Machsupport Forum

Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: Marius1975 on May 20, 2011, 01:02:54 PM

Title: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 20, 2011, 01:02:54 PM
Why the hell does the stupid piece of crap FEED Rate stop working after I paused the machine and restart? How the hell do you get it to speed up again, it's starting to really piss me off now. 2nd, why the hell does the stupid piece of crap after I have to zero all axis so I can restart the job becuase I can't change the feed rate after I paused it does the job start 0.2mm lower than what it's suppose to?? Can't the stupid piece if crap remember what the hell I zero'ed it on!?!?!?!?!? >:(

FYI - If you ever want to buy a CNC Router, DON'T BUY FROM UNI-CAM!!! >:(

Rant off. :-X
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 20, 2011, 01:28:03 PM
Good way to try and get help, hope you have luck ;)
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 20, 2011, 01:41:13 PM
I figured as much, I did not get any help from my other posts either. No1 seems to be able to help me. Even the builders of the machine are usless. I reacon the clown that was suppose to set the machine up to work proberly with Mach3 is clueless. I asked him for basic things I expect from the machine and get round about awnsers translating into "I'm a dumb ass" and don't know how to do it. I really feel like telling them to take the machine back and just buy something with a working program.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 20, 2011, 01:47:19 PM
One more thing, the Z axis sometimes moves DOWN instead of up when we hit zero all axis, now come the hell on, what the hell man!?!? I can't baby the damn machine ahole day, if I punch in a command I expect it to follow it now only follow it some times?!?! how can a person work like that?

Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 20, 2011, 01:51:57 PM
and the most worring of all is it's can't cut corners!!! instead of cutting a perfect what ever degree corner it goes to far into the corner where corner sharpening was applied and jabs a piece out of the material leaving a half moon shape were the corner was suppose to be... I rest my case.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 20, 2011, 02:03:19 PM
oh, before I forget, the Spindle only start up 75% time.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: BR549 on May 20, 2011, 02:07:34 PM
Is there some reason you came HERE to rant about your machine AND lack of understanding of building a CNC machine ?

I am with Hood on this one GOOD LUCK getting help here.

(;-) TP
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: olf20 on May 20, 2011, 02:09:04 PM
I know it can be upsetting but if you calm down and ASK for help
in a reasonable manner I'M SURE PEOPLE(S) WILL COME TO YOUR
AID!!
Try again.
olf20 / Bob
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: derekbpcnc on May 20, 2011, 02:11:00 PM
Your results will only be as good as the machine Iron.
The reliability is proportional to the operator patience.

Your machine might be" crap" - Mach is not.

I have been using Mach for 3 or more years and it still astounds me every day at how good it is.
.....but then I talk nicley to MY machine  ;)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 20, 2011, 02:22:10 PM
Can you attach your xml, it will be found in the main Mach3 folder and have the name of the profile you are loading (see lower right of screen in Mach) You use the additional options button in the reply page to attach and likely you will have to rename before you attach as the forum only accepts a file name once.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Overloaded on May 20, 2011, 02:36:59 PM
and the most worring of all is it's can't cut corners!!! instead of cutting a perfect what ever degree corner it goes to far into the corner where corner sharpening was applied and jabs a piece out of the material leaving a half moon shape were the corner was suppose to be... I rest my case.

"Corner Sharpening" .... or as SheetCam calls it "Overcut Corners" will do exactly as you are describing when pocketing or cutting an inside corner on a profile.
This allows a sharp cornered object to be inserted into the pocket that would otherwise have a radius in the corner = to the radius of the cutter.
Vectric uses a "Dogbone Fillet" or something like that.
This allows you to put a square cornered peg into a square hole.
.... if I understand you correctly.
Russ
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: HillBilly on May 20, 2011, 02:49:51 PM
One more thing, the Z axis sometimes moves DOWN instead of up when we hit zero all axis, now come the hell on, what the hell man!?!? I can't baby the damn machine ahole day, if I punch in a command I expect it to follow it now only follow it some times?!?! how can a person work like that?

oh, before I forget, the Spindle only start up 75% time.

These sound like hardware troubles. What comes to mind is bad connections on the DIRECTION signal to the Z drive and spindle forward.

Does the DRO for the Z axis confirm the spindle is going down instead of up when you hit REF ALL HOME? I am assuming you mean REF ALL HOME since ZERO ALL AXIS should cause no moment.

Darek
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Overloaded on May 20, 2011, 02:58:34 PM
QUOTE "One more thing, the Z axis sometimes moves DOWN instead of up when we hit zero all axis, "

In addition to what Darek says, if you are meaning "Go to Zeros", then Mach will move to PROGRAM zero which could very well be DOWN from the current position of the Z axis.
Just a thought,
Russ
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 21, 2011, 05:24:48 AM
Can you attach your xml, it will be found in the main Mach3 folder and have the name of the profile you are loading (see lower right of screen in Mach) You use the additional options button in the reply page to attach and likely you will have to rename before you attach as the forum only accepts a file name once.
Hood

Thx Hood,
I had a look and found it:P I'll try and attach it now. PLEASE see whats wrong with it!!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 21, 2011, 05:32:28 AM
 I'm use to working on a HAAS so when I say Zero all I mean home all axis on the new machine. The Corner Sharping is something else, we have the right softwear to do corner sharping, it's the machine that's messing it us for some reason. The machine as a really BIG Gremlin..

