Messages

2461

General Mach Discussion / Re: Pictures to GCode?

« on: March 04, 2016, 08:02:32 AM »

LazyCam is probably not the best tool to use (but it is possible to create the Gcode for an image with this).

As said, it depends on the type of image you require to engrave and how you wish to engrave it (rotary, impact, laser, etc.).

Just sticking with Arsoft products...
Excellent 3D (2.5D) reliefs and lithophanes can be produced with Mach1Filter.exe ( a long forgotten tool - even Art forgot he wrote it   )
Excellent Line Art, Shades of Grey and impact engraving can be produced with the Impact engraving / Laser plugin (my favorite).

A forum search should provide more details and reproduced images etc. from both of the above processes ( and, of course, they are both free  ).

Tweakie.

2462

FAQs / Re: Wiring Limit, Home and E-Stop Switches

« on: March 04, 2016, 07:24:10 AM »

Another thought…

During the setting-up of your limit switches you may have accidentally created a corrupt .xml (easy to do if you are using an external motion controller).

There may be an easier way but when something similar happened to me I had go to the Mach3 / xmlbackups folder and load an earlier .xml (rename it to <my profile>.xml and copy it into the Mach3 folder) and then re-make the required changes to my settings. It worked just fine second time around.

Tweakie.

2463

FAQs / Re: Wiring Limit, Home and E-Stop Switches

« on: March 04, 2016, 06:53:52 AM »

I really have no idea what you have done but suspect you have accidentally created a GND or Earth loop with your wiring changes. Perhaps re-track your work and see if you can spot something.

Tweakie.

2464

General Mach Discussion / Re: Nothing seems to work!

« on: March 03, 2016, 11:06:03 AM »

If you have a continuity checker (multimeter) you should be able to identify the two different windings. Choose just one winding and swap the pins it is connected to.
Perhaps find a competent electrician and get him to do it for you ??

Tweakie.

2465

General Mach Discussion / Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!

« on: March 03, 2016, 10:58:08 AM »

Hi Mike,

Welcome.

As you already have a Mach3 license then I would use Mach3 for the time being. The preferred version is R3.043.062 and it can be downloaded from the Mach3/ folder on the FTP site here http://www.machsupport.com/software/downloads-updates/

You can also download the latest version of Mach4 from here http://www.machsupport.com/software/downloads-updates/#tabs-2 it is free to try and you can have it loaded on the same PC and compare one against the other perhaps.

Tweakie.

2466

General Mach Discussion / Re: Nothing seems to work!

« on: March 03, 2016, 10:31:53 AM »

Ahh, the joys of the Chinese machine controller. Sounds like they have one of the motor windings reversed.

Now I don’t know how best to describe this to you but your Z axis stepper motor has two windings A-A1 and B-B1 it doesn’t matter which (A or B) but you need to swap the connection of say A-A1 to make them A1-A. This will make the motor rotate in the opposite direction for the original command (do not swap an A with a B).

Does that make sense ??

Tweakie.

2467

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can’t get Probe to Work

« on: March 03, 2016, 05:43:10 AM »

If it's any help I think that the C1G was the preferred replacement - it is basically the same BoB but allows individual pull-up / pull-down on the inputs so they can each be set as required.

Tweakie.

2468

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Perpetual Motor Magnets

« on: March 03, 2016, 05:14:59 AM »

Although the UK patents office discontinued accepting patents for this a few years back it has not stopped the continual publication of claims of perpetual motion success. There must be many people out there that are gullible enough to spend the rest of their lives and money on an impossible machine. 

Tweakie.

2469

General Mach Discussion / Re: Nothing seems to work!

« on: March 03, 2016, 05:06:38 AM »

Config. / Ports & Pins / Motor Outputs  -   change Direction Low Active state for your X axis.

Tweakie.

2470

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can’t get Probe to Work

« on: March 03, 2016, 04:47:56 AM »

Well Gentlemen, I have been following with great interest and I think you may have given this it’s best shot. This self-same issue with the C10 BoB has, to my knowledge, come up twice in the past and neither time was it resolved in a satisfactory manner.

I really thought that the passive 120R would do the trick but it looks like an active solution – perhaps a simple inverter or opto-isolator may be required if the C10 is to be used (short of attacking the circuit board and removing the damn pull-down).

Overall, I think replacing the C10 with something better may be the way forward.

Tweakie.