Messages

6191

General Mach Discussion / Re: First Post - Help with setup issue?

« on: May 27, 2009, 07:57:06 AM »

Dan,
Like Jimpinder says you will have some backlash, just a matter of degree, and like pan..m said you need to
preload the bearing. Somtimes though, as you refine to eliminate, you may get to a point where
as a system all the things come into play, a little here and there and trying get it to "zero" is impossible or not worth the effort or even impractical.

I don't agree with Simpson on the usability, but that's my opinion. I also still put approach moves in or do prep moves
as Jimpinder mentioned even if backlash is used. Practicaly speaking, the system is only as good as the sum of all it's components. Practicaly speaking, if the backlash is small, the tolerance issue goes away for a lot of work.
 
Apply 50-50-50 rule for starting backlash settings. 50% of max axis velocity - 50% for backlash speed % - 0.050 for Shuttle Accel setting, and then tweak for your system.

RICH

6192

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3/XBOX 360 Controller Question

« on: May 27, 2009, 07:20:01 AM »

RayL,
I  use the XBOX 360 wireless. Never had any problems with it creating or recieving interference.
Tried one XBOX playing a game while using the other with the milll and no problem with interference between the two.  My pc is on a movable stand so I am usualy within 5 feet of the mill and the reciever. Never took note of battery life and use rechargable batteries, but they seem to last rather long.
RICH

6193

General Mach Discussion / Re: Problems threading on the lathe

« on: May 26, 2009, 11:39:39 PM »

pana....m,
There was a good post where grounding and  noise was discussed, but as usual can't find anything ( in the last year ),and with a similar setup problem,maybe a mill and and eventualy a proper ground system was put in and all was good. Would be worthwhile reading for you. The best i could do is talk
about noise / rf  interference and give you some experience  / guidance to go by. Otherwise i will be writing a book here and driving you crazy.  It's your nickle just send me a PM. Post a few pic's.
Elimination of the problem is prefered, minimize, try to control, it's a matter of degree.
RICH

6194

LazyTurn / Re: LAZYTURN MANUAL

« on: May 26, 2009, 10:28:57 PM »

Hi all,
The LazyTurn Manual was updated and posted in Members Doc's.
Should be solid to about section 7.5, but past after that, need the program
to  mature before working more on it. The appendixes are included it. No real
updates done to them as compared to the last posted revision of them.

Happy reading, and as usual, any remarks, corrections, whatever, just post in this thread
and i will make corrections.

RICH

6195

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle Index RPM not Matching Actual RPMs HELP

« on: May 26, 2009, 08:54:42 PM »

Try .2" even .25" it can only help. My disc dia is 3" and slot was increased from around that, even have some wider and they work fine.
RICH

6196

General Mach Discussion / Re: Problems threading on the lathe

« on: May 26, 2009, 08:42:18 PM »

panacea....m,
Been following your thread some, and still confused by it.
I don't know if you have one problem or two problems, namely computer or noise / rf or even a combination of the two.
1. The ss should not be loosing communications with PC when VFD  / motor and other influences
   are removed from the picture. That has to be achieved, got to start somewhere.
   I would recomend divide and conquer. If that's in place then you can in a very disciplined way go about identifying
   another culprit if there is one.
2. Noise / rf can be a real bitch. VFD and motors are prime sources of it. Shielding is meant to keep a noise out or inside the protecting conduit. You can for example, inductively pick it up and makes sure it stays mixed by keeping it inside a shield. Or you can provide a path for the noise \ rf along the shield and get it ito the grounding.  Bitch is you can't see it, you can measure it somewhat to get a mental picture of intensity, and then use some logic or "black magic" to cure it. So sometimes easy, or logical, or complex, or black magic .....just a bitch.

You change one parameter , like opening the VFD cabinet, and you have a whole set of new possible cause and effect conditions. The motor starts and creates an atomic bomb of noise, or the noise just gradualy builds from it and evently affects something.  Sometimes the only way to get rid of a electric field is  shut it down so it resets back to zero.

Divide and conquer,
 RICH

6197

LazyTurn / Re: LazyTurn

« on: May 26, 2009, 03:48:49 PM »

Art,
If you select one of the "Diagnostics" a toolpath is created and you can also post code.
You couldn't post code before if diagnostics was chosen, well at least for Scan line diagnostics,
since it would not include gouging / tool geometry etc when done. Visual Intersect Diags
is the default if diagnostics is not chosen.

