Messages

541

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Help needed with Mach3/Win7

« on: October 09, 2020, 01:15:46 AM »

I would spend a little more $ for the Warp9 ESS which comes with full manufacturers support and back-up and is fully Mach4 compatable if you ever consider making the change in the future.

But the decision is yours.

Tweakie.

542

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Help needed with Mach3/Win7

« on: October 08, 2020, 01:39:57 AM »

I am thinking of a USB BOB.

Popular opinion is that Ethernet connection is preferable to USB for a BoB / Motion Controller. It would also be wise to choose a USA or EU manufactured product over a cheap Chinese one.

Tweakie.

543

General Mach Discussion / Re: Copycat plugin to "teach" more than 3 axis possible ?

« on: October 08, 2020, 01:26:38 AM »

The Mach3 Copycat wizard only supports 3 axis.

Tweakie.

544

German / Re: Funktion innerhalb des "Screen load script" nicht vom Marko ausführbar

« on: October 07, 2020, 03:09:50 AM »

Hi Coyote,

I have placed a translation of your posting into the Mach4 General section where it will get more coverage and hopefully a solution.

It is here; https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=43751.msg281512#msg281512

Tweakie.

545

Mach4 General Discussion / Function within the “Screen load script” cannot be executed from a macro.

« on: October 07, 2020, 03:07:14 AM »

Can anyone please help Coyote with getting this script to execute.

His posting, in German is here; https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=43750.msg281511#msg281511

A translation of his posting…

Morning,
according to the "Mach4 scripting manual" on page 16. When I establish code in the screen load script such as:

-------------------------------------------------- -------------
- Write register
-------------------------------------------------- -------------
function WriteRegister (regname, regvalue)
    local inst = mc.mcGetInstance ()
    local hreg = mc.mcRegGetHandle (inst, string.format ("iRegs0 /% s", regname))
    mc.mcCntlSetLastError (inst, string.format ("iRegs0 /% s", regname)) - for test if i can reach this line
    mc.mcRegSetValueString (hreg, tostring (regvalue))
end

then this function can be executed globally.

I would now like to use this also from the macro:

function m170_setSolderProg (number)
    local inst = mc.mcGetInstance ()
   
    if (mc.mcInEditor () == 0) then
        number = tonumber (number)
        WriteRegister ("SolCon / SolderProg", number)
    else
        local hreg = mc.mcRegGetHandle (inst, "iRegs0 / SolCon / SolderProg")
        mc.mcRegSetValueString (hreg, tostring (number))
    end
   
    SetSolConSolProgOutput (number)
       
    mc.mcCntlSetLastError (inst, string.format ("Solder Program% s updated", number))
end

but it is not executed / found. There is also no error message about it!

I have already entered this into the support of Newfangled, but only received irrelevant phrases as an answer. I have to hold back from writing an angry mail to Trevor W.

I suspect that the place for the function is the wrong one, as in the manual as an example it is only accessed by a screen button.

Does anyone have any advice for me to solve this problem?

Thank you
Coyote

546

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Laser won't fire from Ethernet smooth stepper

« on: October 07, 2020, 01:47:13 AM »

Unfortunately you are working with old versions which are known to have issues.

There have been a considerable number of improvements made in the operation of both Mach4 and the ESS during the last 12 months or so to overcome the laser operating problems associated with Mach4 build 4430 and the ESS. It has not been a smooth ride for laser users as various Mach4 development versions were withdrawn, WinXP phased out and some ESS updates made which in turn had problems or just did not work, however, everything now seems to have braved the storm with the ‘pair’ Mach4 build 4517 and ESS build 260 working in harmony.
Obviously development work of both products is continuing and the recommended ‘pairs’ of builds will change in the not too distant future (nothing remains the same for very long).

Before updating Mach4 and the ESS plugins, macro’s, etc. ALWAYS make a backup.

I think you should update to the known working ‘pair’ 4517 and 260 then follow the laser setup instructions (including the macro additions) provided by Warp9.

Various Mach4 development builds can be downloaded from here;
ftp://machsupport.com/Mach4/DevlopmentVersions/

The Mach4 laser setup details and required macro’s are here;
https://warp9td.com/index.php/faq#SetUpALaser

Tweakie.

547

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Laser won't fire from Ethernet smooth stepper

« on: October 06, 2020, 01:15:57 AM »

The various Mach4 builds and the ESS builds are 'paired' and only work correctly in those 'pairs'.
Perhaps check, from the Warp9 website, that you are in fact using the latest mating pair.

Which BoB are you using ?
Which laser are you using ?

548

General Mach Discussion / MOVED: lua error while running chunk

« on: October 05, 2020, 05:19:55 AM »

This topic has been moved to Mach4 General Discussion.

https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=43739.0

549

General Mach Discussion / Re: M10/M11 Control

« on: October 05, 2020, 04:25:38 AM »

Hi Doug,

Nice looking laser that you have.

The laser switching is the same if it’s CO2 or Diode it is probably just expressed differently.
Your laser has to be turned ON by applying power to the 12V+ and GND terminals then the beam switched ON and OFF by applying a PWM signal between the PWM and GND terminals.

If the laser beam is activated without any PWM connection then the logic is Active High (connecting the PWM terminal to GND will turn the beam OFF).

So…
For initial tests connect your laser PWM to your Output#1 Pin and GND to your BoB GND. Enable the Mach3 Output#1 Pin and set to the Pin number you have chosen Active High (if appropriate from above paragraph). Apply the 12V power to the laser.
Now run a test Gcode - perhaps Trispokedovetiles(laser).tap in the .zip file here; https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=18345.msg126486#msg126486

The above should switch the laser ON/OFF at full power.

There are various ways to control the laser power and the easiest I have found is to gate the Mach3 PWM signal with the M11/M10 signal and this is described here;  https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=12444.msg265104#msg265104

Cutting plywood is tricky as the bonding glue causes many problems. Air assist (at reasonable pressure) is usually required to keep the kerf free from carbon and mess from the glue. However, there is a special Laser Ply which does cut a lot easier than standard stuff but it still requires practice to get a nice clean cut.
Your Diode laser should be perfectly OK for cutting plywood (the feed-rate needs to be adjusted accordingly) you just need to practice.

Hope this helps,

Tweakie.   

550

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to get rid of pauses between different segments of a program

« on: October 05, 2020, 01:52:51 AM »

You attached an .exe file which was deleted.

Please .zip your problem Gcode file and attach it as a .zip file.

Tweakie.