Messages

2531

General Mach Discussion / Re: Im stuck - Just cant get anywhere..

« on: December 15, 2015, 08:29:49 AM »

Hi Scott,

Welcome to the forum.

I’m not 100% certain of this but I think that when you installed Mach 3 if you did not install the parallel port drivers then DriverTest.exe will not have been loaded into the Mach3 folder ( could explain why you can’t find it ).

Regarding the EStop, try increasing the Debounce Interval (Config. / General Config –  top right) to 2000 or so and see if this resolves the issue. If it does improve the situation then you have an electrical noise problem which needs to be dealt with (increasing Debounce is just a sticky plaster remedy – it does not cure the problem).

Tweakie.

2532

HiCON Motion Controller / Re: HiCON Board Review

« on: December 15, 2015, 02:00:41 AM »

Now that's what I call a recommendation. 

Tweakie.

2533

General Mach Discussion / Re: Selecting the right equipment for a Bridgeport BOSS retrofit

« on: December 15, 2015, 01:54:35 AM »

If (at this moment in time) you just want the basic X - Y - Z milling then I would go for Mach4.
If you want the X - Y - Z and to incorporate all the air controlled functions (at this moment in time) then I would go for Mach3.

(Mach4 is coming along slowly but, in my opinion, it is not yet ready to fully take over from Mach3)

From the official documentation...

Software Requirements

Mach4 Recommended Requirements:

PREFERRED: 32 or 64-bit Laptop or Desktop – Using an External Motion Controller
•   Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
•   An appropriate external motion controller
•   Mach4 Plugin for the selected Motion Controller
•   2Ghz CPU
•   1GB RAM
•   Video Card with 256MB RAM(Large G-code files, especially 3D files will require a video card with 512MB RAM or higher)
*Use of Parallel Port for machine control only with desktop style computers with 32-bit versions of windows 7 and below.
32-bit Desktop – Parallel Port Recommended Requirements
•   32-bit version of Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
•   Mach4 Parallel Port Legacy Plugin (cost applicable)
•   2Ghz CPU
•   1GB RAM
•   Non-integrated Video Card with 256MB RAM(Large G-code files, especially 3D files will require a video card with 512MB RAM or higher)



Mach3 Minimum Recommended Requirements:

Requirements if using the parallel port for machine control:
•   Desktop PC (Laptops are not supported) with at least one parallel port
•   32-bit version of Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (64-bit versions will not work)
•   1Ghz CPU
•   512MB RAM
•   Non-integrated Video Card with 32MB RAM(Large G-code files, especially 3D files will require a video card with 512MB RAM or higher)
Requirements if using an external motion device for machine control:
•   An appropriate external motion controller (options can be found on the Plugins page)
•   Desktop or Laptop with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
•   1Ghz CPU
•   512MB RAM
•   Video Card with 32MB RAM(Large G-code files, especially 3D files will require a video card with 512MB RAM or higher)

Tweakie.

2534

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Re: New ATC screen

« on: December 15, 2015, 01:34:19 AM »

Sounds like you are well on your way Jeff. Lots to learn but it's all justified by the result. 

Tweakie.

2535

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Re: New ATC screen

« on: December 14, 2015, 11:38:58 AM »

Assuming I understand your requirements - If you have created an on screen button then pasting in this script will enable Output7 to be activated / deactivated with alternate button presses. In your screen designer add the led and link it to output#7.

If IsOutputActive(OUTPUT7) Then    ‘Check to see if its on
DeActivateSignal(OUTPUT7)                 ‘Its on so turn it off
Else
ActivateSignal(OUTPUT7)               ‘Its off so turn it on
End If


Tweakie.

2536

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 or 4 with PMDX 126 & ESS

« on: December 14, 2015, 10:37:13 AM »

Does anyone know if I purchase Mach 3 and pay a little extra later on and move over to Mach 4?

Steve

Currently, there is no option for a Mach4 discount purchase price to existing Mach3 license holders (there is no upgrade at a discount price offered).

Tweakie.

2537

General Mach Discussion / Re: Motor Tuning Math

« on: December 14, 2015, 02:40:31 AM »

Hi Richard,

Sorry, I know I've asked a lot here. Thanks to anyone that helps. Tweakie and RICH have been great to me, but I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

No fear of doing that my friend - ask as many questions as you need. 

From your calculations it would appear that your stepper driver is set to 1/8th microstepping.

I don't know the exact figure (I am sure that someone here does) but Mach3 supports a precision which is many times greater than the accuracy of any of our machines so you just need to resolve this Z axis steps issue you are experiencing. I think we have mentioned it before but you have thoroughly checked all the mechanicals for loose grub screws, slipping coupler, etc., etc. ??

Tweakie.

2538

Finished Screens / Re: New Touch Screen - mill

« on: December 13, 2015, 07:32:10 AM »

Excellent work, very neat indeed. 

(not sure I need a touch screen for my CNC but perhaps one day  )

Tweakie.

2539

CS-Lab / Re: CSMIO/IP-A plugin with win10 ok?

« on: December 13, 2015, 02:21:59 AM »

The best cure for this is to remove update KB3035583 and then untick the 'Give me recommended updates' under change settings.  No more nagging until Microsoft force everybody onto there latest pay as you go scheme.

Perhaps not all versions of Win10 are the same.
Removing an update does work but I wonder how long it will be before Microsoft puts it back ?
I can defer updates but as Microsoft says it makes little overall difference.

"Some Windows 10 editions let you defer upgrades to your PC. When you defer upgrades, new Windows features won’t be downloaded or installed for several months. Deferring upgrades doesn’t affect security updates. Note that deferring upgrades will prevent you from getting the latest Windows features as soon as they’re available".

Tweakie.

2540

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z-Axis Not Always Positioned Correctly

« on: December 13, 2015, 01:38:38 AM »

Do you think reducing the microstepping on the Z Axis driver so it takes less pulses to move 1" will have any impact on the results?

It should not make any difference unless you PC is just not up to the task.

The pulse width is set to 5us for step/dir on all axis. The TI driver has a minimum pulse width of 1.9us so this should be OK, right?

Try some experimentation here to get the smoothest motor motion (2uS gives me the best performance).

I was running the driver test and checking all frequencies. Even up to 100kHz it reports the system is OK. I noticed that up to 65kHz the CPU usage is less than 5% but 100kHz is ~50% but I don't see any reason to push it that high. When I look at Max Variation I see mostly repeatable spikes and values of 15us or 23us. This doesn't seem to change when I change the frequency but occasionally I see nice smooth line aith maybe variations of 5-8us. Is ~20us variation something to worry about? Should I break out the scope and see what the step pulses actually look like?

Unless you definitely need a higher kernel speed (to achieve the desired rapids) then use 25kHz.

Tweakie.