Messages

3581

General Mach Discussion / Re: Epilog Summit Laser Retrofit

« on: April 30, 2014, 01:48:31 AM »

Sounds like a great idea, I think the Arduinio is ideally suited to the task.

Tweakie.

3582

General Mach Discussion / Re: Epilog Summit Laser Retrofit

« on: April 28, 2014, 12:03:15 PM »

Sorry, the PCB layout for the tickle pulse generator may take me some time to find (it was a long time ago and it is on my PC somewhere) but the circuit is simple enough so you should not have too much trouble to lay out your own PCB.

The problem with using the Mach3 PWM is that the tube's tickle pulse requirements are a PRF of 5kHz with a pulse width of between 1uS and 1.5uS. If the pulse width is too great then the tube will lase and this defeats the object of the exercise. There is probably a way this could be achieved from Mach3 by using the Charge Pump (Laser Standby) but I have not fully investigated this possibility.

Tweakie.

3583

General Mach Discussion / Re: Epilog Summit Laser Retrofit

« on: April 28, 2014, 11:10:53 AM »

I wasn't suggesting you build the whole controller, just the tickle pulse generator. 

However, a lot of people have built my laser controller now and it seems to be successful - I certainly don't have any problems with it.
My PIC programmer is years old and I can't even remember what type it is but I think any PIC programmer would be OK as long as it is capable of HS (20Mhz) mode.

Unfortunately PCB's cannot be laser cut and mine was intended to be isolation routed. If you were to acid etch the PCB please remember to leave all the background copper as this forms an important GND plane.

My recommendation, if you decide to build the controller, is that you do get a complete PIC programming package which will allow you to change the software, if necessary, to suite your particular current or future needs. It's all good fun as long as you can find some way of justifying the expense. 

Tweakie.

3584

General Mach Discussion / Re: Epilog Summit Laser Retrofit

« on: April 28, 2014, 04:04:28 AM »

Will a simple G1 move cut a line if it's prefaced by the M11P1 commands?

Yes it will - but you will also have to have a G0 or G1 movement following the M10P1 to turn the laser off at the end of the line.  

With regard to the tickle pulse I have concluded it is better to use a separate tickle pulse generator (I have described a typical circuit here http://www.cooperman.talktalk.net/files/28.htm).

Hope this helps,

Tweakie.

3585

General Mach Discussion / Re: G81 Canned cycle problem

« on: April 28, 2014, 02:52:45 AM »

A very interesting suggestion Acrodoc - thanks for posting what could be a workable solution. 

Tweakie.

3586

General Mach Discussion / Re: "run from here" problem

« on: April 27, 2014, 12:03:23 PM »

Ahh - I think I understand (perhaps) 

Thanks for the explanation Ian.

Tweakie.

3587

General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit Switches

« on: April 27, 2014, 07:40:59 AM »

Hi Nick,

Mach3 will back off until the switch de-activates.

You are probably, dependant on the quality of your switches, seeing 'switch bounce' which is confusing the issue. This problem can usually be resolved by fitting miniature 0.1uF capacitors between each switch input and GND at your breakout board (or where you have connected the switch wiring to your controller). A secondary solution is to increase the Debounce Interval in Config / General Config.

Hope this helps,

Tweakie.

3588

General Mach Discussion / Re: Router spindle runs independent from Mach3

« on: April 27, 2014, 07:32:50 AM »

Hi Barry,

You will probably need an additional pcb board (dependant on what you already have) to convert the Mach3 PWM signal to the correct control voltage for your variable speed inverter. A possible source of parts http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/index.php?cPath=25&osCsid=de85501f8281f01a901b4b484450b0dd

Section 4.6 of the manual gives some more details http://www.machsupport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Mach3Mill_Install_Config.pdf.

Tweakie.

3589

General Mach Discussion / Re: "run from here" problem

« on: April 26, 2014, 12:25:46 PM »

I've already solved this - I did it years ago - I was seeing if YOU wanted to have a go - that's all.

Ian, you are such a tease 

Tweakie.

3590

Third party software and hardware support forums. / Re: Upgrage Parrallel CNC machine to Arduino

« on: April 26, 2014, 09:45:58 AM »

Hi Sayed,

My best advice, assuming you want to use Mach3, is to fit a higher quality controller to your machine (such as the Gecko G540 or similar). 
GRBL is OK but extremely limited compared to Mach3 but at the end of the day, the choice is all yours.

Tweakie.