Messages

2971

FAQs / Re: Spindle not working

« on: February 24, 2017, 07:21:57 AM »

Well, the Chinese setup (from their CD) for the spindle operation makes no sense to me and it is different to the settings used by the CNCzone guy.

For what it is worth here are the Chinese screenshots ;

Tweakie.

2972

General Mach Discussion / Re: Wrong toolpaths appear in Mach3 during running ESS with plugin installed

« on: February 24, 2017, 05:22:03 AM »

Looks like you have discovered the Crop Circles 
Goto   Config. / General Config.   and change the IJ Mode   then Regen. the Toolpath.

Ideally all Gcode files should contain the G90.1 or G91.1 as appropriate.

Tweakie.

2973

General Mach Discussion / Re: SSR relay wont power down

« on: February 24, 2017, 04:36:33 AM »

Probably does not apply in this case but...

There are various types of SSR's with the most common type designed to switch the load ON / OFF at the zero crossing point of the a.c. mains waveform - they will not operate correctly with a d.c. load.

Tweakie.

2974

General Mach Discussion / Re: Is there a built in dwell on M-codes?

« on: February 24, 2017, 04:16:42 AM »

In Config. / Ports and Pins / Spindle Setup  -  set the spin up & spin down delays to zero.

If that is still not quick enough then try the M10 / M11 commands which will turn ON and OFF at the instant of movement. I have described them in a bit more detail here :
 http://hobbycncart.com/publ/cikkek/mach3_temaju_cikkek/switching_a_laser_under_mach_control/8-1-0-29

Tweakie.

2975

General Mach Discussion / Re: MENU Problem

« on: February 24, 2017, 02:35:22 AM »

Try a fresh install of Mach3 on computer PA.

Tweakie.

2976

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can this computer run mach3

« on: February 24, 2017, 01:38:57 AM »

Hi Malcolm,

For an axis to drive in either direction it requires the Direction signal to change state between High and Low.
As was mentioned in an earlier posting some CNC controllers require an LPT output with 5 volt TTL signals and they will not work reliably with 3.3 volt TTL signals.

Because they are cheap to buy, perhaps consider the purchase of a PCI Parallel Port card which has 5 volt TTL outputs (these may be purchased from a CNC supplier such as CNC4PC, etc.) and use that LPT port to drive your CNC controller).

If you attach your <profile>.xml file from your Mach3 folder (copy and rename it to Malcolm.xml befor attaching) I will check your Ports and Pins setup etc. and see if I can find any obvious problems.

Tweakie.

2977

FAQs / Re: Spindle not working

« on: February 23, 2017, 05:34:41 AM »

Your CNC controller has (internally) a USB motion controller which may have setup details, your VFD will also have setup details and we need the information on these to be able to make an educated guess on the Mach3 settings.

There is a post on CNCzone which is of interest - check out post #25 here : http://www.cnczone.com/forums/chinese-machines/320698-cnc.html

Does this setup work ?

Tweakie.

2978

FAQs / Re: Spindle not working

« on: February 23, 2017, 04:28:37 AM »

I made a few changes to your .xml – Unfortunately, I was assuming you were using the parallel port which I have now realised is not the case (the file is attached).

We need to have the details of both your external motion controller setup and your VFD setup to get the spindle control working correctly.
If you attach (or e-mail me a copy) of your pluging installation I will see what I can do.

Tweakie.

2979

FAQs / Re: Spindle not working

« on: February 22, 2017, 04:28:11 AM »

Excellent purchase, you will not be disappointed. 

The settings you need to copy are under the Config. tab (native units, ports & pins, motor tuning, etc.).
I think the easiest way is to copy and save your existing Mach3 folder (perhaps rename it to Mach3old), make the new install, then copy over your settings one page at a time (Mach3 saves your settings to <your profile>.xml when it is closed). This will ensure you have a clean and uncorrupted .xml file.

Tweakie.

2980

FAQs / Re: Spindle not working

« on: February 22, 2017, 03:35:34 AM »

Hi Bucks,

do I really have to do a clean install of the OS

I don’t think you need to do that but it was the official recommendation.

If the plugin for the USB driver automatically installs the Pirate license then you need to delete the file ‘Mach1Lic.dat’ from your Mach3 folder and use Mach3 in Demo Mode.
It would be best to copy all your existing settings and use them with the clean Mach3 install rather than using the China supplied .xml file which may be corrupt.

If you have decided that you wish to use Mach3 then a genuine license can be obtained from here : http://www.machsupport.com/shop/mach3/

Tweakie.