Messages

3761

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z axis not repeatable

« on: December 02, 2014, 02:24:11 AM »

Hi Tim,

It is not a rounding error.

Assuming your cutter is secure and not moving in the collet...

Because +Z (upward) moves are usually G00 changing the Feed-rate will have little or no effect on the problem (as you have discovered) the issue usually relates to lost steps. Try reducing your Velocity and Acceleration settings for the Z axis (in motor tuning) by 50% and save the changes. If this cures the problem you could then experiment with the Z axis motor tuning until you achieve the best balance (the Mach3 manual's section on motor tuning refers).

Tweakie.

3762

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

« on: December 01, 2014, 12:36:28 PM »

Hi KJ,

Welcome to the forum.

Not really sure why you are having the problem.

Your Mach3 license should be named   Mach1Lic.dat  and this is copied into the Mach3 folder. When Mach3 is restarted it should then show your name as Licensed To:

Tweakie.

3763

General Mach Discussion / Re: At the risk of feeling retarded

« on: November 29, 2014, 11:33:20 AM »

Hi SolarImages,

Welcome to the forum.

The Artcam Post Processor you select and use just creates and lets you save the right flavor of Gcode so it is fully understood by Mach3.

Tweakie.

3764

General Mach Discussion / Re: Machine goes crazy following tool path,

« on: November 29, 2014, 08:22:03 AM »

Certainly having more than your fair share of problems John.

Could be that your Z axis is losing steps on the way up and thus goes deeper into the work on the way down.
Try halving the velocity and acceleration settings for the Z axis in motor tuning (save the changes) - see if this resolves the issue.

Tweakie.

3765

Share Your GCode / Re: dfx files

« on: November 29, 2014, 02:30:58 AM »

Another nice find Tony - thanks for posting.

Tweakie.

3766

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Calculating workpiece angle through probing? (Missing arcus functions)

« on: November 28, 2014, 08:16:52 AM »

Hi Max,

This is what I use     b = Atn(X1pos/Y1pos)*(180/(4*Atn(1)))  but you have to be prepared to change the sign if moving into different quadrants.

This thread may be of interest  http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,22932.0.html

Tweakie.

3767

Others / Re: Ezilathe - Tools for the CNC lathe

« on: November 28, 2014, 06:45:05 AM »

Excellent documentation Machtank - Thanks for sharing your Ezilathe.

Tweakie.

3768

FAQs / Re: LImit and home switches

« on: November 27, 2014, 07:33:08 AM »

Hi Cheryl,

1) If you wish - Mach3 allows normally open or normally closed switches to be used (selecting Active Low / Active High as appropriate). Most prefer to use normally closed switches - supposedly it makes if 'fail-safe' if a wire falls off ( n.b. I use normally open switches and have never had a problem yet  ).

2) You will need to use a Break Out Board or Controller that accepts 24 Volt input signals.

Tweakie.

3769

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 Laser config

« on: November 27, 2014, 01:41:48 AM »

Hi Hydro,

I understand that with this pp file the Z axis will be static, but isn't there a distance to observe between the laser and the job to be done ?

The distance between the laser and the work relates to your 'focal length'. This distance is set so that the laser's focal point (smallest dot size) is flush with the surface of the work.

Pardon my ignorance but what feedrate in mm/sec equals F600 ?

F600 = 600 mm/min = 10 mm/sec

And regarding this PP file you sent me, is there anything else I need to do in Mach3 or Vectric or just use it as pp for the job ?

Just select it (within Vectric) as and when required to produce a laser related Gcode toolpath. Nothing else needs to be done except configuring Output#1 within Mach3 so it becomes your laser trigger.

I have read the PP manual from aspire but don't really understand it tbh.

I think that once you have 'hands-on' experience it will all become a lot more understandable.


Tweakie.

3770

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 Laser config

« on: November 26, 2014, 11:47:35 AM »

Hi Hydrops,

The pp is for Metric units (G21).

Height is unimportant as the pp does not create any Z axis moves only X and Y  (with M11P1 for G01,G02,G03 ... moves and M10P1 for G00 moves).

Feed setting depends on many factors so perhaps use F600 (or whatever you think will be right) as a starting point (it's easy enough to edit the final Gcode as required).

Tweakie.