Machsupport Forum
Third party software and hardware support forums. => Mach3 and G-Rex => Topic started by: carve it up on February 16, 2015, 01:50:01 PM
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hi!
i finally turned on my cnc after 9 months of building it and ran in to problems within seconds of starting mach 3, im hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction
i have no experience with mach 3 so im sorry if i offend any one with my ignorance.
im using a cncrouter parts machine with their XML set up files.
when testing my 3 axis cnc the first thing i did was jog the motors to make sure they worked in all directions. they did. second i hit the home button to see where it would home on the y axis, it went in the opposite direction i wanted (+), but hit the limit switch and stopped. no problem. then i did the same with the x axis. it did the same (moved in the + direction) except when it hit the limit switch i think one motor want to keep running because it started jumping off the rail but it wasnt hitting the limit switch. so i hit the emergency stop button.
i looked up how to reset the location of home and changed the settings in mach 3. but when i returned and tried to test it it wouldnt home and it wouldnt travel in the positive x axis at all.
so im stuck now. im not sure how to diagnosis the problem. there are no warning lights on the diagnosis page on mach 3.
any help would be much appreciated.
john
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well,
not sure what ive done. but after restarting mach 3 and just pushing buttons, + x axis is moving now and the whole machine is homing how i want it. ::)
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after weekends of having random problems just trying to set up the damn home/soft limits im about to just set fire to the thing.
every time i start mach 3 i have a different problem. motors reverse direction or wont move, home switches stop working or are just ignored. i fix one problem, restart the software and something else pops up.
ive reset the profile several times and started over to configuring the machine from the beginning but a new problem arises every time.
im using the free version of mach 3 at the moment. could this be the problem? bugs?
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It's nothing to do with the demo version.
Sounds like you have electrical issues.
Are you using the parallel port? If so, your port may not be putting out enough voltage or current?
If you bought everything from CNC Router Parts, give them a call. They have excellent support.
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cool thanks,
im not using a parallel port, not from a computer any way. ive got a warp9 ethernet smooth stepper then a parallel from that in to a gecko g450
cnc router parts have a XML config file thats supposed to set up mach 3 for the machine. but its doesnt work. if i set it up myself i get further through it.
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continuing problems.
after thinking ive actually set it up i purchased a license for mach3, but of course as soon as i start it up i cant zero the z axis. i cant seem to get it to zero away from mid stroke.
and a axis has changed the parameters in mach3, which i just happened to check, it should be the same as x so im thinking thats why i get a flood of warnings as soon as i try to run some code. but it wont let me change it.
the machine jogs fine, but some times it wont home x.
pulling my hair out in frustration!
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no experience with mach 3
Suggest that you watch the videos and read the manual some.
At least you'll have a flavor of how Mach works.
RICH
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Again, call CNC Router Parts. They know exactly what they sell, and can get you up and running faster than anyone else.
You pay a premium buying from them, and support is part of that premium. Use it.
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ive watched as many of the youtube videos as i can find. many times.
but they dont explain solutions to the problems that im getting. everything is just 'do this and you get that'. but i dont. i thought thats what this forum was for?
and again. i switch off the machine, cool off for a while, come back and turn it back on to find it working. although z still thinks home is mid stroke in machine coordinates.
ive had nothing but problems with this machine from the beginning. from the moment i ordered the machine. my experience so far with router parts is, if you live outside the US your on your own. sure you get a reply quick, but they are all geared towards people based in the states using imperial measurements. i thought paying that premium would help me get it running sooner. but no, its only made things far more difficult.
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if it works sometimes and then doesn't and then does it's highly likely it's wiring/electronics issues, but as a start please post your xml file.
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today, the same problems. after turning the machine on i attempted to jog the machine in to position. half way to where i wanted it, one motor on the x axis stops. i had to unlock the motors, push it back to home and try reset it.
after switching in off and on it worked fine... for an hour it cut fine, then just before the end of finishing the job the same motor stops. so the machine tries to tear itself in half. emergency button punched.
hopefully the contents of the XML file will show whats wrong.
other obvious problems that i cant seem to fix:
soft limits dont work, it always thinks it beyond the limits or the limits are far smaller than the values ive entered.
x axis is reversed when cutting from the display on mach3.
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Everything you describe re: intermittent working/not working still (IMO) points at electrical problems. There is nothing in Mach that would cause a motor to just stop for no reason. When your motor just stopped did the DRO still show movement? I'd be very surprised if it didn't.
However, there are some inconsistencies in your xml which may explain some of the things you've described specifically re: homing.
You have A slaved to X with "home slave with master axis" un-checked. This means you're configured for "gantry squaring". However you don't have any home/limits configured for the A axis. I don't use homing gantry squaring but I think I'm right in saying this is not going to end well. When X hits the home switch, A will just keep on going and try to twist your machine apart. Maybe someone will confirm/correct that.
My best advice is double and triple check all your wiring and then sit down and read the manuals and watch the videos so that you can understand things like this in your config. if you haven't seen them yet they're here http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning. By all means come back if there's anything you don't understand but give them a shot first - it'll really help you to understand how things are supposed to work.
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You have A slaved to X with "home slave with master axis" un-checked. This means you're configured for "gantry squaring". However you don't have any home/limits configured for the A axis. I don't use homing gantry squaring but I think I'm right in saying this is not going to end well. When X hits the home switch, A will just keep on going and try to twist your machine apart. Maybe someone will confirm/correct that.
Yes, that is correct....................... or it should be at least. But, not all motion devices handle homing exactly the same. I would check the motion devices docs. and/or other resources to see how they say it should work.
My best advice is double and triple check all your wiring and then sit down and read the manuals and watch the videos so that you can understand things like this in your config. if you haven't seen them yet they're here http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning. By all means come back if there's anything you don't understand but give them a shot first - it'll really help you to understand how things are supposed to work.
Rock Solid advise as well. Anything less is just painful.
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the xml file came from cnc router parts. its supposed to be set up for this exact machine.
but it was obvious as soon as i tried to get the thing moving that it wasnt.
it also came with a complete lack of information concerning it.
that sounds about right. the slaved A limit switch behaves randomly. some times when homing, it lights up permanently but doesnt produce a warning in mach3. but A doesnt hit the bump stop either. but when i start up the machine after shut down the limit switch prevents me from moving the x axis. but when ever i tried to modify anything with A axis it wouldnt move.
i cant say if there was still movement on the DRO while running because i hit the emergency stop button as soon as i heard gears grinding. it did show movement when i reset and tried to jog it back out of the twisted y axis though.
ive checked all the wiring and plugs several times. ive gone over the diagrams, double triple checked them.
maybe my manuals were lost in the mail... which wouldnt surprise me, all i have access to was basic information on their website about construction, wiring, motors, etc. i have no fault diagnosis information on anything i have bought through cnc router parts and am reliant on google searches to get me through.
thanks for your help. ill give that 'home slave with master' button a check and reset the limits on A and keep on reading.
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thanks for your help. ill give that 'home slave with master' button a check and reset the limits on A and keep on reading.
No.
This is why it's important to try to get an understanding of how things work before randomly changing things and hoping.
EITHER - tick home slave with master OR enable your HOME switch on A. The switch on A is intended as a HOME switch NOT a limit switch as you refer to it - the distinction is important.
TBH I just looked at the xml file straight from cncrouterparts and it looks fine to me. I'd start with a new copy and change nothing and see what happens. OK it's in imperial and you want metric but that can easily be changed later.