Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: banks148 on July 23, 2012, 05:53:24 AM
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I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out w this: I've been running my machine, no problem for about a week. Right now I've been using vectric's demo version of photo v carve so I can dial everything in, just clamping a pencil to my z axis and fooling around w the available images in order to see what sorta precision, etc I can get after building my set up. I was curious to try another program geared towards engraving photographic images, so I downloaded the demo for "image to g-code", and that's about when my troubles started. First, I tried importing the g code that program had generated into mach, but I got nothing back: no motion, the code would start scrolling then stop, then I'd get an error stating mach had encountered problems and needed to close. After a few times w this, I tried switching back to the vectric software and the problem followed me. Now, I can't get the slightest motion outta my setup and mach kee[s freezing and/or and/then crashing. I've erased the imagetogcode program and run all the malware, etc utilities on the computer but so far nothing has restored what, til this event, was a perfectly operating little machine. This is driving me nuts, so I really (REALLY) hope someone might have some suggestion about what I could try in order to resolve this. Many thanks in advance
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If you are using XP or later try a system restore to before you had issues. Maybe downloading Mach and installing again will help but unless you save your xml you will lose all your settings. Using the old xml may however still give you problems but only one way to find out.
Hood
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Okay, realized I missed something: if I start from scratch, by turning off the computer, along w everything else, boot up mach, start my cnc setup back up, etc, I can then jog all three axes from the jog/tab popup window no problem. It's when I attempt to load any file and then have the machine accept/run code, that it all stops. The most I've gotten (twice outta maybe 50 times) is the z jogging up slightly. Then, invariably the code locks up, and the motors stop moving. Also, alhough not in every instance, the yellow "dwell" LED by the reset LED will turn on and off a couple times. But again, not consistently. The code I've tried running has worked numerous times over this past week. Really, its only til I downloaded this other program that it all came tumbling down. Again, I would be extraordinarily grateful to anyone who could help me with this, since I'm just stumped, honestlty. Thank you so much in advance...
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God bless Scotland (my ma is somewhere smiling cus of your flag...). I'm running XP so I'll try system restore; see where that gets me. Thankfully, as I mentioned, this setup has only really been up and running this week so I wouldn't be junking a huge inventory of offset info, etc, if I have to re-install Mach. Dumb question, but there's no issue w the license for a registered/purchased copy of the program if you have to erase it and then re-install? Thanks so much either way for the suggestions - much appreciated
I'll spare you my early morning attempt at reciting Robert Burns
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Hi Banks,
If it's any help.......
I have just downloaded and installed the 'Image to G Code' program in an attempt to replicate your problem but it runs just fine here so I doubt that this software actually caused the issue you are having.
Tweakie.
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If you have a licence for Mach you just need to make sure you keep it safe and then replace after you reinstall Mach if something goes wrong. It likely wont get lost in the reinstall but always safe to keep a backup anyway.
Sounds more like it may be a config issue though from your second post.
If you attach the xml and the problem code I can have a look and see if it does thesame here.
Hood
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Tried system restore, first using 2 days ago as my restore point (figured that'd cover whatever happened w the program I had installed, plus a little buffer). That didn't work, so I tried again setting my restore date from the 2nd of july, and now it's working fine (knock on wood). There still seems like a slight hesitation at the beginning of it's run, plus there's the brief "dwell" led flashing I mentioned but its entirely possible I really only took notice of that occurring when this problem began. Long story short: it seems your advice was exactly what was needed, so really: I can't thank you enough for taking the time to help me with this. It's an easy one to say, but it is genuinely appreciated. All my best,
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And re; the frail "it's-the-program's-fault" line of (non)thinking I was on, that wasn't really a fair way to go about this just running into a problem and blaming someone else. Far as I know, it's a perfectly fine program, so I hope no one is googling for information about it or something and takes away the impression it's a dud. Thanks for the due diligence of checking that yourself - also very much appreciated.
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Hi Tweakie,
I'm gonna download it again later, since I'm still curious about the program. If you end up getting an opportunity to try it yourself, I'd be curious to hear what you think. I'm trying to find any program that will give me the closest approximation of a tightly rendered pencil drawing, when it's output through mach/cnc/3 axis plotter sorta arrangement - something ideally more flexible than an engraving program where you can climb in and modify more than simply pencil-goes-down-pencil-goes-up(pencil-isn't-an-engraving-bit), if that makes any sense....
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If you end up getting an opportunity to try it yourself, I'd be curious to hear what you think.
Unfortunately, I have just un-installed it but I will load it again and report back.
Again, If it's any help....
The best results I have had with pencil drawings and the like is to convert them to one bit halftones (dithered image) then either use Art' excelent Engraving plugin (some reading - http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,16446.0.html)
or using a GCode generation program such as DotG http://dotg.weebly.com/download.html (some reading - http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,20490.0.html)
Both of which are free to use.
But there are many other choices and it is really just a matter of preference.
Tweakie.
