Messages

6561

General Mach Discussion / Re: How did he / How do I do this?

« on: July 26, 2010, 02:18:47 AM »

One of the nice things about Mach is that there is always more than one way of doing things. This is just one suggestion:-

If the air supply to the selected drill was controlled by a valve/relay operated by Output #1 then the addition of the M11P1 /M10P1 commands at the appropriate place in the GCode would do the trick (M11P1 turns Output #1 on and M10P1 turns it off).

A simple example.

F50
G0 M11P1
G1 Z-5
G0 M10P1
G1 Z0
G0 X10 Y10
G0 M11P1
G1 Z-5
G0 M10P1
G1 Z0
G0 X0 Y0
M30


Tweakie.

6562

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 for embroidery machine

« on: July 25, 2010, 01:23:33 PM »

Jeff,

There are quite a few postings here on that topic. http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,13859.0.html

Perhaps if you PM Khalid he may be able to give you more details of his setup and software.

Tweakie.

6563

Tangent Corner / Re: HOT DOG DAYS

« on: July 25, 2010, 01:17:38 PM »

Only seems like the other day he was helping you dig out the snow round your paths Rich. 

Tweakie.

6564

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tangential control

« on: July 25, 2010, 12:34:05 PM »

Hi Jack,

I think you need to tell the A axis which direction to point within your GCode. Would something like this work ?

(File T.NC )
(Sunday, July 18, 2010)
G90G80G49
G0 Z1.0000
G90.1
S50
G0 Z1.0000

G0 X0.0000 Y0.0000
M3
F80.000G1 Z0.0000
G0 A30
F300.000G1 X10.0000 Y17.3205
G0 A150
G1 X20.0000 Y0.0000
G0 A270
G1 X0.0000 Y0.0000
M5
G0 Z1.0000
G0 X0 Y0
M5M30


Tweakie.

6565

General Mach Discussion / Re: z axis driven pump: pressure regulation /logic input question

« on: July 25, 2010, 12:20:43 PM »

Richard,

You are on the right lines.

The Macro Pump runs in the background and could control the functions you require with your VB code.
Here is one link but there are many if you do a search  http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,13576.0.html

Tweakie.

6566

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: 3D Printing.

« on: July 25, 2010, 11:28:38 AM »

Terry,

Thanks for the suggestion but if it's what we call 'Icing Sugar' here in the UK, then yes I did try some but it caught fire instantly  

In general the 'air assist' tends to extinguish combustion in most materials before it starts but I have this set to an extremely low level when working with powders otherwise the stuff just gets blown away.

It is perhaps interesting that photocopy toner does not ignite (at least the stuff I have didn't) and this must have similar particle size to powered sugar but it did not really produce the desired results - perhaps a mixture of the two may work ?.

Lots of possibilities to try - please keep the suggestions coming Guys - I do appreciate your help.

Tweakie.

6567

General Mach Discussion / Re: PWM Spindle Control using Mach3 - How I did it

« on: July 25, 2010, 10:32:45 AM »

Excellent work Chris, a well prepared document which I am sure is extremely useful to us all.

Tweakie.

6568

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: 3D Printing.

« on: July 25, 2010, 02:19:57 AM »

Hi Gerry,

Perhaps in my dreams, but I think that is a little ambitious for me to start with. Maybe a little Torus is more the mark 

Tweakie.

6569

General Mach Discussion / Re: OEM code for Output 2 Toggle

« on: July 24, 2010, 12:44:40 PM »

Evan,

What I want is to put a button on my screen to turn on and off my output 2

I seem to have missed something here - surely Hood has already given you the information you need to do just that.

Add a VB button to your screen then within Mach paste in Hood's VB code and away you go - Output #2  toggles  ON / OFF.

Tweakie.

6570

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / 3D Printing.

« on: July 24, 2010, 12:26:37 PM »

In some ways this is a continuation of ‘The Laser Project’ but because there are many ways in which 3D Printing can be achieved I thought it perhaps deserves its own thread. The method I have decided to initially follow is that of Selective Laser Sintering. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Selective_laser_melting_system_schematic.jpg

My initial model is only 2D (about 3mm thick) and was produced in just two layers using a simple stacking frame – this has, however, given me sufficient confidence to start building a larger frame or jig with a moving Z Axis base that will allow models up to 60mm deep to be produced on my existing machine without any additional modification. If this is successful, who knows?
My initial inspiration for trying this came from the Candy Fab project and more details of their progress can be found here http://candyfab.org/

Although I accept that the quality of my initial model is not very good I think that by using fusible materials which have a finer grain structures things can only get better.

I would appreciate your comments / suggestions relating to this or 3D printing in general.

Tweakie.