Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / Rotational Soft Limits on A axis, once more, cannot be disabled.

« on: January 03, 2014, 06:10:18 PM »

I too cannot disable rotational soft limits. The check box Rotational Soft Limits from Config/General Logic/Rotational pane goes into the XML as ROTSOFT, but Mach3 regardless of the checkbox and ROTSOFT, does soft limits on A. I went thru all the ~12 posts here about the rotational soft limit issue. On some posts, the checkbox Rotational Soft Limits seems to work, on other posts it does not work.

My Mach3 for this issue is versions R3.042.033, R3.042.038, R3.042.040  and R3.043.066. I also did the usual things with the XML: removed ROTSOFT, added RotSoft, varied every conceivable parameter in the Config menus, without any result. This is a test system without actual CNC, even without parallel port. The PROFILE is attached. We need Soft Limits turned on for the X Y Z axes.

Of course I can do infinity limits on A, up to +36500000.00, -36500000.00  (five zeros, a hundred thousand turns). But six zeros are too much, giving a Max<Min status message.

I thank you in advance for help.

Peter.

2

General Mach Discussion / 4th Axis, CCW, A or B

« on: December 29, 2013, 08:43:00 AM »

I have a few couple of questions

1) It seems that G1 A45 turns CW to 45 degrees, and G1 A-45 turns CCW to the same 45 degree position. I could not find the G-Code documentation, that sign(A-word) is the direction, and abs(A-word) is the position. My Mach3 behaves indeed this way.

The hint is from here (see attached picture): http://www.cnczone.com/forums/mach_software_artsoft_software/163474-gcode_turn_axis_ccw.html#post1172380

Tool path window really rotates, as from this hint: (Mach3 and 4th Axis topic) https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,15220.msg101823.html#msg101823

2)  In any case, is it possible to tell Mach3 to use B as the 4th axis (preparatory question, should I need it):  because our post processor seems to treat, by default, the A axis as vertical-linear, and the B axis as horizontal wrap-around. That's what I have read in the postprocessor code (I could not verify whether mentioning of vertical/horizontal refers to the spindle axis or the 4th axis). The question is very preparatory, as I have yet to see the piece to be machined.


Peter.
I'm the IT man (running Mach3 on a virtual Windows8-32bit on a real Windows8 laptop. There is a real machine in the shop)

3

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Mach3Screen, Screen4, MachScreen current program state?

« on: December 11, 2013, 01:30:19 PM »

I was away for a very long time from this forum, from Mach3 and CNC, and there used to be three screen designers.
It seems I was using a mixture of Screen4 and MachScreenV1.39, MachScreenV1.40.
Please tell me the state of
Mach3Screen? (last known to me of september 17, 2005)
Screen4? (last known to me of  january 11, 2008)
Where are they available from, or perhaps built-in if at all, or declared dead.

Mach3 I am at level R3.042.038 R3.042.040.

The documentation I am aware of is still around, at http://www.machsupport.com/Mach3Wiki

I'm aware that MachScreen is alive, and is currently at state MachScreenV1.59c. And button script editing operations can be done in Mach3.

Thanks.

Peter.

4

Feature Requests / oem buttons 286 and 285 Remember and Return to paused state.

« on: April 07, 2010, 05:08:06 PM »

My feature request relates to oem buttons
Return to paused state   285
Remember paused state   286
(resp. buttons on the Run Alt-1 screen: "Remember", "Return")

"Remember paused state" does strangely take into account the tool offset. It remembers the actual value+the tool offset.
Lets assume "Tool offset" is turned on, tool number is 2, its tool height is -80, Z displays 20. "Remember" remembers -60 and will go to -60 (or even worse: any H changes thereafter are being ignored). I would believe that "Remember" should remember work coordinates (including tool offset), e.g. controlled point is 20mm above zero, and "Return" should return the controlled point to 20mm above zero, including any tool changes. Mach3 is version R3.042.038.

Perhaps I have just troubles understanding these buttons? (or then I would better remove them from the screen so they do not cause mishaps)

Thank you for answers.

5

General Mach Discussion / Goto Z (Goto Zero) once again

« on: April 04, 2010, 07:02:38 AM »

Although this has been asked several times I'm still not sure what is the right way to do it and whether it is best suited in "General discussion" or "Screen design".

