Messages

41

General Mach Discussion / Re: Xbox controller problems

« on: December 14, 2012, 06:51:39 PM »

I seem to remember when I set mine up, I had to search for a Microsoft branded xbox controller for it to work. Also, the controller must be on player1 to work. Could one of these maybe be the problem? Not so sure about the license file, I keep several backups of mach3 on hand for when I mess things up.

I also posted a while back about my xbox controller setup, in case any of it helps you:
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,15314.msg102578.html#msg102578

42

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cable connecting DROs to PC

« on: September 14, 2012, 08:31:59 AM »

Not for the arduino specifically, I was working with a propeller, but if you're familiar with the arduino platform, the links below should point you in the right direction.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Reading-Digital-Callipers-with-an-Arduino-USB/
http://robocombo.blogspot.com/2010/12/using-tis-launchpad-to-interface.html

Also, parallax makes some really nice lcd screens that are super easy to interface using a propeller. There may be something like this for arduino as well.
http://www.parallax.com/Store/Accessories/Displays/tabid/159/List/0/ProductID/51/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName%2cProductName

Hope this helps

43

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cable connecting DROs to PC

« on: September 13, 2012, 10:07:48 PM »

I have not seen such things for sale, however I have poked around at my little cheapie digital caliper, and found you can interface the data signal using a basic stamp, propeller chip, or arduino, and these can interface with a PC. It may not be a clean and polished solution though. One thing to note: as far as I know, if you intend to somehow use that data with mach3, you can only send serial data from within mach3, not receive. If this is not true, I'd love to be corrected.

44

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle speed DRO goes from max to min, nowhere between

« on: September 12, 2012, 10:11:40 AM »

I think I just figured out what the deal is. This is what I get for staying so late at the shop. The Spindle OV increment value in the general config is added to the PERCENTAGE of the requested override, not to the literal RPM value. I was expecting that number to add to the actual requested RPM.

I also solved my screen size problem. Sometimes just a fresh cup of coffee makes everything much clearer.

45

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle speed DRO goes from max to min, nowhere between

« on: September 12, 2012, 08:35:03 AM »

Just to clarify, if you command a spindle speed it does work correctly and its just the override that is the issue?
Hood

Not exactly. I have had instances where I have all the settings the way I want, but when I push run, the number in the "S" DRO jumps back to 8000 (or whatever speed I had requested), and the speed override slider goes to max. This is not always the case though. I have checked the Gcode, and the spindle speed request is what I want.

Thanks!

46

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle speed DRO goes from max to min, nowhere between

« on: September 11, 2012, 10:37:14 PM »

Just to clarify, I just tested this again. It seems that whatever is in the "S" DRO on the MDI page seems to act as a multiplier to the spindle speed override. If I set that DRO to 50, and push up or down, the spindle speed changes in 50 rpm increments. I've never changed or even used these buttons, I wonder what's going on?

47

General Mach Discussion / Spindle speed DRO goes from max to min, nowhere between

« on: September 11, 2012, 10:16:16 PM »

I purchased and installed a SuperPID, and it seems to be doing its job well, but something is up with settings in Mach3.

I've never had control of my spindle from within Mach3 before, but I really can't seem to figure out where I'm going wrong. I downloaded the most recent copy, and have the same problems.

If I load a program with a tool at say, 8000 rpm, and run it, everything is fine. If I push the button to increase the spindle speed, it goes to max 33700, or 300, which is what my pulley settings are. I've gone to general config, and changed the Spindle OV Increment setting down to 300. If I run a program, and while it's faux cutting, the "S" DRO in the spindle speed box is set to 8000 for some reason. That seems to be the root of the problem, it seemed to me that whatever is in that box is what the buttons count by. Somehow it seems to have the requested speed in there instead of the step increment.


Thank you!


======= Below this line is not as important as above =========
The new version of Mach3, when I set it to full screen, the whole program doesn't fill the screen, only the window itself does. I have Auto Screen Enlarge enabled, as before.

48

General Mach Discussion / Re: Motor Controller front panel control suggestions?

« on: July 09, 2010, 12:03:15 AM »

Well, a couple things you haven't mentioned that I use on my machine are coolant and vacuum. It's also a good idea to leave yourself a couple extra switches or buttons for future ideas.

49

General Mach Discussion / More buttons and combinations for Xbox controller users!

« on: July 08, 2010, 10:09:21 PM »

I posted earlier in another thread about a problem I had been having with my keygrabber driven controller. You can read it here if you're interested in the rest of the story:
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,15312.0.html

For lack of any other options, I took Budman's advice, and I went out and found a used Xbox controller. Problem was, I used more button combos than the Xbox plugin allows. Turns out, disabling the axis controls in keygrabber, and redefining the keys for the Xbox controller allows me axis motion that's controlled by the Xbox plugin, but all the key combos that keygrabber allowed.

I'm pretty excited about it, I don't know if anyone has tried it, but it works so slick, I wanted to share.

You can set yours up any way you like, but I'm using something like this:
Shoulder buttons can be CTRL / ALT, each button (X-Y-A-B) can be bound to F5 F6 F7 F8
Using this, you get:
Your normal set of 4 buttons
Control + those 4 buttons
Alt + those 4 buttons
Control + alt + those 4 buttons
etc.

There are a lot of combinations that you could come up with using this strategy. I know this idea isn't new for users of keygrabber, but I thought the Xbox controllers would love some extra button functions.

For an added level of cool, I put in sounds in many of my scripts using an online text to speech reader, and audacity (free) audio studio. It's great to have some feedback from your machine. You can use the function PlayWave ("SOUNDS\AUTOZZERO.WAV") to play your sounds. Change the folder to where ever you decide to save them.

I hope this opens up some new options to others.

Z

50

General Mach Discussion / Re: Keygrabber 'sticking'?

« on: July 08, 2010, 09:40:01 PM »

Hahahah, I had an idea.

I went out and found a used Xbox controller. Problem was, I used more button combos than the Xbox plugin allows. Turns out, disabling the axis controls in keygrabber, and redefining the keys for the Xbox controller allows me plugin controlled axis motion, but all the key combos that keygrabber allowed.

This just made my day.


EDIT ... man.. this is just sinking in how cool this is. Shoulder buttons can be CTRL / ALT, each button can be F5 F6 F7 F8, hot key buttons and scripts galore. Wheee! I hope others get some use out of this too!