Topics

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 / 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

6

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

7

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

8

Bargain Basement / will share my 15x30 k2cnc router near NYC

« on: April 03, 2017, 07:34:06 AM »

When I moved to NY(brooklyn), finding a good place to run my cnc router one day per week turned out to be a major issue. Workspaces available are simply too expensive, and most they are not suited for cnc routing.
I cut only thin mdf for my hobby/small business activity.
Since I need my cnc only one day per week at most( usually sat or sunday), I'd be happy to share it with someone who wants to have one and has the space for it.
I'd be happy to train the individual so that he or she can run it freely.
The router is ideal for hobby type of work, has a Mach 3 running on a laptop and comes with a nice dust collector.
I am a retired individual, so I don't do this for a living. I like to stay busy, and enjoy cad cam work.
I am currently renting a small workspace, so the offer would have to be serious and mutually beneficial .
send me a pm if interested.
tony

9

General Mach Discussion / machine goes to wrong coordinates after Mach 3 tool change script

« on: November 23, 2016, 10:06:54 AM »

Perhaps someone can look at a snippet of code and tell me if it explains why Mach3 goes crazy after it stops for a (manual) tool change). Mach 3 is configured as "stop spindle, wait for cycle start". 
When I first  start the job, the tool change light  flashes and waits for a second "cycle" press. I press, and the machine starts to work normally.
When it reaches the end of the code, it stops and asks for tool change( T2). After changing the tool, when I press cycle, instead of going to the correct coordinates to start cutting, the machine runs away until it hits the safety switch at the end of the axis.

At this point, in order to continue, I need to send it zero, and do " a run from here" operation. In this case, the machine works normally.

I am stumbled. The only change I've made is that I have a new PC and installed a new version of Mach3. The first pc would always crash if I used the "stop spindle, wait for cycle start" option. So I always ran it with the "ignore tool change" option. I never liked this option, since I would, from time to time, forget to change the tool number in Mach3.

The mach3 script is unchanged, and I imported the Mach 3 configuration from the old pc.

I'd like someone to look at the code and perhaps shed some light on the issue.
thanks
tony

Here's a snippet of the code as generated by my CAM program.

N13250 G1 Y7.5758
N13260 G3 X10.33 Y7.6383 I-.0625 J0.
N13270 G1 X9.85
N13280 G3 X9.7875 Y7.5758 I0. J-.0625
N13290 G0 Z.275
N13300 M5
N13310 G91 G28 Z0.
N13320 M01
( POCKET SIDES )
N13330 T2 M6
N13340 G0 G90 G54 X3.3147 Y3.219 S4278 M3
N13350 G43 H2 Z.25
N13360 Z.2
N13370 G1 Z-.07 F26.16
N13380 Y5.5315 F66.16

10

General Mach Discussion / Why does Mach 3 sometimes scroll through code slowly?

« on: October 19, 2015, 08:10:19 AM »

Sometimes, when I do " a run from here" task, Mach 3 moves through each line of code very slowly. At times, though, it moves fast. What's the secret?
tony