Issue: The built-in "Goto Zero" system functions goes to XY 0, then to Z 0.  I don't understand the reason behind the sequence, as "first XY, then Z" seems not safe to me. (This move would be modified thru the safe Z option.)  I could change that to "first Z0, then X0Y0" (see thread http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,11106.msg69719.html#msg69719).  When G0Z0 is a move down, this also is not very safe.

The german screen set does it as follows: reads out the safe Z value (mostly 0), and moves to this Z in *work* coordinates (rapid down when we tried it), before moving to zero.

I added a button "Go To Machine Zero" (G0G53Z0|G0G53X0Y0) and others, so modifying the screen with the screen editor is not a concern.

Question: What are the best options?
(a) to move XY then Z, when the move is down, but Z then XY, when the move is up?
(b) ask/warn user when the move is down?
(c) replace to "Goto Z" button by two buttons: one for "Goto Zero (XY)" and one for "Goto Zero (Z)"
(d) leave out "Goto Z" (Goto Zero) completely, i.e. remove it?

Thank you for your opinion and advice.

6

General Mach Discussion / Properly doing "Run Frome Here"

« on: April 03, 2010, 07:11:32 PM »

What is the proper way to do "Run From Here"? (exact click and scroll sequence, including clicks in the GCode window, scrolling there, clicking "Run From Here" and so on.)

The background is as follows: Today we loaded G code, and I wanted to do "running from here". Mach3 even told us the line number (lets say, 308) and "Run From Here" was clicked by me. The tool was in place, all offsets were right, the position was right, the spindle was spinning. But when we pressed "Cycle Start", it started not from line 308, but from the beginning. At line 9, it did (lets say) G0Z20. At line 10 it did (lets say) M6 T2 and requested the tool change. G0Z20 was not exactly the right move.

Thanks for exact instructions.

7

Feature Requests / Warning if in Demo mode

« on: April 03, 2010, 06:49:35 PM »

Today it would have been beneficial to us: a warning that we are in Mach3 demo mode. (We had to reinstall Mach3 due to computer troubles and we forgot to copy the license files). So it clipped the run without any warning at line 500.

8

General Mach Discussion / F5 (spindle on/off) and driver.

« on: March 19, 2010, 05:35:09 PM »

In order to turn off the spindle (F5 or M05), presence of the driver is required. (Mach3 version 3.042.033 and Mach3 version 3.042.038 tried. Actuality of the issue: not very - just on my simulating computer/laptop, the driver needs to be installed. Otherwise the spindle LED continues to blink).

P.

9

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / real meaning of G28 ?

« on: March 17, 2010, 03:07:57 PM »

I'm new to G Code and just a computer technician, sort of. Questions relating to G28 going "home".

(a) is G28 going to machine zero, or to the home offset coords given in Config->Homing/Limits? Is "home" meaning machine zero?

(does "ref all home" set the parameters 5161 thru 5166? to zero, or to the offsets given in Config->Homing/Limits, or not touch them?)

(b) is G28 Z0 going to Home/mach zero in all axes, or just in the Z axis (thru abs 0), and why is this so because my docs say otherwise. Why is G28 Z0 not moving the X and Y axes?

I observe that G28 Z5 moves only the Z axis, going to Z5 then Z0. This is of course very sensible, but not so written.


Are these behaviours of Mach3 configureable?

10

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Mach3 ScreenTweak C1 // hotkeys jog control

« on: March 16, 2010, 06:08:43 PM »

Hi

1. I would need Mach3ScreenTweak version C1, but the download link http://www.machsupport.com/Downloads/Mach3ScreenTweak.exe on the wiki page http://www.machsupport.com/MachCustomizeWiki/index.php?title=Standard_Hotkeys makes an error. I do have version B1, but there I can't yet see the hot keys.

2. I would need to have hotkeys x y z for mpg#1 axis selection, instead of ALT-A. They should work on all joggeable pages, not just the jog fly-out. (probably I could make global invisible buttons, assign them the hotkeys x y z and do what is needed (OEMbutton 185 thru 187). How to I generate invisible but enabled buttons? or how to handle hot keys without buttons?

3. The global jog hotkeys (up-down-left-right arrows, pageup-pagedown 4up-4down) do work when the "Jog mode button" is on the screen, as I have read in the documentation.  What is the "Jog mode button" (how is its presence recognized by the global jog hotkeys?) Mach3 definitely behaves this way, requiring the presence (and turning-on) of the jog mode button.

Thank you for giving me a helping hand.

Peter.