Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: When limit switches are triggered, mach3 lags for a few seconds

« on: February 01, 2011, 06:32:07 AM »

So I've checked it out, and you're absolutly correct about the debounce settings!

I turned it back to 0, and now everything works perfectly!


Thanks Hood! 

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General Mach Discussion / Re: When limit switches are triggered, mach3 lags for a few seconds

« on: January 30, 2011, 05:22:28 PM »

Baaah!!

That may so be true, as I did all sorts of stuff to try to solve another problem I had (which I solved).

Ill check tomorrow and let you know again.

Thanks alot!

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General Mach Discussion / When limit switches are triggered, mach3 lags for a few seconds

« on: January 30, 2011, 02:22:50 PM »

Hi,

So I have a problem with mach3 and limit switches.

I have setup the limit switches, and they worked perfectly. As soon as the switch was triggerd, the axis stopped. As well as the ref home worked good.
However, when I installed a RS485-to-usb-converter to control my spindle by mach3, this is no longer working;

Now when the limit switches are triggered, I have to wait 2-3 seconds before mach3 notices and stops the axis. This is NO good for any application.
This happens whether the spindle is turned on or not. This doesn't matter. The spindle control workes perfectly without lag.

So the setup: The limit switches are connected to Gecko540 BOB. The X-switches to input 1, Y to input 2, and Z to input 3, and everything is setup correctly in Mach3.
The computer is a Intel dual core 2.2Ghz with a pretty new motherboard (dont remember the specs), and Ive got 2 gigs of ram. So this is way more than enough on the hardware part.

Also: Everything else works as it should. Milling out parts after G-code, jogging, and all other parts of it. Except for when I press my external E-stop switch, mach3 lags 2-3 seconds here aswell. This E-stop is directly connected to the gecko, so the gecko stops all the axes momentarily.


Anyone have an idea of what my problem is? Do you need more info on my setup?

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Finished Plugins for Download / Re: Huanyang VFD controller plugin

« on: January 28, 2011, 01:46:04 PM »

That was only one question  The answer is that it travels both in the air and down the cable, but the noise in the cables is usually what affects sensitive devices. Try reading some of the posts on smoothstepper electrical noise issues, since the solutions to those problems should help your noise issues as well.

Ok, I did as you said And I deviced a solution! So now everything works as it should, and no more freezing of mach3!

Thank you very much Dave for not letting go of the noise-theory! I should send you some flowers or something

For others that might run into the problem:
I used a shielded cable from the USB-RS485 to the VFD. The cable was actually a firewire cable, which is extensivley shielded. I soldered on a wire onto the shield in the cable, and grounded it. The I put the whole USB-RS485 inside my computer chassis (Im not sure if thats a good idea or not. At least its shielded against the very noisy VFD).

So the key is keeping the USB-RS485 away from the VFD, and to ground ONE end of the shield in the cable. As DMBGO says, gounding only one end of the shield will make a faraday cage!

Thanks again Dave / DMBGO

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Finished Plugins for Download / Re: Huanyang VFD controller plugin

« on: January 27, 2011, 03:58:51 PM »

You can buy an emi filter and put it on the AC input side of the VFD (not between the vfd and the motor). I got one from ebay. Use shielded cables for all signal lines and only earth one end of the shield, so that it acts like a faraday cage.
Cheers
Dave

Thanks! Ill order a filter right away. However, do you know the answer to my first two questions?

Does the noise only or mostly travel through the cables? Or is it i.e. radiating noise from the spindle through air?

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Finished Plugins for Download / Re: Huanyang VFD controller plugin

« on: January 27, 2011, 03:51:16 PM »

Bah!

So I've googled some, and I must say, I don't really understand the noise thing. Does the noise only or mostly travel through the cables? Or is it i.e. radiating noise from the spindle through air?

I tried maximising the distance between the VFD and the spindle, and changing the RS+/- cable to a shielded and twisted cable. However, without results.

It seems that as soon as I turn on the spindle, the modbus/mach3 freezes. Doesnt matter if I turn it on though mach3, or manually on the VFD (however, the RS+/- cables are still connected through modbus)

I see from earlier in this thread that people have had the same problems as me, but as far as I can see, there was no solution. Or at least none told about it here.

Anyone else have an idea that I can try? Or is the next step adding some ferrite donuts around the all VFD-cables?

I really want this to work

Thanks for any input!! Its greatly appreciated

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Finished Plugins for Download / Re: Huanyang VFD controller plugin

« on: January 26, 2011, 04:04:15 PM »

I dont think this is related to the plugin itself, but rather the VFD is causing electrical noise which is freezing Mach3. Are you using a smoothstepper by any chance? These are very sensitive to noise.

That may be... Im not using the smoothstepper.

Is there an easy way to reduce the noise so I can see if it helps? If it does help, I can then invest in a decent filter of some sort (any ideas on a more permanent noise filter?).

But I would really like to try out first to see if this is really the problem.

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Finished Plugins for Download / Re: Huanyang VFD controller plugin

« on: January 26, 2011, 03:08:58 PM »

Hi Guys!

Thanks a lot for this plugin!!

BUT, Im having some problems, and Im not sure what to make of it.

I had a VFD without the RS485 chip installed. So today I soldered one in place. I hooked up R+/R- to the A/B on my RS485-to-USB converter, and setup everything according to manuals.

So in Mach3 on the plugin-window I get the PD001 and PD002 reading 2 and 2 as it should.

So I type in a speed of 6000, and the VFD correctly shows 100Hz on the display. And whatever speed I type in in mach3, the corresponding correct frequency is displayed at the VFD. YAY I thought, and pressed the Turn Spindle On-button, and the spindle fires up. If I press i.e. Zero X-button right after turning the spindle on - there is some lag, maybe 2 seconds before it actually zeros the X-axis.

So far, so good. When I now try to regulate the speed. I.e. to 8000rpms, mach3 freezes. The speed doesn't change on VFD or anything. When I finally can get mach3 to force-shutdown, I can't restart mach3 again. I have to restart the computer.
So the exact same thing happens if I press the Turn Spindle On/Off-button again to turn off the spindle. Mach3 freezes.

Sometimes I get the Server Busy-window up which I can't get out of. But usually it just freezes indefinatly.

So Ive tried a few things - Ive tried adjusting the kernel speed, changing USB-port of the USB-to-RS485-converter, even soldering on a new and fresh RS485 chip. All the same results.

Anyone have any ideas?

Ive got the CNC running by Gecko540, and the spindle is a 2.2kW water-cooled one with the corresponding VFD.
The PC is a quite new one running windows XP SP3