HillBilly, using big words is not helping;) -  but I'll make a note of it and ask the ppl that put the heap of crap together if they know the awnser to that, thx!

The Machine should have a defualt HOME position, if the spindle is to high it'll move down to that position, that position is not inside my freaken table! It should always move to like a midway between max and min z position. Thx for the help guys! Much appresiated!!!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 21, 2011, 06:01:01 AM
Ok first thing I see is you have the kernel set to 100KHz on Ports and Pins (from Config tab) Your motor tuning seems to require 39KHz as the most for an axis so set it to 45KHz and restart Mach. Some computers can run 100KHz kernel but if you dont need it then it is better to lower to what you need.

You have an A axis home switch enabled but no A axis  set up so best to disable the A axis home switch in Ports and Pins, Inputs.

Your Z home switch is set Active Low where the rest are Active High, this may be correct but if the switches are the same it would be more than likely that your Z would be the same active state. To check go to Diagnostics page and see if the M3Home is lit when you are not on the switch, if it is then change the active state.

One other thing that might be worth doing at the moment is load the standard Mach screen, you are using a custom screen presumably supplied by the manufacturers and this may be causing issues if its not configured correctly. Not saying it is that way but loading the standard one is always a good idea when trouble shooting.

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 21, 2011, 06:27:20 AM
eeeck, sounds complicated Hood!!! Ok, I guess I can do the 1st 3 suggestions but I'm not sure about changing the Mach Screen, will that not require me ( builders of machine ) to setup what each button does on the screen or does it remember what each button is suppose to do?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 21, 2011, 06:33:15 AM
No, all it needs you to do is go to View menu then Load Screens. It should open the main Mach3 folder and you should see 1024.set there, double click on it and after a second or so the standard screen will open. If you dont have that screenset (possible if its a totally custom Mach install) then shout and I will attach one for you to save to the Mach3 folder.

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 21, 2011, 06:40:54 AM
OoO, sweet, so it works like a "skin" - I'll do that as soon as we finished cutting the slots in the vacuum table, thx again Hood!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 21, 2011, 07:39:26 AM
I've manadged to take a picture with my cell phone and using a 10x zoom eye glass to show the problem we are having with corner sharping. It's only the one corner were the program used corner sharping. It's were the Z lifts up and comes down into the corner, for some reason it's going to far into it. Might it be the z callibration?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 21, 2011, 10:57:18 AM
Is the axis actually going to far or is the code telling it to go that far? Does the Z DRO in Mach correspond to where the cutter is or does it correspond to where you think it should be?
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 21, 2011, 11:40:40 AM
The programming is right, I've cut it on another machine and it's fine. I can't awnser your question cuz we building a vacuum table and can't check it now. But I'll check that out when we do another sample cut later during the week. Will keep you posted, thx!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 22, 2011, 09:21:56 AM
Vactuum table BIG success!!! 860x860mm sucking area using venturi system:) Now we just need to recheck the calibration of the x and y before we can cut a sample and start addressing some of the machine problems.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 22, 2011, 09:37:24 AM
oh great, we need a password to fix the calibration...
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 22, 2011, 10:15:00 AM
You could try None or Mach1Pass for the password but it may be the manufacturer has set up their own and if so you will have to contact them.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Richard on May 22, 2011, 01:04:56 PM
I had the same problem you show on the corners, I think that my problem was caused by the EM (spiral tapered) sucking itself into the material as it went down.
There was enough flex in my Z axis to allow it to do this. I solved my problem by adjusting the X and Y values at the top of the cut until I got the corner I wanted.
Good luck.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 11:11:52 AM
Thx Richard, not sure I'm following, how and were did you adjust for x - y values, this is a deal breaker for us.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 11:13:10 AM
We are recalibrating the Y axis now, it was out by 4.5mm over 800mm!!! The X and Z are spot on.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 11:43:05 AM
Hmm, how the hell do you calibrate the Y, we got to the page were you move the Y, it ask you how far it moved, we punch in how far it actually moved and then test it and it moves exacitally the same WRONG distance?!?! Do we have to restart the PC or is it not needed to take effect? Also, it gives a "jerk' after we tell it how far it moved, is that normal?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 12:09:32 PM
Ok, nevermind, we got it sorted now, the jerk was the machine "moving" the diffs we typed it, took a few tries for it to get it right thou, weird. Gonna cut sample now, hope it was the cuz for the weird corners!!!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 12:44:37 PM
Damn, that did not help:/ Richard, please explain what you did in more details, pictures most welcome ;)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 12:48:44 PM
Richard, we don't have any flex in any axis - so it can't be that, thx anywayz..
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 12:54:23 PM
We 1st thought it might be caused by the double sided tape we were using, it had some flex in it, so we build a vacuum table that's 3 micron accurate. Then we cut a sample, still not right, then we figured it had to be the calibration of the machine, so we fixed that now, still not working, I'm really perplexed by this, it's going to give me restless nights!!!

Remember the corners are really small, it'll cut fine on big corners I think, it's cutting about 0.2mm into the corner but it's really noticeable on small corners,...
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Overloaded on May 23, 2011, 12:55:33 PM
Is that bad corner at the start and/or stop point of the cut ?
just curious
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: BR549 on May 23, 2011, 12:55:52 PM
IS this a stepper machine or a servo machine?

