Messages

6211

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 vs NC-studio

« on: November 07, 2011, 04:44:10 AM »

Thanks, I think I understand what you have done now.

Tweakie.

6212

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 vs NC-studio

« on: November 07, 2011, 02:58:47 AM »

So how exactly have you wired the breakout board to the 15 pin connector ??

Tweakie.

6213

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: older precix router and gcode. Possible or not

« on: November 07, 2011, 02:23:51 AM »

Steppers sound fine (the 8 wires would either be connected as 2 parallel sets of windings with 6 Amp capacity or two series connected sets of windings with 3 Amp capacity).
The Gecko drive controller is certainly not the cheapest available for your project but is is perhaps the easiest option which is well documented and has excellent after sales and back-up etc.

Your existing power supply should be Ok so the hardest part would probably be re-wiring the stepper motor plug connections to suit the new controller.

Hope this helps.

Tweakie.

6214

General Mach Discussion / Re: Wacky axis movement

« on: November 06, 2011, 12:14:54 PM »

My pleasure sir 

Tweakie.

6215

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: older precix router and gcode. Possible or not

« on: November 06, 2011, 12:13:50 PM »

If the steppers have 4 or 6 wires then they are capable of bipolar operation. If the steppers have 5 wires then they will be unipolar and slightly more difficult to use. Perhaps this the starting point for things to check. (nb. 1.8 degrees is good).

Tweakie.

6216

Tangent Corner / Re: Homebuilt planes

« on: November 06, 2011, 03:11:36 AM »

Fernando,

Are you meaning model planes as in RC or full size planes ??

Tweakie.

6217

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: older precix router and gcode. Possible or not

« on: November 06, 2011, 03:08:01 AM »

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

Usually, machines that use HPGL are driven by a serial connection and Mach3, essentially, uses the computer's parallel port for it's machine communication.

Obviously it depends on many factors but, basically, if your Precix is driven by Bipolar Stepper Motors then it is pretty easy and straightforward to replace the existing drive electronics with something like the Gecko 540 controller http://www.geckodrive.com/g540-p-39.html
There is a bit of skill involved but it is not rocket science.
If the Precix uses servos instead of steppers then it is still doable but slightly more complicated and costly.

There are many, here on the forum, who have undertaken a similar task, albeit a different machine, who will be willing to help with any problems you encounter if you decide to take on the task.

Good fortune.

Tweakie.

6218

General Mach Discussion / Re: Wacky axis movement

« on: November 06, 2011, 02:54:51 AM »

Don,

If your motor tuning is in mm (and it is correct) then just convert the metric entries to inch units (eg. 320 steps / 25.4 = 12.5984 steps) and so on for Vel. and Acc. - remember to save each axis settings before proceeding to next axis. Also make sure Config. / Select Native Units is set to inches. Then test it thoroughly and if necessary make any small adjustments to Vel. and Acc. to obtain the best, 100% reliable, performance.

Tweakie.

6219

General Mach Discussion / Re: Wacky axis movement

« on: November 05, 2011, 09:50:24 AM »

BUT, if I load a file then all three DROs move to a seemingly random location.  If I then move the spindle 1 or 2 inches the DRO only moves by some small amount, say .06 or something.

Don,

What file are you loading ??
Does this happen with any file ??

Tweakie.

6220

General Mach Discussion / Re: no jog

« on: November 05, 2011, 03:41:40 AM »

Have you tried running "DriverTest.exe" (found in the Mach folder) ??

If this doesn't run then the drivers are not loaded and this could be a memory problem as you suspect.

Tweakie.