Messages

2911

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 utter bollox

« on: October 18, 2015, 12:00:36 PM »

3, there must be better alternatives out there, anyone got a recommendation? ive had enough of this product!

Hi Wayne,

I am truly sorry that you are having problems but I suspect you need to spend more time reading the manuals, watching the video's and checking your setup, PC settings, etc. in order to get Mach3 working correctly with your machine - as much as we would all like it to be Mach3 is not Plug'n'Play it does take some effort.

Tweakie.

2912

VB and the development of wizards / Re: I am having a sleep problem :)!~ CNC LATHE tool changer macro

« on: October 18, 2015, 10:49:44 AM »

It's certainly very confusing with two threads running on the same subject. 

Please continue this discussion here;   http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,30989.msg215501.html#new

Tweakie.

2913

General Mach Discussion / Re: Random Direction

« on: October 18, 2015, 10:30:15 AM »

You could check by identifying an axis direction pin, then connecting a voltmeter, jogging that axis in one direction should show (approx.) 5 Volts and jogging in the other direction should show (approx.) 0 Volts.
If the maximum voltage shown is only 3.3 Volts then you could perhaps consider fitting your PC with a PCI Parallel Port card which has 5 Volt TTL output.

Tweakie.

2914

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Scrappy does his first cut!!!!!!!

« on: October 18, 2015, 10:22:05 AM »

Thanks for the input Tweakie

The rails are 20mm dia on all axis, would just one supported rail on the Y axis suffice if it is 25mm dia? It would mean a bit of reconfiguring, but better to do it now than later in the project.

I honestly don't know for sure but I would bet money that one fully supported rail each side would perform better than 2 unsupported rails each side for the Y axis. The X axis would IMO still need two fully supported rails.

Tweakie.

2915

General Mach Discussion / Re: Random Direction

« on: October 18, 2015, 08:25:49 AM »

Just a shot in the dark...

If you are using the Parallel Port for communication then it is possible that your PC output voltage is to the 3.3Volt TTL specification and your controller requires a 5Volt TTL signal for correct operation.

Tweakie.

2916

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Scrappy does his first cut!!!!!!!

« on: October 18, 2015, 08:21:16 AM »

Hi Stew,

Just my opinion...
Looking at your .pdf you must use fully supported rails (unless they are upwards of 25mm diameter) otherwise you will regret the flex. Ballscrews are good but remember that they can backfeed particularly on the Z axis so if the motor is disabled a brake can be useful.

I look forward to seeing Scrappy MkII. 

Tweakie.

2917

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: M codes and mach4, is there still a hesitation same as m3? (Except m10/m11)

« on: October 18, 2015, 03:01:46 AM »

Hi Rob,

If it's any help, the Mach4 equivalent to the Mach3 M11Px/M10Px commands are...

M62Px turns Output# x ON
M63Px turns Output# x OFF

There are no delays associated with these commands as they take effect coincident with axis movement.

Tweakie.

2918

General Mach Discussion / Re: pocketing and profiling

« on: October 18, 2015, 02:52:21 AM »

It takes some trial and error to initially find the right settings but for inlay work I create one Gcode for the 'pocket' cut on the inside of the line and the Gcode for the 'inlay' flipped and cut on the outside of the line with the line width (being the kerf width) determined in the .dxf artwork. Difficult to explain but try it and I am sure it will make sense. This approach works equally well for laser as well as rotary cutting.

Tweakie.

2919

General Mach Discussion / Re: help with hp lap top running cnc controlor

« on: October 18, 2015, 02:42:15 AM »

Hi Alex,

Which external motion controller are you using between the laptop and Gecko ??

Tweakie.

2920

General Mach Discussion / Re: Shielded Cable

« on: October 16, 2015, 02:08:13 AM »

Hi Nick,

My recommendation is to just connect the shields to Earth (a star type earth tag) at the controller end only.

Tweakie.