Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: rabphxaz on December 28, 2008, 10:59:32 PM
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Am having 2 error messages I don't understand:
1.) When I try to run a project I get an immediate Limit Switch Triggered message, and even though I have set up the limit switch override, when I Reset the error message keeps coming back. This happens in spite of the fact that I'm nowhere near a limit switch, and I can jog everywhere without it happening;
2.) Interspersed with the Limit Switch Triggered messages noted above, I'm getting Too Fast for Pulley...Using Max. messages. I'm using a 1/8th inch bit @ 20,000 RPM, only cutting .05 into the material, which is soft plywood, and running at 30 inches per minute. How could that be too fast for a pulley, and how would Mach know how much stress is on the pulleys in the first place?
Thanks again, Bob
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Hi, Bob
Q1. Try setting the Debounce value to 2000 in Config, General Configuration page see Pic below.
Q2. The pulley/spindle is just a warning I think, There must be a setting error in spindle pulleys page, haven't worked with it much hear.
Let us now.
Chip
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OK, I'll give it a try....what is debounce, by the way?
Bob
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Re: the possibility of a settings error in the spindle/pulleys page, I haven't done anything there -- the spindle is not connected to the pc. I turn it on and off manually.
Thanks, Bob
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Deboounce is basically the length of time Mach will see a signal before it acts on it. If you have switches that physically bounce or have noise in the wiring of these switches Mach will see it as a switch being triggered, by setting the debounce higher you are telling Mach to wait for a longer period of signal before it acts on it, that way your short burts are not acted upon by Mach and only a true activation of the switch will be seen. Ideally you want the debounce set to zero and to achieve that you need to have properly shielded wires from the switches, avoid routing the wires near others that carry higher voltages and if its physical bounce then you need better quality switches.
Your pulley issue could be that you have the spindle relays enabled and as such Mach thinks its in control of the spindle so looks at the pulley speeds and gives you the error.
Hood
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Well, it seems that the debounce adjustment has worked -- I've run a program and have had no Limit Switch Triggered messages. For the record, though, all of the limit switch wiring is shielded and grounded, and I've covered the break out box with tin foil, so it seems that the system is very sensitive.
I've checked the spindle/pulleys page and changed all the pulley speeds to 20,000. They were all set at 2,000 to 8,000, but I think Mach arrived at those figures itself, as I didn't enter those amounts during set up. Is that going to hurt anything?
Thanks, Bob
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Nope but didnt think Mach would even look unless you had the spindle control enabled in Mach.
Hood
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Well, I don't think I do, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. When I go to CONFIG, SPINDLE PULLEYS, I see one page with metrics for various pulleys, which are the ones I changed to 20,000 previously. However, I see that they have changed back to their original settings (Pulley #1, 0-1000RPM, ratio 1, Pulley #2, 0-2000RPM, ratio 1, Pulley #3, 0-4000RPM, ratio 1, etc.) These appear to be different belt locations on a variable speed spindle run by Mach, which is why they changed back.
When I go to Function CONFIG, Spindle Calibration and Testing, I see a PID or 0.25, 1, 0.3, and I don't know what that means or how they got there. Do these need to be changed?
Bob
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Its on Config, Ports and Pins, Spindle Setup. See if you have taken the tick out of the Disable box for spindle relays.
Hood
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Bingo. Hood, you sure know your stuff. That's about the fifth problem you've solved for me. Thanks again.
Bob
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It sure didn't take me long to get stuck again. Here's the latest issue: I designed a file in VCarve, loaded it into Mach, turned on the machine and ran it. For discussion purposes, let's say the design is a bunch of flowers. Mach sent the router to the first petal and routed it, and routed it, and routed it... About 10 more routings than it needed. Then it stopped. I looked at the Gcode and it is, from that point on, the same line repeated about 400 times. Any idea what could be causing this?
Thanks again, and again, and again...
Bob
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afraid not, never used VCarve, maybe best posting on their forum.
Hood
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OK
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Just out of curiosity, what did the toolpath display look like? Did it look correct?
Hood
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Bob,
It sounds like you have too many layers of a certain entity or chain.
When you're in VCarve, right click and select "select all duplicate Vectors" and maybe that will help you figure out what's going on with your file.
Dave
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Hood, the toolpath looked great. I went to the Vectric's forum and tried to send them the file, but even zipped it was too large.
Dave, the file had no duplicates and no open vectors.
I'm going to scrap the file and start over from the beginning. I'll let you know what happens.
Thanks again, Bob