(;-) TP
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 01:09:48 PM
Overload, it's all over, were ever the Cam program is using corner sharping it $#%$ up. Next step will be two use another program, maybe this machine don't like the one we are using..
It's a Servo mchine BR549
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Overloaded on May 23, 2011, 01:25:03 PM
If your CAM is doing like Vectric's VCarving, then the problem might be that the actual angle of the V bit is not EXACTLY what is described in your CAM.
This has caused very similar problems numerous times over on the Vectric forum.
Just a possibility.
Russ
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 02:13:02 PM
No, it can't be the program, we've been using it for over 10years on 4 other cnc machines and never experianced this problem. I'm pretty sure it's something messed up with the new machine...
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 23, 2011, 02:16:32 PM
Oh, sorry, I re-read that now, you refering to the V-bit cutter we are using, we will double check that first thing tomorrow morning, it'll be really weird if it's that cuz our cutter maker are really acurate and uses a shadowgrath to get it perfect. Here]s hoping it's that!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: BR549 on May 23, 2011, 02:46:45 PM
DOes it do this on EVERY small sharp corner?  IF so then LOOK to the servo tuning, too much overrun will do it every time. The servo will overun the position and then back up to correct.

Just a thought, (;-) TP
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Richard on May 23, 2011, 03:26:37 PM
this is how I programmed it
Cutter moves into corner and stops (bottom of cut)
Z raises (top of cut) (do not move this position)
X and Y Move (these are what I adjusted)
X Y Z move together downward to the same position as "bottom of cut"
program proceeds
Notes
My divit was tapered, it cut off to much at the top of cut but was ok at the bottom, so adjusting the x and y values was all I had to do
If the tool is off at the bottom that means it is not going back to the position it started from (mechanical problem?)
You could adjust both values( the same amount) but you would have to set them back to the original position before proceeding, I would want to why it did it in the first place.

Richard
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Richard on May 23, 2011, 03:42:51 PM
After reading my own post I was wondering if someone changed the amount Z is raised when this was ported?
That would change the angle of descent and give you nothing but problems

Richard
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 24, 2011, 04:24:06 AM
Thx Richard! Makes sense, will ffrd your notes onto the manufacture, maybe he can check that out for us, thx again!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 24, 2011, 03:16:45 PM
DOes it do this on EVERY small sharp corner?  IF so then LOOK to the servo tuning, too much overrun will do it every time. The servo will overun the position and then back up to correct.

Just a thought, (;-) TP

BR549, please explain overrun and how one would go about detecting whether it is in fact what's busy happening?

Just to clarify some things that Marius1975 missed in mentioning:

The machine uses ball screws on all axis, driven by servo motors.

All axis has been calibrated and are 100%

We have cut the exact same program (gcode) using the exact same cutter on a HAAS machine and it came out perfectly.

The problem only occurs when doing "corner sharpening" and affects all areas that requires corner sharpening.






Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: BR549 on May 24, 2011, 03:37:25 PM
The servos are tuneable as to how accurate they run. They are not like a stepper that just assumes it moves a certain amount of step pulses. The controller moves the motor a nd then CHECKS the encoder to make sure it is where it is suppose to be.  You tune the drive to HOW reactive the motion is. You can tune it to acutally overrun the position point then back up to correct itself OR trip out due to error limits. Same with underrunning where it may stop short on the position then try to correct.

It is best to tune the drive with a SCOPE so you can see the actual movement profile and make sure it is correct.

Just a thought, (;-)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Richard on May 25, 2011, 12:25:36 AM
Two More Things
make sure backlash comp is turned off
If You can post the section of code that is the problem, some one here may be able to see if there is a problem
I can also run it to see what I get
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 25, 2011, 01:09:22 AM
Thank you for the informative reply BR549. I will contact our manufacturer and ask how they've calibrated the motor to react when it comes to overrun/underrun. According to them the whole point of going ball screws/servo's/encoder was so that everything will always be in the right position since the encoder always keeps track of the movement, but I see where you going with this and it does make sense especially when you look at the sample cut results. They also assured us that the motors/servo's are 0.005mm accurate.

Richard, backlash comp is turned off. Like I mentioned previously we have run the exact same program using the exact same cutter on a HAAS machine and it cut perfectly, which leads me to believe that there is nothing wrong with the code itself?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 25, 2011, 09:34:08 AM
Here is the gcode used for the problem area.

If anyone can cut this it would be great, then at least we'd know whether it's the machine or if mach3 is setup incorrectly.

Cutter being used is a 0.1mm d-bit with 30 degree angle.

Block size is 115mm x 70mm

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Richard on May 25, 2011, 03:59:47 PM
Here is the gcode back, I added spaces and line numbers. I annotated where you need to raise the Z axis.
Make sure you are satisfied with your XYZ settings and that the angle of your cutter is correct before making changes to the program.
There two pictures to show what the wrong angle will do.

Hope this helps

Richard
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 26, 2011, 12:43:09 AM
Thank you for your efforts Richard.

Looking at your annotations it seems like you wanting the z axis to move out of the material by say 0.1 - 0.3mm when doing corner sharpening.

Am I correct in making this assumption?

