Messages

5051

General Mach Discussion / Re: MACH3 ROAD RUNNER ACTUAL SIZE

« on: May 16, 2013, 08:11:30 AM »

Hi Ugotit33,

Pleased to hear you have now got your machine up and running.

The roadrunner .tap file is in inches.

Once any GCode file has been loaded if you go to the Toolpath window it will show the dimensional extents (X,Y,Z) of the file under ‘Program Limits’ (these dimensions relate to axis movements from the origin as defined in the CAD/CAM program which created the GCode).

Tweakie.

5052

General Mach Discussion / Re: Interface between Labview and Mach3

« on: May 16, 2013, 05:51:10 AM »

Hi Shiv,

Welcome to the forum.

Not sure just why you would want to use Labview to control the stage when Mach3 already handles Cypress Enable (VB) routines that may well accomplish your desired task. You may also want to take a look at 'Brains' as this may be the way to go.

Tweakie.

nb. Please don't make multiple postings on the same topic in different threads, it only serves to confuse and dilute the response. Thanks. 

5053

General Mach Discussion / Re: Help with home switch setup.

« on: May 16, 2013, 05:36:00 AM »

Do i still need to set the debounce in Mach 3 at all now ?

Hi Chris,

You don't need to worry about the Mach3 debounce settings then. If you are using an SS then it has it's own settings to take care of this issue. 

Tweakie.

5054

General Mach Discussion / Re: Help with home switch setup.

« on: May 16, 2013, 04:52:10 AM »

As far as I am aware you can’t set the distance because the axis needs to move off the switch only as much as it takes for the switch to be reset.
If you have ‘switch bounce’ then a false signal will be sent and this may be the cause of your problem.

Try increasing the de-bounce interval (Config / General Config) and see if this helps. (Ideally this needs to be set to the lowest, reliable, value which cures the problem).

Tweakie.

5055

General Mach Discussion / Re: Strange axis movement ONLY when spindle is starting or stopping...

« on: May 16, 2013, 04:31:44 AM »

I feel that your problem may be related to electrical noise emanating from your VFD and / or its wiring.

Assuming, for one moment, that it is not an electrical noise issue then - it’s a long shot but something you may wish to try…

Make a hard copy of your existing Mach3 settings, create a new profile (don’t clone the existing profile), open Mach3 in the new profile and enter all your settings, restart Mach3 with this new profile and then see if the problem persists.

(It is not unknown for an existing .xml to become corrupt - thereafter all sorts of strange things can happen).

Just thinking out loud. 

Tweakie.

5056

General Mach Discussion / Re: If not LazyCam then what?

« on: May 13, 2013, 02:39:18 AM »

Hi Gary,

Along with many others, I still use LazyCam and it’s predecessor Mac1Filter.exe. albeit only occasionally. In my case it is mainly for handling HPGL files and within their limitations they are both great products and well worth learning to use.

For .dxf and similar work these products have, unfortunately, been technically overtaken by many, more advanced, softwares (for example the Vectric range) mainly because of the additional features, speed and ease of use.

There will always be new and better software coming along but who is to say that the old stuff is not still good ? (When Mach Rev4 arrives many will change camp but if Mach3 does the job...)

Tweakie.

5057

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!

« on: May 13, 2013, 01:40:57 AM »

Hi Gary,

Welcome to the forum.

Please post your question, including as many details about your set-up as you think are relevant (WinOS, machine & controller type, version of Mach3 being used etc), as a new topic in the General section. This will receive more exposure and have a better chance of finding a solution to the problem you are having.

Tweakie.

5058

Building or Buying a Wood routing table.. Beginnners guide.. / Re: Help with router recommendations

« on: May 12, 2013, 12:05:10 PM »

Hi Dave,

My machine is small with a work area of just over 350mm x 350mm. If your interested details are here http://www.cooperman.talktalk.net/

No idea about cost, it's a man toy and who dares to put a price on their hobby.   

Tweakie.

5059

Building or Buying a Wood routing table.. Beginnners guide.. / Re: Help with router recommendations

« on: May 12, 2013, 08:54:11 AM »

Hi Dave,

I think, like everything in this world, you get what you pay for - so who is to say that the machine kit you linked to will be superior in quality to your previous machine.
 
I constructed my own router from scratch but it is not for the faint hearted – a lot of work and learning-as-you-go involved but equally a lot of job satisfaction as the reward. Almost all the required parts were sourced on the bay, many of which were ‘second user’ but it is not always easy to decide which are truly ‘quality parts’ and which are rubbish - I made some mistakes.

Perhaps think ahead – it may well be FR4 and PolyProp at the moment but how about the future ?

Tweakie.

5060

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!

« on: May 12, 2013, 08:11:05 AM »

Hi Henry,

Welcome to the forum.

It is always best to post any questions as a new topic in the General section or other appropriate section as this place is really only for introductions.

This thread may be of interest to you regarding Alphacam post processors http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,3607.0.html

Alternately, do a search for Alphacam from the main page to find more threads containing more information.

Tweakie.