Topics

11

General Mach Discussion / Using servo for spindle on lathe

« on: March 15, 2016, 07:43:26 AM »

Hello everyone
I had a great idea the other day, and that was generated by my recent acquisition of a little Myford lathe from a deceased estate.
I want to convert it to Mach, but leave it in a condition that can easily be put back as original.
Anyway the problem I have atm is a follows:
I set up a servo as the X axis, then decided to use it as a spindle. I checked the box in the Ess plugin to say that the spindle was step and direction. 

This servo works well and revolves at maximum speed (2500rpm) when it is connected to the smoothstepper and configured in Mach as the x axis. 

Using the same servo controller and cable etc, in fact all I  did was change the configuration in Mach,  I can't get the motor to turn at over 700 rpm. 

The servo does support step and direction  and as i have already said it works well when it is X.

I'm sure if will be an easy fix. It could be caused by the smoothstepper,  or the the Mach configuration. 
Anyway I'd better mention my configuration.
Mach3 an Ess, a GSK Servo and controller.
I think that's it.
Any help would be appreciated.
Dave

12

CS-Lab / CSMIO/IP-A Error Connection failed

« on: February 26, 2016, 04:23:16 PM »

Hello everybody
Last April I bought a CSMIO/IP-A controller, with a view to replacing the proprietary GSK controller that is on my King Rich mill. One thing led to another and I didn't get around to installing it.
Yesterday, however, with the anniversary of the CSMIO/IP-A's purchase coming up, I decided to extract my digit and get things underway.
Unfortunately I am stuck at first base so to speak.
Here is what I have done and the results:

1/ Downloaded the latest non beta firmware from CS LABS website.
2/ Supplied 24v and an Ethernet connection to the IP-A
3/ Let it obtain an IP address on my sub net using DHCP
4/ Added a reservation using the IP-A's MAC address on my DHCP server
5/ Ensured that I could ping the IP-A on the IP that I had reserved (192.168.1.103) from the PC that runs Mach3
6/ Checked that the reservation was "active" on the DHCP server
7/Used the firmware uploader to upload the latest non beta firmware (This was successful and it displayed the IP for the IP-A that I had reserved on the DHCP server).
8/ Ran Mach3 and selected the CSMIO/IP-A as the motion device
9/Got a communications error. The plugin is unable to communicate with the IPA.
 
Given that the PC that runs Mach3 is on the same switch as the IP-A, that the PC can ping the IP-A and update the firmware, and that the whole system works fine with a Smooth-stepper, I don't think there is an issue with the PC. I also tried updating to the beta release of the IP-A firmware to no avail.

As we say in the Australian bush "Bugger"

I have e-mailed the above to CS Labs, but have not yet gotten a reply. I hope the problem is caused by me, but I have had a lot of experience with computers over the years, and I am worried that the IP-A is faulty.
 
Cheers
 
Dave

13

General Mach Discussion / Need to press reset after running GCode to get mach working again

« on: November 13, 2015, 02:24:41 AM »

Hi everybody
It's been a while since I have posted, but I need some help. I have built a router using bits and pieces that I had lying around, and everything works well. Peter Homann gave me some help getting the spindle to behave, but that's another story.
The router uses an Ethernet Smoothstepper, etc.
My issue is this, when I run a GCode program, say roadrunner.tap, the router goes through the motions of cutting it out, and when completed, it returns to whence it started from and the program rewinds as it should.
What's the problem? I imagine you thinking.
The problem is that if you try to run the same GCode program again, Mach3 thinks it is cutting, the tool path display shows the axis moving etc, the spindle even starts, but there is no motion from the steppers.
The problem can be easily resolved, by pressing the reset button twice at the end of a program and everything returns to normal until next time you run some code.
The router never stops movement 1/2 way through a program,
Any suggestions are more than  welcome

Thanks in advance

David

14

General Mach Discussion / ESS to GSK servos

« on: April 14, 2015, 09:20:11 PM »

KVR 3500 mill and Servos

Hi it's been a while since my last question, but here goes.

I have a Kingrich KVR3500 mill that I purchased new from Standaco about 4 years ago. I bought it with ball screws etc, setup for the Prototrak CNC system.
About 4 years ago I had discussions with Hood on this forum about the type of Mill to buy, and the control system.
Hood recommended a bed mill, but at the last minute I went ahead and ordered the KVR3500.
I took delivery and the very next day I had a car accident, suffering multiple injuries including a head injury that led to memory loss.

What I know now is limited to re-reading old posts, and looking at correspondence with the suppliers of various things, such as servo motors and drives etc.

Over the last few years I got the mill working using a GSK980mda CNC controller, GSK servos and drives etc. I had ordered all of these before the accident, but now that the CNC controller has developed a fault, I have decided to convert it to a software based CNC package, rather than deal with GSK's almost nonexistant support.

I have some experience using Mach3 and have a lathe that works well using an ESS and stepper motors.

I have also posted on the Linux-CNC forum asking for advice, but I think in hindsight that I'd be better off sticking with what I know best, which is Mach3.

The servo drivers on the mill are GSK DA98Bs and they accept Plus + - and Sign + - inputs. Plus is also variously called by GSK Puls and Pulse, so I think that Pulse is what they mean. Sign is probably direction?
Anyway I have a lot of trouble deciphering their chinglish manual.

