Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: MDI Screen - Pressing X on Keyboard Jumps to DRO when typing on Input Line

« on: December 21, 2011, 12:33:08 PM »

Okay, case closed. My thanks to Ger21 from cnczone.com for mentioning the .set files.

To resolve the issue, I copied the 1024.set file from the old comp to the new comp. Now the input line seems to function correctly.

When I installed Mach3 on the new comp, I downloaded a copy from the Artsoft site. I wonder if something is different in the site download compared to the copy I originally used?

2

General Mach Discussion / MDI Screen - Pressing X on Keyboard Jumps to DRO when typing on Input Line

« on: December 21, 2011, 12:00:01 PM »

I replaced an older controller computer with a new computer that has better hardware, faster processor, more HD space, etc. I installed a new copy of Mach3, and copied my profiles (.xml files) from the old computer to the new computer. All of my settings copied over just fine. I thought everything went off without a hitch, but then I tried to input a command into the MDI screen.

I can type on the input line, and characters DO appear, but when I press the "X", "Y", or "Z" key on my keyboard, it leaves the input line and jumps to the corresponding DRO. This must be some type of hotkey setting, but I can not find a way to turn it off.

So in other words, I click on the "input" line, I'll intend to type the following "G00 X-6.000" so when I start typing "G00 " and when I hit the "X" it jumps off the input line to the X DRO.

Can someone tell me how to fix?

Thanks in advance!

3

Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: video probe, tool or toy?

« on: August 24, 2009, 03:22:43 PM »

I am interested in this process and have gone as far as ordering a line laser and webcam that I belive will be suitable.... hopefully anyway :-)

From reading other posts on the subject, the laser scanning process to create point clouds seems to do reasonably well. It is not tremendously difficult to go from point cloud to and STL file, which can be loaded in to quite a few CAD/CAM applications and machine code genereated from this.

I have used a lot pre-designed 3d models in STL format to machine 3d objects. I have also taken a few point clouds (from touch probing a 3D surface) and turned them into STL objects. So the remaining piece of the puzzle for me is to see how well this laser scanning process can create an accurate point cloud. For my purposes, if I can get +/- .005" (five thousandths of an inch) I will be overjoyed, but even if it's only within +/- .050" I will be extremely happy with this essentially free plugin, and even in contributing to the project in any way I can. From what I understand this goal is very attainable.

I don't know much how well this whole process will work in my case, but for a true production environment, I think that maybe an estabilshed commercial product would be more reliable, but at a very large cost. If this plugin works, then those semi-professionals like myself with limited budgets can have a foothold into 3D scanning which otherwise may not be possible.

For any who may be interested, my use for this 3D scanning process is in recreating asthetic components such as firearm stocks that will tolerate quite a bit of variation in specs because final finishing would be by hand anyway. The 3D Scan will hopefully allow me to quickly rough out a stock which would be finished by hand.