Hello Guest it is March 19, 2024, 12:50:21 AM

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Tweakie.CNC

Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 »
8281
*****VIDEOS***** / Re: Some interesting video
« on: April 20, 2010, 12:47:15 PM »
Extremely nice work Andrea you make tangential cutting look so easy.

Thanks for posting the links to these videos - this is truly inspiration for all of us.

Tweakie.

8282
*****VIDEOS***** / Vector Laser Engraving.
« on: April 20, 2010, 12:42:21 PM »
Another very short video clip of Sam's Wile.E.Coyote.

This is engraved with my CO2 laser head (finished at last, well almost) onto a small piece of MDF.

                 http://www.cooperman.talktalk.net/laser1a.wmv

Tweakie.

8283
FAQs / Re: E-STOP on Key Board, Setup
« on: April 18, 2010, 09:25:07 AM »
You could try:-

Config / Ports & Pins / Input Signals / Estop , check emulated, click on Hotkey then press your Emergency key and the value will be entered in the box, click apply.

Tweakie.

8284
General Mach Discussion / Re: Need Help on a Major Conversion
« on: April 18, 2010, 09:03:43 AM »
Hi Bill,

Personally I would go for the fully buffered BOB but there are still many to choose from.

Just one tip - Do not electrically connect the metal part of the 25 way connector on the new BOB to the frame of your control box (like the existing 37 way connector is fitted), it will be connected to earth at your PC end and connecting it at the control box will create an earth loop which could lead to other problems.

Tweakie

8285
Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Trident
« on: April 18, 2010, 02:29:14 AM »
Nice work Sam.

Hey Art made that nice plaque of Neptune, might be just what you are looking for.



Tweakie.

8286
General Mach Discussion / Re: Need Help on a Major Conversion
« on: April 17, 2010, 09:15:02 AM »
Hi Bill,

The pinouts for the 25 way and 37 way connectors are more or less identified in the WinCNC manuals which you can download from here http://www.wincnc.net/webfiles/CNC%20Windows/Manuals/

Once you have identified the step and direction pins it should not be too difficult to connect a breakout board for the LPT parallel cable to the appropriate places to be able to use Mach with the existing controllers.

You could, of course strip out all the existing electronics and fit Gecko's etc but I don't think this would really be necessary, also sounds like a lot of extra work.

Tweakie.


8287
Tangent Corner / Re: LED Electronics guys out there?
« on: April 17, 2010, 01:47:40 AM »
Way to go Dave - Excellent prototyping solution, values calculated etc.

In my opinion, there are two different approaches to routing PCB's. The easiest way (without having to learn software) is create your circuit design using any drawing program such as Microsoft Powerpoint etc and then outline the result to a vector using something like Acme Trace Art. Trace Art allows the output to be saved as HPGL which can then easily be converted to GCode. The other approach is to use one of the free programs such a Eagle to draw your circuit and produce the output but the initial learning curve for this is quite steep.

You could, of course get a square breadboard, cut a hole in the centre and mount that on your mill  ;D  But seriously PCB's make the job look so much more professional and I think it is worth the learning experience.

Good luck,

Tweakie.

8288
VB and the development of wizards / Re: IsActive Function
« on: April 16, 2010, 01:13:23 PM »
Hi Dom,

I presume you have read this but just need more examples.

IsActive
Function IsActive(Signal As Integer) As Boolean
This function returns a Boolean True if the current state of the specified input signal is its active state
Note that in terms of actual signal level, the term “active” depends on how the signal is defined. If the
signal is defined in Config->Ports&Pins->InputSignals as ActiveLow, then IsActive() will return True
when that signal is being driven to a logic low. If the signal is defined in Config->Ports&Pins-
>InputSignals as ActiveHigh, then IsActive() will return True when that signal is being driven to a logic
high.
Arguments:
Signal is an integer value corresponding to one of pre-defined input signal constants.
Return Value:
False indicates the signal is currently in its inactive state
True indicates the signal is currently in its active state

Example:
‘ Show the user the state of the INPUT #1 input
If IsActive(INPUT1) Then
Message “INPUT #1 input is active”
Else
Message “INPUT #1 input is inactive”
End If

Tweakie.

8289
Hi George,

I think you have discovered the reason why it is best to use two PC's. One for the design stuff and one dedicated to running the machine. There are no problems with installing two instances of Mach3, as only one computer is effectively using it to drive a machine there is no license violation.

Tweakie.

8290
Hi Barry,

After much thought I have compiled a list of things for you to check. I have probably forgotten something important but that's life.

1)   All exposed metal parts forming part of a ‘mains operated machine’ must be connected to Earth. [this is more for your own personal safety than anything else].
2)   All input devices such as limit switches, estop etc.should be connected with screened cable.
3)   The screen of all screened cables must be connected to Earth and only at one end (preferably to one single Earthing point at the controller end).
4)   The VFD frequency control input cable should preferably be screened or at least a ‘twisted pair’.
5)   The VFD forward/reverse – on/off switching cables should preferably be screened or comprise of ‘twisted pairs’.
6)   The cable between the VFD and the spindle motor should ideally be screened and not routed, for any great distance, alongside wiring for inputs (limit switches, estop etc.). [ideally the screen should be connected at the VFD earth terminal only but if the spindle motor is metal bodied the cable should contain a fourth wire for the earth connection to the motor body but the motor itself must then only be fitted to the machine using an insulated mounting to avoid creating an Earth loop].
7)   There must be no Earth loops. [typical examples are where the machine frame is connected to Earth via the incoming supply and the VFD is also connected to Earth via the incoming supply and  then these two items are fitted in electrical contact with each other thus an Earth loop is formed. The same thing applies with the PC which is also earthed via the incoming supply, if its metal casing parts or its cable screens/shields (LPT / USB etc) come into electrical contact with the machine frame an Earth loop is again formed].
8)   Any forms of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) or Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) must be traced and eliminated by fitting screening, filters etc. [the EMI is relatively short range but the generation of RFI can be just as much of a problem for your systems as it is to your neighbors computer, TV and radio systems].
9)   You should not make any direct electrical connection between ‘the computers Ground wires (pins 18 – 25) or the LPT cable screen/shield’ and ‘Earth’. [the computer ‘Ground’ and ‘Earth’ are to be considered as two separate circuits].
10)   If anything here conflicts with any product manufacturer’s recommendations then their instructions take precedence. [they should be a lot smarter than I].


Hope this helps.

Tweakie.

Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 »