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Hi Tweakie,
my apologies for being slow on the uptake, but I'm not 100% following the "one bit dithered half-tone" method you decribe. I'm semi-familiar w, say, converting an image to 8-bit while saving it in photoshop which then allows for dithering, but I don't quite get how I'd translate that method for a grayscale image? If I'm following part-way, then your reference to one-bit would be having the image formatted as grayscale/solely black v white, but after that all those "oops, slipped" moments getting dropped on my head as a kid start catching up. The way I've been approaching the problem of producing a quasi-realistic photo rendering via pencil has been to try and getting the highest res engraving image, then producing different files of the same image (kinda like color separations or screens for a silkscreen, etc), w each file isolating areas lighter or darker, then making successive passes w one file after another. In each pass I'll change the pencil density (2H,HB, that sorta thing): btwn the grain of paper, successive passes, and differing tones isolated btwn files, I can sorta get somewhere but I know there's gotta be a better way. ANY advice you feel up for sharing would be incredible, honestly: I just started in on this and am frankly barely treading water trying to get a solid grasp on the what/how/when/ etc pf all this....
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Hi Banks,
It’s my fault entirely because I misunderstood your earlier post.
What I have been describing is creating the optical illusion of shades of grey (halftone) by a 1bit method (dithering).
If you need to draw, with a pencil, and create different weights of line (shade) then a better approach to this may be to try Roger’s Plot screen http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,5182.0.html
With differing Z depths for each pen (selected by color in the original drawing) the same HB pencil (suitably mounted) should be capable of producing different weight’s of line.
Just a thought.
Tweakie.
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Hi,
yeah, sorry if I was hazy about wwhat exactly I was trying for. Thanks for the link: seems pretty close to the approach I've been taking, just streamlined, efficient, and all the other things I never seem to manage on my own. Sadly, I'm completely Corel illiterate so need to pull a solution together that's specific to photoshop, though - again - it was heartening to read the post you linked as it seems, at the core of what's going on, to be how I'm trying to handle it, i.e; treating different tonal "areas" sorta similar to separation's in like manner to a print, as well as tweaking the tool parameter's for each pencil tone assigned to those separations, etc.. Sorry, I'm kinda babbling. I'm trying to play around w 8 bit/ dithered image files, as well, just to rty and get some sorta mark making thats not solely line after line going, but haven't really found an easy g-code interpreter (thanks for the previous links, but both of em seemed to much for my dumb brain to handle) but hopefully I'll find something and can really try out that part of your suggestion. Again, sorry for the babbling: I'm absolutely grateful for you taking the time to help me out w this, so thank you
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Hi Banks,
I am most interested in what you are trying to achieve so please post some pictures or information as you progress, it really sounds like a fascinating project you have undertaken.
Tweakie.
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Hi Tweakie,
Thanks for the interest, in addition to the help. I'll absolutely post a few images for you shortly - I actually need to run out and get some different paper samples today, since it's seeming pretty necessary to both have something that's A.) heavy enough that the initial weight/"tool depth" of a pencil set for producing dark areas will chew up anything lighter. plus needing something w a random enough grain that'll help producing a more "random"/less mechanical quality to the graphite, etc.
And now i'm babbling again.
I'll hopefully have somehting more coherent than my writing to post you shortly...
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Hi Tweakie,
I know this is pretty far off from the original topic of this thread, but it seems (just through a quick scan of the forum) that you've got a tremendous amount of personal experience using the mach software, so I thought it's at least worth a try asking for your advice, independent of this thread's topic. Basically, I've got alittle stepper, 3 axis arrangement set up at the moment (I ending up building it mainly cus I was so frustrated waiting to assemble all the parts for the next machine), but I've been pulling together components for a much more permanent solution. The new machine's gonna be servo/linear motor based, and the drives are Kollmorgen S300 and S600 servostar's (I'd stick only w the s300's but the X axis positioner requires more amps than the 303 and 343 drives so I've gotta use a 620 for that). Originally, I was planning on using Heidenhain exposed linear encoder's, and switching their analog/11 (micro)app signals to TTL through 602E interpolation units, but I'm switching them all to RLS magnetic encoders (LM10). The final part of this whole arrangement left to be decided on is the motion controller. I'm planning to using a Galil DMC unit of some sort but I'm not 100% on which one would be best (this machine's gonna be a larger version of the plotter sorta arrangement I've been describing, with the exception that this new one will have a much larger work envelope as well as higher resolution, etc - I know this might all sound over-elaborate, but my job/profession is as an artist. I primarily work as a sculptor but I also make drawings, except I've ruined my back and need some way to still be abe to produce drawings while I'm physically unable to do so anymore on my own). Really, any advice you could help me w here would be fantastic - I'm leery of either getting something either unsupported or that require's so much fiddling w to get working that it's just too much of a headache to be really worthwhile. Sorry again I'm posting this all in an unrelated thread, but I figured I'd better take advantage of this chance to ask you while it was available. Thanks in advance
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Hi Banks,
Once you move into the area of servo drives, encoders etc that is more in the domain of Mr Hood's knowledge base than it is mine. If you post any questions you may have in a separate thread I am sure he will know the answers and of course, be only too willing to share his knowledge.
Tweakie.
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HOW large of a pen plotter are you trying to build. Old Pen plotters (rarely used anymore) are extremely cheap these days. I still prefer the PEN drawn look for drawings as they tend to be a work of art not just a replication.
Just a thought(;-)TP