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Messages - Machine Guy

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1
SmoothStepper USB / Re: Using ESS port 3 in Mach 3
« on: June 03, 2016, 04:58:06 PM »
Triggered switches not allowing movement? Using conflicting ports/pins?  Not sure, maybe do some more searching to see if anyone else had problem closer to yours.  Manual say anything useful?

2
SmoothStepper USB / Re: Using ESS port 3 in Mach 3
« on: June 03, 2016, 04:46:33 PM »
Well it has been a long time, but looking at my previous post that isn't 100% clear, lol, i think i had the ribbon cable plugged in backwards to the board.  Does that help?

3
Area51, I also have the same problem with the runaway jogging after using the step jog.  It stays in step mode and will runaway unless i remember to switch it back via the Tab menu.  I am also using the ethernet smoothstepper.  If it helps i can send a video or something, but it is pretty much just what MadTooler has talked about.  I am anxiously awaiting a fix, as i see the wonderful potential in the plugin you made.  Thanks!

Brian

4
SmoothStepper USB / Re: Using ESS port 3 in Mach 3
« on: November 03, 2014, 03:10:03 AM »
Nevermind, it always seems i cannot solve the problem till i post up to ask about it.  The c10s board does not have a socket for the ribbon cable, and i had it backwards, so the pins were not correct.  It seems you do not need to enter a location of the port for it to work.

Brian

5
SmoothStepper USB / Using ESS port 3 in Mach 3
« on: November 03, 2014, 02:57:44 AM »
I have a very nice system that has been up and running for a long time, and am very familiar with mach 3, and just added a rotary axis for my plasma table using port 3 of the ESS.  Port 1 is BOB with 4 axis (1 slave) Port 2 is THC301D Torch Height Control.

I added a C10s board to the ESS port 3 and cannot get movement from the axis.  I do see there is no place to enter a port 3 address in Mach, is this my problem?  I see all over the place people mention using 3 ports with the ESS.  How do i get it to communicate.  right now i have the Rotary Axis hooked to port 3 pins 16 and 17 for step and direction, only thing hooked to the C10s board.

Help would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

6
Well all that fooling around, and i think it was just a bug in my install/version of mach.  The mach 3 tech was Scott Nichols, scottn@machsupport.com, and then asked for Les's help with what he was talking about with sheetcam, and in the end, you are right, it doesn't matter it works either way the post is made with sharp corners or arcs.......  That is after i updated to the latest version of mach.   FYI, I believe the old version that i had a problem with was 3.042.040, now i am using most recent, .063 i think?

I was able to cut a 3" star at 500 ipm with .05 tolerance and it was perfect, only very minor inside corner rounding, and hardly any dross or hear build up during the corner, .1 and it was borderline for what i want, 672 ipm and 1.0 for tolerance and it was massively rounded even at 75 accel.  Just what i wanted it to do though, so i can see the results and find what is ideal for me.  Thanks guys for your help!

Right now my machine is set at 850 ipm velocity and 75 accel, haven't lost a step.  I also haven't pushed it faster to see if i can get more, because i think this will be plenty.  Yes, all i am using is the option on the main mach screen to type the tolerance or distance, cant remember what it says, and it works perect now.

Brian

7
Flash Screens / Re: freezing
« on: May 25, 2014, 10:10:04 PM »
What is the difference from a flash screen and a regular one?  I have had problems with mach freezing, and have tried a bunch of stuff and i still get random lockups.  Usually it occurs when it is sitting idle, with or without the cnc controls powered up.  Thinking this might be worth looking at?

8
I can get sharp corners, thats not what im trying to achieve.  It seems that I have the opposite problem of most (trying to eliminate rounding), although i have some strong motors and can accel/deccel fast.  I am trying to fine tune my machine and may end up only using a small amount of cv rounding on light gauge decorative type work, as any slowing builds the heat up fast on thin stuff, and also introduces extra dross.  I guess for a different type of explanation, i am trying to go from a family car slowing for turns at an intersection to a formula 1 car that slightly cuts the corner and can keep the speed up substantially.  When i lower the accel way down, i would expect alot of rounding to be done in an attempt to keep the speed up, but it does not, it slows for the corner and then speeds up when it leaves.  I have a few things to try, but i burned out a fuse on my drive (bad connection on motor wire i think) so i have to wait till my fuses arrive to try.

Les from sheetcam said "CV should work on arcs but try this: In your cut operation turn on 'triangle' in the 'loop sharp corners' box. Set the loop size and angle threshold sliders fully to the left. Corners will now be sharp angles rather than being rounded."

This is because a mach 3 tech said that my post was showing tiny arcs in the corners (because of the outside offset) which was preventing the CV from working, but that is yet to be proven.

I will try that, and I also updated to the latest Mach 3 version and see if i can round some corners, then i will adjust the settings so that it is just ever so slightly and see what it is like.   I am also going to try to get it setup so that it kicks out THC on corners to prevent dive and I am also going to play with settings for smaller holes, so i can eliminate some of the plasma drift that happens when moving fast on small holes and creates a tapered hole.

9
I am trying to figure out why constant velocity is not working in mach 3, and a mach technician told me that because my g code file is producing arcs in the corners instead of just a 90 degree angle, it is not doing CV. This happens when using the outside offset feature of sheetcam to compensate for plasma kerf width, because it offsets the cut to the outside, which means the plasma cutter makes a small arc while hugging the shape in the corners, but this evidently cancels any potential to use CV and it will stay on that path entirely, instead of allowing it to cut the corner by my set tolerance to keep the speed more consistent.  Any way around this while still using outside offset (to produce true sized parts) and Constant Velocity (to prevent total slowdown in corners).  I am ok with some corner rounding on most parts, as just a little bit will allow much better movement and closer CV speeds to achieve less dross and heating in corners, especially on thin sheet.  Also on decorative cutting, where corner sharpness does not matter at all.

Brian

10
Thanks for the reply,

It never goes to sleep while Im using it, I have the timer set for a long time, and I like to put it to sleep when I am not using it since it is in a enclosed cabinet for plasma dust, and I figured less heat would be better for the computers life when Im not using it.

Is that not ok, even if it never sleeps when its running?

If its not ok, is hibernate ok, or do I just have the choice of letting it run, or shutting it down?

Brian

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