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1921

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to set up my lathe with Mach 3 Turn

« on: July 04, 2013, 09:46:50 AM »

You could use the axis calibration feature or calculate the required steps per unit as Hood suggested, but either way confirm that they are correct.
You can find a nice units calculator in Member's Doc's.

RICH

1922

General Mach Discussion / Re: 5 or more axis?

« on: July 04, 2013, 09:34:36 AM »

My suggestion would be to use the 540 for X,Y,Z, and rotary. If you are only indexing with rotary then when not in use you can
use it for another axis or as a spare should one of the other axis drives go bad. I manualy crank the knee for rough setup and have the quill movement done via a ball screw setup. You need to plan for the future ( I don't know what your up to......)
and if you are going to be usng 6 axis then the power supply needs to be adequate for all of them.

Since the G540 is limited in axis amps you may want to consider one of the smaller Gecko drives and save some money for just a single axis addition.

Back on the quill......Some folks have counter balanced the complete mill head for movement and can be done with a small stepper
where it was easier for me to just add a ball screw to control the quill, but if deisred i can disconnect the screw and manualy
use the quill ( if i will ever do that .....). The Z accuracy is important and no backlash is very desirable so you have good repeatability. The 3D
work will require it and make sure the axis have adequate torque for good acceleration.

FWIW,

RICH

1923

General Mach Discussion / Re: questions about the G201x

« on: July 04, 2013, 09:11:27 AM »

1. how is the driver set for half step or some other step?

You buy a G901 board which converts the G201 to a G210 but without the G901 you have a 10 micro step drive.

2. Since the current limiting resistor is optional, why is it that the motor, within a few minutes of it being turned on, is warm to the touch while the other motors, driven with the Keling drivers are cold and warm up only after a good run?

Too much current, so use a resistor to limit the current. It's when the motor gets hot to the touch that's when you should be concerned. There will be some warming as some of the work being done at standstill / holding is converted to heat.

Make sure you put a capacitor across the drives power supply terminals. The newer models have them built in.

NEVER ....EVER disconnect the drive when energized or short the phase wiring in any manner.

RICH

1924

General Mach Discussion / Re: Homann DC04? Threading with pics

« on: July 04, 2013, 08:40:16 AM »

Fastest1,
The problem is that cnc threading relates to a PC, controller, software, standards, different techniques, hardware, mechanics,etc.
That's true of for all of CNC work. My generalized term for it all is the Lathe SYSTEM. Like everything in CNC it can quickly go from simple to complex. So the wirte-up was a touch on a topic that covered just some of the main components to do a basic thread.

One example of expanding on threading would be for tapered threads, NPT which includes different types and classes.
To cut one to meet / check for tolerance could be a challenge.

A good example of something which gets complex quickly is gears.

So let not your heart be troubled as there a books written on the subject,
BTW, didn't even touch on the design end of threading.

I guess, in general, anyone who writes on a topic is challenged to keep it in perspective and write at some thought level which
may be comprehended.

I only write and can not read ( or spelll) so only the end user will be able to judge!

RICH

1925

General Mach Discussion / Re: TB6560 single axis hookup

« on: July 01, 2013, 09:43:06 PM »

Out of ignorance on my part......
Is that TB6560 board meant for 3d printers?
If so then it's functionality may not be appropriate for Mach cnc control.

Now if that board is anything like the TB6550, which is pure Chinese junk in my opinion, and I personaly do not waste time on it for any reason anymore.

That said, my friend built a 3d printer and uses Arduino and know he uses Mach for intial setup of the extruder and axis locations but I am not sure what drives he is using. If they are a TB6560 I will reply back,
if not...........

Someone more knowledgable than me may give you good advice, but, in the mean time don't
recomend experimenting as you will / may blow the drive.

RICH

1926

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Multipass Wizard for Mach Turn

« on: July 01, 2013, 07:04:41 AM »

Borge,
There are programs to generate code for the lathe.
Try using Lazyturn ( free and manual is in Member's Doc's) to generate the code and use the lathe screen.
There are also turn wizards for individual operations.
If you are going to do a lot of lathe work consider a program such as Dolphin for the lathe.

RICH

1927

General Mach Discussion / Re: motors wont run

« on: July 01, 2013, 06:50:25 AM »

Post your xml file that you used.

To attach:
Open Mach as normal and look lower right at the profile name.
Close Mach then look in the mach3 folder on your computer for a file of that name with a .xml file extension.
Right click and copy then go to your desktop and paste it then rename to something like JVE1.xml.
Then on the reply page use the additional options button to browse to your desktop and attach the renamed file.

RICH

1928