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Topics - jimpinder

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1
General Mach Discussion / Keeping informed on Vis Basic
« on: November 13, 2009, 04:10:54 AM »
I have written a program to re-profile railway wheels which involves a short G Code program and a Vis Basic macro. The program takes about half an hour or so to run.

I would like to be able to have an "indicator" to tell me where in the program the machine is.

I have tried using the message line - but I can't include variables in the text of the line - e.g.  Code "(Pass Number PassNum) to show on the message line. I have tried sending a number to a User DRO, but when I regen the display, or start the code, the Vis Basic executes right through and indicates the final position on the DRO - not really what I wanted.

I have a FOR/NEXT loop in the macro - and all I really wanted to do was it to indicate  which number loop it was actually cutting.

2
The layout of the "reply" page now has a line down the centre with the  "up/dpwn" arrows on it. The icons above the reply area do not always display properly. The reply page keeps timing me out (although my replies are often long winded).

The text in the box keeps jumping up and down.

If fact, all in all it's getting a bit of a ****.

Anybody else having problems. The ony thing I can think of that I have changed recently is to download Internet Explorer 8. Is this full of bugs, or just not compatible with the Forum

3
General Mach Discussion / Ready to go with CSS - help!
« on: January 20, 2009, 05:36:45 AM »
I've been busy over the Christmas and New Year -

New computer - to replace the laptop - second hand tower.
Touch screen
Ball Screws fitted
Change everything to metric !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New pulley system on the spindle drive to give equal steps up the pulleys and get maximum power out of the spindle VFD
Rewire all the auxiliaries (home switches and speed detection)
Wire in removeable touch pad.
Get the spindle speed control working relaibly and accurately.
Video camera in the milling spindle.

READY TO GO  ;D ;D >:(

NOW - I am cutting railway wheels - which means facing across a 6 or 7 inch wheel (3inch radius). If I am using Constant Surface speed, how do I set about it. I know how to get it working - I have "dabbled" a bit with it - but if you are to set up an accurate speed, how do you do it.

Does Mach know that X0 is the centre of the lathe and therefore can calculate the correct speed (given the material) :-\
or - Do I have to set the lathe at a distance from X0 - say X25 - and then do an S command to set the speed at that distance - and Mach will then follow adjusting the speed as I move in or out. :-\
or - Is it something different :-\


HELP  ???





 

4
General Mach Discussion / Screen 4 - What am I doing wrong
« on: December 10, 2008, 04:40:25 AM »
I have just moved my touch screen into the workshop and linked it up to Mach 3 - it's great.

I was altering some of the screens - basically to give bigger buttons for my numb fingers, and add jog buttons to the basic set and lset screens. I had a niggling thing happen - when I made an alteration to an icon, say an OEM code, or a picture size, when I pressed OK, the image jumped, usually about 2.5 inches to the left, sometimes, down the screen, and I had to search for it, then bring it back to it's correct position.

What am I doing wrong, or not doing ??? :-[


5
General Mach Discussion / Where did Hoods OEM codes go ???
« on: December 09, 2008, 11:38:50 AM »
Hood - I lost your OEM codes recently, and thought - it doesn't matter, they are on the forum - only to find  :'( :'( :'(

THEY'RE GONE.

Please - where are they ???

6
General Mach Discussion / centering cross hairs on video camera
« on: November 20, 2008, 06:05:27 AM »
I dismantled my PC theatre orgen and moved the PC to the workshop. Took the laptop off the machine and substituted a desktop (with 1.5 gig of ram ). Tried the video camera and lo and behold, it worked !! (something it would not do on the laptop)

I spent this morning machining a holder for the camera, then mounted it in the milling spindle. I had drilled a target hole with a small drill, and the cross hairs on the video feature do not line up with the hole. If I turn the spindle by hand, the picture turns around the target hole, showing my fixture is accurate,

Therefore, it would seem, I need to move the crosshairs, to coincide with the target - how do I do it, please, I can't find any instruction(s)


7
General Mach Discussion / PWM and Digispeed
« on: August 06, 2008, 01:29:47 PM »
My speed control seems to have stopped working.

As far as I can see, I have all the correct ticks in the boxes - i.e. spindle step, active, spindle motor output, pwm control, use spindle feedback in sync mode.
My index is still working and the spindle speed is tracked when I operate it manuall.
I seem to have a PWM signal coming out of  pin 16, which I can measure with my mulrimeter, and it alters as I vary the speed using the S command.
I have the digispeed enable at 0volts.

Anything else I have forgotten before I declare my digispeed dead ???  I am at a loss :'( :'(

8
General Mach Discussion / Viz Basic Interpreter gone funny.
« on: July 08, 2008, 06:05:33 AM »
I had a hiccup on my workshop lathe, whilst doing a Viz Basic macro, but the trouble is something has gone funny now.

Anything I write (macro wise) will not run, and the interpreter will not recognise the syntax, even if it is correct - e.g. a line with more than one & in.

If I write it on my "office" computer - and then transfer it across to the workshop, it runs fine.

Can anybody tell me where the Viz Basic exe file(s)  is/are  in Mach 3 so I can copy a decent file across, I can't find them

9
General Mach Discussion / I am a complete *****
« on: June 16, 2008, 02:21:07 PM »
I have been messing about - and it was messing about with various screen sets - looking at the various choices to download.
I must admit that I didn't really fancy any in relation to the standard Mill and Turn Screens.

Unfortunately when I now click Mach Turn - the screen doesn't come up - and I have to find it and load it  using View/Load Screens.

Where do I tell my XML file the path for the screen set, or where do I put my lset file so that Mach ppicks it up as it starts up.

Jim

10
General Mach Discussion / My Fixtures are not "fixing"
« on: June 13, 2008, 01:53:20 PM »
Having taken the plunge, and set up my homing switches, I decided to become more professional , and fill in the offset table to bring various tools etc, into line with my chuck ( I am on the lathe at the moment, but the query applies to Mill as well)

I am missing something !! :-\

I fill in the fixtures table. I click select, I click save.  The trouble is the entries are not constant. Sometimes they are there, other times the table has reverted to 0.0.0
At the moment g59p7 seems to be fairly constant - it is staying on the table, even after I shut down and start up again, but I did what I though was the same for g59p8 today - and after a couple of calls it had zeroed itself.

Can anyone tell me how to "freeze" the offset table - like the tool table (with which I have no trouble) :'(

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