Messages

191

General Mach Discussion / Re: Step / Velocity mode

« on: October 20, 2010, 06:30:22 AM »

Hi Rich, sounds like you've got a good system that works. I've only just got my lathe cncing, so I have been experimenting to find the best way of positioning etc. Part of the process is finding out what does and doesn't work, so I appreciate your comments
thanks
Dave

192

General Mach Discussion / Re: Step / Velocity mode

« on: October 20, 2010, 05:59:46 AM »

Thanks Hood, I'll give it a try with an mpg on the PP, since I'm using a SS as well.
If that doesn't work I'll move on. I will let you know the result on this thread. If anyone reads this and has it working with a current version of mach3 please let us know, although I'm pretty sure now that it doesn't work, since if Mach can detect the velocity of the MPG, then it should just be working

193

General Mach Discussion / Re: Step / Velocity mode

« on: October 20, 2010, 04:19:11 AM »

Thanks Ray and Hood,
Ray when you say that is the way it does work, is it working that way for you?
If it is just one of those things that should work but doesn't I'll drop it, but  if you have it working, I'd really like to know what might be wrong.
Cheers
Dave

194

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
 

195

General Mach Discussion / Re: Quick toolpath display question

« on: October 18, 2010, 04:00:19 AM »

Thanks Hood,
I guess my small amount of confidence at this early stage would be bolstered by a nice 3d representation of what I was about to do 
but it's nice to know that I am not completely mad after all.

Thanks again

Dave

196

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

197

Finished Plugins for Download / Re: Huanyang VFD controller plugin

« on: September 06, 2010, 01:14:45 AM »

I haven't got mine apart at present, but the rule for circuit boards is that all chips face the same way, so if there is another chip on the board, you with the same orientation, you should put this chip around the same way.
I'll take the cover off mine and check anyway in a little while.

198

Finished Plugins for Download / Re: Huanyang VFD controller plugin

« on: September 05, 2010, 08:44:16 AM »

Hi,
Here is a link to the datasheet, the pinouts are on page 18
Cheers
Dave
http://www.datasheetdir.com/MAX485+download

199

Finished Plugins for Download / Re: Huanyang VFD controller plugin

« on: August 08, 2010, 09:14:38 PM »

Hi,
After spending a considerable period of time reading through this thread, it was with some trepidation that I installed my usb to RS485 converter, that I had sitting on the shelf and connected it to the Huanyang VFD. I installed the plugin, set my com port and VFD as per the PDF included in the plugin, configured Mach3 as described, input 500rpm for the spindle and clicked start.

I nearly collapsed when it just worked!

The converter is the same as the photo that was previously posted.

A big thank you to the developer/s of this plugin.


Cheers
Dave

200

General Mach Discussion / What is the best Cad / Cam software?

« on: October 15, 2006, 08:32:04 PM »

Hi, My name is Dave Maher, I am new to cnc, but have just built a small cnc router. I was wondering what cad / cam software others are using. I work in IT, but am unfamiliar with this area. I am prepared to pay for software if I have to, but need a recommendation as to which package to use. I want to make small parts for the vintage motorcycles that I restore.
Cheers and thanks in advance