Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / vibrating z motor

« on: February 16, 2020, 11:59:14 PM »

As I was running a job, the machine stopped. From this point on, I've done many things to get the z axis moving again, and nothing has worked.
The motor simply vibrates up and down slightly when I hit the up or down key. Here's what I've done with no success:

1. Changed motors--- no change
2. Changed pin numbers on C10 breakout board--no change
3. Changed motor driver--no change
4. Changed computers-no change
5. reinstalled Mach3 with old configuration--no change
6. Changed acceleration , velocity values ---no change

I've checked for loose wiring, but nothing so far.
UC100 seems to work normally on the other two axis

The only odd thing is that when I use the "set steps per unit" option in Mach 3 "axis calibration", the motor moves normally, that is, it goes up or down, depending on which value I enter. Acceleration is fine, and speed and direction work normally. The number of steps based on the distance that the axis travels is correct.
So whatever it is, it's not hardware, or else Mach3 would not work correctly when using the "axis calibration" option.
Any ideas?
tony

2

General Mach Discussion / Constant velocity button

« on: November 12, 2019, 05:12:40 PM »

Is there a way to assign a button for turning "constant velocity" on in the main screen?  Currently, I need to open the Configuration page and click the radio button. Since I do a lot of engraving and cutting, it would be nice to place a button on the main screen.
thanks
tony

3

Third party software and hardware support forums. / Z moves up when uc100 disconnects

« on: January 11, 2019, 08:43:58 AM »

I've had Uc100 for quite some time without any issues. Lately, I noticed that  the UC100 gives me a "disconnect" error with USB, which stops the job midway. If I disconnect the USB cable from the pc, the z axis starts moving up until I reconnect it again. Is there a way to prevent this in mach3 ? With the z axis moving up, I have no time to diagnose the problem, which forces me to turn off the entire system ans start all over again.
tony

4

General Mach Discussion / Permanent parking tool location

« on: October 08, 2018, 12:03:40 PM »

I know how to make a tool go to the same spot relative to the work origin zero in my cam software. My problem is that my work zero coordinates change over time. They start at the very beginning of a new sheet of material, and over time these coordinates( I am referring to the y axis only) get closer to the end of the material. Unless I keep reducing the y distance numbers, the tool eventually will crash because the y number maybe be greater than the actual y distance remaining between the new work origin and the end of the table.
How does one create an end of run tool parking spot in mach3 that is indifferent to the changing work origins?
I am using the StartM6 macro for tool change location, and this works great for my needs.
I suspect that in order to set up a permanent parking spot, the postprocessor needs to be edited. I am hopeful that there's a different approach out there.
I have homing switches, so I suspect that a routine that would send the tool to home and then to the parking position would do the trick.
I prefer to have the tool park at the very end of the material so that I can pick the parts, clean the debris, and sometimes remove the material without the tool being in the way.
tks
tc

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: mach3 does not prompt for uc100 plug in

« on: January 20, 2018, 04:54:10 PM »

The Uc100 is working out beautifully. I lost the space bar acting as feed stop. I need to figure out how to configure it again.
tony

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: feed override causes occasional Z out of control behavior

« on: December 14, 2017, 06:03:29 AM »

That may explain the issue. Thanks.
tony

7

General Mach Discussion / feed override causes occasional Z out of control behavior

« on: December 13, 2017, 07:39:42 PM »

I can run the machine for hours without any issues. I've got max velocity for z axis set to 30ipm. During tuning,it will not slip. In fact I can increase the speed to 60 without slipping under heavy pulling.
Yet when I use the feed override, the z axis will sooner or later go crazy. Before I can catch it, I find it digging into my sacrificial board.
It's random, so I cannot duplicate it. When I am doing a nested job  that lasts appx one hour, it will inevitably do it.
Once I restart the machine, recalibrate it and keep it without any feed override, I can run the machine successfully.
I am puzzled, since there are times when I want to go faster without having to hard code the feed speeds. It never happens with the x or y axis, which run at 99 ipm.
Any ideas? This is on Mach3.
tony

8

General Mach Discussion / Re: mach3 does not prompt for uc100 plug in

« on: December 11, 2017, 07:01:50 PM »

Thanks. I'll look for it.
tony

9

General Mach Discussion / mach3 does not prompt for uc100 plug in

« on: December 11, 2017, 04:42:35 PM »

I don't have internet in the workshop, so I used the manual install for the UC100 drivers. When I plugged the uc100 in the USB port, the new device prompt looked for drivers, and I directed it to the UC100 drivers.
Now, however, Mach3 fails to recognize the device.
I reset the prompt so that Mach3 will ask me which device to install, but the prompt provides only licensing information.
I am not sure how I can use Mach3 to install the drivers.
I am using winxp on an old ibm thinkpad.
Can I simply place all content of the Uc100 in the mach3 plugin folder?
tony

10

General Mach Discussion / cutting direction and precision

« on: July 15, 2017, 09:09:36 AM »

I cut mostly mdf and, especially with 1/2" holes, I find that the feed direction of the tool makes a difference in the finished diameter. I look for a tolerance of =+/- .002, but find that the difference can be as much as .010". My cutting method is usually a depth of cut of .090 with a .125 carbide single flute upcut router bit.
I'd like others to confirm this finding.
tony