I know some cam packages do this by default and will look into adding this into my existing cam package if it's the case.

The 30 degree cutter is definitely right since I've used it on a different machine cutting the same gcode without any errors in corner sharpening,so it can't be that.

Unfortunately I can't see all that clearly how your 30 degree cut went in your picture. Is it cutting away the corners or not? If not, can you perhaps send me your xml file so that I can see what differences we have in mach3.

Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Richard on May 26, 2011, 02:50:24 PM
Yes, moving the z axis upward will make the angle steeper, pulling the cutter away from the sides.
Sorry about the photo's ,that was as close as I could get with my camera, download them to your computer and you should be able to zoom in.
My machine cut this pretty good, maybe just 3 or 4 thou into the corner and equal on both sides.so I think the gcode is ok.
your machine looks as though it is cutting more into the x axis than the y axis so you may have some x axis issues.
as far as machine setup goes, my settings are - no backlash comp.,exact stop(CV mode off),everthing else is pretty much default settings
my motors are tuned with the amplifier software, so that woulld not help you.
Remember, once you get your axis set up good you have to change the gcode back to original settings                       Richard
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 26, 2011, 03:13:34 PM
Ok so we decided to do some more testing by first engraving something at 1800mm/min with 600mm/min plunge feed rate and then again, just MUCH slower at 30mm/min with 10mm/min plunge feed rate.

Turns out the slower you go the better the results get, which is rather useless, but definitely shows that something is wrong somewhere, just not sure where.

The attached pics sums it all up.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 29, 2011, 06:23:27 AM
I think we have a backlash problem, what the best way to sort it out??? The X-Y ballscrews are about 1m long and the Z is not long at all, about 200mm..
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 29, 2011, 06:27:34 AM
The faster we go the more it messed up the corner sharping and the slower the go the better the results.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 29, 2011, 08:03:00 AM
Have you tried running in Exact Stop (G61) to see if it makes a difference?
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 29, 2011, 08:15:31 AM
Exact Stop makes no difference unfortunately
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: BR549 on May 29, 2011, 11:15:18 AM
sounds like servo tuning to me

(;-) TP
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 29, 2011, 12:58:45 PM
sounds like servo tuning to me

(;-) TP

Yes have to agree there, especially if G61 doesnt make a difference.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 30, 2011, 01:27:58 AM
How do you fix the Servo tuning?? Can we do that ourselves or will it be best sort out by the manufacturer?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 30, 2011, 02:47:01 AM
Tuning servos can be easy or hard, depends on the drives and the tools available (software or hardware)  What type of drives do you have?
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 30, 2011, 02:55:54 AM
I remember asking our machine supplier if they tuned the servo's right, on which they replied, the servo's are pre-tuned from their supplier.

So I really have no idea if it's right or wrong or how to go about checking.

I've attached some documentation on the servo drives we using, it's the 0.75kw flavor.

Appreciate the help :)

Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 30, 2011, 02:59:52 AM
Servos need to be tuned in place on the machine they will be used on, will go look see what I make of the docs attached.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 30, 2011, 03:02:32 AM
That looks like a VFD to me rather than a servo drive, do you have documentation for the axis drives?
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 30, 2011, 04:18:52 AM
I asked my manufacturer and this is all I got :

Delta B series .75kw servo motors
Delta AC servo drives

Would that be sufficient?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 30, 2011, 04:25:20 AM
A quick google for that and I get a VFD same as you attached the manual for. VFDs are for AC Induction motors and although some can be closed loop it is the speed loop that is closed rather than the position, I think, so I cant see how they will  be accurate enough to use in a machine tool for axis drives.
Can you take a pic of your motors and control cabinet internals as that may shed some light onto what you have.

I will read the manual further as I may be wrong about your drives
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 30, 2011, 04:26:59 AM
Have found this http://www.delta.com.tw/product/em/motion/motion_servo/motion_servo_main.asp
Are these the types of drives you have and if so which meodels?
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 30, 2011, 05:21:03 AM
I'm still waiting on a reply from our manufacturer.

I would imagine it's this one:

http://www.fastltd.net/asd-a2_series-494_en_cd.html

Will supply the exact model number as soon as I get it, but for now I think it's either the ECMA-C10807GS or ECMA-C10807FS
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on May 30, 2011, 06:57:11 AM
Ok here is the right info:

http://www.delta.com.tw/product/em/motion/motion_servo/motion_servo_product.asp?pid=2&cid=1&itid=2

model : asd-a0721ab

Hope it helps.

Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 30, 2011, 07:52:20 AM
If you download the manual you can read the tuning section and try the auto tuning.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: BR549 on May 30, 2011, 10:03:36 AM
There is no real way to pretune the servos they HAVE to be tuned ON THE MACHINE . The proper tuning depends on how the servos respond ON the machine . This accounts for friction, sticktion, weight, inertia,velocity, accel, etc

(;-) TP
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on May 30, 2011, 10:16:09 AM
http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCServoTuning.htm -  this Guy says under how the "Pro's" do it section: " OK, now let's see how the other half lives, the "pro" half, because they often use better means of tuning than ear. Many pro-quality motion controllers and servo drives have a tuning display built right in that shows graphs like what I've shown. Some even have a self-tuning mode so you never need to tune manually. " - I think he have the self-tuning one possibly?:P
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on May 30, 2011, 10:30:53 AM
I think he have the self-tuning one possibly?:P


Yes as I mentioned earlier if you read the manual there is a section on tuning which includes the auto tuning.
The drives I have also have auto tuning, I have found that they get things close but I can always tweak them a bit better manually but the auto tune is a good starting point. My drives software has an oscilloscope built in which helps a great deal with the manual tuning, not sure if yours does.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on June 03, 2011, 04:46:35 AM
I found out ours also have a oscilloscope build it, they double checked it and made all axis 10% "stiffer" to prevent possible back-lash - but it did not make any difference at all:/ They might have figured out why the spindle only starts up 75% of the time, say it might be a wiring problem, so will re-wire it. Going to reinforce the Z with a thinker back plate if the problem is coming from that side and then retest again on Monday:)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: jrobson on June 03, 2011, 06:10:02 AM
Hi Marius

Where are you from?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: camarillojohn on June 05, 2011, 12:28:39 AM
I just read your frustration, and don't know how much you have read into the manual for Mach3. I would find out if the travel direction is correct. PLUS is quill up. MINUS is quill down. if the setting is correct then check the Negative and Positive signs in front of your numbers in the "G" code printout.
Also find out when you set up your (Stock Set-up)  as to where is your ZERO if you choose the bottom part, then you will only travel in the POSITIVE direction (UP). If you choose the top of the part as your starting point ,then you will have to put NEGATIVE value so the quill will go DOWN. Hope I didn't make the situation any worse.
Good luck.
John
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 08, 2011, 01:22:14 PM
Ok finally got the cable to connect to the servo's for tuning.

I've attached the parameters page for the tuning as they are currently. But before I can start editing settings we first need to do some reading as to what most of them actually do.

Any input would be appreciated on the current settings :)

PS: camarillojohn : I understand what you trying to say and everything is right in that area, thanks!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 08, 2011, 01:40:41 PM
Oops I forgot to mention that all the axis settings are exactly the same, hence only the one parameter page.

PS : Can't seem to find the button to edit my previous post :(
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on June 09, 2011, 08:17:11 AM
One more thing, the Z axis sometimes moves DOWN instead of up when we hit zero all axis, now come the hell on, what the hell man!?!? I can't baby the damn machine ahole day, if I punch in a command I expect it to follow it now only follow it some times?!?! how can a person work like that?

oh, before I forget, the Spindle only start up 75% time.

These sound like hardware troubles. What comes to mind is bad connections on the DIRECTION signal to the Z drive and spindle forward.

Does the DRO for the Z axis confirm the spindle is going down instead of up when you hit REF ALL HOME? I am assuming you mean REF ALL HOME since ZERO ALL AXIS should cause no moment.

Darek

Hi Derek, you were right about the Spindle, it was a connection error, but now we are facing a new challenge, it don't want to start up if it's below or at 8000 rpm, any ideas why that would be?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on June 09, 2011, 08:50:04 AM
DOes it do this on EVERY small sharp corner?  IF so then LOOK to the servo tuning, too much overrun will do it every time. The servo will overun the position and then back up to correct.

Just a thought, (;-) TP

BT5000, Do you think the over run is on the x or y or Z? or a combination of 2 or all 3? We all geared up to start fiddling with the settings now>:)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on June 09, 2011, 10:00:04 AM
If you look at the error on the corner, it must be going to far rather than a under run? So if we want to make it closer to a under run how will we go about doing so?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: BR549 on June 09, 2011, 11:48:08 AM
Normally you would tune the velocity loop first then tune the positon loop.

Just a thought, (;-) TP
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 09, 2011, 02:07:41 PM
Hmmm can't seem to find any parameters called "velocity loop" nor "position loop" BR549.

We did auto gain tuning on all the axis. Afterwards we had to adjust "Kvp: P Gain of speed loop" to get rid of the resonance on all the axis.

Then did another sample cut and wow, it's looking really good, almost 100% !!!

Only problems that remain now is:

1) The z axis is sounding a bit funny,almost as if the ball screw is hitting against the bearing when moving....rather strange, but we've taken a video and will forward it to our manufacturer tomorrow.

2) When cutting at the speed we would like to cut,which is about 3 times faster, the engraving almost returns to the state it was before we did the auto gain tuning. Which leads me to believe we'll need to up some of the parameters in order to go faster. Just need to figure out how to get rid of the resonance as we up the values.

Apart from that everything is MUCH better :D
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on June 09, 2011, 03:07:32 PM
Damn, I wanted to tell them it's better!!!>:/ Grrrr!!
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 09, 2011, 03:26:22 PM
Tuning can often make an axis sound like a bag of rocks. Afraid I dont know anything about your drives so its just a case of mess around with settings and see what works. Does your drives software have a built in scope? Mine do and it makes tuning easier as you can graphically and numerically see when things are improving.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 09, 2011, 03:34:58 PM
Thanks for the reply Hood.

We still fiddling around with the servo software, but did notice something labeled "date scope" Just not sure which settings we should be monitoring as they have about 20 different ones to choose from :(
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 09, 2011, 04:13:18 PM
Is there no info on tuning in the manual? Servos can be a PITA to tune when there is not much info on specifics for the drives. I usually just resort to messing around with the settings, being ready with the E-Stop just in case ;)

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: BR549 on June 10, 2011, 01:02:22 AM
IF your servo got noisier then you have not finished tuning yet (;-)  Noisier is NOT good.

