Messages

2181

General Mach Discussion / Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)

« on: September 05, 2017, 01:13:49 AM »

Hi Basil,

The next step is to decide if you will be working in Metric or Imperial units and calculating your Steps per Unit - there is a calculator here;  http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,16315.0.html

Once that is done then fine tune everything (setting Velocity & Acceleration in Motor Tuning) to obtain best and 100% reliable performance.

All this is best done with reference to the Mach3 manual as I have only mentioned the basics here.

Tweakie.

2182

General Mach Discussion / Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)

« on: September 04, 2017, 11:27:04 AM »

Excellent guitar work (I shall keep very quiet about my guitar playing  ).

Try initial set-up as attached.

Is Estop working ?

Pressing the Red Button on your controller should make the Mach3 on-screen Reset button flash red/green boarder. Releasing the red button on your controller (and clicking the on-screen button) should make the Mach3 on-screen button have a steady green boarder.

Tweakie.

2183

General Mach Discussion / Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)

« on: September 04, 2017, 08:05:24 AM »

Is this the " Step, Direction & Estop pin numbers (relating to the 25 way Parallel Port connector)"

Yes indeed sir, they look like the pins you should be assigning to the various Step & Direction, etc. functions (They will all be Port 1)

Tweakie.

2184

General Mach Discussion / Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)

« on: September 04, 2017, 06:25:19 AM »

Thanks 'Tweakie' unfortunately I am not au fait with Windows and PCs, I have always used Macs. So, I don't know how to do a screenshot in windows; so I've copied the Mac3 folder onto a portable dive (just for this purpose of doing a screenshot of the contents) and on the mac I CAN take a screenshot. There is no file <profile.xml> file but there is a file 'profile' that's a text file and it contains just the text :- Mach3Mill.
I appreciate your help..

Hi Basil,

Don’t worry about the .xml file as I see from your screen-shots that you have not yet defined any Mach3 configuration settings.
You need to find out (from your CNC supplier) the Step, Direction & Estop pin numbers (relating to the 25 way Parallel Port connector) so that these can be entered into the Mach3, Ports and Pins settings page. Once that is done you should be able to obtain machine axis movement.
Your CNC supplier may also be able to provide you with a fully configured .xml file which can be copied into your Mach3 folder – this will have all the Ports and Pins ready configured for your CNC machine.

The set-up procedure is laid out in the Mach3 manual which can be downloaded from here;   http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning/product-manuals/
There are also many helpful video’s relating to set-up and motor tuning etc. available if you browse the Newfangled website http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning/


Tweakie.

2185

General Mach Discussion / Re: Partial Solution to Axis will not Stop Moving when using Arrow keys

« on: September 04, 2017, 01:20:21 AM »

Ideally, you should be using version .062 (as recommended by Warp9 for use with their ESS).

Tweakie.

2186

General Mach Discussion / Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)

« on: September 03, 2017, 10:21:47 AM »

If you attach your <profile>.xml file (the one from your Mach3 folder) we can at least check the settings you are using for Parallel Port operation. Copy and rename the file to Basil.xml before attaching.

Tweakie.

2187

General Mach Discussion / Re: Unusual stepper issue on lathe

« on: September 02, 2017, 04:32:07 AM »

Hi David,

I am pleased to hear that you have solved the mystery (all on your own  ).

It may be worth checking your Ports and Pins assignments just to make sure you don't have any duplicates.

Tweakie.

2188

General Mach Discussion / Re: circles have a flat spot

« on: September 02, 2017, 02:03:49 AM »

Check for lost motion (backlash) on your Y axis (this could be caused by a loose coupling, loose grub screw, etc.).

Tweakie.

2189

General Mach Discussion / Re: Probing for XYZ in Mach on a mill help

« on: September 01, 2017, 10:38:59 AM »

Excellent solution Tom.

Tweakie.

2190

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Trees.

« on: September 01, 2017, 06:34:55 AM »

I laser engraved quite a few variants on this theme (trees, flowers, etc.) some years back and following requests from friends I am now making a few more (non-commercial) and thought I would share a pic.

Tweakie.