Messages

4491

General Mach Discussion / Re: Setting up Problem

« on: October 08, 2012, 05:18:03 AM »

If your meter is connected between the correct X Axis 'direction' pin (whatever it is) and computer GND then the voltage should change between your 4.3V and 0V (approx.) when you move the X Axis in opposite directions. This should occur irrespective of anything else connected.

So try closing Mach3, disconnecting the CNC machine from the PC then restart Mach3, check your ports & pins configuration again and measure the voltage on your X Axis direction pin at your LPT cable. Does it now change voltage level when you jog the X Axis ??

Tweakie.

4492

Mach SDK plugin questions and answers. / Re: Impact engraving plugin

« on: October 08, 2012, 04:58:03 AM »

Hi Pasquale,

I don’t know if this will be of any help to you but I recently made a small change to the Engraving.dll to add an option (primarily for my laser use) to alter the formulae by which the pixel dot density is calculated. This may be of benefit with your slower axis speed.

Details of this change and the latest .dll are here. http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,12444.msg157668.html#msg157668

Tweakie.

4493

General Mach Discussion / Re: Setting up Problem

« on: October 08, 2012, 03:52:19 AM »

Hi Khinhaw,

Sorry if I did not explain properly. If you are not using a Maxnc controller then DO NOT use Maxnc mode. You will just be wasting your time and achieve no useful results.

Measure the voltage on your X Axis 'direction' pin at the LPT output. Moving the X Axis in one direction should produce 5 Volts then moving the same axis in the other direction should produce 0 Volts. If you only get 3.3 Volts here then it may not be sufficient to drive your BOB so fitting a 5 Volt output Parallel Port card may be the way forward.

Have you tried changing the Active Low / Active High settings for your 'Step' pins ??

Tweakie.

4494

General Mach Discussion / Re: Setting up Problem

« on: October 08, 2012, 03:01:07 AM »

Hi Khinhaw,

It is my understanding that unless you are using a Maxnc machine controller then you should forget about checking this mode in the setup (it allocates its own pin configuration irrespective of what you have set in ports & pins).

Try using Sherline 1/2 pulse mode and see if that helps.

Also check the output voltage on one of your LPT 'direction' pins to see if it is approx. 0 / 5 Volts as opposed to 0 / 3.3 Volts.

Tweakie.

4495

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

« on: October 08, 2012, 01:43:22 AM »

Hi Dale,

Welcome to the forum.

Many of the forum members here also use Vectric software so this is a good place to be for any assistance you require regarding the use / operation of Mach3.

As mentioned previously, post your question in the General section under a new topic and you will receive the necessary suggestions, advice etc. We all started out at the beginning so realise that there is a lot to learn.

Tweakie.

4496

General Mach Discussion / Re: i must be totally stupid and dumb

« on: October 07, 2012, 07:02:14 AM »

where is the READ information...LOL

Hi Belin,

Its not my fault that his website is messy but its all there somewhere 
I have not had too much success using F-Engrave for DXF work.

The list of image engraving software is probably endless but these I have used with success…

PicEngrave (nicely priced) http://picengrave.com/ (demo version available)
DotG (free) http://dotg.weebly.com/download.html (English version and manuals)
Halftoner and Reactor (free)  http://jasondorie.com/page_cnc.html

As for JPEG to DXF software there are many to choose from, some better than others. An Internet search for ‘Raster to Vector’ software should turn up a few.
The one I commonly use is Vextractor http://www.vextrasoft.com/?source=vextractor but it comes at a price.

Tweakie.

4497

General Mach Discussion / Re: i must be totally stupid and dumb

« on: October 07, 2012, 06:18:27 AM »

Hi Belin,

You need to read the F-Engrave documentation (sorry   ) you can install any Windows font as well as the CamBam single line fonts and of course there is a large range of the Australian Flying Corps fonts also available.

What type of pictures do you want to create ??

Tweakie.

4498

General Mach Discussion / Re: i must be totally stupid and dumb

« on: October 07, 2012, 05:28:13 AM »

Hi Belin,

This is the Windows executable file...

http://home.comcast.net/~sskroch/Fengrave/F-Engrave-0.8_win.zip

Tweakie.

4499

General Mach Discussion / Re: i must be totally stupid and dumb

« on: October 07, 2012, 04:57:27 AM »

Hi Belin,

LazyCam is OK for what it does but it has it’s limitations and quirks (perhaps like all software) and is really not that suitable to use for engraving work.

Most of my CNC work is with laminate engraving and I use Vectric VCarvePro http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/vcp/vcp_index.htm which is extremely quick and easy to learn and use although it is perhaps not cheap to purchase. For general engraving work and for the price this software takes a lot of beating.

There are some free alternatives such as F-Engrave http://home.comcast.net/~sskroch/Fengrave/fengrave.html which I have found to be excellent. This software is pretty versatile and has enabled me, from one extreme to the other, to engrave text down to 0.5mm height http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,21525.msg150158.html#msg150158
 as well as V-Carving 12mm deep into Teak (using different spindles for each task, of course).

There is perhaps no easy route to the learning process but my recommendation is start with a simple, basic project, get plenty of ‘hands-on’ experience and spend some time browsing the forum. Once you have mastered the basics you will be surprised at just how easy it all is.

Tweakie.

4500

General Mach Discussion / Re: New startup

« on: October 06, 2012, 11:52:44 AM »

Hi Joe,

That's correct except than my SS is an early model and uses the USB to connect to the computer.

Tweakie.