Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / zeroing Z axis via a MAchine Op header file (ie via g-code itself)

« on: January 14, 2012, 03:14:56 PM »

I might be going mad, but I'm sure I saw some funky g-code (somewhere or other) where mach3 would read the g-code & start descending the z axis until the probe pin changed value & then set the Z axis to zero.

My wish is to incorporate such gcode into a machine op 'header' file in CAM software - when I generate the g-code each tool change would have the auto zero g-code incoprated into the main g-code output file. Therefore, when I change a tool, I just simply press run, the new tool will descend until it probes 0 then contnue on with the cycle (which saves the faff of using a manual touch/probe plate)

2

VB and the development of wizards / How to halt a script halfway & wait for a user entered CR?

« on: November 14, 2011, 06:41:17 PM »

I'm new to all this, presently trying to get my XY cordinates to move between the cutter & the webcam...my end goal is, press a contour shuttle pro button....my script kicks.....

1. Store the present XY coords
2. Goto a known webcam offset (ie locate the webcam immediately above where the tool just was)
3. Jog around a bit (to align webcam crosshair over a pcb index mark)
4. Once I'm happy with the alignment, I then hit carriage return on the PCB keyboard.
5. Use the offsets as per step 2 (but now in reverse) to put the tool where the webcam has just been
6. Restore the XY coords that were stored away in step 1.

The cutting is now exactly over the pcb index mark with the correct XY starting coords.


It the bits in steps 4 that I need a bit of coop ....what's the easiest way to get the VB script to wait until say a CR is pressed on the PC keyboard?

3

General Mach Discussion / Shuttle pro - how do I assign a custom macro to a button?

« on: November 08, 2011, 05:30:40 PM »

If I goto theshuttle  plugin menu & select shuttle - then select conifg, I get the config screen which allows you allocate actions to the shuttle buttons, the button drop downs have 'custom macro 1', 'custom macro 2' etc .....but how do I alllocate trhe actual macros - in other words what maps custom macro1 to my actual intended macro? (I had thought a browse window might pop up to link to the macro I want to use?)

4

Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Using a webcam to set known XY coordinates on a 'marked' etched PCB

« on: November 04, 2011, 04:49:59 PM »

At the minute I'm etching PCBs (have plenty of xy accuracy on my CNC machine, but keeping the copper board completely flat remains troublesome - and becuase I want to go very small I'm having to ecth still!), but becuase of the complicated shapes of my PCB, I'm still using my CNC to cut the outline .......I saw this video & it does exactly what I need....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJnenOsbCzU&feature=player_embedded

at the minute I'm drilling out some known registration points on my extched pcb then using small pegs to align them into hole my cnc machine has cut....it works, but it adds a fair bit of time overhead. I like that video method becuase you pretty much clamp your pcb any which way roughly, use the webcam to locate three known points ...then bang you're off cutting - very quick.

Can this be done in MAch3 and what would the approach be (a wizard, script, plugin etc)

rgds,
Pesky.

5

General Mach Discussion / M6Start.m1s & M6End.m1s - how do I modify? (to so something very simple!)

« on: March 01, 2010, 06:20:17 PM »

Maybe I work differently to everone else, as I'm not finding a whole lot about what I'd like to do?!!

All I want is for every time a tool change is triggered, for the Z plane to move up 50mm.

I then stop the spindle manually
Change the tool manually
start the spindle manually
The press cycle start

At this point I would like the spindle to movedown 50mm again & carry on where it left off from a Z axis location perspective.

(I'm going to set up all my cutter with rings to ensure the distance to the tip is the same for all of them)

Many thanks for any help you can give.

Now I know the Macros M6Start.m1s & M6End.m1s will need some editing - but what to put in there to ahve that very simple up/down 50mm move happen?

6

Mach Screens / The Coil winder sceenset (wow)

« on: July 01, 2009, 04:29:08 PM »

Since the associated original thread hasn't been appended to for over a yar & a half, the forum prompted me to start a new topic.

I've just spent the guts of 2-3 minths messing about with my own coil winder program (it works but it's clunky, uses a program hard coded into a PIC, the user interface is a text line in a VT window & it's not very user firendly - in short it sucks).

Well, I've just spent a hour or so trying to get to grips with the coil winder sceen on here...I'm *really* impressed it looks fantastic & would appear to have been well thought out.

The thing is, it's kind of an incomplete project...but still has a lot of functionailty that seems to work

The immediate issues, that 'hit me, that I'm puzzled about...

1. There's an offset of 1.17mm - so let's say my coil width is 10mm...the DRO starts ar 1.17mm traverses to 11.17mm before reversing down towards 1.17mm again.


***Revisit 'Edit': still not sure what the original author put that in for...I don't know how to take it out, so have all but tuned it out by making it a 0.1mm offset.


Now I'm just wondering why?!!! (presumably the author needed it for his/her own situation?


Next, whilst the traversal DRO seems to read out fine, the 'spool count'  doesn't budge from '0' ?


***Revisit 'Edit' ok, got this working. I've now used the Y DRO redout (as opposed to the A DRO)...don't know why, but the A DRO doesn't work...I've tweaked the VB program accordingly. (you'd just need to know to use the Y axis for the main motor & the X axis for the traversal motor.)

So now, I've got the coil winder screen pretty much with all the bits that an operator would need, ie these bits...

width of spool
wire gauge
Number of turns.

Once entered, the program calculates the number of windings that can traverse sideways across the spool before changing direction etc & you can see the Axis movement on the DRO

So, all in all I'm pretty happy!

The Max RPM still doesn't work (I've sort kludged it by using the Use 'number input' as the direct feed rate)
Nor does the accelerate/decelerate aspects.