Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / Sp[eed Feed Variation

« on: March 18, 2010, 07:50:54 AM »

On a lathe I converted over to Mach 3, I have an issue with feed speed when called from a program.  I am using feed/rev as the feed method.  If I step through the program, the feed speed is fine.  If I run the program the feed speed is very slow.  I can stop the program, restart the spindle manually then hit cycle start and the feed is correct.  I have not physically cut a thread yet but during air cutting the feed speed for a program with threading in it seems fine.  Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Thanks
havery

2

Modbus / Spindle Control Brain for Modbus

« on: March 11, 2010, 09:31:43 AM »

I am going to use Modbus Plug-in and an M13 expansion board (CNC4PC) to control the spindle speed of a VFD.  I have the control wires for the VFD connected to output 3 and GND of the Analog Out portion of the board.  Arturo mentioned the use of a brain to control this output.  I downloaded and installed Scott's ModSpinOutControl.brn.  Can someone help me understand the logic before I blindly start using it?  How would I state the address for the analog out?  In the brain file I put in 4007 and it says this value is not valid.  Should this value be 4 of configuration 3 instead?  A screenshot of my Modbus Configuration is shown below. 

Thanks
havery

3

General Mach Discussion / Axis Homing Problem

« on: March 02, 2010, 10:33:21 AM »

I have a lathe I am retrofitting and I have a homing issue on the Z axis.  I have searched the posts with no luck.  The X axis homes and zeros fine.  The Z axis hits the limit switch and gives a "Limit Switch Activated " instead of homing and zeroing at that position.  I think I have the same setup on the X and Z axis with one limit switch being both the limit and home switch.  From the pics below the switches are both being seen as both a limit and homing switch by the software.  They are both setup to auto zero on home switch activation.  Any ideas why the Z axis would not home?

They were both working using version 3.042.029.  I recently installed 3.042.038 but I would guess it is something I have set wrong rather then a rev issue.  Xml is also attached.

Thanks for any help

havery

4

General Mach Discussion / Gecko G540 VFD Output Help

« on: October 29, 2009, 02:15:41 PM »

I have a G540 unit and cannot get the voltage between the VFD Signal and the VFD Ground to change when I issue a M03 S## command.  I have searched the posts and cannot find the information I need.  Does anyone have a testing procedure for checking the parallel port and the G540 unit?

I have connected the + lead of a variable DC power supply to Pin 9 and the – lead to pin 7 of the G540 unit.  I apply a 10 volt signal and measure the voltage using a digital volt meter between pin 8 and pin 7.  The voltage continuously varies between ~.2 and .45 VDC before I send the M03 command.  Once the M03S15000 command from Mach 3 is sent, I see absolutely no change between pin 7 and 8.  The voltage continues to fluctuate between .2 and .45 volts.   Output 1 does change state and I can control a relay with this signal.

All other features of the G540 work fine; limit switches, outputs, motor drives, e-stop, ect…  I purchased the G540 as part of a “Boxed Kit” solution.  From the other posts I have read, I think this is a newer version as it has the external charge pump switch.

I will be controlling an AC router through a C-19 unit from CNC4PC.  The router speeds are from 10,000 to 21,000rpm.  The C-19 unit is functioning fine as I can apply a varying voltage of 0 and 9.2 VDC between the signal and ground connections on the C-19 and the router speed changes from min to max.

I think I might have a bad G540 unit but would like a testing procedure before I send it in for evaluation.


Thanks
Haze

I have the following settings:

5

General Mach Discussion / Limit Switch activates on "ActivateSignal(Output2) "Command

« on: October 09, 2009, 11:42:50 AM »

When I run the following code and get to the DeActivateSignal(Output2) the Reset Button lights and the message says a limit switch has activated.  I am no where near a limit switch and no movement is occurring anyway.  My machine homes fine and the limit switches do stop an overtravel movement.  Even though this is a new setup, I have been able to cut parts without issue.  This is the 1st time I am trying to use the Activate Deactivate commands.

ActivateSignal(Output2)
Sleep(500)
DeActivateSignal(Output2) 'When it gets to this point the reset activates.
Sleep(500)
ActivateSignal(Output2)
Sleep(500)
DeActivateSignal(Output2)
Sleep(500)
ActivateSignal(Output2)
Sleep(500)
DeActivateSignal(Output2)
Sleep(500)
ActivateSignal(Output2)
Sleep(500)
DeActivateSignal(Output2)
Sleep(500)
Message "ALMOST DONE"
While IsMoving()
Sleep 100
Wend
Message "NOW WE ARE DONE"

I am using the VB editor and both running and stepping through the code.  Same result.   Any ideas why this would be happening and more importantly how to fix it.

Thanks
Haze