Can you clarify?
RICH

6198

LazyTurn / Re: LazyTurn

« on: May 25, 2009, 10:51:57 PM »

Joe,
Thanks for posting your solution as i will put that into the manual somewhere.
----------------
"Is it possible to shift the X origin (zero position) to the outer diameter of the starting stock so that setup operations whether using wizard or LazyTurn G-code are similar? "

 Most all programs have X=0 as the origin for their code because it can be a repeatable place to easily find / reference to, along with a number of other reasons. There are a lot of ways of accomplishing what you ask. Depends on how "you" want to work and your understanding of Mach3 Turn.

For now here is MY suggestion for when in MACH3Turn:

Zero world  X and Z which ( cancels any G54 so there are no offsets ) and set home somewhere away from the piece, move the tool "controlled point" to where the gcode for the part was created, click part zero X & Z, ( now machine=program=part cords at the same point ) move the tool to where you want to start cutting, cycle start the program and all should work just fine. That's a mouth full, but, just one way of working that will keep you out of trouble. I hope! 

Depends on the gcode generated by each Wizard. I am not sure they are all a like on where the first move starts from. That said, don't let you heart be troubled, for there will be a section in the LazyTurn manual which will include information about Mach3 Turn.

prep moves from or to a point, including how to use use / create a tooltable, what impact use of using the tool tip radius vrs using the offsets which may have been created already. Program / machine / part coordinates relationships, how setting home can be used, an overview of Mach3Turn, etc etc etc.......whatever the verbage turns out / or needs to be. That will be put into the manual after the finish paths are available and whatever Art decides to do from a post processing point of view.
Simply put, I hope to cover Mach3Turn at some level in an appendix, the verbage will not conflict with the Using MAch3 Turn manual. The current four screens, are as they were created before my time, can be confusing if you don't have a good grasp of the whole program. I will see if i can capture the the compete program visually in about four pages or so. 

RICH 

6199

LazyTurn / Re: LazyTurn

« on: May 25, 2009, 04:58:40 PM »

Joe,
You can use DXF versions greater than 12, since what started to happen, is it that as the software became more advanced, it had to include more info into the DXF to represent the drawing. So the simpler the info the less chance
of DXF stuff complicating the import process. I have used later versions of DXF. But then maybe i read your post wrong and you don't have any version options???
 
So, what does when do when one hits a wall?

Maybe you do need to take a detour. It surely may be easier. You create it and get it into an importable file.
Don't take my comment as blowing you off. Now excuse my candor, paint programs or the hundreds of programs have advanced to do everything and anything but can't do some fundamental stuff very well, and face it, because they can't meet the basic industry requirements or at times even deliberately do stuff to be a PITA. I don't know, as I  have become narrow minded and untolerant of the DXF issue.
 
Maybe you can try out a few very inexpensive CAD programs and see if they will do that needed step for you.

Maybe there is something in your manual which allows you to configure the DXF output?

RICH

6200

LazyTurn / Re: LazyTurn

« on: May 25, 2009, 01:33:37 PM »

Art,
Still trying to "break the last version", getting harder to do that, but will move on to your latest posted version.

Getting a lot of no more roughs required, and will be curious on how the finish paths takes care of the "bumps left" from the roughs. The bumps left, can be quite large, yes, you can change roughs to get them down, so tool selection along with the cut parameters become more important. The bitchy part is conveying it, at just the right level ,to someone totally new to a turn program.
    
I am trying to update the manual, so the posting will give me some more to include in it.
I assume posting is still rather basic without options.
Will just let the manual  lag behind enough so i am not wasting my time trying to address something  that may not even exist in the future.
---------------------------------
Finish pass "That's still a confusing one as to exactly how to do that efficiently,..but we'll see what I
can think up.."
FWIW
You can think in terms of just a single pass which follows the profile, taking the bumps away, and the actual cutting
be what it will be, based on the tool used. Maybe another profile finish again at high speed. That may be fine for a
small or simple profile. So this implies just following the profile a few times.
BUT
With a larger more complicated profile, a single tool may not be appropriate. The same tool selections used along
with the same approach can be used just allowing it to do the finishing paths. Following the profile may not be practical.

So practically speaking,
-  single / custom tool which does the finish path
-  multiple tools required to avoid gouging but with a different tool radius
Maybe to implement, this is where selection of what part of the profile along the Z, can be picked to avoid
cutting a lot of air. ( could have a modified DXF version of the drawing to do this but no longer easy / PITA).
I guess the above sounds simple but from your end just don't know what how hard that is to implement.
Have fun

Thanks for the updated version,
RICH