Messages

6641

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z-axis Auto zero wiring

« on: April 06, 2011, 01:22:12 PM »

The probe input should be configured active low and the digitize LED should be off until the tool contacts the plate.
Could it be that your BoB is holding the input low and causing the digitize led to be on ?

Tweakie.

6642

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z-axis Auto zero wiring

« on: April 06, 2011, 12:57:32 PM »

Just tried the script on my machine and it works OK here.
The Z only moves up 1" after it has touched the plate. Silly question but have you got your Z axis reversed ? ( +Z should be upwards movement)

Tweakie.

6643

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z-axis Auto zero wiring

« on: April 06, 2011, 11:40:27 AM »

Thanks, but what I would like to see it is the script you are pasting into the auto zero button not the .xml 

Tweakie.

6644

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: The Laser Project.

« on: April 06, 2011, 07:27:53 AM »

Another of the aluminium coated engraving laminate pictures produced with the Impact / Laser plugin.
(The aluminium coating is only microns thick here and the laser chews its way through this stuff far too easily - the trick is getting the power level low enough not to end up with a totally black image) 

Tweakie.

6645

General Mach Discussion / Re: Outline and pocketing

« on: April 06, 2011, 04:42:08 AM »

Sam,

I have used the free version of CamBam for some time now, it has it's quirks but I think it does make an excellent job of applying tool radius compensation to the generated GCode. Perhaps a bit more practice with the software 

Alternately why not read up the Mach manuals etc. on tool radius compensation and using G40 / G41 / G42 in your GCode.

Tweakie.

6646

General Mach Discussion / Re: Pulse frequency variation

« on: April 06, 2011, 04:16:45 AM »

Jeff,

It's my guess that something else is running in the background and you just haven't found it yet.

Tweakie.

6647

*****VIDEOS***** / Re: Vector Laser Engraving.

« on: April 06, 2011, 02:42:02 AM »

Hi Sam,

I thought, after my post, that I must get around to laser etching the Wile.E, Acme rocket and Roadrunner that you coded - it's in the pipeline.

Lower power CO2 lasers will not etch into metals (it's a wavelength thing) but they are brilliant at ablating the dye layer in anodized ally (probably why they are used so much for tattoo removals).
Art went to a lot of trouble for us last November (even though he was really busy with Gearotic Motion) to correct a couple of errors which had been left in the Impact/Laser plugin and now this works really well for raster work.
I am sure you have seen this before but this was done on the rear of an old anodized panel and there is room for improvement but it is perhaps a good example of what can easily be achieved.
Art's plugin accepts .bmp and .jpg formats, allows scaling, inverse image, setting Y step over etc etc and I think I have shown that the results produced rival the low to middle price range commercial laser packages and Art says he only coded this plugin as a fun thing in the first place.

Tweakie.

6648

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z-axis Auto zero wiring

« on: April 06, 2011, 01:43:23 AM »

Could you please post your script so I can (hopefully) see what is going wrong ?

Tweakie.

6649

*****VIDEOS***** / Re: Vector Laser Engraving.

« on: April 05, 2011, 11:47:41 AM »

Thanks Sam.

If it hadn't been for your Wile.E Coyote drawing I couldn't have done this  

Lasers are absolutely brilliant for some things and absolutely useless for others and in the laser project thread I am gradually getting to show all the things my laser is good at. Unfortunately this is not a complete story because different types of laser operate at different wavelengths and this then makes them suitable / unsuitable for a whole lot of different applications - what one type can do easily another type, possibly cannot do at all (bit like mills and routers I suppose).

Tweakie.

6650

Share Your GCode / Re: 12" Vinyl Record Lathe Cutting Stylus code

« on: April 04, 2011, 08:46:21 AM »

I think the frequency response of your cutting head is going to be your major problem, trying to get the mass small enough and avoiding resonance within the audio band (assuming you are going to record in 'real time') whilst still being able to get enough power into the coils to actually cut the vinyl is a finely balanced equation. This problem eluded the early record manufacturers for many years but technology moves on and I really do hope you succeed with this project. There are many extremely clever members on this forum who are only too willing to help and share their knowledge so don't be too proud to ask, just keep at it and you will win. 

I have never tried a blue laser so I would be most interested to see your results as and when.

Tweakie.