Messages

1

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 stops at line 19091

« on: April 22, 2017, 10:30:30 PM »

This is not a definitive answer, but more of a speculation.

I wonder if the error you're experiencing is because your machine is looking ahead several lines of code. The error might be caused from a different line of code - something like a command to go outside of soft limits or some other error. That would show up in a line that is a fixed number of lines ahead of line 19091. I can't remember where the interface is in Mach 4 where you set how many lines it will look ahead.

2

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: How to make Mach 4 wait for spindle to come up to speed?

« on: April 22, 2017, 10:14:20 PM »

I use G4 and set a 12 second delay while the spindle ramps up. I did this by inserting a code before the first MOP in my Post Processor. Here's what it looks like.

G20 G90 G64 G40 - sets primary modes
M102 - my macro to start the dust collector
M104 - my macro to start the spindle
G4 P12000 - 12 second wait.
G0 Z1.0 goto clearance.

3

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: CV G64 and Exact Stop G61

« on: February 13, 2017, 11:32:26 AM »

Now, what the CV wizard does is limit the feed rate to whatever you set it to for any given angle. It does not limit the feed rate in straight lines, only in corners (direction changes). So say your machine can take a 90 degree corner and only rounds it by about .010. If the tolerance you have to hold in that corner is .005 the .010 is not acceptable. So how fast your machine can take that 90 degree corner and still hold the .005 tolerance is the question. Unfortunately, your the only one that can answer that question. So, you have to do some testing to find out. When you do your testing I would do so in the worst case scenario (biggest tool, deepest cut in hardest material etc.). All of these considerations are trade offs as well. Maybe you use a 1.000 2 flute end mill to surface your aluminum table but most of your cutting will be with a .250 v cutter in styrofoam. So do you optimize the CV wizard to surface the table, do some v-carving in foam or somewhere in between? Lots of things to think about. This is why predefined (before the build begins) specifications are not optional if you hope to end up with a machine that will meet the end users demands.

What is the relationship of feed rate in the CV wizard to the feed rate set by the gCode file? Is the output feed rate determined by the value entered into the CV wizard or is it limited by the feed rate set by the gCode? Or by whatever value is lesser?

Suppose I had a feed rate of 200 set for every angle >10 degrees, but the gCode is F120.

What would the feed rate of the tool be upon execution in a real world cut of 30 degrees?

Thanks!

53 Sparky

4

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Q word missing error when running G83?

« on: February 12, 2017, 01:24:14 PM »

But it is probably a rather simple edit of the CamBAM post processor to fix the issue.

Yup. Thanks for steering me to the solution.

In CamBAM, you can set G81, G82, G83 to be modal by editing the post processor in the settings menu.

From the primary screen in the GUI, in the file tree on the left side of the window, go to the System/Post Processors/yourpostprocessorname folder

Scroll down to the Canned Cycles settings.

replace as follows:

Drill: {$_g81} {$_x} {$_y} {$_z} {$_r} {$_f}
Drill Dwell: {$_g82} {$_x} {$_y} {$_z} {$p} {$_r} {$_f}
Drill Peck: {$_g83} {$_x} {$_y} {$_z} {$p} {$_q} {$_r} {$_f}

Adding the underscore makes the gCode output modal for (G81 G82 G83) codes.

Happy CamBAM, happy Mach 4, no more manual editing!!!

Thanks, all!

5

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Q word missing error when running G83?

« on: January 09, 2017, 06:11:15 PM »

Understood. Regardless of G81 or G83, here is the issue:

CamBAM produces the following code for a simple Drill cycle. Could be G81 or G88, you get a similar result in Mach4 with respect to the error.

   ( Made using CamBam )
   ( Spinner with Brass 1/9/2017 3:16:46 PM )
   ( T2025011 : 0.25 )
   G20 G90 G64 G40
   G0 Z0.8
   ( Pre Drill )
   G17
   G0 X95.5123 Y45.6613
   G98
   G83 X95.5123 Y45.6613 Z-0.04 Q0.375 R0.0 F150.0
   G83 X92.297 Y46.425 Z-0.04
   G83 X92.3761 Y42.9219 Z-0.04
   G80
   G0 Z0.8
   G0 z1.5 X1.5 Y49.5
   M30

OR a G81 based drill program from CamBAM:

   ( Made using CamBam )
   ( Podium 1/6/2017 1:42:52 PM )
   ( T1025021 : 0.25 )
   G20 G90 G64 G40
   G0 Z0.7
   ( PreDrill 025 )
   G17
   G98
   G81 X95.6034 Y36.4502 Z0.35 R0.0 F170.0
   G81 Y25.553 Z0.35
   G81 X94.6409 Y23.3137 Z0.35
   G80
   G0 Z0.8
   G0 Z1.5 X1.5 Y49.5
   M30

Up until a more recent build of Mach4, these would run both of these without an error.
However, in the current build, Mach4 throws the following error when you load the file:

    File "C:\Users\My Computer\Dropbox\CNC\Predrill.nc", Line 11: Q word missing with G73/G83

AND if you try to run the G83 peck file the following error comes up:

   Made using CamBam
   Spinner with Brass 1/9/2017 3:16:46 PM  
   T2025011 : 0.25  
   Pre Drill
   Q word missing with G73/G83

If you load the G81 file, it does not produce errors but it stops part way through the GCode list. The machine drills the first hole, traverses to the second location and does nothing more.

I have needed to modify the G83 file as follows:

   ( Made using CamBam )
   ( Spinner with Brass 1/9/2017 3:16:46 PM )
   ( T2025011 : 0.25 )
   G20 G90 G64 G40
   G0 Z0.8
   ( Pre Drill )
   G17
   G0 X95.5123 Y45.6613
   G98
   G83 X95.5123 Y45.6613 Z-0.04 Q0.375 R0.0 F150.0
   X92.297 Y46.425 Z-0.04
   X92.3761 Y42.9219 Z-0.04
   G80
   G0 Z0.8
   G0 Z1.5 X1.5 Y49.5
   M30

and the G81 file as follows:

   ( Made using CamBam )
   ( Podium 1/6/2017 1:42:52 PM )
   ( T1025021 : 0.25 )
   G20 G90 G64 G40
   G0 Z0.7
   ( PreDrill 025 )
   G17
   G98
   G81 X95.6034 Y36.4502 Z0.35 R0.0 F170.0
   Y25.553 Z0.35
   X94.6409 Y23.3137 Z0.35
   G80
   G0 Z0.8
   G0 Z1.5 X1.5 Y49.5
   M30


To my knowledge, CamBAM has not changed any of the way it produces GCode. These files used to run on Mach4 but now they don’t.

Is that more helpful?

6

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Q word missing error when running G83?

« on: December 21, 2016, 10:59:03 PM »

CamBam has been doing that for me too. I have to manually edit the GCode to remove the extra G81 or G83 entries.

I've gotten pretty good at filtering them in my text editor but it is a bug that is tedious at best. It seems like something in Mach 4 must have changed in the current build because it didn't happen to me until approximately 2-3 months ago.