Messages

1

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Macro not working in .lset, but works in .set

« on: November 14, 2011, 06:20:18 PM »

I have an old macropump macro for overriding the spindle speed with a potentiometer.  The macro works fine when using the standard Mach 3 mill screen (1024.set), but when I switch to the lathe screen (1024.lset), the macro no longer works. 

Here's the macro code I'm using:

SRO = GetInput (65)
SRO = (SRO * 120.0)/1024.0
Call SetOEMDRO(74,SRO)

Just for kicks, I used the screen designer to save a copy of 1024.lset as a .set file, and the macro worked fine when I loaded this screen.  (A number of other things were messed up, however, including the toolpath views.)

Any ideas why this macro won't work on a lathe screen?   Any suggestions for a workaround?

Thanks,

m

2

Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: Point Cloud File Formats

« on: July 04, 2009, 07:23:02 AM »

.stl is widely used in industry for this purpose.

M

3

Brains Development / Re: I can Smell your Brain's

« on: July 03, 2009, 12:18:48 PM »

Here are the brains I'm using.  x100 uses Velocity, x1 and x10 use position. 

I set this up several months ago, so I don't recall what I changed in the brains to get them to work this way.

In x100, you get fast, smooth jogging for coarse positioning.  On my mill, I can zip along at max rapid feedrate, but still position to about .1" in this setting.

I seldom use x10, but it gives a nice 1" per MPG turn.  So six cranks is 6", etc.  Nice for quickly and accurately jogging the tool an exact distance just by reading the marks on the MPG wheel.

x1 is handy for accurate positioning.  I have it calibrated to the MPG dial, so one detent on the MPG is .001".  This is invaluable for precision jogging.  Note that the CNC4PC pendant has 4 encoder counts per mark on the dial, so you must calibrate accordingly.  It's kind of handy - you can actually eek out .00025" jog increments by carefully moving the MPG between detents.

m

4

Brains Development / Re: I can Smell your Brain's

« on: July 02, 2009, 05:03:01 PM »

I'm using the same setup and getting the same behavior.  I guess that means your experience isn't an anomoly.

I've mitigated the issue by using velocity jogging mode only in the x100 setting (for coarse positioning).  In the x1 and x10 settings, I'm using position jogging mode for exact control, and the overrunning behavior goes away.

With this configuration, I've never had the overrunning behavior cause a crash, and in fact, I've even taken advantage of it for making long, steady moves without the need for programming.  Admittedly, it does require a little technique, but it's quicker than typing a G1 move.

For what it's worth, I used keyboard jogging controls for 5 or 6 years, and now that I have the pendant, I could never live without it.

m

5

Brains Development / Feedrate override with MPG

« on: July 02, 2009, 04:56:12 PM »

I have an MPG pendant for manual jogging of my mill, and it works great.  I'd like to extend its capabilities by using the MPG encoder for increasing/decreasing the feedrate override % (FRO) and the spindle speed override % (SRO).  The pendant has a 6-axis selector switch for jogging, and since I don't need axes 5 and 6 for my mill, I'd like to use these selections to control FRO and SRO.

I have some experience programming PLCs, but I'm having trouble getting my Brain to behave as I wish.  Here's the behavior I'd like for the feedrate override function:

1)  Turn the axis selector switch to FRO.
2)  Rotate the encoder CW or CCW to increase/decrease the FRO % from its current value.
3)  Upon turning the selector switch from FRO to another mode, I'd like the FRO value to remain at its setting from step 2, even if I spin the MPG.

Has anyone attempted this?  If so, can you send me your brain?  I've used the better part of a vacation day on it, and I don't have anything to show for it.  BTW, I'm not using ModIO since I have enough inputs on my parallel port to do the job.



Thanks,

M