Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: Mike E on March 31, 2010, 09:08:57 AM
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I recently upgraded Mach to 3.04 from 1.96. I thought the homing looked a little different. Upon a closer look the the X and y axises are not backing off the limit switchs when homing. The carridge hits the limit ,stops, and zeros out. Is there something in the Config area that I have not set correctly? I'm assuming I should be backing off the switch until it clears. This isn't a problem (I believe) untill I have to use the Plasma portion, will that change or effect my switch offset?
Thanks
Mike
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sounds like your switches are a bit bouncy and you are needing to set some Debounce Interval, try setting to 2000 and if it helps reuce until you get the problem again then increase slightly. You will find it on the General Config page.
Hood
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sounds like your switches are a bit bouncy and you are needing to set some Debounce Interval, try setting to 2000 and if it helps reuce until you get the problem again then increase slightly. You will find it on the General Config page.
Hood
Hi Hood,
I set it between debounce 2000 and 50000 and the gantry does not back off the switches. It zeros the DRO but the led remains red. If I manually jog off the switch about .250 the DRO turns green. Could it be a setting in the config area for homing switch settings. I'm fairly NooB at this so I appreciate your help very much.
Mike
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No, there is no setting, it would seem for some reason Mach is seeing your switches close momentarily just after you have hit them. If you can try making up a fresh profile, even if its just with the basic settings for one axis to test. There have been a load of changes between your old version and the new and maybe its too many for your old profile to be good.
Have you done anything else to the machine recently that may affect things?
Hood
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Mike if you have to back off .25 try lowering the speed percentage in homing/limits under the config menu i have mine set between 10% & 20%
Phil
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Well I could not get 3.04 to back off the homing switch no matter what the debounce and interval settings were. So uninstalled 3.04 and reinstalled 1.9, I set debounce to 600 and interval to 300, guess what , it homed and backed off the switch just as it should. ;D Figuring I had it "made in the shade" I uninstalled 1.9 reinstalled 3.04 set them to 600 and 300 and CRAP :-[ in stops dead on the switch and won't back off. ??? Are the units the same between 1.9 and 3.04. All settings were "as near as I could tell" the same between the versions. I must be missing a switch or something simple. I would like to stay with the latest version but if I can't get the homing to work properly I may be stuck with 1.9.
Any thoughts are mucho appreciated
Mike
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Shouldnt make any difference but then again I have never had to use debounce interval on any of my machines.
Are you using the same profile?
Hood
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Shouldnt make any difference but then again I have never had to use debounce interval on any of my machines.
Are you using the same profile?
Hood
Same profile, yes
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Maybe worth trying one of the other recent versions to see what they are like, you will find them on the ftp site.
ftp://anonymous@machsupport.com/Mach/
Dont use R3.043.000 though as that was an experimental revision for tool comp and has known issues.
Hood
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Maybe worth trying one of the other recent versions to see what they are like, you will find them on the ftp site.
ftp://anonymous@machsupport.com/Mach/
Dont use R3.043.000 though as that was an experimental revision for tool comp and has known issues.
Hood
Hi Hood
The link seems to be broke.
I have temporarily(I hope) downgraded back to 1.96 to get up and running. I can't seem to get 3.04 to home properly.
Thanks for everyones help
Mike
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OOPS, not sure how the http:// got in there, the link is as follows
ftp://anonymous@machsupport.com/Mach/
Hood
Edit, seems the forum is automatically placing the http:// at the front so just copy and paste the address in your browser and delete the first part before you press go.
Hood
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having same problem, at first it would hit home switch, stop for a nano sec. then keep going, so reread manual, I had N.O. switches, manual calls for N.C., So I replaced them with N.C. Then it would hit home, then try to come off, and before it could move, the limit would trigger, so I disabled the limit, then it would hit home try to come off, and just keep going. Using G28.1 X 0 axes hits home and stops. Doesn't back off. Using G28.1 x .500 axes rapid movement to .500 then creeps to home and stops, doesn't back off. Any help with this? Thanks, Jim
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I'm setting up a series 1 Bridgeport and I'm having a similar problem.
I am running a Campbell Designs Mach 3 controller. I have the motors tuned and have run the half roadrunner in the trial version, so that part of the program is working fine.
When I hit Ref All to got to home it goes to the limit, zeros the DRO, but won't back off to free up the system. I have resorted to using a spacer, and isolating the X axis so by pulling the spacer if releases the limit switch and allows me to jog.
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Everyone that is having problems with the axis not backing off really needs to find the cause and cure it. There are only a couple of possibilities, first is noise, second poor switches.
Noise is the problem if when you home it doesnt always make it to the switch but sometimes homes away from the switch. Also if you share Home and Limits and have noise problems you will get random limit triggers.
Poor switches are when it always makes it to the switch but doesnt reverse enough to close the switch properly. What is happening is the axis moves to the switch, the switch opens and Mach reverses but the switch contacts are sloppy so Mach sees it shut again and sets home but almost as quick the switch is seen as Open again so Mach throws a limit error.
Debounce interval can sometimes be used with either noise or bouncy switches but the best thing is to fix the problem in the first place.
Hood
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Everyone that is having problems with the axis not backing off really needs to find the cause and cure it. There are only a couple of possibilities, first is noise, second poor switches.
Noise is the problem if when you home it doesnt always make it to the switch but sometimes homes away from the switch. Also if you share Home and Limits and have noise problems you will get random limit triggers.
