Messages

3741

General Mach Discussion / Re: Defining material, 0/0 point, etc.

« on: November 21, 2015, 11:22:35 AM »

I think you will find F-Engrave very easy to use.

This was a test in MDF and a sample in Oak.

Tweakie.

3742

General Mach Discussion / Re: Defining material, 0/0 point, etc.

« on: November 21, 2015, 03:23:11 AM »

Hi Frank,

I cant find any information in the manual for defining material size, setting a "home point", 0/0 point... even when I look at the screen and see that Mach3 is starting dead center on the graphic, and I manually move the spindle to dead center on my chunk of wood, bring the spindle down til the point touches the surface, hit the "Ref All Home" button so everything is at "0"... when I hit the start button the spindle moves to some strange and exotic location before it drops and starts the routing process... nowhere near where my mathematical, Type A mind thought it was going to go.

It’s all good but don't hit the "Ref All Home" button just Zero each DRO's then hit  "Start".


If you are using a "V" bit then you may wish to consider V-Carving for your lettering. There are many commercial softwares that generate the correct Gcode for doing this but there is a free software that may also be of interest to you - http://www.scorchworks.com/Fengrave/fengrave.html
It does a pretty good job and I have used it for some quite large signs with great success.

Hope this helps,

Tweakie.

3743

General Mach Discussion / Re: Limit switches lost

« on: November 21, 2015, 02:52:14 AM »

I am pleased you found it Steve 

Tweakie.

3744

General Mach Discussion / Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!

« on: November 21, 2015, 02:26:37 AM »

Hi Vipaddles,

Welcome to the forum.

You should have unzipped the attachment that came with your license email then copied the .dat file to your Mach3 folder then restarted your PC (just to make certain that files etc. have been updated).
It sounds like that is exactly what you have done so I have no idea just why the license is not working correctly for you.

This section of the forum is mainly for introductions and does not get read by many of the members so it is always best to post any questions, as a new topic, in the relevant section.

The LazyCam section is here  http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/board,14.0.html  and I am sure that if you post your question there Rich will know the answer to the problem.

Tweakie.

3745

General Mach Discussion / Re: setting up a new xp system for Mach3

« on: November 21, 2015, 01:45:54 AM »

Just while I am thinking about it, something else you may want to consider at this time is checking that you have, or else fit a new, good quality graphics card with plenty of RAM (those with 1GB are quite cheap nowadays). This becomes relevant if you ever run long Gcode programs within Mach3 or if you consider you may wish to use Mach4 at some future date. There has been some recent discussion in the Mach4 section suggesting that AMD graphics cards perform better than Nvidia graphics cards at this moment in time - something to consider ?

Tweakie.

3746

General Mach Discussion / Re: z spindle stops spinning

« on: November 21, 2015, 01:31:49 AM »

I think your little Wegstr is a great machine - it's certainly looks a lot better than some of the cheap Chinese machines I have seen lately.

Just as a trial...

Look at the bones Gcode ( in Notepad) and note where the first M3 command appears. Using Edit / Replace delete all the M3 commands except the first one (or delete them all then replace the first one). Save the changes.

Run that code on your machine (just cutting air) and see if the spindle still stops.

Tweakie.

3747

General Mach Discussion / Re: I had stroke!

« on: November 20, 2015, 11:33:26 AM »

I am glad to hear you are still here with us Dickeybird - keep up the recovery my friend.

Tweakie.

3748

General Mach Discussion / Re: best intro software for very basic lettering to be cut on a 20x14cm machine.

« on: November 20, 2015, 07:48:42 AM »

Hi Mark,

I have been using Mach3 for more than 10 years now and every time I read the manual or read things on the forum I learn something new. I don’t think you could be expected to learn it all at once so just take your time and progress one step at a time. 

As you have found, good quality CAD/CAM software is possibly the greatest expenditure in the CNC business and although Artcam is probably the best for your jewellery work take a look at Vectric and see if any of their softwares could be of use to you.  http://www.vectric.com/

Tweakie.

3749

General Mach Discussion / Re: z spindle stops spinning

« on: November 20, 2015, 07:28:15 AM »

The CAD/CAM post processor which was used to create the cross demo does duplicate some F and M commands (reason unknown) but the spindle is turned on with the M3 command towards the start of the Gcode and only turned off with the M5 command towards the end. I have just tested the Gcode and it runs fine here.
If your spindle turns off before the M5 command is reached then you may have an electrical problem. Perhaps check your wiring, speed controller (if fitted), relay, etc.

Tweakie.

3750

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Milling Is Off Center

« on: November 20, 2015, 04:47:46 AM »

Just a couple of suggestions...

Thoroughly check the mechanicals of your machine (loose grub screws, binding or tight spots on linears or screws etc.).

Reduce your Velocity and Acceleration settings for the X and Y axes by 50% in motor tuning and save the changes and see if this cures the problem.

Tweakie.