Messages

3641

General Mach Discussion / Re: Calling external subroutines (calling files)

« on: October 19, 2015, 01:48:32 AM »

Good info and things I did not know - thanks for spelling it out.

Tweakie.

3642

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 Driven Wire Straightener Stopping Issue

« on: October 19, 2015, 01:42:31 AM »

Try increasing the Debounce Interval (Config. / General Config.) to 2000 or so.

If this reduces or cures the problem then you need to look for the source of the problem which could well be electrical noise pickup from your Inputs wiring. Check that good quality, shielded, cable is being used and that the shield is connected to Earth at the controller end only - also check the quality of your switches and perhaps fit a 0.1uF miniature capacitor between each used Input and Earth at the controller end.

Also, as Russ said, make sure 'Use WatchDogs' is unchecked (Config. / General Config.)

Hope this helps.

Tweakie.

3643

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.

3644

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.

3645

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.

3646

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.

3647

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.

3648

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.

3649

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.

3650

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.