Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: After all these years...(2009)

« on: July 12, 2014, 02:00:17 PM »

Whoop! Machine's not for sale any more....got it running again! I located the books of reference data that I compiled when this machine was converted and they helped immensely - my memory has gotten really bad for details like these...

Tweakie, I'm not going to tell you what I found - it's embarrassing.... But the parallel ports were alright all along - even the addresses were correct! (on both ports!) 

Now back to some meaningful fun stuff!

Thanks Tweakie! It's that cape! 

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General Mach Discussion / Re: After all these years...(2009)

« on: July 12, 2014, 11:32:26 AM »

Got Mach3 working with the correct xml file, so now I have no parallel port! First the hard drive locks up for no apparent reason (old age maybe) now it appears that the parallel port on the mother board no longer functions. Mach3 is indicating moves on the DRO but nothing is happening. This would be OK if I had had some forewarning that something was failing... Must start from scratch! Anybody want to buy a perfectly good NC mill with no operating system? Am I the only one reading this?

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General Mach Discussion / Re: After all these years...(2009)

« on: July 11, 2014, 07:45:00 PM »

Mach3 is installed, license shows as is should but the xml file does absolutely nothing. Checking 'ports and pins' appears to be all zeros or totally blank. The XML seems to have data when pulled but doesn't have any effect when placed into the Mach3 file. What the hey have I missed here?

I'm not sure why the double dot but I've tried it both ways and Mach 3 does not read these XML settings... I'm afraid...

Thanks much.

Do we need to remove the existing .xml files?



  

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to correctly ground very noisy spinddle

« on: July 08, 2014, 08:42:27 PM »

But then look at what is being done with this supply (or supplies in this instance).... whether they are a group in series or better yet one switching power supply of ample power, the ultimate use is as if it is a linear supply of varying load. If we were charging a battery - OK; or a fixed load - OK. But he's attempting to run an electric motor with a group in series of switching supplies. They still will need to be filtered as if it was a linear supply and even very much more so in this instance. These type supplies are designed for specific loads and specific variables in load but keeping the load demand in mind as has apparently been accounted for, all we need to do for Adrian is help him quiet down the effects of running a DC motor on his group of switching power supplies..

I will respectfully bow out of this....

Sorry Adrian, just attempting to help you out. My experience with power supplies of all types goes all the way back to the thyratron tubes that Monarch used in their EEE lathes, which I serviced and maintained for years. Computer supplies are a shortcut in technology to satisfy a narrow line of demand and price. 'Simple' linear supplies are not so lost in the mist of current thinking - might be some lack of experience or respect.

Thanks,
 Bill C.

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: re: Mach Lic

« on: July 08, 2014, 04:37:21 PM »

Dennis,

From this site: Replacement License Policy

"Replacement licenses for direct purchases are available upon request, provided that we are provided with the valid name and/or email address used to make the purchase. Replacements for licenses that were not purchased directly from us, but were instead purchased through an OEM or Distributor must be made to that respective party."

So contact 'licensing' on contact page and fill in the blanks - if you bought the license from Artsoft.

I'm having to do the same thing - HDD crashed and locked up...no recovery! Made me mad as 

 

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to correctly ground very noisy spinddle

« on: July 08, 2014, 04:24:57 PM »

Since the supply(s) are already rectified within each series supply, you're not dealing with the spikes that occur from the bridge mains rectifiers -  so a 200VDC electrolytic filter capacitor will be just fine at the 90 DC volts - you're not dealing with mains RMS voltages. Again - 1000uF or larger at 200VDC. (You didn't mention the capacitance of the electrolytic capacitor that you tried....) The only way a large electrolytic will heat is if it were inadvertently wired in series or backwards - that could cause it to explode as well. Watch the polarity. The large electrolytic capacitor is the only one that will need a bleeder resistor. All it does is discharge the capacitor when the power is shut down since a large capacitor will store its charge and will completely discharge into you if you happen to touch the hot lead. Many joules of energy is released instantaneously! A large capacitor charged to the voltages that you are dealing is lethal!

The filter capacitor is wired across the output - positive lead to ground lead - and if you use an inductor (choke) it is wired in series with the hot lead so must be sized to carry the motor current. A choke blocks AC on a line carrying DC (or very noisy DC supply line carrying back emf from the DC motor). A capacitor used as a filter attenuates AC signals on a DC line or charges to the DC voltage and releases current during dips and absorbs current during spikes - so smooths the DC... The small capacitor at the motor brushes to ground will help to eliminate brush noise on the supply line and help to quash spikes due to back EMF from the motor. You don't need any 600 volt capacitor - just size them above the voltages that you're dealing with. If you have eliminated the spikes then you need not deal with their voltages. You could scramble wind about three feet of #10 insulated copper wire on a broomstick form and it would be ample to attenuate the back emf or brush noise from your motor and carry the 90 volts at 200 watts that you are dealing with. Also try a .47uF (200v ceramic disc or metal film) to ground on the motor brushes.

Good luck and again - be careful. Line voltage is a killer.

7

General Mach Discussion / Re: After all these years...(2009)

« on: July 07, 2014, 05:35:18 AM »

Thanks Tweakie. The SSD is another dilemma which may not be worth the upgrade, at least at this point in time. The new hard drives are now serial data and in my older machine they were parallel. I ordered a PCI card to convert to serial data but at this point my main concern is to get the Mach3 system back in motion with the conversions that were performed to the machine to do so - ie: additional USB's and an additional parallel port for a pendent.

This is also a totally new installation of XP on a new hard drive. I had purchased a new installation of XP a couple of years ago...happy about that now! Waiting for delivery of a new (old stock) 40GB HD.... Small new (<120GB) hard drives are tough to find! HHD's now are all massive...even the SSD's.

Thanks again,

Bill C.

8

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to correctly ground very noisy spinddle

« on: July 06, 2014, 08:26:04 AM »

http://www.batteryspace.com/dc-motor-controller-electronic-speed-controller-kit-for-90v-dc-motor.aspx

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General Mach Discussion / Re: How to correctly ground very noisy spinddle

« on: July 06, 2014, 07:44:00 AM »

Adrian,

You still need to treat these series supplies as a single unit, that is; you need to filter the DC output. Supplies in series is not a good method unless they are all exactly the same voltage and current rating. What would probably work to quiet this supply down is a motor run capacitor or even a motor start capacitor - of ample voltage of course. Or better yet an electrolytic of ample voltage and capacitance - (like 1000 uF or above) Stay above 100 V and I believe standard motor capacitors start at 180 V (for a 120v motor). Grainger usually has these on the shelf....but these don't go very high in capacitance working with AC motors...

Also be sure to put a bleeder resistor (~47K Ω - 5 watt) across the capacitor for safety's sake - you're working with lethal voltages there. And - filter at the output of the supply, not at the motor. If anything at the motor a high voltage ceramic capacitor (about .1 uF) across the leads will help too. That will help quash some of the bask EMF that your seeing.

Careful with those voltages!

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General Mach Discussion / Re: After all these years...(2009)

« on: July 04, 2014, 01:32:43 PM »

I have found and read that the license is good with the latest version.... but discouraged if current version works OK ( correct: R3.042.020) And making an assumption: the XML file will work as well..... but no need....

Everybody must be in July 4th celebration mode! (where I should be but my CNC mill has become a very necessary tool...and hard to do without!)