Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: klmark on March 08, 2007, 05:04:52 PM
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Hi Guys
I use a cnc flame cutter and plane to add on a plasma in the near future . My question is it possible to jog the Z axis up and down to fine tune
from the work peace when the machine is cutting . The z axis is also a stepper motor any help would be appreciated I use MACH 3 software
THANK YOU
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Brian would have to b the definitive answer on this but my understanding is when a program is running it totally shuts off the user input (jog).
So in a work no..
Chad
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Hi Guys
We do it in the feed over ride why could it not work the same way on the z axis working between the work DRO and the machine DRO ::)
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I havent tried this myself yet, but I had the same thread going... same situation.
My new friend, Greg (formerly ill-percieved opposition:~)) pondered about it for 2 seconds,.. and said.. Wait! cant we could do this?
He promptly coupled up a couple of buttons to inputs and dedicated them to Z+ and Z -
As he ran "Roadrunner", the DRO's on Z went up and down . Admittedly, we were not running the machine... just checking the DRO's.
If THC can manipulate Z height in flight.. why cant buttons emulate the same?.. manually like when we use Oxyfuel?
Instead of hanging over the hot sheet and trying to prevent a "head Crash" which becomes intiresting to watch when the traverse is 15m/minover a 14meter plate and the nesting was done to cut "all over" to prevent plate warping :)
Thanx Greg, I hope it works in real time. I havent tried t yet
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Hi Guys
You are on the right track if we could make this a really relay hot topic more guys would get involved and get it done this feature would work great for all plasma and flame cutting machine even for guys that use plasma that do not need automatic height control on heaver steel But leave me out of it because i do not know anything about VB and all that stuff But i am willing to demo it if anybody would write it :o for me because on the writing part i do not know head from toe
SO LET KEEP IT ROLLING AND GET SOMETHING DONE
THANK YOU EVERY one FOR THERE REPLY
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Hi guys
Brian showed me how to do it with a couple setting and it works great Thank again Brian you are a great help
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So??? Are you
Hi guys
Brian showed me how to do it with a couple setting and it works great Thank again Brian you are a great help
gonna share this info or must we all just be glad that Brian helped to solve your problem?
:'(
What are the "Few Setings?" ???
Regards fom South Africa,
Peter
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No I will help anyway I can Go to config ports and pins input signals in input signals stroll the to THC UP and THC down enable both enable Emulated then set a hotkey for up and down this will control your up and down with the keyboard hit apply and go to Mill Options check mark Allow THC UP/DOWN Control even if not in THC mode hit apply and OK your ready to go
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Hi guys,
Ive tested it and it works fine, but movement is only possible in a range of 1.000 to 0.200 mm??
Is there a parameter to change it?
Ive used a standard profile to test it. THC up/down are emulated dan MIll Options are checked..
Any idea?
Thanks and best regards from Germany,
Wolfram
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Hi Guys
Are you using Lazycam if you do make sure you have the Option right in plasma Option
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Just when I thunk i had it under control.. cutting without my THC?
I BURNT a torch! stupide me
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Is there a parameter to change it?
yes, there is ;)
But only found at old mach3 screen or in the Mach3-OEMDROs as # 27 for Torch Height max and #65 for min...
Best regards,
Wolfram
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Hey all, I've tried the key emulation settings as given above without success... any ideas?
Ray
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On the Milling tab under ports and pins you need to turn on Enable Zup and down with out THC active. That should fix the problem
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Brian,
Thanks for the feedback. It turns out I was trying to use keys that were already assigned... but... even though I can now jog using key emulation Mach is ignoring the torch height signals from the THC300. How can I get it to respond to either one?
Ray
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(jogging z axis while machine is cutting) has anyone done this with sheetcam and mach 2 ? Not sure what the milling tab is.. i think mach 2 must be labeled as something else.. I tried all kind of box checking with no luck.. I don't have thc but i do have a z axis. right now i can jog the z axis just fine. but when i am cutting a part it just will not let me jog it at all.. i usally cut slow enough that i have plenty of time to adjust on the fly.. right now with it disconnected i turn the z motor by hand to adjust height.. please advise me , is it time to upgrade to make this work. mach 3 or invest in thc300?
maybe im not setting sheetcam right. or maybe i have a setting in mach 2 unchecked?
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In Mach 3 I was able to set up hot keys for the z+ and z- axis.
Although this allowed manual z axis control during cutting it didn't work for me becuase the THC wasn't able to control the z axis with hot keys set up.
Check the input config screen. I used right and left brackets ([ and ]).
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I'm not sure about Mach 2 but I do kow it will work with Mach 3 and Mach 3 is much better. You don't need to buy another licenses for it. These guys are that generous. ;)
Brett
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i have tried it with no sucsess what version are you using? what hot keys
do you use the jog function?
any help would be great
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Apparently it is not possible to jog the z axis with the machine running and the THC active. I've tried. Without THC active it does work to assign hot keys but you have to find keys that aren't already being used (see my previous post).
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Re post 9 from Wolfram
Go the settings page (alt 6) in the lower middle right hand side change the THC max and THC min values .
Do not change the other THC settings on this page.
I discovered this after I had paid for an MP1000 THC controller, which now I dont really need..... Ouch...
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I missed this topic while searching for exactly this. I already deleted the previous topic i started asking this.
I can get the torch up and torch down leds to light up while runing the program. but the Z axis possition DRO is not changing.
Ill keep trying and let you know...
One thing, as previously mentioned make sure you use unused hotkeys.
Regards
Fernando
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I also would like to see a screen button assigned to jogging ANY axis while cutting (adjusting axis position during the job) and an option available to either remember the position or return to original coordinates when the job is finished. My old Fadal mill even has this feature.
Mach is being used to control other machines than standard lathes and mills and thus should have some more advanced configuration available. In Mach, there is a lot of emphasis on safety, but it seems to me that it is the responsibility of the machine integrator to ensure a safe configuration.
Configuring Mach becomes confusing when certain pre-conceptions are assumed by Mach (hard coded) when configuring it (like Z-axis always being the vertical axis on plasma machines-THC).
If an assumption can be implemented on any axis or feature, configuration of Mach would become easier and more clear.
Thank you for a strong controller.