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Topics - rkdygert

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1
Brains Development / Drive stepper motor via Brain for ATC
« on: March 27, 2009, 11:24:52 PM »
I'm trying to write a brain to run my rotary tool turret on my lathe.  A little background on the tool change operation first:

When a tool change is called:
1) turret raise solenoid fires to raise the turret off its stop dogs
2) proximity switch sees turret has been raised and allows mach to rotate turret
3) stepper motor rotates turret proper number of degrees
4) stop solenoid fires a stop pawl to give positive stop to turret rotation
5) turret raise solenoid shuts off to drop turret back on stop dogs
6) proximity switch sees turret has dropped and allows mach to continue program

My immediate question is: how do I terminate a lobe to command rotation of a stepper motor a certain number of steps while running g-code which has called for the new tool (i.e. not move via jog)?

Thanks,
-Ryan


2
General Mach Discussion / Stop Mach from ignoring limits when homing
« on: March 23, 2009, 08:07:09 PM »
My lathe has separate home switches from limit switches on both axes so I don't need (or want) Mach to ignore the limit switches when doing its homing procedure.  I had a home switch fail today and the machine ran to the mechanical stop since Mach ignored the fact that the limit switch had actually been tripped.  Is there a way I can tell Mach not to ignore the limits when homing.  Or, alternatively, can I write a brain that does the homing for me in which the limits aren't ignored?

Thanks,
-Ryan

3
General Mach Discussion / Isolated ground question
« on: January 21, 2008, 07:29:19 PM »
So my CHNC retrofit is well underway and I'm getting ready to button up the PC and drive components.  Unfortunately, I've run into a question that I can seem to answer...

I need to know if I should keep the ground(s) of my motherboard, breakout board, and Rutex drives isolated from the system chasis AC ground?  I originally thought it would be best to keep them isolated for noise purposes and had been putting it together as such, but then I found that the chasis of my Rutex motherboard connects to the shield of its LPT port which will connect to the LPT port on the motherboard which will tie the PC directly to system ground.

What does everybody else do??

Thanks,
-Ryan

4
General Mach Discussion / E-stop & reset question
« on: December 16, 2007, 07:13:35 PM »
I would like to know if it is possible for me to setup Mach so that when an estop from the PC is triggered, an output pin can trip a physical relay and trigger a physical estop.  I'm using Rutex drives which will trigger an estop on the PC when an axis limit is hit, but I would like to have a physical estop string which can be tripped when this internal PC estop is triggered.

In combination with this, I want to have a physical reset switch to take the place of the one on the Mach screen...I'm pretty sure this can be done but want to make sure.

-Ryan

5
General Mach Discussion / ATC using stepper motor on A axis
« on: December 11, 2007, 09:41:40 PM »
I figured out how to cram a stepper motor in my CHNC in place of the air motor which originally rotated the turret but I need to know if I can drive it.  I would like to wire the stepper into a Gecko drive and control it as an auxiliary axis, that way I can tell the turret to rotate a certain number of steps to go to the proper tool, etc.  Is it possible to write a tool change macro or use brains to control an axis in this way?  I've been looking it over and I understand how to control a simple output like a solenoid or something, but I don't see how to use it for step/dir output (if it can).  Can it?

-Ryan

6
General Mach Discussion / Pairing motor with sensorless vector drive
« on: December 06, 2007, 08:05:24 PM »
I have a potentially stupid question to ask...

What do I need to consider when pairing a motor with a VFD?  Specifically, I have a couple vector drives, specs here: 

http://www.geindustrial.com/products/buyersguide/Sec_12AF-300E$.pdf

they are 5hp GE sensorless vector drives.  What do I need to look for in a motor to take advantage of the vector benefits of the drive?  I read in the manual that it needs to be a 2, 4, or 6 pole motor...anything else?

Thanks,
-Ryan

7
Hi everybody, I've got some real NEWB questions that I need answered...

I've got a 1991 Haas VF1 that burnt a couple boards in, going to cost $3000+ to repair, and I'm considering retrofitting the machine with Mach.  I want to make sure of a couple things before I make any decisions though:

1.) Will I be able to use the machine's existing VFD to control spindle speed?  It's a Mitsubishi FR Z220-3.7k-UL, manual can be found at the link below:

http://www.meau.com/functions/dms/getfile.asp?ID=010000000000000001000000234200000

I read through the manual and I see that the VFD can take PWM signal to control the spindle, but seeing as how it's so old, I'm not sure if I would be able to wire it in to Mach or not.  I'm having trouble finding info on how exactly you connect a PWM controlled drive to Mach.  Any help or direction would be great.

2.) From what I can tell in the Mach manual and posts on the forum, it is possible for Mach to control an automatic tool changer.  My Haas has a motor driven carousel changer that I would want to incorporate in Mach.  Is this possible and, realistically, how difficult is it?  From what I can tell, it would take some macro programming...just not sure how much.

Again, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.  Thanks!
-Ryan

8
General Mach Discussion / CHNC retrofit
« on: January 29, 2007, 01:03:31 AM »
I need some advice from the experts here...

I'm in the middle of trying to figure out how to best retrofit my Hardinge CHNC using Mach3 and am stuck on how to drive the spindle.  The stock DC spindle motor on the machine was recently rebuilt, so I'd like to keep it on the machine (and I have a spare on the shelf besides) but I have no idea what kind of drive would be best to control it with.  The original control uses a 90VDC GE drive that can put out 85 amps. 

I'm open to any and all ideas that anybody might have (that includes retrofit with an AC motor if it's the absolute best route).

Also, any input on the servo drives would be great.  I'm keeping the original motors as they're in good shape and I have a spare set.  They are 90vdc...I'm looking at the Rutex R2020, 200v 40A so I can accomodate larger motors in the future if I want.  Again, any input is appreciated.

Thanks,
-Ryan

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