Messages

3961

General Mach Discussion / Re: Newbie here: need adivce on postprocessors compatible with mach3

« on: December 05, 2014, 01:57:14 AM »

Hi Arctic Monkey,

Most CAM software allows the Gcode for curves to be created from either arc's or arctangent's (G2/G3 or G1) where it is just a case of selecting the appropriate post processor within the CAD software before generating the Gcode.

The Tangential problem has been with Mach3 for many years now and it is unlikely to ever be resolved now that Mach4 is coming on stream. By creating a CAD/CAM 'lead-in' for any G2/G3 circles the blade direction is set during this lead-in whilst the blade is clear of the work and by making the lead-in have the same radius as the circle being cut the work is not spoiled as a result of unwanted cuts. It's difficult to describe this but once you have it working you will understand.

Tweakie.

3962

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Needing help with screens

« on: December 04, 2014, 10:47:18 AM »

SO does this mean that me still have the same problem in Mach4 as we had with Mach3 macros. The macros will NOT stay in sync as to Gcode and Lua AND order of execution AND we end up with a race condition. I thought we were going to fix that this time

(;-) TP

This is probably the secret that makes Mach4 faster - the first thing I discovered using the laser is that S codes, some M codes and macro's will execute before the end of the preceding line of Gcode. Delays within the macro's resolved the issue but defeated the object by slowing everything down. It's still early days yet and I am sure there will be a suitable solution.

Tweakie.

3963

General Mach Discussion / Re: Newbie here: need adivce on postprocessors compatible with mach3

« on: December 04, 2014, 02:41:03 AM »

Hi Arctic Monkey,

Mach3 can be operated in Tangential mode (see Settings page and also Mach3 manual) and the blade will follow an outline toolpath.
There is however a problem regarding G2 & G3 commands (where the blade may rotate whilst within the work) and a workaround for this is to create a ‘lead-in’ (within your CAD/CAM), which has the same radius as the circle being cut. It may sound a bit fiddly but it’s easy enough once you get the hang of it.

Hope this helps with your project.

Tweakie.

3964

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Ethernet Smooth Stepper.

« on: December 03, 2014, 07:57:21 AM »

Could have not been put better my friend.

Tweakie.

3965

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: First Build Jos 2006r2 with some mods

« on: December 03, 2014, 05:14:06 AM »

Excellent work Tom - that is going to be some machine.

Don't forget to post more pictures of your progress - we all love pictures.

Tweakie.

3966

Mach4 General Discussion / Ethernet Smooth Stepper.

« on: December 03, 2014, 03:13:43 AM »

Just a heads-up for those using the Ethernet Smooth Stepper.

The beta version of the ESS Mach4 plugin has now been released http://warp9td.com/index.php/sw

A huge thanks goes out to Greg for all his continuing hard work with this plugin, which is available free of charge, and I sincerely hope that increased sales of the ESS more than pay him for all the time he has dedicated to this product.

Tweakie.

3967

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 Laser config

« on: December 03, 2014, 02:19:44 AM »

Hi Hydro,

I am pleased to hear you have it all running.

Assuming you have home switches you can reference all home then apply the offset to position all axes to the desired position – the Mach3 manual has details of how this is achieved. http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning/product-manuals/

Having said that, I find the easiest (and quickest) way is to make a mechanical template (the dimension between the Z axis and surface of the work) then just use this to set the focus with relation to different thicknesses of work.

Tweakie.

3968

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

« on: December 03, 2014, 02:08:26 AM »

Hi SW,

Welcome to the forum.

The Mach3 manual is probably a good place to start http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning/product-manuals/
There is also some more detailed information on the Gecko site here http://www.geckodrive.com/support.html

Hope this helps,

Tweakie.

3969

General Mach Discussion / Re: Is there a Quick Reference Guide to Mach3 gcode ??

« on: December 02, 2014, 11:36:13 AM »

Just click the G-Codes button at the bottom of the main screen. 

Tweakie.

3970

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.