Messages

5181

General Mach Discussion / Re: Parallel Port output pins ?

« on: March 21, 2013, 06:03:20 AM »

Hi Boris,

I think you need the wiring diagram of the breakout board you are using to establish the correct connections.
Obviously there must be exceptions with a 36 pin Centronics connector but all the breakout boards I have ever used have a DB25 connector so the PC to Machine LPT cable is straight through connections DB25 to DB25.

Tweakie.

5182

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: High detailed .dxf file -> Pronest 8 -> Mach3

« on: March 21, 2013, 04:57:15 AM »

Hi Ashcroft,

The ProNest delays you are experiencing are probably best taken up with Hypertherm directly – they should be able to suggest the solution.

Within Mach – if you are getting the ‘crop circles’ in your toolpath display this is because the GCode is intended to run in Absolute distance mode (G90).
Goto Config / General Config / IJ Mode and select Absolute – then click Regen. Toolpath and your display should be correct.

I don’t have plasma so don’t know about the other problems but I had to add a Feed-rate to your GCode and reduce the Dwell times, replace the M03/M05 then it ran OK with my laser. So overall it is, in my opinion, a good .dxf and a good GCode that you have generated.

Tweakie.

5183

General Mach Discussion / Re: Faster output

« on: March 21, 2013, 03:17:36 AM »

There is some more information here http://hobbycncart.com/publ/cikkek/mach3_temaju_cikkek/switching_a_laser_under_mach_control/8-1-0-29 but I have not tested the performance when operating via the ESS.

Tweakie.

5184

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z Value increases on its own - Problem

« on: March 20, 2013, 07:42:26 AM »

Hi CD,

I don’t have plasma or use THC so this response is not based on experience...

My best guess, or what I would look for, would be electrical noise pickup on, or associated with, the THC Up signal.

Perhaps check cable runs, shielding, grounding etc. and if necessary fit filters, ferrite's etc.

Tweakie.

5185

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

« on: March 20, 2013, 02:52:40 AM »

Hi Gary,

Welcome to the forum.

Sounds like a very interesting machine you and your grandson are building. 

Tweakie.

5186

General Mach Discussion / Re: Please help me for mach3 plugin

« on: March 19, 2013, 11:58:34 AM »

Hi Jumla,

A couple of things you could try;

Check the voltage level of your LPT Port 1 to make sure it is 5 Volt TTL standard and not 3.3 Volt TTL.

Try configuring the Digital Trigger output as Active Low (this then connects to your laser PSU’s  TTL(L) input).

Choose an output pin number for your Digital Trigger that is not used anywhere else in your setup (even if any conflict of pin number is mapped to a different LPT Port).

Tweakie.

5187

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / A natural science project ?

« on: March 18, 2013, 01:41:29 PM »

Here is an interesting natural science experiment / project for children and others, like me, who never grow-up.

For Millennia the basic building block for nature has been observed and extremely well documented but only in relatively recent times (since the introduction of our Hindu-Arabic numbering system) could it be expressed so easily in mathematical terms.

The ratio 1 : (1 + √5) / 2  is all around us and because it occurs naturally we perceive it as being ‘pleasing to the eye’ so to this end we have duplicated it in our architecture, art and just about everything else. We call it the Golden Mean.

It should perhaps be emphasized that this ratio it is not a law, carved in stone, because there will always be exceptions it is merely a trend but, in nature, it occurs more often than not.

The infinite pair of  numbers in the Fibonacci series 1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89… are again in exactly the same ratio and if we look closely at our plants, fruits, trees etc. these numbers and the ratio are there.

Getting back to the experiment / project, the attached .dxf can be used to make a set of callipers whose points follow this ratio so that we can measure the things around us, learn from the experience and perhaps even inspire others.

(these callipers are perhaps not quite as accurate as I would like them to be but it’s a start).

Tweakie.

5188

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

« on: March 17, 2013, 12:14:25 PM »

Hola Juan,

Bienvenido al foro.

Tenemos una sección en español donde se puede enviar cualquier pregunta que usted pueda tener. http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/board,51.0.html

Tweakie.

5189

General Mach Discussion / Re: Looking for help with setting Z axis downward travel limit

« on: March 17, 2013, 08:09:41 AM »

I may be way off target here, but if it was me I would also fit a short sleeve (clamp ring) over the ball-screw so it mechanically cannot move the axis far enough to loose the bearings etc. just in case the set limits are accidentally overridden. 

Tweakie.

5190

General Mach Discussion / Re: driver needed for machining webcam

« on: March 17, 2013, 05:32:37 AM »

You may find this thread of interest http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,22932.0.html

Tweakie.