Topics

1

Mach3 and G-Rex / GRex and Mach3 Talk Wireless in Perfect Harmony

« on: March 24, 2007, 03:10:12 PM »

Just wanted to let you all know

Mach3 and GRex Function Perfectly over a wireless network!

Next step will be to Test Mill
Over the internet
3 miles away
(House to Work)
 
Just got to try it
(Bacause I Can)

The only thing you have to fear is !
                                                 (FEAR It's Self)

2

Mach3 and G-Rex / update GRex V.60 Access denied

« on: March 23, 2007, 11:46:53 PM »

Art said in Yahoo group
to delete the G100.dll
and that fixed the problem

I down loaded
V.0.60 and when i click on the MP3 file
It responds with Access denied
also in the config plug-in it displays V.049
unziped to mach3 folder

3

General Mach Discussion / Help Ghosting Problem running PC Board GCode with Mach3-G100-G340-K2cnc

« on: March 18, 2007, 12:34:52 AM »

  Hello All
This is my outline to help solve a problem I am having
It is in detail to help other who might want to do the same thing
As there is not a lot of info on creating Circuit Boards on the on-line boards


I First Purchased G340 (K02) some years ago (They Work)
Also purchased My Motors around the same time
They are Polysci C23-L55
Ratings are: PT=430, CST=50, RTV=12-60V, TV=36Vdc, RPM=1700, RT=40.5, RC=2.5 Amps,
RP=Watts50.9-HP.07, TS=21.6oz-in/amp, B-EMF=16volts/Krpm- 0.1525volts/rad/sec, TR=3.39ohms,

TI=5.50mH, MC=0.083 ECT think this covers the important ones

They Have US Digital Encoders
E2-250-250-G Encoders              (They Work)

This was intended to convert a Enco Table mill to CNC

Decided not to convert, but Build a Cnc Router Table, to create Circuit Boards

So in December I Purchased a G100 for the Router, as I Love Ethernet devices.
( G100  Works Well Even with my computer on a wireless network)
(Because I have a router/gateway that tells windows where it is)
 Cutting Air that is Wireless,  So Cool ( Yea Im A Geek)
The plug-in was close to finished so to help with my learning curve
 I Purchased a K2CNC KT-1414 router table stripped down version 
(Very nice! For the little amount Money I spent)
 (God i love E-Bay)

Got the Motors Mounted,
 G100 running the machine,
limit switches working,
Purchased Mach3,
And started my learning process.
 
1st thing I learned is
That Marris is about 500 times smarter than me
and the next time I talk to him on the phone
I will have to  Tape Record the conversation to refer back to the huge amount of guidance,
and Technical Mathamatics Behind the Science and art of CNC Electronics.

Also that I should use steppers, and Servos aren’t the best solution
for my application and hardware

Silly Me,  I Called him Because I thought I could just split the encoder signal wires one set to the G340 the other to G100 for Mach3 DRO's to know the exact Feedback throug the G100 with Shared Encoder Signal
(and Marris was nice enough to not laugh at me!)

Got the router moving no problems (Tuned the motors By Ear) and learned
 how to use and setup Mach3 Easy No Problems (Ok Marris And Art  are only 100 times smarter)
But I Suck at math  so they are 303.14 times smarter!

Played with the Road Runner file provided in Mach3 for Days
Cutting Air and learning how not to crash the machine
( Geico Quoated   $3000.00 for  CNC Crash insurance) i feel like im 16 Years old with learners permit
 Thought I would get a discount because of the Gecko relationship Thing.
  But Thanks’ to Marris for that Current Limit Pot!
 And Art’s Soft Limits.
 My machine is still in perfect shape!

Cutting Air got boring so then I decided to make a Expensive CNC Printer
 
Wiith my Newly acquired CNC Expertise
I will have to add to my resume( CNC Exertise,Gcode,)
 To Help Me get into the Private (6 figures club  $ ###.##3.14)   

I Had a Creative Idea!
A (pen holder)
So I could see what my machine was making.
 (Art’s Famous Road Runner) the live version

So Instead of Cutting Air
Now I was tearing Holes in the paper
Which led to (Rev 2) of the pen holder
*****(Spring Loaded Pen Holder)********
(OK Now Marris and Art are only 73.14 times Smarter)
 I Am going to be rich and it only has 3 parts build.
I Will Buy Both Marris and Arts Technology and Become the CNC King
 And I don’t even need a cnc machine to make one!
 But to get rich I need to sell thousands   (Note: Learn CNC for Patent Creation)
 So I applied for the Patent
but was Rejected
Lots of laughter from the Patent Office.
(They were laughing at me not with me)
A Pen Controlled by a computer HAHaHa think that is called a plotter HaHaHa