Servo tuning is a fine ART. IF you have a built  in scope then you need to USE it. It will show you what teh motion curve looks like . You can see the overshoot and correction as it happens live.

I hope you saved your OLD settings(;-)

(;-) TP
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 10, 2011, 01:08:54 AM
Plenty info on tuning in the manual with descriptions on what each parameter does, just figuring out how far you can push each parameter,keeping in mind that some have to be moved x4 and other /1.5 otherwise they cause resonance.

I'm just a bit confused still about the "Limit of Load Inertia Estimation" parameter as I'm not really understanding how one goes about changing it in auto tuning.

I've attached the software help file for tuning the servo's in case anyone gets bored and feels like reading it ;)

Agreed BR549, it will take a lot more time getting it 100%, and yes, we did save all our old settings :D

PS.... had to rename the file for uploading, please rename .pdf to .chm
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Marius1975 on June 10, 2011, 01:24:47 AM
latest sample cuts from last night after running the auto servo tuning. Still not 100% but a cr@p-load better IMHO.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 10, 2011, 06:12:05 AM
Ok nevermind, doesn't look as if the Software manual works when attaching it here, what a pity.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 13, 2011, 12:03:57 PM
Hmmm not sure how to put this, but how does one get mach3 to run smoother when engraving?

For example, when engraving the letters "finest ten" in the picture above, the feed rate is set at 500mm/min, however in mach3 the feed rate keeps changing, usually well below 500mm/min as it goes along.

I can understand that it has to slow down here and there to take tight corners etc etc, but once again, when running this on a HAAS machine it's pretty much setting on 500mm/min the whole time.

On our current machine everything takes about 3 times longer to engrave since mach3 keeps dropping the feed rates well below what it should be.

Would smooth stepper perhaps make mach3 run more smooth feed rate wise?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 13, 2011, 02:18:54 PM
Sounds like it is due to the acceleration of your axis and not anything to do with Mach. If you have it in Exact Stop mode (G61) changing to Constant Velocity (G64) may help.

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 13, 2011, 02:26:30 PM
Howdy Hood,

It's definitely not in Exact Stop Mode, I've made 200% sure of that. Heck I've run it in exact stop mode just to see if it makes any difference, which is obviously doesn't, just a bit slower.

My accel/decel rate is 0.3 seconds, I've had it on 0.1 second but the machine starts sharking a bit, so I tuned it down a bit just in case.

It's currently on Velocity 10 000mm/min with accel/decel on 2000 mm/min, but still no real change in cutting time.

Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 13, 2011, 02:46:27 PM
If your accel is 2,000mm/s/s then it should run well, I presume thats what you are meaning.
If you attach your xml and the code I will see what it runs like here and also see if I notice any issues.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 13, 2011, 02:51:41 PM
Ah yes 2,000mm/s/s is correct.

Unfortunately I'm not at the machine at the moment, but will upload the code and xml tomorrow night for your much appreciated evaluation :)

Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 14, 2011, 03:39:05 AM
Just spoken with our machine manufacturer and according to him our servo's are setup in Position Mode, which means all S Curve parameters are disabled.

Could this possibly be the reason for the slow down in feed rates?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 14, 2011, 06:26:55 AM
S curve will likely give smoother motion but whether it would give faster cutting I am unsure, cant really see how it would.

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 14, 2011, 07:46:20 AM
Greetings Hood,

I've just finished reading the topic on Tempest Planner, sounds very interesting!

Reckon I'll give that a try to see if it makes any difference seeing as though it makes use of S Curves.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 14, 2011, 07:54:09 AM
Lots of people seem to like Tempest because of the smoother accel instead of the On/Off type.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 15, 2011, 04:16:43 AM
Haven't really gotten anywhere yet since the spindle which use to start up 75% of the time is now not starting up at all after they redid all the wiring.

It's really bizarre, the spindle switches on and the fan goes on, but it's not spinning.

Haven't forgotten about the code and xml file hood, just haven't been able to use the machine yet.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 22, 2011, 12:49:58 PM
Finally got the spindle working, turns out the damn inverter was faulty....go figure!

Ok so here is the long awaited g-code file and xml files, including a pic of our smooth stepper config file.

I installed smooth stepper today but haven't really had time to set it up properly. Not really sure what I did wrong as everything is fine except the DRO's that's being displayed while cutting are totally wrong.

Sadly as soon as I switch on the spindle smooth stepper clicks off..... just when I got the damn spindle to work in mach3 haha.

Anyways, one problem at a time I guess.

All we basically want to know is how fast does the attached g-code cut on your setup,using the default feed of the g-code, so that we can compare it against ours.

If possible, run it with normal Mach3 and also with Smooth Stepper.

Thanks again for all the help :)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 22, 2011, 01:37:18 PM
Ok ran with both your xmls, PP was 1min 23 seconds SS was 1min 25 seconds. SS xml has lower accels so that will likely be the difference.
With your PP xml you have the kernel set to 100KHz when in reality your motor tuning only requires 10KHz approx, I would definitely reduce the kernel to 25KHz.