Poor switches are when it always makes it to the switch but doesnt reverse enough to close the switch properly. What is happening is the axis moves to the switch, the switch opens and Mach reverses but the switch contacts are sloppy so Mach sees it shut again and sets home but almost as quick the switch is seen as Open again so Mach throws a limit error.
Debounce interval can sometimes be used with either noise or bouncy switches but the best thing is to fix the problem in the first place.
Hood
I don't know, I didn't have any problem until I upgraded to ver 3.04 from 1.90. I then went back to 1.9 and all is well again.
Mike
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What is the actual version you tried?
Hood
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What is the actual version you tried?
Hood
3.042.038: I tried a bunch of debounce and interval changes. nothing worked
Mike
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Did you try setting up another profile as going from 1.90 to 3.042.038 is a huge leap in time with many updates being done between these versions. Even just making a quick profile with one axis and its limits/home switch as a test.
Hood
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Did you try setting up another profile as going from 1.90 to 3.042.038 is a huge leap in time with many updates being done between these versions. Even just making a quick profile with one axis and its limits/home switch as a test.
Hood
Hi Hood
To tell you the truth I'm not sure if I did or not. There was so much going back and forth, I think I tried one of the mach mill profiles, switched screen sets, and redid the setting and still could not get it to properly home. But like I said I'm not sure which version I tried that with. I'm back at 1.9 and working well. I think I'll wait for the next release before I try again.
Thanks for your input
Mike
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I had lacked the documentation for the breakout board that was installed in the controller. It was designed for use with NPRs, but I am using the original micro switches in series. By eliminating the 12 volt and just using the ground and signal to N.C. swiitches and assigning the correct pin in the parallel port it all worked :).
Machine up and running fine at the end of the day. Backs off nicely and sets the DRO.
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I was running approx vR3.043.026ish with no problems, I have since upgraded to the latest R3.043.038 and now when i home my router it hits the home/limit switch and just issues the limit switch error.
I will try playing around with the debounce settings tomorrow, but it is strange that it wasn't until R3.043.038 that this started happening.
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If that is the case then it could well be a problem with the latest Rev, this is the first few I have heard of problems, what about trying a slightly older version and see how that behaves.
Have you had to use a Debounce Interval in older versions? Wondering if the new driver update has made things more sensitive.
Hood
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Problems with homing and backing off with last update. Rewired various switches used large values of debounce still problems.
Resorted to fitting a Dtype filtered connector between the breakout board and the limit switch wiring. So far problem gone away.
Debounce not working ?
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Could be, as I use the SmoothStepper and dont need any debounce anyway I cant say for sure but will mention it to Brian and see if he can find anything.
Hood
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Talked to Brian and he said Art has just looked and there is a problem with the driver in that version and debounce interval.
Best bet is to go back to a slightly earlier version until things are found and sorted.
Hood
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Ver 039 now released, Art found a typo in the Debounce part of the driver code so hopefully this version will sort things out for people with bouncy switches :)
Hood
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Ver 039 now released, Art found a typo in the Debounce part of the driver code so hopefully this version will sort things out for people with bouncy switches :)
Hood
I just installed Ver 039 and the machine will not back off the limits, again. Tried a bunch of different numbers from 600 to 20000, no good. Backwards. I go again. Hope you can get it sorted out.
Mike
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If you have an oscilloscope, or access to one, take a look at the signals your home switches are putting out. I suspect you'll see a lot of noise and one version of Mach's driver just happens to ignore just enough of it to work. The thing about making things noise tolerant is that what might work well in your case will not work for many other folks. If you can provide a cleaner home switch signal to mach you may have better luck. (Try a 0.1uF cap across the switch.)
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From yours and other reports it seems its still not fixed, so if you have bouncy or noisy switches you will have to use a slightly older revision of Mach or wait until the next revision comes out or best of all fix the switch problem :)
Hood
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From yours and other reports it seems its still not fixed, so if you have bouncy or noisy switches you will have to use a slightly older revision of Mach or wait until the next revision comes out or best of all fix the switch problem :)
Hood
FYI
Homing on my machine works properly in Ver1.96, I tried to go up to only Ver 2.02 and it does not function properly there. So somewhere between 1.96 and 2.02 something changed in the debounce or ?????. Back I go to 1.96
Mike
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FYI
Homing on my machine works properly in Ver1.96, I tried to go up to only Ver 2.02 and it does not function properly there. So somewhere between 1.96 and 2.02 something changed in the debounce or ?????. Back I go to 1.96
Mike
What I was getting at is if you require a debounce interval set you either have noise or bouncy switches, lots of people do and live with it because normally they can set a debounce interval to mask it, personally I prefer to not have to use any debounce.
Hood
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Version 040 now on the downloads page. First few reports say Debounce Interval working fine.
Hood
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smooth stepper and not using debounce, have all manufacturers of smooth steppers fitted schmitt triggers and filters to port inputs.
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Version 040 now on the downloads page. First few reports say Debounce Interval working fine.
Hood
I gave it a try, no joy in Mudville. I must have some tough switches. For what I do, I may leave the machine like this. I always manually move off "0" to a different start point antway.
Mike
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For what I do, I may leave the machine like this. I always manually move off "0" to a different start point antway.
Mike
Only problem with that however is if you do hit a snag whilst machining, something like a power cut, you will maybe not be able to pick up from where you left off easily. If you home properly then offset and zero then its easy to go back to your offsets zero position again after a fresh homing move.
Hood