Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: Very green newb, Is this possible?

« on: September 02, 2009, 10:49:26 AM »

about 3/8" on the Y, and about 1/4" on the Z, running at 200 ipm for 5 min,  with both changing direction quite a few times.  I am trying to cut parts for rc model airplanes.

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: Very green newb, Is this possible?

« on: September 02, 2009, 07:34:46 AM »

Every thing works very well, except this drift problem.  Could the vid card be the problem?

Thank you for sticking with the newb, and his dumb Qs
Jeff

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: Very green newb, Is this possible?

« on: September 01, 2009, 09:38:51 PM »

Intel(R) 82865G graphics controller

Dac type- internal

96MB

I think for Mach we need a non integrated card, right?

onboard or AGP?  I'm not sure

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: Very green newb, Is this possible?

« on: September 01, 2009, 03:54:54 PM »

Hood    If you mean "dir lowActive"  Ports & Pins,  Motor Outputs,   then yes I have tried it.

I may have found something,  I don't know what video card I have.  The system is fast enough, and has enough memory, but I don't know what video card I have, or how to find out.

Another thing I found,  today I was listening to the radio,  when I powered up my machine I got a lot of static on my radio.

Jeff

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: Very green newb, Is this possible?

« on: September 01, 2009, 08:47:59 AM »

sshneider     belts and pulleys are tight, been through this thing with a fine tooth comb,  also checked set screws, all stepper shafts have flats ground for the set screws.

RICH    Steps per unit are as close as I can get them, with a 6" digital vernier calipers.  Regardless of whether they are right or not shouldn't zero be zero?

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Very green newb, Is this possible?

« on: August 31, 2009, 09:03:41 PM »

Ray L.       I am using a mechatronics bi polar 3 axis micro step motor driver, from www.easy-cnc.com  , 

ostie01    I have already tried increasing the step and direction pulse

7

General Mach Discussion / Very green newb, Is this possible?

« on: August 31, 2009, 09:56:14 AM »

I am very new to cnc, and have recently built a Phlatprinter MKII from phlatboyz.com  I am using a Mechatronics bi polar 3 axis micro step motor driver, with 3 nema-23 stepper motors.  The machine is all belt driven.  The x axis is a large belt driven roller similar to that of a large format printer.  Y and Z are on a gantry below the cutting surface, and the cutting bit protrudes from below.  When I run a cut file X and Y do not finish where they start.  Y drifts progressively farther and farther in the + direction, and Z does so as well.  To help diagnose the problem I rewired coil 1 to coil 2, and coil 2 to coil 1 reversing the steppers, then in mach I reversed settings so everything ran in the right directions again.  After reversing the steppers I still have the drift but in the opposite directions.  The drift is very consistant.  The same cut file ran over and over leaves the cutter the same distance off.  I have tried lowering the feed rates and acceleration, with no changes in the drift.

Is it possible that one coil is working better than the other in the steppers?  If I could set steps per unit in the + direction, and then in the - direction independantly couldn't I compensate for this drift?

Jeff

8

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!

« on: August 29, 2009, 03:24:27 AM »

Hi everybody.  I live in northwest Ohio near Toledo.  I am 44 yrs old and have a 17 yr old daughter ( I'm not sure which confuses me more the daughter or computers).  I design build and fly RC airplanes (or eat breath and sleep).  I recently built a Phlatprinter MKII.  The Phlatprinter is a 3 axis router designed to cut foam sheet and light wood, primarily for model aircraft construction.  I've only recently been bitten by the CNC bug, and I'm deffinately on the wrong side of the bell curve (for now).

Jeff