show the same readings.
Given that the readouts are also on the Toolpath screen, I'll probably take them back out of the Simple screen and enlarge the toolpath display a little. I always run my code through Cutviewer Mill before I run it, so I know where the cutter will be going.
But I did learn about Regenerate Toolpath! :)
Thanks guys,
Randy