Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / Cycle Start / Feed Hold Not Working, Skipping Lines

« on: October 07, 2019, 08:50:45 PM »

Hi,

I've tried this on three different versions of Mach3 now (.066, .062, and .057) and the behavior is the same across all three. When I click feed hold and then cycle start (to pause the machine briefly and then come back), it skips a line of gcode (goes to the next line instead of finishing the one it was doing when I clicked feed hold). When I click feed hold, then stop, and then cycle start, it doesn't skip a line and it works fine.

I'd be fine with the workaround of clicking stop, except that that doesn't work for the brain I'm writing. When the brain tries to click stop, it returns to the start of the file. This means that I've been unable to script a brain that pauses the machine and then resumes it.

So, then, my questions are these. First, is there a version of Mach3 where the feed hold/cycle start thing works like it should? If so, which one? If not, how can I write a brain to pause and resume the machine?

Thanks.

2

General Mach Discussion / Write a brain to detect when an input turns off (falling-edge detection)

« on: September 22, 2019, 02:51:23 AM »

Hi,

I'm using mach3 on a windows XP PC with a parallel port. I'm new to writing brains, and I'm trying to figure out how to make one output run when an input turns on (easy enough), but then a different output run when the input turns off (like when a limit switch turns off).

I'm using the fourth axis limit switch pin on a GeckoDrive G540, but it won't be configured as a limit switch; it's instead just serving as input (it will not home anything or e-stop the machine).

So, how would I write a brain to do this? So far I can run things when the switch turns on, but not when it turns off. Is it possible, or do I just need to hijack another input pin?

Thanks.

3

General Mach Discussion / Send PWM signal from Geckodrive G540 to PC

« on: June 28, 2019, 12:41:37 AM »

I'm new to this forum, so sorry if I make some mistake.

However, I've been looking everywhere to see if it'd be possible to send a PWM signal over the parallel port, from a Geckodrive G540 to a PC, as input that Mach3 would recognize (maybe a 50% signal does something, while a 75% does something else).

We're building a machine that needs an input to the computer to tell it to either reverse feed, continue forward, or stay stationary. Our plan was to just use the 4th axis limit switch on the terminal block's pin 4 (we don't have a fourth axis), but I think that's meant to transmit a normal binary on-off signal.

Will that pin work if we somehow send a PWM signal through it? If not, what's the best next move?