Messages

1

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!

« on: October 09, 2008, 05:03:16 AM »

George checking in....Machine Shop owner, we're an oem for automation "stuff"...I'm on my #4 machine, #2 was a PLC driven dedicated machine, so it's not true CNC as we think of it & the most important thing is that I was able to get into CNC machining w/o a large initial investment for a name machine...and that (and Vetric) nurtures the woodmonger in me so, a large, overdue & heartfelt THANK YOU to Art & Brian for first conceiving and then carrying thru to operating status their wonderful Mach software...and the exact same and more of it goes to Brett, Hood, Benny & all the others whos' brains I picked mercilessly to get to me up & running....George P

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: milling text

« on: July 19, 2008, 11:43:06 PM »

"Desk Engrave" @ Sherline....ok'y dok.....I'll give it a try out in the AM...thanks for the info...G

3

General Mach Discussion / milling text

« on: July 19, 2008, 11:12:02 AM »

   To cut to the chase: what's the fastest, cheapest, quickest way to get to where I can mill text letters...NOTHING FANCY required!
  I know I've already done what I want to with a trial Mach (I think I did it with a wizard...maybe 2.6?) & it worked great for what I want to do.
  Now I've since bought a license for 3.0 and find a write wizard that seems to only do one single line of text....to slow
  Then I buy (maybe even re bought) a license from newfangled, expecting a text wizard &...no dice, even though I know I saw it promised somewhere.
  Can anybody offer some info on this?.....thanks, in advance, GPDC

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: G Code for Lighthouse

« on: May 13, 2008, 02:18:28 PM »

Brett....dunno if that's just what I'm looking for or not....is that 3d?....and (the BIG question) where can I get the .tap for it?
                   As always...thanks, George P.

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General Mach Discussion / G Code for Lighthouse

« on: May 13, 2008, 08:10:07 AM »

  Anybody have any ideas as to where I might get the G code for a lighthouse?.....maybe this should be in the Gcode sction, but I wanted maximum exposure to the knowledgeable wise ones!...thnaks, GPDC

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit switch engages when I start my router?

« on: April 15, 2008, 11:03:50 AM »

I had the same problem, and I have shielded cables etc etc etc. here was the solution:
1-I have my limit switches switching 24Vdc, relays, but you can use 12Vdc or whatever the voltage you have available , just don't forget to put a diode reversed biased in parallel with the relay coil (the positive of the power supply goes to the stripe of the diode).
When wiring the relay coil put a Normally Closed push button in series with the positive wire, to be your  over travel Bypass button , so you can push it while you jog your axis out of the over travel condition.
2-Use the Normally Open Contact of this relay to send back to your input the OV from the pin 18 to 25 of the parallel port
3-Use the Normally Open contact of your limit switches to drive the relay.
4- Set your pins to activate on Low.
5- Enjoy your machine and be happy!
I did this and I have been sleeping better ever since!
good luck!
Richard

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General Mach Discussion / MaxCNC (or was it CNCMax?)

« on: April 03, 2008, 10:56:14 PM »

   This is for either poppabear or his buddy hillbilly to comment on, if either of you guys would care to enlighten me a bit on this subject....here goes....late Sunday afternoon @ the Mach Convention, hillbilly had set up a 'lil blue cnc machine & it was chugging right along cutting a 3D Torus on a block of machinable wax...remember?....poppabear did the program & hillbilly did the mechanical setup & ran the job....what I'm real curious about was the exact setup/configuration/etc. it took to get Mach to run that particular machine, seeing as how I now know that it comes from the maker with another software loaded (or is it Mach, maybe under Artsoft license...with another name?.....I'm told it's near identical to Mach)....next question is how does Mach receive the position signal from that machines' resolvers and what can it do with it?....if my memory serves, did we not learn that weekend that Mach will shut down a servo driven machines' movement if a max position error is met or exceeded, but cannot "reposition" an axis?....bottom line is that I'm about to be asked to do some R&R mechanical work to an identical mill & the customer wants it to run under Mach, so he can have commonality of this great software with another of his machines.
 Thanks, George P

8

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 CNC Convention (Feb 23-24 Knoxville)

« on: February 25, 2008, 05:25:57 PM »

Scott,
    You did an EXTREMELY GOOD job @ hosting/MC'ing/controlling this whole thing and I thank you for that....you get large attaboys from this kid for all that you made possible...from reading your post above, you've already got 99% of the improvements that I could think of covered (read: MORE HANDS ON! stuff)....see ya next year....let me be the first to volunteer a machine for whatever you want to do with it for next year (maybe some practical apps for modbus?) ....GPDC

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Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Machine #2

« on: February 23, 2008, 11:25:20 PM »

Sam,Tweatie & Overloaded...yup, central NY, (Phoenix)...although I'm in K'ville as I type, along with guys from Tawain, Sweden, England, Oregon & some far off place I never heard of they call Tennessee,but watch out for the accent...the motor is a 90vdc unit from a Camco table, sitting on a strong shelf....yup again on the coil winder...good eyes....the product of that little toy goes into the hand cranked alternator on the opposite side bench....machine #1 pics posted in my pic album and this areas' front page on May 02 (or 07) '07....I've cut only (2) things with this new machine so far...a bunch of Road Runners in MDF & the Cut3D maple (oak?) leaf bowl in a chunk of walnut...came out real pretty & Tony's here this weekend.....George P

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Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Machine #2

« on: February 21, 2008, 10:55:46 PM »

oops...I put a couple more pictures along with this one, but they must'a got lost