I think what I need to do is convert the single ended step and direction signals from Mach, to the aforesaid plus and sign, as well as provide other signals, but I have been unsuccessful so far.

I have created a spreadsheet with my initial connections but needless to say it doesn't work. I have attached a copy of this spreadsheet to this pos.

I have also contacted GSK support, and what follows is their illuminating reply (not).
"The DA98B driver must be need the pulse and direction siganls And the driver don't have the a step and direction mode. The DA98A is using the pulse and direction.
So it is not match with the mach3 controller."

I have the manuals for the servo driver and the old cnc controller which I can attach if needed.

Lastly I would like to say thanks in advance for any help you can give me here, the mill has been a white elephant as I'm just not as capable as I was before the accident, and for the last few years I have spent far more time trying to get it to work than I ever have using it.

Cheers
Dave

15

General Mach Discussion / Hood's Birthday tomorrow: Happy birthday Hood

« on: April 10, 2015, 04:13:43 PM »

May I be one of the first to wish you many happy returns Hood, and to take this opportunity to thank you for all the help and support you have given me, and many others over the years.
Enjoy tomorrow.

16

General Mach Discussion / DRO's change but motors do not move, until Mach3 is restarted

« on: October 03, 2012, 08:49:33 PM »

I have a problem on the lathe and I was wondering if anyone has seen the same thing?

Everything is normal until after I have run one job, then the DRO's change normally but the X and Z stepper motors do not move, until Mach3 is restarted, at which time all is normal again until I run a job and the issue reoccurs.

This is a new problem, which has persisted for a few days so I suspect it is something I have done, but for the life of me, I do not know what.
 
I don't have to restart the PC, just Mach3.

My hardware is as follows:
PC P4
ESS
BOBs etc.

Thanks in anticipation

Dave

17

General Mach Discussion / CNC Dictionary

« on: December 29, 2011, 05:28:49 PM »

 I was thinking of a dictionary that covers the both the unfamiliar CNC terminology and also converts from Chinese English, to Mach3 English.

 I for one could really use something! CNC terms may not be immediately clear to the layperson.
 
I have found it very difficult interpreting the names given to in-outs (that is a new word that I have made up to describe inputs and outputs) on the servo driver that I am trying to wire up.
If such a thing doesn't exist we should make one.

I volunteer to start things off (see attached)

Cheers

Dave (dmbgo)

18

General Mach Discussion / Servo Motor question

« on: March 01, 2011, 03:19:28 AM »

Hi I am looking at buying a mill which is already a cnc mill, it had the option of a built in Chinese CNC controller, but I asked them to quote the mill with just the servos and drives.

The Servos are AC servos, and I am wondering if there would be any difficulty interfacing them with Mach3.
Here is a link to the manual for the servo drives

http://www.gskcnc.com/Support/DA98A_ACDriver.pdf

I have had a lot of experience in the past with steppers, but servos are a whole new ball game to me.

Thanks
Dave

19

General Mach Discussion / Step / Velocity mode

« on: October 19, 2010, 07:46:57 PM »

Hi again,
I was just wondering how Step / Velocity jog mode is designed to behave. I have one of Peter Homann's excellent MP-03 pendants. When I select step / velocity mode I seem to get straight velocity mode.

I have spent a lot of time calibrating the mpg, and have experimented with doubling and halving mpg values to see what happens. I can easily alter the way velocity mode behaves by doing this, but step / velocity just follows whatever behaviour I get from velocity mode.

While I haven't read this anywhere, my concept of step / velocity is that when you turn the mpg under a predefined rpm the axis would behave as if it was in multi step mode, and as you break the predefined velocity rpm threshold it would switch to velocity mode.

This seems to me to be a very useful (imaginary?) l mode, if indeed this is the way it's meant to work, since it would allow both coarse and fine manual axis adjustment, without having to change jog modes.

I have done a bit of searching and have read through the thread below, but step / velocity isn't mentioned
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,13531.0.html#lastPost

Cheers
Dave
 

20

General Mach Discussion / Quick toolpath display question

« on: October 17, 2010, 10:36:27 PM »

Hi everyone,
I usually am able to answer my own questions with google and by searching the forums, and I don't want to bug you guys with silly questions but. ....

I have just spent the last 3 months putting some steppers, ballscrews and gekko G203v's onto my 12 x 36 lathe, the lathe is a CQ6230.
Anyhow, I've got everything moving, with the spindle under control and have been reading the Mach3 turn manual in an attempt to learn how to use the lathe and overcome my fear of breaking all my tooling.

I have noticed that the images in the manual for the toolpath display don't really look like the ones in my toolpath display. The manual has examples of nice shaded and rotated 3d images, whereas, when I put exactly the same values into the same screens on my PC I get decidedly 2d images, that I can't rotate, I can only resize them and move them around the toolpath screen.

I thought it might have been my old ATI rage 128 pro card not handling the Opengl graphics, so I found an Nvidia card with 128mb of ram and installed that, but it has made no difference.

Last night I was reading another post about something else and that person mentioned the "old" toolpath display, so I am starting to wonder if the 3d view has been removed from the toolpath display in the later versions Mach3 turn? I am running the latest version of Mach3 btw.

I have included some clickable thumbnails of screenshots from my PC and from the Mach3 manual using what I think are the same settings on both.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance
Dave