Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / Going from Parallel to USB or Ether...

« on: August 05, 2017, 11:42:55 AM »

It's time to work on converting my control box, It's an older K2 CNC (which still runs great), using parallel with a custom hand wired controller connected to the parallel port. Inside are three G320 motor controls, running three DAEHWA TC9 Motors (output 60W, 24VDC, RPM 800, Current 3.5A).

I want to keep costs minimal and upgrade over time in steps, I'm running Mach3 at the moment, and want to fix the Parallel problem first, then move to Mach 4, then see about the drives.

So with all that, what are some good choices for a controller board?, when I switch do I have to re-calibrate the machine? I'm wondering how hard this is going to be. I have some experience with electronics, but I've never tinkered with the CNC's electronics, and I don't want to break something...

Advice??
Thanks
-Paul-

2

General Mach Discussion / K2 CNC only jogging one way

« on: July 10, 2017, 06:02:52 PM »

I've a K2 CNC that I just put back up, when I go to jog any of the axis's they only move one way. I tried changing the hotkeys and that didn't seem to help...

Any ideas?

Thanks
-Paul-

3

Mach3 and G-Rex / Latest G100 Update

« on: December 10, 2007, 02:02:15 PM »

I'm just about ready to take the plunge to move to the G100, I have a couple of questions overall for the people that are using it today. This is a big investment for me, not monetarily but to do this I have to tear apart my K2 controller box and rewire the parallel portion. So you can understand my concern, especially since I've been doing tons of work with the machine and paying for all it's upgrades with that work. So being cautious is prudent in my case (if I had a second machine then that would be a different story). Thankfully I will not have to rewire the G320's so that should make things simpler somewhat, I've download Chaoticone's documentation and all the material from Gecko and am reading through it, i've not finished so it's possible I'll ask something that is documented...

My current machine is a K2 G3925, 3 axis using servo's, no spindle as of yet (it's on the enhancement list for a future purchase).

1. I know most people post here because they have problems, but how many have installed everything and have a good experience with the G100 (a number of the posts are old so I'm looking for updated info)??

2. What features are not supported at this time?

3. How much of a speed increase should I see with my machine, today I run the machine at 25000Hz in Mach III because I found any faster was not reliable. (maybe I need a better parallel port). And if I push it too fast it 'jitter's, I'm assuming that will go away with this setup.

4. How hard was it to setup and get working?

That should cover the basics, I'm digging but there's a lot of information to digest

Thanks

-Paul-

4

General Mach Discussion / Program End Crashing Z Axis

« on: September 11, 2007, 09:23:08 AM »

This is something new that just started, at the end of the G-Code program an M30 is issued, the machine rises up to a safe level and then it takes off and crashes the Z at the top of the machine. Hitting the limit switch and forcing a reset. The only change that I have made are changes to my m6Start, nothing else, I'm not sure what the hell is going on but I need to figure it out, it seems to happen after the program ends.

Any idea as to what could be going on?, can I override the m30 with my own version and possibly just home the gantry to Machine Coords?, I need to get this one solved quickly...

-Paul-

5

VB and the development of wizards / Tool Change Pause Question

« on: September 09, 2007, 07:40:43 PM »

I have a simple macro to do tool changes, the code is as follows:

x = GetUserDRO( 1200 )
y = GetUserDRO( 1201 )
z = GetUserDRO( 1202 )

code" G53 G0 Z" & z

While IsMoving()
Wend

code" G53 G0 X" & x & "Y" & y

While IsMoving()
Wend

SystemWaitFor (Start)

tool = GetSelectedTool()
SetCurrentTool( tool )
 

If I pull out the 'SystemWaitFor (Start)', the tool change macro never pauses, it homes and then heads right back out. If I leave it as shown it does work but I have to hit the stop and then the start button, I thought the M6 start and end macro's automatically paused or was I mistaken?

What I want to be able to do is pause in the macro, change out my tool, reset the height if needed and then when I hit the start button have it take off again. Maybe I can send a stop using the script?

This should be an easy one

-Paul-

6

General Mach Discussion / G-Rex 100 Advice

« on: August 25, 2007, 08:11:50 PM »

I've been running a K2 3925 machine for over a year now, started with MachII, upgraded and have everything running great with MachIII. But one issue has always been that the machine is pretty slow and the parallel port sometimes causes issues (I cannot run the port at the highest speed, it just kills the machine). I've been looking at upgrading from the stock controller that came with my K2 and going to the G100. Currently the machine uses 3 G320's with a breakout box, if I upgrade I'll have to either build a whole new box or retro-fit the current one. I've already emailed Gecko with a number of questions, but what I'm looking for here are people who are running the G100 currently and what your impression is and if there is anything I should be aware of before diving in!!

Thanks

-Paul-

7

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Stitching G-Code Together

« on: August 12, 2007, 05:30:40 PM »

I've been working on my machine and machIII to get things running the way I have always wanted, my brain hurts from all the reading but I have tool changes working and added some commands so that the Gantry would clear the work area so I can flip pieces over (some of the pieces are two sided and use index holes to locate on the vaccum clamp). I'm also working on putting all my tools into the tool table so I can use offsets automatically, my brains starting fuzz out

One of the things I make on the CNC are Guitar Bridges, here's how it works today:

1. I have a jig where I drill two small index holes to locate the piece into a vaccum clamp.

2. I run a program that shapes the bottom to a 25ft or 30ft radius (or whatever they want), creates an edge for sitting over a guitars finish and then adds two more small holes so I can flip the piece and do the top.

3. I flip the piece over and load and run the next program which cuts the profile, shapes the bridge, adds the string holes.

