Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / ENCODER QUESTIONS

« on: June 01, 2011, 02:25:20 PM »

I have a question about encoders. I was thinking about adding linear encoders to my machine but after checking around i think that they are out of my budget range.
I am not sure about adding encoders to my motors, that would tell mach or me if the motors have missed a step but haow does Mach interact with that info? iIn short what is the advanttage of using encoders with Mach,
Does it force the motor to go to the designated coordinate? does it intergrate with backlash comp? or does it simply identify an error.
I read through the Mach manual and did not come away with a clear picture (in my fuzzy brain Thanks, Cork

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: G31 does nothing???????

« on: May 31, 2011, 10:33:23 AM »

Thanks Ray, I went to the link and that is just what I need and the price is resonable!!!
and thank you TP. Your replys and help are very much appreciated

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: G31 does nothing???????

« on: May 30, 2011, 11:25:12 PM »

yes, you are rite on, its the dummy pushing buttons not the program. I need to find a wizzard or pluggin that is a no brainer or get my learning cap on. I would really prefer fast and easy though.
I was using g31 x.5 f5. and g90 g31 x.5 f5. ect ect.... then I did some reading and found there is alot more to it than that.
If you have a sample of just a straight probe X line  then maybe i could go from there for Y and Z

4

General Mach Discussion / G31 does nothing???????

« on: May 30, 2011, 04:25:18 PM »

I have a spindle probe and I would like to use it but so far I am just waisting time......I tried the digitizing wizzard and that works o.k but I want to probe x,y, and z for zero. I have tried the g31 command many different ways and i get no axis movement. I was using mach3r43-038 development version because i have a smooth stepper and they recomend it. in that version I was getting an error code "move command not recognized". I switched over to the lockdown version and now i get no movement and no error code. everything else seems to work good and my probe does go active on a touch, I quadruple checked that. any help is greatly appreciated.

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle probe and edge finding

« on: May 30, 2011, 11:00:49 AM »

Thanks for the reply's  screen buttons in the work offset screen would seem logical  but i would be happy with something i could call up in MDI screen, that would be good enough for me. I am not a VB guy but have muddled through some simple stuff in the past so i was hoping for a ready to go download.

6

General Mach Discussion / Spindle probe and edge finding

« on: May 29, 2011, 04:58:34 PM »

Hi once again Gentlemen, and thank you for you valuable help in the past. I have just set up a spindle probe and have played around with the digitizing wizzard. the thing seems to work fine. I would like to get set up so that I can use it for X,Y,Z, edge finding. I was assuming that this function was built into Mach but have had no luck finding it.
Of course I am after the cleanest and easyest way possible, If you could please steer me in the rite direction it would be much appreciated.

7

SmoothStepper USB / Re: spindle gone wild part 2

« on: May 10, 2011, 11:15:48 PM »

You were spot on Gentlemen, THANK YOU!!!!!

8

SmoothStepper USB / spindle gone wild part 2

« on: May 09, 2011, 11:30:16 PM »

I have a KL2200 spindle motor on my zx45 mill. I had it running very nicely on a C10 Bob using PWM thru my parallel port. Then I decided to upgrade to Smooth stepper and a C32 BOB. This motor does not run well on 0-10 analog voltage so I have been frustrating with trying to get PWM to work. Arturo at CNC4PC has been very helpful and feels that I should have no problem getting this to work.
The problem has been that when I give a command M03 S500 the spindle runs to full rpm. That is the only command I have issued to it until tonite.
after going over everything again for the umpteenth time and just about ready to quit i typed in the command M03 S1500, the spindle went to 1700 RPM  (It is driven 2 to 1 motor 400 to 6000 spindle 200 to 3000) after I finished scratching my head I typed s2000 and watched the RPM fall to 1100
so I typed in s2500 and the RPM fell to 550??
I am totally confused now, I upgraded to the newest development version of Mach3 and v17bd for the SS plugin have quadruple checked my conections both to the DC motor controller and BoB.
Any help is greatly appreciated and needed. Thanks. Cork.

9

SmoothStepper USB / Re: spindles gone wild!!!!!

« on: May 06, 2011, 11:05:18 AM »

I just went to the cnc4pc and it does state that the c32 BOB only supports TTL signals. I am not the sharpest crayon in the box but I am kind of thinking Thosj is right, that mite be my problem.
I may research comming straight off of the SS port 3 for my spindle control. if that does not seem viable then i will check on the cnc4pc c41. Any suggestions or input is appreciated. Thanks again, Cork

10

SmoothStepper USB / Re: spindles gone wild!!!!!

« on: May 06, 2011, 10:14:51 AM »

Thanks for the reply's Thosj and Jeff. I will check with cnc4pc about what outputs the c32 supports. I have my spindle plugged into one of the 6 axis outputs?
I am at work now but as soon as I get home this evening I will attach the xml file Jeff.
Thanks again for the quick replys. Cork