Messages

1

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Integrating Clearpath SD Motors With Mach4

« on: February 10, 2020, 09:35:53 PM »

Did you run the Clearpath auto tune once your mechanics were setup, to get the servo tuned to YOUR setup? It works pretty slick as long as you have some room in your mechanics for them to move a bit to auto tune and determine how to act with YOUR mechanics. You shouldn't need any functions in Mach to determine when they are in position, that's what they do, move to a position, move to another position, move again, ad nauseam. I know nothing about a tube bender, but I'd guess it just moves at a speed to a position, done, but even if more complicated, surely not as complicated as 3D milling 100 blocks of gcode per second, and MY ClearPath's do that all day. You might also want to look at your Mach4 speed and acceleration.

And.....IF these are ClearPath SDSK fractional HP, they're DC, not that it matters.

2

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: What did I do wrong?

« on: February 04, 2020, 12:44:35 PM »

Hmmmm......Every time I install a new version of Mach4 I rename the old Mach4Hobby directory to something memorable and install from scratch and copy my old stuff in just like you did. I've NEVER had to reconfigure. So I don't know what to tell you!!

3

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: CP motor, PMDX126, ESS...Limit Switch ++ tripped when touchplate gets grounded

« on: January 13, 2020, 08:53:49 AM »

.... how do you handle the "enable"? ....

I don't really "remember" how I handle "enable"!! One thing I do remember, I consider the machine NOT REFERENCED once I hit eStop....period, and my Z does NOT drop.

I have two sets of contacts on my eStop. One signals Mach4, one shuts off ALL power to the drives. So when I eStop, I assume I need to re-home.

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Mach4 General Discussion / Re: CP motor, PMDX126, ESS...Limit Switch ++ tripped when touchplate gets grounded

« on: January 12, 2020, 11:54:06 AM »

I didn't mention, but maybe should have. You have to setup Inputs in Mach4, you have to setup Port x and Pin x for your inputs, and the code goes in the screen start script from the screen editor. And, of course, you have to actually WIRE them to the input terminals of whatever you choose to use for said inputs, C10, PMDX-108Input, or whatever.

5

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: CP motor, PMDX126, ESS...Limit Switch ++ tripped when touchplate gets grounded

« on: January 12, 2020, 08:37:33 AM »

Craig is right, as is usual:)

Here's my code for my 4 Clearpath SDSK motor HLFB error signals. As you can see, I use a PMDX-108 for the extra input, a more expensive alternative to the C10!! I don't think you want the servor error inputs on Limit inputs! Once you get them going on "normal" inputs, you can tell which one is giving you the error and trouble shoot from there. All that said, you'll have to work at faulting these motors, they're very nice motors and their tuning software should have "figured out" your mechanics. You'll maybe need to get acceleration figured out in Mach4 so suit. I could "push" these harder than my old servos so I got cocky and found the high limit, so had to back off a bit!! The HLFB inputs will help you adjust accel, just write a gcode snippet to G0 back and forth in an axis a bunch of times, start working on accel to test!! Good luck:)

My code, commented so I remember this years later!

--PMDX-108 Port 2 Pin 6 Mach4 Input 10
--HLFB_X ERROR
[mc.ISIG_INPUT10]= function(state)
    if (state==1) then
          mc.mcCntlCycleStop(inst)
          mc.mcCntlSetLastError(inst, "HLFB_X Servo Error")
    end
end,

--PMDX-108 Port 2 Pin 7 Mach4 Input 11
--HLFB_Y ERROR
[mc.ISIG_INPUT11]= function(state)
    if (state==1) then
          mc.mcCntlCycleStop(inst)
          mc.mcCntlSetLastError(inst, "HLFB_Y Servo Error")
    end
end,

--PMDX-108 Port 2 Pin 8 Mach4 Input 12
--HLFB_A ERROR
[mc.ISIG_INPUT12]= function(state)
    if (state==1) then
          mc.mcCntlCycleStop(inst)
          mc.mcCntlSetLastError(inst, "HLFB_A Servo Error")
    end
end,

--PMDX-108 Port 2 Pin 9 Mach4 Input 13
--HLFB_Z ERROR
[mc.ISIG_INPUT13]= function(state)
    if (state==1) then
          mc.mcCntlCycleStop(inst)
          mc.mcCntlSetLastError(inst, "HLFB_Z Servo Error")
    end
end,

6

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Tool Change macro M56 and T0101 etc. problem

« on: January 10, 2020, 06:03:01 PM »

I really don't know how lathe works, but in mill there is an M6 macro that is actually the M6. Did you write that M56 or did you get it from somewhere? Perhaps your tool change is somehow setup to require this M56, or IS this M56. Greater minds than mine will have to chime in here.

7

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Tool Change macro M56 and T0101 etc. problem

« on: January 10, 2020, 09:56:00 AM »

OK, Mach4. Lathe? Probably because you're using T0101. So what IS M56, a custom macro of some kind?

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Mach4 General Discussion / Re: cannot get warp9 ess to connect to any pc

« on: January 08, 2020, 08:18:37 AM »

You have, of course, run their Configurator, yes? And then gone to the Warp9 site and followed the explicit setup there and following that, contacted Andy at Warp9 forums, the purveyor of the best support in the business? IF NOT, give that a go.

Tom

9

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Zeroing and extents

« on: December 24, 2019, 11:28:21 AM »

I'm likely not understanding. Extents, in my mind, are the extents of the machine travel. Your X,Y,Z zeros on the stock corner can be anywhere you set it. And once set, hopefully your gcode travels stay inside the extents! With the stock Mach4 screen colors, your extents show on the display in grey dashed lines, I guess, really, IF you have it turned on to display, your gcode travels show in colors for feed and rapid moves. If you close the gcode, load another, the new one shows in colors. If no gcode is loaded, you can still see the extents, defined in Homing and Limits, on the screen, showing the spindle location, and it will always be the same, no gcode, gcode, doesn't matter to the extents.

If you have limit switches, they will stop you from going outside the extents, if no limit switches, soft limits can stop this. You should have both, but for sure, soft limits set to the "extents" of you machines travel. Physical limit switches are a last resort, personally in 10 years with my mill, I've never hit one. I have hand cranked up to the soft limit, however:) I have soft limits set .020" off the hard, physical, last-resort, limit switches.

But I digress.................

10

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Zeroing and extents

« on: December 24, 2019, 09:02:16 AM »

You didn't mention if you have home switches. If you DON'T have home switches, I don't know how extents are determined, someone else will have to chime in. If you DO have home switches, I think extents are defined in Config/Control/Homing and soft limits or some such wording. At least that's how I THINK it works. I don't know that extents are determined by the gcode, but as I say, I have no experience with a machine without limit switches.

My settings attached for ref., and mine might seem weird to some, so no pithy remarks on that:)

Of course, I could be completely wrong:)

Tom