The feedrate in the code jumps around quite a bit so hard to say how near to the commanded Mach is but its close.

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 12:35:24 AM
Thanks for the efforts Hood.

Our time is around 1min27 seconds without SS, not sure if the time we getting with SS is right since it's 56seconds, but that's with the DRO's being all over the place. Plus I noticed on the preview screen that usually it will show you how it's engraving, with SS is actually moves off the screen, so you can't see.

Another thing is I closed Mach3, reopened and selected my normal mach3 profile (SS was still plugged in) As soon as I initialize the drives the spindle switches on.

If I open Mach3 with the SS profile and hit F5, SS dies.

Not sure if that helps any.

I attached another gcode file, only difference is the plunge and feed rate is the same so that one can monitor the actual feed rate better.

I'll change our Kernel to 25 tonight and see what happens, thanks :)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 23, 2011, 03:01:49 AM
Looks to be working fine here, yes the feedrate jumps around but that is to be expected with the nature of the code, lots of short line moves.
So what is the difference in time between the Hass and your router? What are the motor settings of your Hass?
Sounds like your spindles VFD is throwing out lots of noise which is killing the SS, few things you can try, one is move wiring of VFD away from signalling wires if possible, another is get a filter for your VFD.

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 03:39:16 AM
That's just the thing, running the file on HAAS gives 1min23 seconds, which is pretty close to our current times.

The problem is those feeds are extremely slow and need to be pushed up by 4 times as the HAAS can run at that speed without any problems.

When upping the feed times 4 on the HAAS it finishes in 36seconds, but on our machine the time remains pretty much the same as it's not capable of performing the movements fast enough....... or as I suspect, some or other setting(s) is holding it back.

Have you tried running the g-code using your own xml, would love to know it it makes any difference.

I'll contact our manufacturer and see if they can install a filter as moving the wires wouldn't be an option as everything is built into their pre-designed cabinet.

I would love to know the motor settings of the HAAS, but they pretty secretive about their whole setup and trying to find it in the system itself it impossible as it's got screens and screens of config/parameter pages.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 23, 2011, 04:04:32 AM
Yes it is settings but not a Mach issue, it is simply your hardware that is the issue. For example I have just bumped the rapids in your xml to 10m/min and accel to 5m/s/s and ran the code at 300% FRO and it runs at 34:51 seconds and that includes the 5 seconds dwell you have set.

Even using the motor tuning settings in your xml and bumping the FRO to 300% the time will drop to around 44 seconds, so its not Mach.

Could your router handle the acceleration that the Hass is likely to have? possibly not as the Hass will likely be much more rigid.

If you need Hass speeds then you either need to get a Hass or get a machine with similar hardware capable of similar rapids and accelerations and of similar rigidity.

My mill is an old 1984 knee mill with box ways and has similar kinds of accelerations as your router so the times will be around the same as you get with your router.

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 04:24:47 AM
That's a very good question Hood, not really sure what sort of acceleration our machine can handle.

Can you please tell me what the accel/decel value should be to equal 5m/s/s as I have no idea how to calculate or read it on the mach motor tuning screen.

I think the acell/decel is currently on 1000 if I'm not mistaken, which equals around 0.3 seconds?

I know the servo's default accel/decel is 50ms, but since I can't use Position/Speed Mode those values are ignored.

We also dropped the max rapid to 4000m/min as I was busy testing Tempest Planner and it always runs rapid movements at max speed,which is a bit scary at 15000m/min without the feedhold working under Tempest.

The machines default rapid setting is 15000m/min, but can be bumped up to 20 000m/min according to the manufacturer.

Does the velocity and accel/decel values under motor tuning work in unison? As I'm assuming one can drop the rapid value without affecting the accell/decel rate.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 23, 2011, 04:51:55 AM
5m/s/s is simply 5000mm/s/s
Velocity in motor tuning is your rapid speed and will affect code with lots of rapid moves but the biggest difference will be seen with increases in acceleration. Velocity and Acceleration are not linked as such., yes you may be able to get higher accel with a lower Velocity but that is nothing to do with Mach but more to do with your hardware.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 05:01:25 AM
Awesome stuff, thanks for explaining that Hood.

Will push the accel/decel up until the machine starts sounding funny or until we start losing detail on the engraving side.

Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 06:07:59 AM
Just a quick update on the HAAS accel/decel values :

1G acceleration = 32 ft/sec2 (9.8 m/sec2)

That's REALLY fast, doubt our machine would be able to do those numbers as we currently on 0.12G acceleration, but will see how far we can push it.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 23, 2011, 06:22:47 AM
Think your router will be well out of shape by then ;D

Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: jrobson on June 23, 2011, 06:25:07 AM
You need S-Curves and a rigid machine to get to those levels...
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 06:30:40 AM
Tempest Planner's S Curve works nicely, everything runs much smoother, so that might help upping the accel/decel , but very much doubt we'll get 1G hehe.

The machine is relatively sturdy, about 1.2tons and we still need to add about another 500kg's - 1Ton  by filling the legs with sand, which should make it even more rigid.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: jrobson on June 23, 2011, 06:36:11 AM
Hi Pinky

I mean S-Curves as in bell shaped acceleration/deceleration(Like an automotive camshaft if you look at those lift curves, it's the same thing and the only way you can move mass faster without increasing jerk), afaik mach3 doesn't support it and the tempest planner is a smoothing algorithm only. You should get well above 0.12G though.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 07:27:06 AM
Agreed jrobson.

