Messages

1641

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 not Moving in any axis!! HELP PLEASE!!

« on: January 19, 2017, 06:58:37 AM »

Also, I have just worked out that when I switch the actual control box off, whilst mach 3 is running a program, the vertical axis moves 1/4" then stops. thats the only way I can get any axis to move.

I take it that Mach3 runs OK when you hit Cycle Start (assuming Gcode file loaded etc.) it is just the machine that does not move.

Tweakie.

1642

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 not Moving in any axis!! HELP PLEASE!!

« on: January 19, 2017, 06:53:05 AM »

Do you have a manual (with circuit diagrams) for your existing control box ?

The first product you have linked is a USB driven motion controller and would require extra parts.

The second product you have linked may be a good replacement for your existing controller (using your existing power supply, etc.) and the wiring-up is documented by the supplier. However, please bear in mind that the cheap Chinese products sometimes work OK and sometimes they do not – there is often no backup or technical support from the supplier and you are pretty much on your own.

It costs considerably more but the Gecko G540 (http://www.geckodrive.com/geckodrive-step-motor-drives/g540.html) is probably the best product you could buy – it comes with all the technical support and backup you would ever need. Again the wiring-up is all well documented and there are plenty of people here who could help if you run into difficulties.

Tweakie.

1643

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 not Moving in any axis!! HELP PLEASE!!

« on: January 19, 2017, 02:28:19 AM »

Another thing to try…

In
Config. / Ports and Pins / Input Signals
 
Disable the Signal X++

Tweakie.

1644

FAQs / Re: Trying to run Mach 3 using a add-on PCIe parallel port card.

« on: January 19, 2017, 02:15:22 AM »

This issue has come up before and it is apparent that not all parallel port cards will operate with Mach3.
If you are unsure of the situation then the best advice would be to obtain a parallel port card from a reputable supplier (such as CNC4PC for example) who can guarantee compatibility with Mach3.

Tweakie.

1645

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Use touchscreen to manual jog machine

« on: January 19, 2017, 01:35:35 AM »

It’s perhaps not much help but I have just built a touch screen operated jukebox and discovered that my touch screen did not behave in the way I initially expected.
When using a mouse hovering over a button gets the focus then the click operates the button – for my touch screen this was equivalent to a double click. Updating the touch screen drivers sort-of resolved this problem but created another. If the focus was left over a button then it would eventually fill a buffer somewhere within Windows which then froze (as far as screen touch was concerned). After spending a considerable amount of time trying to resolve all this I found the ultimate solution – I switched the OS from Win10 to XP and now everything is beautiful. My suspicions are that the manufacturers of my touch screen have not updated their driver software to cater for possible differences to the Win8/10 system.

Tweakie.

1646

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 not Moving in any axis!! HELP PLEASE!!

« on: January 18, 2017, 10:50:48 AM »

I have checked through your .xml settings and it all seems OK. It certainly runs without issue here.

In the Mach3 folder there is a xmlbackups folder - select a <your profile> backup (xb#) from a date before you had problems - change the file extension to .xml and copy the file into the Mach3 folder replacing the existing .xml file.

If that does not resolve the problem then...

Check your LPT parallel port cable is OK (with a multimeter) to make sure it has pin1 connected to pin1, pin2 to pin2 etc. , etc.
With a voltmeter connected between pin 3 and pin 25 then jog the X axis in each direction and confirm that the voltage changes between 0Volts and 5Volts (approx.).
Check the voltage between pin 17 and pin 25  when Mach3 is running (charge pump).

Let me know how you get on.

Tweakie.

1647

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 not Moving in any axis!! HELP PLEASE!!

« on: January 18, 2017, 07:18:06 AM »

I have sent you a PM.

Tweakie.

1648

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 not Moving in any axis!! HELP PLEASE!!

« on: January 18, 2017, 04:36:46 AM »

Can you attach your .xml file please - this will show us your Mach3 settings in detail.
It is the one from your Mach3 folder titled <your profile>.xml (your profile name is shown on the bottom right of the Mach3 screen).
Copy this file and rename the copy to spindex.xml and attach it to your reply.

Tweakie.

1649

General Mach Discussion / Re: Feed rate changes.

« on: January 18, 2017, 03:26:55 AM »

Feed-Rate does not apply when jogging an axis from the keyboard buttons.
If you hit the Tab key, on the MPG fly-out, you can change the Slow Jog Rate % (0 to 100% of the maximum speed). The % speed that is set here is overridden (to 100%) if holding the shift key whilst jogging.

Tweakie.

1650

VB and the development of wizards / Re: M13

« on: January 18, 2017, 02:38:59 AM »

I started out using Mach2 (10 or so years ago) but no longer have a copy to try but I concur that your M13 macro works just fine with Mach3. There are many things that work with Mach3 that do not work with Mach2 - it was all part of the product development / improvement process over the years so why not just switch to using Mach3 and take advantage of these improvements ?

Tweakie.