Topics

1

Works in progress / Another simple mill / router screen

« on: November 09, 2021, 09:02:13 PM »

After 16 years of using Mach3, I decided to clean up my screen. I need very few of the functions that clutter up my screen and came up with this. I still have some work to do on it but it's very close. I used Screen4.

2

General Mach Discussion / Using Y axis for a Rotary table ?

« on: October 24, 2019, 10:41:57 PM »

I have built a small prototype CNC engraving machine. It will be engraving the face of small brass and silver discs using cutters much like lathe cutting tools ( ie, non-rotating). It uses the X and Z axes in their normal fashion but not Y. My third axis is a rotary table configured as the A axis. Jogging the various axes around works just fine.

My CAM program is Sheetcam which does 2.5D G-code. (The engraving is 2.5D cutting so I really don't want to complicate things by using 3D CAD or CAM.) Sheetcam will not produce G-code for an A axis and you cannot configure Mach 3 with Y as a rotary axis - only A,B, or C. At least, not without some sort of work around.

This is a real puzzle and I'm not sure where to turn. I would prefer to stay with both Sheetcam and Mach 3 but I'm beginning to think that this will not work. Any thoughts ?

3

SmoothStepper USB / Need a little help troubleshooting an ESS Mach3 installation

« on: February 17, 2016, 09:08:44 PM »

I'll start at the end, where I think the final bit of trouble is :


With the ESS plugin installed and and Camtronics XML file also installed, if I go into Mach 3 menu - Plugin Control / ESS... Ethernet IP Setup/ I see that the Smoothstepper board's IP address is 255.255.255.255 and everything else, including the MAC address is blank. If I correct the IP address and close the menu, and immediately reopen it, the 255.... address is back

I have a second network card installed and used Warp9's SCU to ensure the NIC address was ok ( 10.9.9.2) and the ESS address was at its default value ( 10.9.9.9 ). Lots of good pings.

The ESS LED's are solid and blinking as described in the warp9 Youtube video ( although the blinking LED looks to be blinking about twice per second.)

The computer is a brand new desktop running Windows 10. The CNC control box built buy Camtronic with the ESS and Gecko G540. I have had some really quirky Win10 issues so I'm not sure if that's my problem here or something else.

Firewall turned off temporarily but Mach3 allowed both private and public when turned on.

Network card IP4 properties : IP 10.9.9.2, Subnet 255.255.255.0, Default Gateway 10.9.9.9, WINS - Disabled Netbios over TCPIP

I hear a very muted "Thunk" when I start Mach3. I get something like that on my other, older CNC control box using older Gecko's and parallel port breakout board so the sound makes me somewhat hopeful that there's some communication happening.

I'm stumped. Any help would be gratefully accepted.

4

JetCam screen designer / Discovered part of the problem with Jetcam

« on: January 15, 2009, 09:58:53 PM »

I just discovered a major problem with Jetcam. It may have been mentioned before, but I haven't seen it.

The problem that I have is the same that others have had. When you create a button in Jetcam, it is doubled when you open the screen in Mach3. I have seen all kinds of suggested solutions such as incorrect directories, incorrect versions of Mach3. It's actually much simpler. Jetcam is corrupting the button's jpg file. Just go look at the jpg with Windows Explorer. I even opened the original 1024 screen with Jetcam and Jetcam corrupted just about everything.

Mach3 just requires a garden variety jpg button file. To prove this to myself, I took one of the original Mach3 button files and renamed it. I then used a graphics utility program and created a new, replacement button and gave it the same name as the original Mach3 button and put it in the same directory as the original buttons. I opened Mach3 and I had a nice new button of my own design. I can't believe that this simple identification of the problem hasn't been identified before.

I love Jetcam's ease of use but the jpg corruption is a major pain. As a partial work around solution, I have been opening the original Mach3 buttons in a drawing program in order to determine the size and aspect ratio's. I then create new buttons and put them in Mach 3's bitmap directory with the others. A very slow solution to a problem that probably shouldn't exist.

I have created a completely new screen with Jetcam but of course all of the buttons are corrupt. My next project will likely be to go back and make replacement buttons with the button utility program that I downloaded. I'd love to get rid of the features of Mach3 that I never use. I also really dislike ( is "hate" to strong a word ) the cluttered layout and button with fake glare - for god's sake Polaroid made a fortune selling polarizing lens glasses to get rid of glare, why do we want to add it back and call it "coool". - My humble rant for the day.

I'd love to hear back from some of you other Jetcam users on this issue. By the way, I use the original Jetcam - the one where you can save files. I like it much better, once I got used to it, than the later release - the one you can't save files with.

5

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Act! - idea for screen design program. Extremely simple

« on: March 15, 2008, 05:26:06 PM »

For quite a number of years, I have have used Act! which is a basic client contact program. It's a flat file data base and is widely available.

What is so nice about it, and the feature that would work just beautifully for Mach 3, is their screen design feature. You can start with a blank screen, draw the boxes to any size and location, and then assign the data field that you wish to use in that box. It's just that simple. This is exactly how Mach 3 should work in my mind. I've looked at other possible screen design tools for Mach 3 but none of them are anywhere close to how Act! does it's screen designs. I would guarantee that the average user could learn to design a screen inside 20 minutes, and one that would work.

I'm probably dreaming to think that Mach3 could make a deal to use Act's screen designer tool set but there's always hope.

http://www.act.com/

6

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Robo-Clock , my first CNC project

« on: May 11, 2007, 12:55:57 AM »

This was my first CNC project; an original design

7

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Skeleton Clock

« on: May 11, 2007, 12:26:00 AM »

I found these plans on the net but it was designed to be made in wood. I had to re-engineer it for metal which meant mechanical fasteners instead of glue. All the more fun. I've been able to make everything except for the base which is too long for my little Sherline 2000 mill.

More projects and photo's:
http://www.ldrider.ca/cnc/cnc-index.htm

8

Mach Screens / Do we need the artificial glare ?

« on: January 04, 2007, 09:19:30 PM »

I realize that it's a matter of taste, but can the glare on the various buttons be eliminated?

I realize that it's there to make them all look realistic but when we consider all the things we do in everyday life to eliminate glare - anti-glare screens, sunglasses, visors, etc., is it necessary to actually add it intentionally to the screens ? For my eyes, I actually find that the artificial glare makes the screen items even harder to read, not easier, ... just like in real life !

I'm not trying to be critical guys because I really love what you're doing.

When the screens are available for download, and assuming we have the right software, can we users remove the glare ?

9

General Mach Discussion / Tool path display not properly showing part

« on: July 24, 2006, 10:30:51 AM »

Once my G-code is loaded, my part shows up in the bottom left of the tool path window and is very small. It used to fill the window, nice and big. I'm sure I didn't set / reset something but for the life of me I don't know what it is. Anyone care to clue me in ?

Thanks all,

David Morrow

10

General Mach Discussion / Converting Plasmacam system to run Mach3 - Need XML file & words of wisdom

« on: July 05, 2006, 12:17:54 AM »

My brother has a Plasmacam system that's getting too expensive to keep burning holes through steel. He's converting it to run a laminate router. But the Plasmacam software doesn't seem to have the flexibility that Mach3 has ( I suggested that he use Mach3).

So, can anyone tell me if they have done this ?

And, can anyone email me an XML configuration file that will get him started ?

I'm at morrow2002@lightspeed.ca

Thanks everyone.