Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 R3.043.022 to R3.043.066 license stopped working.

« on: October 17, 2012, 03:05:10 PM »

Thanks everyone,
Yes it does suck to get ripped for 10k, but it's not all bad, there are too many things to list why this machine sucks but what does not suck is the frame and the table. At its base it is a really solid machine that I would buy again, just without the control box, fourth axis, wiring, computer or the extended warranty. After weeks of replacing all of the wiring, the speed controller, adding a cooling fan, and purchasing a Mach license it is running great. Thanks to Hood and to everybody for the much needed and appreciated help.

Strange part is the cabinet it comes with is really nice and very cheap, I actually bough another one.

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 R3.043.022 to R3.043.066 license stopped working.

« on: October 09, 2012, 04:09:50 PM »

When I called about the 2 degrees of backlash in the "no backlash 4th axis" he actually said "I feel sorry for you" to me on the phone.

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 R3.043.022 to R3.043.066 license stopped working.

« on: October 09, 2012, 10:42:10 AM »

Hood,
I just received an email from Scott and he says: "Yes, that is a pirated license - ACT is not a distributor..."
Ouch, after a month of rewiring the entire machine I find out the speed controller is for a remote control car, none of the cables were shielded and the license file is pirated.
Is 10:41AM too early to drink?
Thanks Hood!

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 R3.043.022 to R3.043.066 license stopped working.

« on: October 09, 2012, 10:07:09 AM »

Hood,
I purchased a DMC-III desktop milling machine from Advanced Control Tech and your saying it could be a pirated licence file?

5

General Mach Discussion / Mach3 R3.043.022 to R3.043.066 license stopped working.

« on: October 08, 2012, 05:20:27 PM »

After installing Mach3 R3.043.066 my license stopped working. It is listed at the top as registered but will not run after line 500.
I copied my license file and XML file to the new install. Previous version was Mach3 R3.043.022 and it ran fine.
Am I missing something?

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle Motor is the cause of all my problems

« on: August 06, 2012, 02:08:39 PM »

Thanks Hood!
I have rewired the entire machine. E-stop, home sensors, spindle motor and steppers all have shielded wire. I have a control box that houses everything, power, speed control and stepper control. The stepper motors have just wires coming out with no shielding. My question now is do I ground both sides of the wire and shield the steppers or ground just the control box side? Or am I in for more R&D?

Thanks Vogavt, that’s a great story.

7

General Mach Discussion / Spindle Motor is the cause of all my problems

« on: July 27, 2012, 06:13:22 PM »

After hours of sitting and watching my cnc mill go back and fourth and up and down twenty times, measuring at three different points I have found that with the spindle motor turned off the machine is accurate and precise. With the spindle motor on the x,y and z axis will move a lot, the longer it runs the more it moves. So now that I know what the problem is I do not know how to fix it. The spindle motor is a 24V brushless motor. I have removed the speed controller and placed it out side the control box and it did nothing other than waste my time. I’m thinking of putting the machine into the truck and driving to the middle of a filed somewhere, has anyone seen “Office Space”? then you know what’s next. 
Any suggestions?

8

General Mach Discussion / Re: Shift in my X Y and Z axis

« on: June 29, 2012, 12:17:46 PM »

Rich,
Yes, there is a horizontal roughing operation in the 1/8 end mill routine, but mostly 2 ½ axis pocketing and profiling.

Tweakie,
I will have to take the machine apart to see if the cables are shielded, my guess is they are not.

9

General Mach Discussion / Shift in my X Y and Z axis

« on: June 28, 2012, 04:43:47 PM »

Shift in my X Y and Z axis

I am running an ACT desktop milling machine / mach 3 processor with Mach 3 CNC v 3.042.040 on a 2.83 GHz quad core processor and windows XP with a lot of services disabled as suggested by ArtSoft. The problem is the axis will shift during a machining operation. I will set the machine up to run a ¼ inch end mill at 5 in/min cutting wax, run it and measure, no problems. Set the machine up with a 1/8 end mill at 5 in/min for detail cuts, run it and measure, stars out accurate but ends up off in the x by .053in, y by .042in and z by .027in at the end. The results are never the same and is not repeatable. I have slowed my feed rate, ran a ground wire from the cnc to the computer frame and even reinstalled XP and Mach3 CNC with no luck. I have had the x axis jump during a jog. If anybody has any ideas I am desperate, so tired of cutting the same thing over and over.

Thanks
Jon