Hello Guest it is March 28, 2024, 02:28:42 PM

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - JT1991

Pages: 1
1
General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit switches ignored after re-install
« on: November 01, 2015, 11:35:47 PM »
Thanks everyone for your help, but I am pleased to say I have found and fixed the problem.  I have donned my dunce hat to write this.

I attached the spare PC, re-configured and got the same problem. 

I REM's out the first line of the RAH button script and found the Y axis (next in the sequence) worked as advertised. 

One coffee later the shoe dropped.  I had the pin assignments for Z and X reversed.  The sequence of these in the Ports & Pins screen meant that the middle one (Y) was correctly assigned and worked.  My carefully constructed spreadsheet had a dyslectic error, now corrected.

Thanks again everyone.

2
General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit switches ignored after re-install
« on: October 31, 2015, 11:07:47 PM »
Overloaded,

Thanks (again) for your help.

What you describe is exactly how the machine worked before the re-install.

As part of the last re-install, I did as you suggested - a bare install  sufficient to get the axes drives working and then one config setting at a time, leaving the X-Box and zero script to last.  For limit switches, I worked on the Z axis (because that's where Ref All Home goes first) testing all possible settings - to no avail.  I removed the Z axis from the RAH script, but same result with X and in turn, Y. 

It seems either DoButton(24,23,22 and 25) have somehow gone blind to their limit switches, or one of my settings is somehow blinding them. Can't find what though

This in spite of the settings being exactly as they were before I re-installed the crashing Mach3 (when loading some, but not all text files) I took particular care as it took me a while and some study of the manual and this site to get those settings correct.



That is, the machine would move to Z switch, and on trip back off slightly and then zero the Z axis machine coordinates. It would then repeat for the X axis, and instead of Zero would set X Machine coordinates to 395 (The value set in Homing/Limits). It would then to the Y axis as for Z.

What happens now is it starts the same routine.  But it never gets past Z.  Z moves up as it should, but then blows straight past the limit switch to a hard stop. This in spite of the limit switch showing activated in Diagnostics.  In other words, Ref Home (Standard Script) does not seem to be getting a limit switch signal, or is ignoring it.


Further experimenting shows the limit switches are acting as an emergency stop if triggered (by hand) during movement. Also, the tool sero script is working, after I reduced the lift up from the touch plate so Z did not go near its limit switch.


In every other respect MACH3 is working as it should.  Dry running simple files works fine.  The X-Box works fine.  My substitute script to do a G28 on button "Display Mode" works fine. 

Everything works as it did and as it should - except "Ref All Home" ignores tripped limit switches. 


My poor head is spinning from all this, so I will take a short break before I connect the other PC (complete with its working MACH3 installation), configure that and see what happens.

Thanks again for your help.

Have any of you that looked at the xml file found anything incorrect or unusual?

3
General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit switches ignored after re-install
« on: October 31, 2015, 07:21:51 PM »
No, not really necessary.  This is just how the initial limit switch settings were and that worked. And, the standard "Ref All Home" button does zero the Z axis, and does this first. I guess it is sort of convenient in that the "Ref All Home" button returns all axes to their machine zero positions.   If nothing else I guess this makes sure  careless bods like me can't forget to make sure Z is clear before the machine takes off to zero the other axes.


In practice of course, the Z axis is always set according to the tool fitted and the workpiece.  But at the moment even that script is not working properly.  I will disable the Z axis home and try that.  It may make the zero script work.

But I want to retain Z and all other axes switches as emergency stops.  But even that function seems not to be working at the moment

In desperation I am about to swap the current PC for another that has been driving my (now retired) 3040 machine with the current 4DizzieLizzie xml file.  I will post how that goes later.

4
General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit switches ignored after re-install
« on: October 31, 2015, 06:03:13 PM »
Good thought, but Yep.  Reloaded everything from scratch.

In the meantime I did find a way to zero the machine coordinates.  A bit clumsy, but at least I can use the machine.  I jogged the axes to the limit switches (Diagnostic lights ON) then backed each off in small steps until the lights went off.  Then disabled the switches in config. Finally I rah "Ref All Home", and that zero'd the machine coordinates. Then re-enabled the switches

I now have at least the protection of soft limits, but the limits still do not act as emergency stops, nor does the "Ref All Home" function work.

There is a wrong setting somewhere in config I am convinced.  Probably in the X++, X-- X Home etc settings or The Home/Soft Limit settings, but I can't see it. I did carefully record the original working settings, but either made a mistake then or after the re-install,  I have tried various combinations of these settings, but nothing I tries has yet worked.

