Messages

751

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Plunge cut with end mill

« on: April 10, 2020, 07:53:39 AM »

Not much help but that type of end mill was never intended for plunge cut and really does not make a very good job if forced to do it. Best option is to purchase the right tool, sometimes sold as slot drill, which has an end flute going to the centre. Just my 2 cents 

Tweakie.

752

General Mach Discussion / Re: N00b - DRO innacurate / calibration

« on: April 10, 2020, 01:56:51 AM »

Hi Burf86,

Something went wrong & I think you are using a different profile and picking up the wrong .xml file but I have removed my .xml download while I check it.

No worries though we can take a different approach…

Make the following changes to your Mach3 settings and save the changes at each stage.

In Config. / Motor Tuning…

Set each axis and save after each change to…

X and Y Axis…
Steps per  400
Velocity  2000
Acceleration  200
Step pulse  5
Dir Pulse  5

Z Axis…
Steps per  400
Velocity  1000
Acceleration 100

The attached .zip file has screen shots of the other config. changes.

There will be some more changes but this should do to start with.

Tweakie.

753

General Mach Discussion / Re: N00b - DRO innacurate / calibration

« on: April 09, 2020, 07:30:19 AM »

Hi Burf86,

You nearly fooled me there - in your initial post you said the board was a JP328C but from you pic. I see it is a JP3163B 

I have attached a modified .xml file which I would like you to try. Change the name of this .xml to the same name as your existing <your profile>.xml and then copy it to your Mach3 folder overwriting the existing .xml.
 
Please check that your JP3163B board has all the switches set…

K1 – ON
K2 – ON
K3 – OFF
K4 – ON

This is the setting for 1/8th Micro stepping.

SW1 – ON
SW2 – OFF
SW3 – ON

This is the setting for 2 Amp stepper motor current.

Perhaps let me know how (or if) it works and we can go on from there.

Tweakie.

754

General Mach Discussion / Re: N00b - DRO innacurate / calibration

« on: April 09, 2020, 01:22:23 AM »

Hi Burf86,

My suggestion is that you get your existing T-D controller running correctly with Mach3 before embarking on buying new stuff. You will, however, need a 32bit PC with parallel port (not laptop) and the LPT port must output the 5 Volt TTL standard not the newer 3.3 Volt TTL standard. WinXP would be a good OS to use.
Unfortunately such computers are now becoming rare and perhaps hard to get.

If you attach your <your profile> .xml file (Typically Mach3Mill.xml) found in your Mach3 folder (you need to rename it to burf.xml as all attachments require a unique name) this file contains all your settings and we can check them and hopefully advise on any settings that may need to be changed.

Tweakie.

755

General Mach Discussion / Re: Not cutting circles neatly

« on: April 08, 2020, 09:57:15 AM »

Oval circles like that can be caused by backlash. Most common cause is probably a loose grub screw in a flex coupling or drive pulley etc. in any event the cause is usually mechanical.

Tweakie.

756

French / Re: Mach3fr screen problem

« on: April 07, 2020, 04:00:15 AM »

I have sent you a PM.

757

Forum suggestions and report forum problems. / Re: Gcode m3 not working in post program

« on: April 07, 2020, 02:45:09 AM »

Try downloading the latest available version of Mach3  https://www.machsupport.com/downloads-updates/main-programs/ and installing it over the top of your existing version. (Please make a back-up copy of your existing Mach3 folder first, just in case any settings are overwritten).

Tweakie.

758

General Mach Discussion / Re: Engraving problems

« on: April 07, 2020, 01:37:59 AM »

Good to hear that you have identified the axis alignment problem.

The Vectric 'pattern fill' will often produce a ziz-zag Gcode toolpath which, as you have discovered, is totally unsuitable for laser work.
The best alternative (IMO) is to raster engrave a bitmap where the axis acceleration/deceleration zones are outside the pattern area. Although the Mach3 Impact/Laser engraver plugin will do this extremely well it relies on 32bit Parallel Port operation and many (like me) have now moved on to 64bit PC’s. Warp9 are working to perfect a laser, raster image function for their ESS and Mach4 and Artsoft are also working on an independent raster scan function for Mach4.
Perhaps sad to say but there are other competitive softwares out there which perform laser raster scanning extremely well but I shall leave it to you to look.

Tweakie.

759

General Mach Discussion / Re: Need so much help in so many areas...:/ 1st..:)

« on: April 06, 2020, 02:15:14 AM »

Looking to see how you take one picture and make it into multiple

This is usually done in the CAD/CAM software prior to creating the Gcode for use with Mach3/4.
LazyCam is very old and outdated by modern CAD/CAM software standards - Vectric, for example, is reasonably priced and allows Copy & Paste as well as Nesting to create multiple images arranged to take the best advantage of material space.

Tweakie.

760

Mach3 under Vista / Re: computer screen goes black when running mach3

« on: April 04, 2020, 09:52:00 AM »

Excellent idea Glen.