4. I get a tool change pause, the code then runs and cuts string slots into the bridge and ends with a special bit.

Once this is done I put the bridge onto a second jig that is angled to cut the saddle at a 2deg tilt...

The whole process takes 30 minutes on average, but upon reflection one thing I keep running into is that clients want different string spacings, which effects the hole routine and the string slot routine. Today I use Rhino and change everything to the new spacings, then generate a whole new program using Rhino-Cam. It's tedious but it works. But the big issue for me is that I end up with a bunch of .CAD files and if they want changes to the base design or if I want to make a change to improve the process then I have to regen code from ALL those .CAD files using Rhino-Cam... It's a pain...

So I have an idea I wan to float....

How about a directory with all the common G-Code operations already validated and ready to run, a library if you will of options...

Then the core program would simply call operations from the library as needed, I could write a vbscript program to simply pull all the pieces together for me and output one piece of GCode, but I think it would be cleaner to do it from within Mach, I'm not sure if this has been done before like this or if there are hidden problems with doing this. I see the LoadRun command and assume that I could use that but does that mean I have to create a wizard to do this? It's not something I've played with but it does have possibilities

I was also wondering if it could be done with M-Commands, but would not one program overwrite the current one?

Anyway just looking for some direction, my goal is to remove some of the redundancy on doing these parts, today they simply take too much effort to be profitable and that's why I'm looking at ways to streamline the process, plus I'll be teaching my son how to do all this so I have to make it well... Um... Young Adult Proof

8

General Mach Discussion / Question around operation and parameters

« on: August 05, 2007, 03:24:15 PM »

The more time I spend with my machine and with this program the more things I want to tinker with, problem is that I've been busy making parts so I don't have much time to just tinker with things. I've run into a couple of situations that I need some expertise on, I have a little downtime with the machine so this is the perfect time to play.

1. I know Brian had posted some stuff about the T3 command and I see the parameters in the Settings window, what I would like to do move the gantry to absolute X +2, Y0, Z0. That would make changing tools much easier when working with the machine, today I do a reference all and then change the tool.

2. Without using the tool tables, is there an easy way to change the offset when changing tools, what I do today is this (this is all within the same program):

a. When the machine hits a T3 and stops I hit the reference home to zero out the Z axis and set it to a known position.

b. I change out to my smaller tool and reset the Z axis to reflect the new tool height.

c. I let the program continue (hit run).

I know there's a better way and I should probably be putting these into the tool table (which is on my list of things to do). I know the exact height of the tools because I coller them so they drop in the same each time.

3. Is there a way to automatically stop the machine so I can do things like flip a piece? Today I break my runs into seperate programs and when one finishes, I flip the piece and run the second. I would love instead to have it all run from one. I could use a T3 I suppose and tell it to change the same bit, I'm assuming it will stop and wait for my input.

4. An odd question I ran into was that one of the home switches on my machine must be dirty or something, I've had to increase the debounce to 5000 just to get the X to reference home correctly. Does this setting effect the actual position when referencing home? or does the program apply the same amount of return cycles each time? So for instance if I fix the switch and reset debounce to say 1500 will my gantry position actually shift when I reference home?

Thanks...

-Paul-

9

General Mach Discussion / Setting offsets from G-Code and other settings & Other Questions

« on: March 26, 2007, 07:42:42 PM »

This is newbie question for sure but I'm going to ask anyway...

I have a piece of G-Code I use to create bridges for customers, works like a charm, it's been refined over many many samples and production runs. Now I want to remove me from the process and by that I mean the following:

Today I enter in the X,Y and Z offsets for the program, all my bridges share a common set of offsets. What I would like to do is have the G-Code set those offsets for me, since they don't change it would remove my fumbling fingers and make it quicker to turn out bridges (it's all about removing the human mistake maker ).

I see the G92 command but is that what I should be using? Today I do a reference home before I set the offsets, but I don't see a G Command or M Code to do that, did I just miss something?

Also in the previous version there was some problems setting tool change coordinates, has that been addressed in the latest version?, I'd really like to set a reletive tool change position and have the gantry go to there when I need to change tools, today I just re-reference home to make sure the machine is 'zeroed' if you will.

Thanks...

-Paul-

10

General Mach Discussion / Everything Works :)... Operational Question

« on: March 03, 2007, 03:40:37 PM »

Everything is running great on the new version, I just ordered a video cam so I can center the gantry easier and I'm in the process of ordering a quick change system for the router...

But that now leads me to an operational question...

My setup today consists of a number of vaccum jigs that I lock into position on my table, on those I write the X,Y offsets and then using a piece of paper I reference the Z to just barely touch the jig. It works but as you can imagine I purposely cut my pieces so that bit changes are minimal, for one offs I reference all three axis's manually which will allways be needed for non-jigged work.

So now I'm entering the area of using the offsets for tools and jigs, I want to make sure I fully understand the process before I really start tinkering. When I'm setting all this up, how do I determine the Z offset for each tool, I'm kind of struggling with the concept becase the control point would be Z 0. And I would want to offset each tool in the table based on that, but how do I determine the starting point? I've known this was possible for a while but until now I've not been able to actually do anything with it, how are other people doing it today??

I have not even played with the work offsets as of yet, but I'm going to have to if I want to increase output by reducing setup time. Can I call the work offsets with a G-Code?, that would be ideal for me as well as being able to code in someway to have a pop-up window that would remind me of things I need to do. On some pieces I have to flip the piece over, it would be nice to have the .TAP file pause, and tell me (or whoever is running the machine) to flip the piece over before continuing...

It's taken a while to get here but now the real fun can begin

Thanks

-Paul-