It seems that my conclusion that Microsoft programs are the finikiest things on the planet may be wrong.  I have found another contender - Though I do not rule out the ghostly hand of said Microsoft in here somewhere.

5
General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit switches ignored after re-install
« on: October 31, 2015, 01:37:05 AM »
Yes, the limits (And probe) activate in the UC100 screen - and on the MACH3 diagnostics screen.  Just as they did before the reboot.

The issue is the DoButton(24) script command ignores the activated switches and screws ever onwards to impact at the physical end of travel (unless one emergency stops this process).

As a test I  removed the DoButton commands for the scripts, leaving the DoOEMButton lines, which I understand should zero the machine coordinates.  Nothing, Nada, Zilch effect. Put the machine by hand anywhere, activate the script and no change to the DROs.

My tool zero script detects the tool location, but then retreats and will not stop at its prescribe retract level or at the limit switch. AND although it detects the touch plate, it does not zero either Z DRO

Could it be that something is causing the program not to recognise or act on "Do" script commands?  If so what setting must change to reactivate them?

This is of course very frustrating, as the machine was working perfectly before I reinstalled Mach3 in an attempt to fix a different problem - fatal program crash on loading some text files. And, nothing was changed on the PC or the machine between the uninstall and the reinstall.

Since my last post I have reinstalled twice more.  I even downloaded a fresh copy of Mach3.  I even went through the registry bu hand and removed all traces of Mach3 before doing yet another reinstall.  I even system restored the PC to an earlier time and did yet another reinstall .I can do the config process in record time now, but to no avail.  Whatever mistake I am making, I keep making it.  I have even done the config to get the machine moving
and then changed one setting at a time to try and find a fix.  Nothing.


As a last resort I will write a script based on my too zeroing script in place of the standard one, but i doubt that can succeed because the part of that script that zeros the Z DRO does not appear to be working

Any other ideas anyone please?  At the moment I have a boat anchor for a dinghy, because I can't even figure out a way to set to zero  the machine coordinates at the stops by some handrauilc means.

6
General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit switches ignored after re-install
« on: October 29, 2015, 07:00:39 PM »
Thanks for the quick response.  I should have thought of posting the xml file.  It is attached to this post.

FYI the machine is a 6040 router, with Gecko 540 stepper driver unit.  The 6040 has limit switches on X,Y & Z, with the X axis switch at the "Max X" end of the gantry.

The PC is Win7 32 bit with an AMD 1.8GHz processor.  The connection to the Gecko is a UC-100 USP/DN25 converter.


Note all worked just fine until I reinstalled Mach3

Frustrating little sucker, this.

7
General Mach Discussion / Limit switches ignored after re-install
« on: October 29, 2015, 01:37:43 AM »
Mach3 was crashing when loading some G Code files.  Failed with the white screen of death and when restarted all machine and work coordinated has changed. Them fix was to cut and paste the required text into a loaded known working file, but I tired of that.

I carefully entered all settings into a spread sheet.  I then removed all traces of Mach3, and reloaded the program from scratch.  I entered all settings and add-ons (X-Box and my script for tool zeroing) and everything worked fin again. Once I remembered to turn on the charge pump output that is.

All limit switches operate and light up as they should on the diagnostic screen.  I have three switches, one each for X, Y and Z.  They are set to act as home and limits.  The X axis switch is at the numerically high end of the axis and the "Zero" setting value and the  direction to home are set accordingly.  All this worked just fine before the reinstall.  Also the tool zero script works fine as it did before.

Now however, on Ref All Home the Z axis tries to home and zero first, heads in the correct direction (Up) but ignores the switch and crashes.  Initiating the process with the Z axis down and operating the limit switch by hand while watching the diagnostic screen has the limit lighting up correctly, but the spindle continues to climb regardless until I hit RESET.

Search as I might, I have not found this problem  on this forum.  If it is here it's playing hide and seek from me very well.

The problem must lie in a setting somewhere.  But checking carefully and experimenting careful with all the possibly relevant settings I can see, I cannot get the function to work as it was before the reinstall. And, I cannot see anything different in the setting now from those I carefully recorded in the spread sheet and by screenshot.  It is probably something simple and is staring me in the face, but in two days I have not found it.  I cannot even set the machine coordinates from their current (odd and wrong) values.

Can anyone suggest a fix please?

Pages: 1