Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: goto zero

« on: March 30, 2021, 08:18:29 AM »

I found that My connections to the gecko's caused the loss of position. I was using ground as the common and should have set the dir signal to active high. I still have to check the 0.0025 thing on the goto zero but I suspect that that was also the cause. The steps per mm are around 400 and change. Thanks for your interest
Les

2

General Mach Discussion / goto zero

« on: March 30, 2021, 03:40:17 AM »

Hi All,  when I press goto zero my X axis sets to 0.0025. This seems to shift the whole cut in the X direction. I am cutting a mold and the cuts are all in the same direction (left to right) After each cut the X axis is returned to 0 and the y axis increments a tiny amount and the next cut is moved to the right a small amount. This is not a gcode action. If I jog x about 120 mm then goto zero the x axis returns perfectly but the dro shows x at 0.0025? Weird! Any suggestions?

3

General Mach Discussion / zero z axis in plasma

« on: April 25, 2020, 03:12:33 PM »

Hi All, I have just completed the hardware installation of a height checker and need some help with a subroutine to auto reset the z height during the execution of a plasma gcode. My sensor is a small pneumatic cylinder with a reed switch attached which I can adjust to a preset position. i have used the coolant function to deploy the probe which stops below the plasma nozzle so i can move the z axis down until the switch triggers, at this point I want to do aG92 to reset the z axis height and carry on with the job until the next move/cut. I have tried a subroutine which appears to work (does the motions etc) but does not reset the z height. See my sub below.

O1000
M7                   ( deploys the  probe )
G1 z3.000 Fxx  (slowly moves z down until switch triggers. Z going down moves probe up)
G92 Z*********x       (Resets the z height with the known value)
M9                   (stows the probe)
M99                 (return to the main gcode)

Any help will be very welcome!

4

General Mach Discussion / signal inputs

« on: April 14, 2020, 05:10:54 PM »

Hi All, Years since I have been on the forum. I have an RNR motion controller that I'm using on my plasma machine and x,y,and z control is working ok. when running a gcode file the torch on triggers fine but the thc zup and zdown do nothing? I checked on the rnr board connectors and the relevant inputs are triggering ok but giving no z control. How do I assign an action to an input signal? Set thc ports to 3 and signals to 10 11 and 12 in  ports etc config file.

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: mpg

« on: October 11, 2012, 01:42:13 PM »

I finally found the cause.........I had connected the mpg to the controller 5v instgead of the usb 5v. Swapped irt around and it's working sweetly.
Les

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: mpg

« on: October 10, 2012, 04:21:02 PM »

I think you are right so I'll see if I can move the glass scale a bit and see if that helps.
Les

7

General Mach Discussion / Re: mpg

« on: October 10, 2012, 10:49:40 AM »

Hi Hood, Thats what I thought too so I tried a different mpg and got the same result. I'm using and old stepper with an encoder on it and the only detent I have is the normal magnetic one  of the motor. Many thanks
Les

8

General Mach Discussion / mpg

« on: October 09, 2012, 06:41:38 PM »

Hi AllI am using a 1000 line encoder in a home built MPG which works fine except.......when I stop moving the handwheel the axis starts tiny jog movements back and forth ans you can hear the stepper "singing to itself" I have tried 2 other encoders with the same result. Anyone have suggestions to fix?
Many thanks
Moxy

9

General Mach Discussion / Re: accuracy problems

« on: April 29, 2011, 09:03:25 AM »

Hi Hood, thanks for your reply, I found the problem this morning. When I enabled any of the Gecko drives the 5v supply became very noisy and therefore put noise on the step and direction signals to the drive. I added some more capacitance to the 5v supply and the machine is now cutting very accurately.
Best regards
Les

10

General Mach Discussion / accuracy problems

« on: April 28, 2011, 03:28:00 PM »

Hi All, I have just done a retrofit on a Standard Mill (Chinese knockoff of a Bridgeport) and am having problems getting the cals right on the Y axis. I finally got it set by the change and check method to the point that a 100mm move is consistantly within .01mm. When I run some gcode the result is somewhat erratic. Circles are slightly flattened in the y axis. I have tuned the motor down to 1500mm/minute  and it is the same. The x and y axes are capable of moving at 4000mm/min and 2500mm/mi respectively and sound very steady. I found that the bob 5v was very noisy when I enabled the motors and fixed that up by fitting a larger capacitor. This stopped the erratic motor movement that I was having. The noise on the 5v is now about 3 millivolts. The backlash on both axes is 0.02mm Is there anything in setting mach3 up that I may have missed?
Regards
Les