Messages

421

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: probing problems

« on: September 29, 2017, 09:09:04 AM »

Sounds a lot like noise/bouncy switch to me. Not sure if you can add some filtering for the probe input in the ESS config. but think you can and should by the sounds of it. Even if the LED looks good it can all be processed, checked and reporting the error before you can begin to think about it, much less see it.

422

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Erratic Feedrate When Cutting Spline Lines

« on: September 29, 2017, 08:58:39 AM »

Good deal. thanks!

423

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 screen not updating while running Macro

« on: September 28, 2017, 11:57:37 PM »

This should work.....

Code: [Select]

local inst = mc.mcGetInstance()
local Var1 = 100
local Var2 = 1
local Var3 = 1
local Var4 = 1

local MyGcode = string.format("G17 G90 G91.1 G94 G20 G40 G49 G80 G98 G50 G67 G54 G61 G69 G15\n") --Just setting some things to a known state
MyGcode = MyGcode .. string.format("G91 G54 G01 F%.4f X%.4f Y-%.4f Z%.4f\n", Var1, Var2, Var3, Var4)
MyGcode = MyGcode .. string.format("G91 G54 G01 F100 X0.0000 Y-0.0000 Z0.0000\n")
mc.mcCntlGcodeExecute(inst, MyGcode)


424

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Erratic Feedrate When Cutting Spline Lines

« on: September 28, 2017, 10:38:56 PM »

Here you go...... this update populates the CV_Feedrate table in inch or mm and the tolerance you enter is inch or mm........ all dependent on machine setup units.

Let me know how it goes.

425

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Erratic Feedrate When Cutting Spline Lines

« on: September 28, 2017, 08:06:36 PM »

Guys, I hope to have a version that will work in machine setup units (inch or metric) later tonight or tomorrow.

I hope this wizard will eliminate the need for multiple setups. If job tolerance changes or job type that changes axis involved, just run the wizard.

426

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Erratic Feedrate When Cutting Spline Lines

« on: September 27, 2017, 10:43:22 PM »

No problem

No, no conversion to integers. They begin as integers and end as integers. I suspect if I wanted to add resolution they could very well end as floating point but i don't see the need for that. Never heard of anyone programming a feedrate as a floating point but that doesn't mean it would necessarily be illegal to do so but it might be. I haven't ever given it enough though to know for sure one way or the other TBH.

I think I would convert to integers just to play it safe.

Well, I use polynomials to get there. But I also use tables and conditionals but most of it is polynomials I guess.

427

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Quick M6 ATC question: where is this MTC message box coming from?

« on: September 27, 2017, 08:39:51 PM »

That message box lives in the master module. it has parameters set in the screen load script. If you don't want to see the message box, have you tried clicking the "Don't show message again" tick box in it?

428

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 screen not updating while running Macro

« on: September 27, 2017, 04:16:20 PM »

Errrrr, might want to read the API doc.

mc.mcCntlGcodeExecute

Notes:


If the control is in the idle state, this function will execute the G code in MDI mode.

It is important to note that this function does not wait for the G code to complete. It is an error to execute G code with this function one line after another. Instead, the lines should be combined into one string separeated with newline characters (\n).

mc.mcCntlMdiExecute

Notes:
Used to run commands like MDI or script commands. The function returns immediately without waiting on the G code to proocess. It is an error to call this function multiple times for each block of G code. Multiple blocks should be concatenated and separated with new line characters to form a "unit of work".

429

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Erratic Feedrate When Cutting Spline Lines

« on: September 27, 2017, 09:37:43 AM »

I too use Metric mm and it is a bit time consuming to set up and test in metric, so I look forward to seeing it in Metric version.

Don't hold your breath then. Without some putting in their time (I guarantee you setting up an inch profile for a machine is way faster than writing this wizard) to do some real world test and give results in inch I highly doubt I will spend any more of my time adding metric.

So in your Wizard can you add a Maximum Velocity speed so when it writes the data to machine.ini it will replace all the higher numbers with this G-Code maximum?

Absolutely not. Setting the max speed any angle will go at to hold a tolerance has nothing at all to do with the feed rate you program. If your programed feed rate is lower than it can take the angle at....... it simply doesn't slow down because it doesn't have too to hold the tolerance. The speed capable does not in any way speed the feed rate up over the programmed feed rate. It will simply lower the speed in angles it needs too, it will never speed it up over programmed feed rate.

The angle is measured from current trajectory to next trajectory. Simply the difference of what it is doing now to what it will do next.

Previously I had selected Constant Velocity and then later found out about the Wizard, when I went into the Wizard for the first time all angles were 0 and the CV Feedrate On/Off button was set to Off, even though I had selected Constant Velocity in the Configuration Menu. So the way I see it is selecting Constant Velocity in the Configuration menu actually does nothing unless you change the settings in the Wizard, is that right?

Not exactly but enabling CV in general config. does not populate the CV_Feed rate table in any way, therefore you are not taking advantage of that added feature until you populate the table.

My plan was to set 0 degrees  to the full feed rate I generally use and then gradually decrease the feedrates and probably have 0 in a lot of the tighter angles

You can populate the table any way you want, what ever works for you. That is kind of the way the last version works. I can't imagine a scenario that this version is not far superior though. This version is much smarter.

430

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Erratic Feedrate When Cutting Spline Lines

« on: September 26, 2017, 11:06:52 PM »

Question why does the CV Feedrate exceed the Mach4 Motor settings?

Feed rate can easily exceed the max of a single axis when more than one axis is feeding. Think blend velocity. To get the blended velocity sum the velocity vectors:
blendVel = sqrt(vX*vX + vY*vY + vZ*vZ). If 2 axis start at 0 and are traveling at 10 units per minute how far has the tool moved in a single minute? Draw a 10 unit line in X and one in Y then measure destination to destination. You will see that while neither axis moved over 10 units a minute the tool would have traveled quite a bit further.

Yup, a line of 0 degrees is a straight line.

Why do you have to slow down in your car to make a 90 degree turn? I blame it on the *^&^ that wrote the laws of physics but until someone does better I guess I will have to abide by those laws. Think about it.... your going down the road at 100 miles and hour or 5 miles an hour or just walking, or riding a bike..... any kind of motion. How much do you have to slow down to change your path by 1 degree Vs. changing it by 90 degrees Vs changing it by 179 degrees (1 degree off from being the exact opposite direction). This is why the table ends at 179 degrees. No way to go in exact opposite without first stopping. What happens if you don't slow down? You go off path, possibly by a lot as in through the ditch and in the corn field lot.

Nope, smaller angles can be ran much faster than larger angels while each maintain a set tolerance to the requested path.

How do your tool paths measure up using the wizard?