Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: farmertwingolf on August 18, 2011, 09:55:05 PM
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my machine will be setup next week. it is an older cnc mill, does not have a tool changer. the hardware is intended for mach3 so i have a full version installed on my pc. what should i expect as far as configuring the software for my particular machine?? i will be using mastercam 9.1 for cam. which post should i use?? im hoping to be an active member here and hopefully be able to contribute as much as i need help. my direct email is farmertwingolf@yahoo.com maybe some networking here can be possible also. thanks everyone
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Software should be easy enough to set up assuming you know the connections etc that you have made.
Not sure what post is available for MasterCAM as I dont use it but if there is no post for Mach then a generic Fanuc may do.
Hood
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I know where things are plugged into the breakout boards physically, how do I tell the software where it is?
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the tutorial videos should get you started.
http://www.machsupport.com/videos.php
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Ok thank you
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Ok. I watched the setup tutorial. New question has to do with the dugong drives that are installed. There is a slot on the cnc drive for tuning. And I saw on the video where they can be tuned through the software. If I tune them with mach3 software do they still need to be tuned through the actual drive? Thanks
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Yes,you need to tune servo drives as per Dugongs instructions, the tuning in Mach is then easy for a servo as you know the steps per unit, you know the Velocity so all you need to find is the acceleration by trial and error..
Hood
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Thanks again hood. Only thing I should have left is finding out which pin things are hooked up to. I emailed the guy at cnc4pc because I figure he should know since the c11 board has the parallel plug and the slots for the step, and direction wires for each axis.
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Did you wire the BOB and drives? If so then you should know which pins they are connected to. Most BOBs have the pin numbers screen printed at the connectors but they will likely run in order, probably from pin 2 onwards.
Hood
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Ok. I didn't know those coincided with the parallel pins. The bob did have things like x step, x dir, and gnd printed on it. I will check their website to look at the wiring diagram again to see which numbers they were. Thanks
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Is there numbers on the servos that show what the steps per unit and velocity are for them?
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To work out steps per unit you meed to know the line count of the encoder, the pitch of the screws and any gearing that you have between motor and screw. If you let me know that I will show you how to work out steps per unit, oh also say whether its metric or imperial units you will be using as default units.
Velocity will depend on the motor and also possibly the voltage your drive is supplied with, for example servos will have a velocity constant, in other words X amount of volts per 1000RPM. The motors will also have a max continuous RPM rating. If you give details about the motors and the supply voltage to the drives I can give you a ballpark figure.
Hood
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Servos have 142 volts, 30 pulse amps, and tacho 9.5 volts/1000 rpms on the label. I will figure out the thread pitch and gearing online. The encoders were in the set I bought from someone who was using emc2 and had extras but I will figure out the line count.
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Ok Tacho has no relevance as you will not be using it, they were used with the analogue style amplifiers (drives)
What voltage will your supply to the Dugongs be?
Hood
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should be close to 160v
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Might want to lower that a bit as your motors are rated at 142v so would have to be careful you didnt set the velocity too high or your motors would get over their rated voltage. Likely wouldnt harm too much if it was just for short periods but still something to think about.
Hood
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i will check with the electrician. i have a relative that helps with electrical issues since its my weakest point. ;D
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;D
Hood
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i was a little off, its 118 volts. hypothetically, if i am unable to gather all of the other info, will i be able to tune them correctly? or will it just take a lot longer.
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Really need to know what the rated RPM of the motor is or the voltage/rpm constant to work out the max RPM you will get at that voltage.
You need the encoder counts, the pitch and the gearing if any to calculate the steps per unit, you could use Mach to calculate it buit that is only ever as good as your measuring and is personally not the preferred method for me.
Hood
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I sent an email to the guy I bought my hardware from. This is the reply, hopefully it has all the info needed for software configuration. "
The encoders are 500 line which will give 2000 counts per revolution in quadrature. The encoders are 5V single ended. The differential converters are also 5V.
Your thread pitch is .200 on X and Y. I cannot remember the Z axis pitch. You should verify Z with a dial indicator as I am working from a defective memory.
The actual counts per inch will depend on whether you have the encoders on the motors or the ballscrews. Your belt reduction is probably 2:1 on all axis'."
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The pitch on the Z axis is 1.8 to 1
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The steps per unit for X and Y will be 20,000
The way that is worked out is 2000 steps to move the motor 1 rev, you have 2:1 gearing so that means 2 motor revs to one screw rev so to turn the screw once it will need 2000 x 2 = 4000
Your pitch of screw is 0.2inch so it will take 5 turns to move 1 inch so steps per inch are 4,000 x 5 = 20,000 steps per inch.
Hood
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So 18000 steps per unit in Z?
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If the screw is the same pitch as X and Y then yes.
Hood
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Pitch in Z is 1.8 to 1 but same encoder line count
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That is the gearing, the pitch is the distance between each "thread" on the screw. Your X and Y are 0.200pitch which means there are 5 to 1 inch so in other words the screw has to turn 5 times to move the axis one inch.
Hood
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Oh ok. So I will enter 20000 steps per unit for x and y and 18000 for z?
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Yes, if the pitch of the Z is 0.200". The guy said he couldnt remember what it was according to your post above.
If you try 18,000 and command a 1 inch move via MDI then you will be able to see if it moves 1 inch or more or less.
Hood
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Thanks a ton hood. Someone from anilam sent me the 1.8 to 1 ratio. What else will I need to know for software config?
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Just really which pins things are connected to, for example which pin the X step is and which the X Dir is, which pins for E-Stop, limits etc.
Hood
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Have that info now. Its 2-7. Just gotta tune the dugongs when my parallel cable arrives in the mail then configure mach then hopefully making chips :)
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:) If you get stuck I am sure someone here will be able to help you out .
Hood
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I seriously can't thank you enough for all the help.
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no problem :)
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Ok, finally have power on the c11 showing it is out putting to the hdbb board. The led lights on the drives are showing things to be good. I'm working on the servoconfigurator3 software to try to tune the drives. Not having luck and the drives aren't moving at all with mach in jog mode. Any suggestions? Thanks
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If the DROs move in Mach when you jog then it is likely a hardware issue or possibly wrong pin assignment. Also check if the drives require an enable signal and whether you are providing it, could also be the same with your BOB.
Hood
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I finally got the servoconfigurator3 software to move the servos and got them tuned. Still having an issue getting mach to move the servos though. I have checked the pin assignments and they are good. Don't know what else to check.
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I answered in your other thread.
Hood