But
Now I could test my machine and see the results

Looking good (Im Autistic, i mean Artistic) Just look at that Road Runner(I Made That)

Now I need to learn how to make circuit boards

Got out my old copy of DC/Cad to upgrade it and found out they are out of business.
And now I don’t even own a computer that has 5.25 inch disk drive
Lucky for me I made back up copies on 3.25 inch disk
But they to were unreadable because they were in a box
 in the garage for the past 10 years
should have bought a cd burner and a cnc router sooner

Any way
Eagle 4.16r2 sounded like the best solution for me
Made my test circuits found testing accuracy confusing
 because the have two sides
And I could only see one side
Hard to tell what is going on accurately

So I made a Test BoardCircuit with lots of cool complicated shapes and traces. (Autistic) or (ADD)
You know like the Test Pattern you would wake up to after leaving the TV on (BLEEEEEEEEEP)
Only my test pattern was drawn in 5 minuets so it looks kind of crude.

After a night of using Lazy cam to try to generate gcode I gave up
( It is still Beta)
and not intended for circuit boards
(though Art Says they are working on a tool for that to.)

Now After doing some Eagle Research I found out that there is a script to Create the GCode
 created by a guy that is also many times smarter than me (John Johnson) well maby not!
 As it is free to use (He should at least charge $25 for  pcb-gcode)

Works Great Nice script Makes the board’s g-code files in seconds even makes the drill code
Wish Eagle was this Easy to use
Time to test the Machine and learn
the Art of Making PCB Boards

Here is the problem Part
On my Machine the road runner file is fine I can draw the file over and over with good precision
At least to the tolerance of my Spring loaded Pen invention  +- .002

Now when I run this test file I get this what I am calling Drift or ghosting
The PCB script file makes a total of 4 complete passes to mill the copper foil
So when the second or third pass the pen is re-drawing over the first Drawing
The Drift or ghosting  is there  ( See PDF File)

How do I get rid of this problem

I Tested this same file on a Hass VF-3 Mill and it is Perfect
So the scripts G-Code is Good

I need a couple of people to test this on there machines for reference!
I Tried to get Art to look at it  but he said with 8,000 users there is know way
 Mach would be as good as it is if he had to run and look at every ones code files
We would still be at Mach 1.3.14
( You see its People like me that cause him to need a vacation) ( 1 X 7,003.14Problems =Vacation)

I Think I may need to tune my motors to correct the problem.
I Can not find that Test point on the G340  Rev K02 ( Marris )
Or this could be a G100 Problem  (Marris, Art, Steve)
Or I may be a 1000 times dumber than every one and missed some setting (I Can Drive) (I Can Drive)
Or set up Mach3 incorrectly  (Stupid Cybertek)

So I also need some testing from P-Port users
(As I am to dammed lazy to re-wire to do a P-Port Test my Self)

I Think this would be good code to test accuracy of your mill ( the sales Pitch)
from the lazy Frustrated guy
See(gtestbot.nc)

The problem mainly happens once the rapid succession arcs and lines is completed.
This is the largest code you will ever see 400+K ( Its not a virus, its GCode )

Also if any one understands all the plug-in settings for the G100 can we start documenting
What happens if I change to 4MHZ instead of 65KHZ   as well as all the other settings
The New Manual of G100 Plug-in
Or
The Complete Idiots Guide on the G100
Created For The 1000 times dumber (Cybertek)

Hey at least I can get mine to work on Ethernet
Just kidding  (Ethernet is just natural for me)

Though I would suggest forget about the crossover cables
 (Buy A network router they are cheep) 
Makes life Easy
Remember the early days of networking
You had to be a guru to network computers  before the router
The problem is with windows networking not the g100 or mach3
And the Network router fixes that for windows



Thanks

4

Mach3 and G-Rex / New G100 Plugin

« on: March 09, 2007, 09:42:10 PM »

Let me start by saying
Thankyou for all the hard work!

Got new plug-in working but have two questions

1: How can i tell if i am allready licenced for the G100 plug-in besides seeing if it times out in an hour.

2: Softlimits?  Are they operational yet
Note: if i go past a limit i see a message in the status window and get a ding sound (G100 No Jog Allowed)
But it still keeps on jogging!

Request: More info in video on Configuration Data
Pulse Mode, Encoder Control,External/Internal Increment, Maximum Frequency.
As well as G100 Diagnostics/Demo screen of seeing ports and pins status, and some way to toggle outputs ( analog/digital manualy) with software

When you feel better no rush
Think i have got it two (the flue that is)

5

General Mach Discussion / Flash Screens and Mach3 support

« on: March 02, 2007, 07:39:50 PM »

Art, Brian, and Jason.

