Messages

7411

General Mach Discussion / Re: Newbie new parallel port question

« on: March 03, 2011, 06:04:44 AM »

Your step and direction pins should be different for each axis unless you are trying to do something special.
A typical configuration would be something like

X step pin 2
X dir    pin 3
Y step pin 4
Y dir    pin 5

etc.

The actual pin numbers would depend on your controller board or how you have wired individual controllers to your breakout board.

Within Mach you have to enable the outputs to see anything at the parallel port and you will only be able to measure a steady voltage on the Dir pins as you jog in different directions (the step pins pulse too fast for reliable voltmeter readings).

Does this help or confuse ?

Tweakie.

7412

General Mach Discussion / Re: Maximise the speed of your steppers ?

« on: March 03, 2011, 05:18:57 AM »

Jeff,

I think what we are looking at here is an initially small but dynamic resonance within the stepper motor itself which results in the stepper motor stalling at a speed well below it’s maximum RPM capabilities. I don’t think anyone has worked out any formulae for calculating the mass of the damper or it’s distribution in fact I am not even convinced that anyone knows exactly how or why it works. It seems that all those dampers which have been constructed on the Zone are different or at least have a different mass distribution yet they all work. How can this be?
It would seem that the mass of a damper is not directly related to the stepper size but ‘trial and error’ is pretty much par for the course when designing one. I think you should give it a try and report back. 

Tweakie.

7413

General Mach Discussion / Re: Maximise the speed of your steppers ?

« on: March 02, 2011, 01:24:08 PM »

Hi Russ,

I cant say that I noticed any comparison tests having been done between Gecko dampening and fitting a mechanical device.
Obviously some drivers are better than others at reducing the mid life crisis and as Gerry said Xylotex is pretty poor at it.
I don't have any Gecko's at present or else I would try a comparison. I have, however, found that with the same motor (without the damper fitted) a Toshiba chipped driver performs better than an Alegro chipped driver - backing up what Jeff Birt was saying in another thread. Fitting the damper there was little, in anything, to chose between the two.

Tweakie.

7414

General Mach Discussion / Re: Question on Mach3 Wizards

« on: March 02, 2011, 12:07:19 PM »

Hi Jim,

Only the Newfangled Solutions wizards require a separate license the rest (I think all the rest) are included free with Mach.

Tweakie.

7415

General Mach Discussion / Re: is this sound normal???

« on: March 02, 2011, 12:02:20 PM »

In my opinion no it is not normal.
My steppers are perfectly silent at rest whilst others have reported a slight buzzing it is nothing like the noises you have recorded.

Does the machine work OK ?
Does it cut / engrave to the correct dimensions without error ?

Tweakie.

7416

General Mach Discussion / Re: Maximise the speed of your steppers ?

« on: March 02, 2011, 11:53:39 AM »

Hi Gerry,

I always wondered how you got your machine to go that fast - now I know   

Tweakie.

7417

General Mach Discussion / Maximise the speed of your steppers ?

« on: March 02, 2011, 10:51:48 AM »

If like me you use steppers then with this simple little device you could possibly double the reliable rapids (G0 moves) on your machine. Obviously it is not intended to offer any improvement to the G1 feedrates because steppers loose torque as speed increases and a reasonable torque is always required for cutting etc.

I recently spent an hour or so reading and re-reading this thread on the zone http://www.cnczone.com/forums/stepper_motors_drives/32284-my_take_stepper_damper-23.html and although convinced I just had to prove it to myself. Guess what, in the trial, it easily doubled the feed rate before my stepper stalled. This device has been patented so it’s only suitable for personal use but it is so easy to make you really just have to try it.

There is no point in going into the details of its operation here because it is fully described on the Zone - it perhaps looks similar to a flywheel but if it doesn’t rattle then it doesn’t work. Physics sometimes reveals itself in strange and mysterious ways.

Tweakie.

7418

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

« on: March 02, 2011, 10:06:52 AM »

Hi Jen,

I have no experience of belt drive so cannot offer any advise here. (Incidentally the Zing will be belt drive and they work OK).

Not sure about cutting with many light passes, I will have to try this and see what happens. From past experience when cutting profiles a second pass had little effect unless you can get the carbon residue out of the bottom of the kerf. The true solution is probably more laser power so it can be vaporised before it has a chance to burn 

Tweakie.

7419

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Router - which is best for this application?

« on: March 02, 2011, 06:55:25 AM »

Hi Jen,

After spouting on about it I thought I had better try some inlay work. 

This is just wood in wood but it shows that it is easy to do with Mach3 and LazyCam.  http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,12444.msg121416.html#msg121416

Tweakie.

7420

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

« on: March 02, 2011, 06:25:41 AM »

Something I have not really tried before is the inlay of wood into wood. Thanks to Switcher http://vectorink.com/ I downloaded one of his .dxf’s and using LazyCam created the wood cut outline GCode. This was then used to cut some parts from 2mm Obechi veneer. The .dxf outline was then filled black, using Photochop and saved as a .bmp which was subsequently then used with the Engraving / Laser plugin to cut the pocket into a leftover piece of Teak. Both the Obechi and Teak were covered in paper Transfer Tape (the stuff used for applying vinyl signs) before being attacked with the laser to protect the surface from smoke marking and discoloration. The part was then fitted in place using PVA and sanded flush when dry (the part was about 0.5mm proud of the surface).
It is not perfect but hey this is my first attempt, I have learnt a lot here and I am sure that I can make improvements. The edges of the cut have suffered from blackening and unfortunately, this is quite noticeable – perhaps using Nitrogen instead of Air as the assist gas would reduce this effect, something to try another day.

Tweakie.