I've been moaning about a proper S Curve Motion Card to my manufacturer for ages already, trying to convince them that it's something we not only want, but REALLY NEED!

As for Mach3 and S Curve, does it really not support it, or does using a motion controller maybe bypass Mach3's commands?

Otherwise we'll have to go EMC2 as that supports S Curve afaik.....

Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: jrobson on June 23, 2011, 12:04:32 PM
Look in your motor movement profile in motor tuning, it's trapezoidal not curved.

On the EMC2 forum I've asked the question and this was the answer from one of the admins: "EMC2 does not, currently, do jerk limitation. (d3x/dt3) though there has been some talk of implementing it (so, no S-curves in accelleration)"

I don't expect to see it any time soon in either, but first see how many G's you can pull without picking up problems and then see if it's a problem not to have.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 12:23:46 PM
Thanks for the info jrobson.

It would appear my max would be around 0.15g's as the jerk becomes too much and starts affecting the quality of engraving :(

I've looked around and it appears as if a lot of people are using the Galil Motion Controller with their Mach3 setups.

Since my Delta Servo drives has S curve functionality built into them, would it not be possible to use that by connecting it to a Galil Motion Controller? Or does Mach3 negate that by using it's own "motion" ?

Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 23, 2011, 12:30:55 PM
I would think with Mach doing the trajectory planning the Galil would be trapezoidal when used with Mach, cant see how it could be anything else.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 12:38:51 PM
hehe figured that would be the case Hood, was just hoping for a small miracle ;)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: jrobson on June 23, 2011, 01:09:02 PM
Thought it would be better than that...
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 23, 2011, 03:05:28 PM
Care to elaborate a bit more on that previous statement jrobson?

I assume it would give better feedback, but smooth stepper already fulfill that role?

But then again the Galil does have feedforward as well as a trajectory planner, so motion should be smoother and less jerky.

Heck I don't know anymore as who knows what Mach3 decides to do with all of the information at the end of the day.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 23, 2011, 03:09:35 PM
I think he was meaning your max G's but could be wrong.
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: jrobson on June 23, 2011, 03:54:47 PM
Yes it sounds pretty low, but I don't know Mach in a practical sense.

I had a quick look and this looks faster than 0.15G to me, running smoothsteppers and mach3... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaG3pd8xuWw

Galil is quite pricey though isn't it?
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: jrobson on June 23, 2011, 04:01:58 PM
Try this program see how fast you go before it starts to shake... put your machine in inch mode first.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 24, 2011, 02:01:22 AM
Logical thinking tells me the following :

G-code gets sent from Mach3 to the Servo's by means of pulses, the servo's then sends these pulses to the motors..... since the servo's currently have no S Curve or anything else fancy, the motors move according to the pulses received by the servo's which was sent by Mach3.

So in essence when you add a Motion Controller like Galil/Kflop , the g-code (pulses) gets sent from Mach3 to the Servo's, the servo's pass the information on to Galil/Kflop, which then adds in their "special magic" and pulses through the commands to the motors.

Since this is all a open loop system Mach3 doesn't really match up what it had sent originally and just excepts the fact that everything is 100% (which it is if everything is setup properly,or within your "tolerance" set in Galil/KFlop)

That all being said, this still doesn't add S Curve functionality anywhere as Galil/Kflop doesn't have that feature. I know Galil can handle the info for S Curve, but that needs to come from the Servo's.

AFAIK in order to get S Curve to work on my Servo's I need to make use of a PLC unit....... this is where it gets confusing for me hehe.

I'll do some more testing this weekend jrobson as I haven't had time for it just yet..... will keep you posted :)

This is just all theory, but sounds logical to me.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 24, 2011, 02:22:19 AM
Here's a nice little image from the KFlop website.

(http://dynomotion.com/KFLOPFiles/ServoFlowDiagram.PNG)
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 24, 2011, 06:25:07 AM
My understanding is not great but, as far as I know, with external controllers (well most) the planned trajectory is sent via a plugin rather than pulses being sent, so doing S-Curve would not be an easy task. What it would require, if that is the case, is the external device would receive the info of the planned trajectory, it would then need to break it down re-plan the trajectory then output the re-planned trajectory to the drives (step/dir or analogue).
Hood
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Pinky on June 24, 2011, 07:28:34 AM
Yes it would appear I completely forgot about the "plugin" aspect of this scenario :(

So you basically end up with an "expensive motion control card" that's been stripped of most of it's functionality when run under Mach3.

Pretty much the same case w.r.t my Servo's drives.....they got excellent functionality, but useless under Mach3.

Back to the drawing board I guess.
Title: Re: Mach3 Problems - Rant!!
Post by: Hood on June 24, 2011, 07:38:16 AM
Wouldnt say useless, would just say for the accelerations you are wanting with the hardware you have they are not ideal. Looks like you will need to get a controller that has S-Curve to fit to your router, not sure whats available but likely only the stuff from the normal people  or maybe some of the Chinese controllers that are on the market, certainly not talking $170 though, even the Chinese controllers are 10x that and I dont know what they are like or even if they can do S-Curve.
Hood