Messages

1

Newfangled Mill Wizard / Re: Instaling newfangled on a laptop to create g code

« on: June 20, 2013, 01:19:47 AM »

Over the winter when it was too cold to be 'standing around' making code, I found the easiest way to do it was to come up stairs where it was nice and warm.  I'd work on my "main" machine, and simply save all my work to my Google drive (stuffed all the CNC files into a folder on it).  Went to the shop, where the mill was looking at the same Google drive. 

No muss, no fuss as the saying goes! 

2

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / All Dressed Up & No-Where To Go?

« on: June 15, 2013, 01:20:48 AM »

I got Alibre PE (oh sorry - Geomagic!  Stupid new name) for $100 out of them. 

After I got the demo, they kept calling me.  Only way to make them shut up was to inform them that I'd just lost my job (I had!) and didn't have any funds to blow on there stuff.  So they offered it to me for $100.

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: Poem

« on: June 14, 2013, 04:36:19 AM »

Ok, who else clicked on this expecting...  a poem!

I have never seen a thing
as lovely as can be
It is not a swaying tree
It is, Mach3

(ok there, now you've seen what you came for - move along!  )

4

General Mach Discussion / Power outage in the middle of a job

« on: June 02, 2013, 10:34:47 AM »

A *good* UPS like an APC has zero switch over time, since you're running off the inverter 100% of the time.

Assuming it has enough poop to run all of the equipment, and batteries big enough to see things through to the end of the job.... It shouldn't make any difference!

Personally, I run several large (1500&3000va) units, with stand alone battery packs.  I can see 6-10hours run time!  Depending on load of course.

5

General Mach Discussion / vacuum control

« on: May 23, 2013, 03:29:01 PM »

Oh yeah,that's not to say that there aren't spikes etc as the motor etc comes on.  It you were saying it only happens as things shut down.

6

General Mach Discussion / vacuum control

« on: May 23, 2013, 03:27:46 PM »

When the coil de-energizes there's a pulse generated.  It's like your ignition system, how the spark happens when the points open, not close (yeah, ok, I said points - I'm dating myself!).

7

General Mach Discussion / vacuum control

« on: May 23, 2013, 01:25:54 AM »

Check for where you wires run parallel to each other.

When the coil in the solenoid deactivates, it'll create a large pulse which is probably inducing current into a limit switch wire.

You can try wrapping the coils wire around a ferrite slug. That can reduce the effect.

8

General Mach Discussion / Re: power control of router using mach 3 / M3

« on: May 18, 2013, 12:20:44 AM »

Super cheapest (in stark contrast to the above!  ha ha) would be to tie a transistor onto a pin (just assign that pin as the spindle control), have the transistor fire a relay on/off.

9

General Mach Discussion / Z axis not working appropriately

« on: May 02, 2013, 10:14:24 AM »

That really looks like you just don't have the Z enabled in ports & pins.  But you DO have the A enabled....  Is there a check mark beside it?

10

General Mach Discussion / Re: RPM feedback with a CNC4PC C3 board

« on: April 27, 2013, 12:34:21 PM »

There we go - 16 holes was just too high a pulse rate for it to keep up with.

Through a complex process of algorithms and trig, detailed machining process's and... 
... oh who are we kidding, I used to black tape and an exacto knife, and blocked off 15 of the holes in the stock timing disc.


Got my timing feedback into Mach. Ran the spindle calibration routine. Turned on closed loop.

It's all happy now!     Thanks