Wow!
Many thanks to the work on Flash Screen Integration!

I just played with some of Jason's Screens
And if anyone wants a conformation of how good these guys are!
Just take an hour to play with some of the Flash Screens!

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=2571.msg15461#msg15461

It will give you an adrenaline rush just thinking of the
possibility's they can come up with in the future versions of Mach.

I Wish Every program had this level of customization features built in to there product.

Some people would pay $159.00 just to add the custom feature

Bet you master scam (i mean cam) would charge $1500.00 for this feature!


Any way the next time you all get frustrated because a there is a problem with Mach,
Or you have been waiting for a plug-in to be finished that is  long over due.

Look at what things they are giving us for our measly $159.00 we complain about having to pay!
All others would rape us on and take us to the cleaners!!!!!
Just for the level of support they are giving us !!!!!

Any Way   
Thanks for the Dedication 
and hard work you Apply to
Mach Programing and Support!

6

General Mach Discussion / X Y Setup

« on: February 28, 2007, 12:32:48 AM »

I Am so Confused

I have my machine set up!

The X Home switch is on the left.
The Y Home switch is to the back.

So if i home the machine it goes to the back left  (Z goes high)
 
Now the documentation (Using Mach3 Mil)l (P7-2)(P7-3) shows x0 y0 as the front left (Z High)

Now i can trick the machine to set (Y0) to the front by setting the (home offset)
in (Config)-(Homing/Limits)  to = Y=(-11.5) Z=(- 0.5) X=(1.0)
Note: This trick also helps me with keeping me clear of crashing because I'm using a G100 and
soft limits are not yet functional.

The machine homes Y to the back of the machine,
 then moves Y to the front and preforms a Zero.

Jog arrow keys function correctly
Now Machine cords X0-Y0 = Front Left

Is this the right way to do this
Or should i just ignore the machine cords
and let it home to the back
Since the offsets can be set any where
What is the best Practice to learn?

7

Feature Requests / Multi Monitors and Mach3

« on: January 21, 2007, 04:07:07 AM »

Is there any way to Let Screens Open to new window?
That way We could run with
(Program Run Alt-1 screen on one Monitor)
(and the ToolPath Alt4 screen on the Second Monitor)
( Or the Wizards Screen)
(and have the Jog pendant screen pop up over the Second Monitor)

I would think this programing change would be easy to accomplish in Windows
Not sure how it would effect the Flash Screens

Right now i can stretch Mach3 screen to the second monitor
and helps with the Jog Pendant
This suggestion is perfect for implementing  in the Quantum Product

8

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Electrical Shapes Wizard

« on: January 19, 2007, 12:21:01 AM »

Is there any way you could modify this wizard
to let us have a couple of user customiseable defined shapes
to add in and use with this wizard

Also how about a PCB board creation wizard
Drill,mill, side a, side b, mask

I would pay a additional 100.00 for that alone

9

Mach3 and G-Rex / (CHAD) the Grex Answer Man

« on: January 18, 2007, 11:51:12 PM »

This will help with the confusion
Can you move the old Grex posts
from General area to this location

and Wow i did not realize that the yahoo forum
was that popular I received 95 messages today alone.
Is there a way to copy important yahoo post answers to this location as well
See you give an inch we try to take a mile
oh yea could you also change your group Pic to display what mood you are in.
You always have that big thumbs up like you would go 100 miles!
then i could tell when i was asking for To Much    LOL 
Mile2 
Art mentioned something on yahoo board
 about a special licence for g100 plug-in
Is this going to be priced different than Mach3
 or in addition to the cost of mach3.

Also have you heard this before
Mach3 +g100 works fine when jogging the axises
but when do MDI GCODE input  like Y1
it will move Y & Z  1 inch
Also setting calibration of xyz steps per inch
my settings change,
Y0-1 is OK when i do Y1 again it goes
More then 1 inch like 1.6
Then if i do Y2 it will move Y 3 or 4 inches
What am i doing wrong.

I will do more testing Friday and sat to verify

Mile3
Chad could you post your XML setup
for GRex so i have a reference

Ninty seven more miles to go,
Ninty seven more miles to go,
Knock one problem down and pass the info around 
  just had to see what the teletype does  Thanks Chad BBye

10

General Mach Discussion / Grex100 Plugin Status Update

« on: January 16, 2007, 06:50:44 PM »

Does any one know the status of Grex100 Plug-in and Mach3
Soft limits still allow you to over jog
When will this be fixed
it has been a long time now
lets fix this then go on to Q
if your not going to Finnish Grex development
Please let me know

I can purchase Artsoft  hardware if I have to, Just need to know what is going on!