Messages

1501

General Mach Discussion / Re: Smooth Stepper

« on: October 28, 2008, 06:40:21 PM »

When you ordered, did you give them a credit card number, or did they call/email to ask for it? Did it come COD? They don't tell you anything that would help.

I have to assume I gave them a credit card number when I made the order through their website.  I don't actually recall, but I know I didn't talk to anyone there.  I got shipment confirmation a day or two later.

They're good people, you have nothing to worry about!  Even if you do have a problem, they'll make it right.

Regards,
Ray L.

1502

General Mach Discussion / Re: Smooth Stepper

« on: October 28, 2008, 05:34:51 PM »

I see that lots of you have managed to buy a Smooth Stepper. I've logged in and have been accepted as an "approved" whatever.

Now what?

There is no address, no phone number, no fax number, no buy page, and no link to go to anywhere you can buy the things. How do you manage to purchase one?

I've emailed them twice, but I can't even get a response there!

So, what's the secret?

I don't know where they're located, but it really doesn't matter.  They've always been VERY responsive when I've e-mailed them.  Go to www.warp9td.com, and you can place an order, and it'll show up on your doorstep a few days later.  It is a GREAT product, and they provide first-rate support, as do the Mach3 guys.  I've had mine for 6-8 weeks now, and could not be happier.  It's not yet quite perfect (technically, the plug-in is still in beta), but it's very close, and it did wonders for my machine.  Resolved a number of nuisance problems I was having, and doubled my rapid speeds!  Setup was a total no-brainer - installed the driver, installed the plug-in, plugged the USB cable in, moved the PP cables to the board, and it just worked on the very first try!

They may have been a little slow responding to e-mails recently, as they were over the in UK for the "Cabin Fever" trade show, and just returned a few days ago.  Greg, the designer, is also a regular on the mach1mach2cnc Yahoo group, so you can reach him there as well.

Regards,
Ray L.

1503

General Mach Discussion / Re: Connecting spindle to breakout board

« on: October 27, 2008, 12:28:02 PM »

Hi

I dont have this board but as a generic connection

1. Ref 0-10v > connected to signal generator which converts STEP pulses to voltage
2. Spindle on > to NO side of spindle enable relay
3. Spindle on Com > COM on spindle enable relay
4. Spindle fwd > NC side of spindle activation relay which is activated by DIR pulses from Mach
5. spindle com > COM on spindle activation relay
6. spindle rev > NO side of spindle activation relay which is activated by DIR pulses from Mach
7. ov > common 0V for No 1 above
8. +12v > check if this is a 12V output, no reason why an inverter should require an input
 if so you could use it for the 12V supply you probably require for the signal generator

regards

Melee

The +12V and 0V connect to the +12V/GND connections of the analog spindle circuit on the CNC4PC board.  These must NOT be connected to the other supply and GND connections on the CNC4PC board!  The 0-10V connects to the 0-10V Analog output from the CNC4PC board.  It might be simpler to connect two relays for direction control, both NO.  Connect one to FWD and COM, the other to REV and COM. 

In Config->Ports & Pins->MotorOutputs, Configure pin 14 as the spindle motor output.  In Config->Ports & Pins->Spindle Setup, Check "Use Spindle Motor Output", Uncheck "Disable Spindle Relays", and select the appropriate control pins for the CW and CCW relays.  Then go into Motor Tuning and figure out what Steps/Unit, Max Speed and Step Pulsewidth give the result you want.

Regards,
Ray L.

Regards,
Ray L.

1504

General Mach Discussion / Re: Connecting spindle to breakout board

« on: October 26, 2008, 12:18:44 PM »

Roy,

    I assume you're using a VFD, but which one?  How it needs to be connected depends on the specific VFD, and how it's configured.

Regards,
Ray L.

1505

General Mach Discussion / Re: CNC'ing both quill and knee

« on: October 21, 2008, 11:28:22 PM »

Yes, I used a leadscrew. I replaced it with a new higher precision one but stuck with the screw so I wouldn't have to use a brake to keep the knee from drifting. I did add oilers to the gears and nut but it still works on it pretty good. I'm using 1850 oz in steppers and the final gearing is 6-1. I added gas springs and that helped my rapids some but 30 IPM is about all I can get out of it with this set up.

Brett

Brett,

    Interesting.  I'm using an 850 oz-in servo with 4.8:1 XL belt reducer, and can do better than 50 IPM, with no air springs (yet...  Just put the servo on about a week ago).  How much more it'll do, I don't know.  I know it would go 100IPM *most* of the time, but that is scary fast for me, so I just cut it in half.  I'm very happy with the way it works, but I do need to do something to provide positive lubrication. 
    One thing that surprised me - As I said, I used an XL belt for the reducer.  On the X and Y, I used GT2 belts.  The XL is MUCH noisier!

Regards,
Ray L.

1506

General Mach Discussion / Re: CNC'ing both quill and knee

« on: October 21, 2008, 10:50:12 PM »

Yup, that is how I did my Bridgeport clone. Used the knee for Z and it was very simple to set up. I will be using the quill on the Hurco for the z and the knee for tool length offsets because I think it would stess the machine too much to throw the knee up and down at 800- 1200 IPM not to mention it would take a huge servo, drive, and most likely an air assist ball screw or counter weight for that. I think using both will give the best of both worlds. Fast rapids and feeds and full working height will allways be avaliable no matter how tall the work is or how long the tool is.

Brett 

Brett,

    Did you leave the leadscrew, or put a ballscrew on the knee on your BP?  I just have the leadscrew for now, and it works fine.  But, I figure in time it will wear, and I'll want a ballscrew eventually.

Regards,
Ray L.

1507

General Mach Discussion / Re: CNC'ing both quill and knee

« on: October 21, 2008, 10:03:52 PM »

Brett is thinking about doing that on his Hurco and also I am thinking I may do it on the Beaver mill if I ever get it finished LOL
 What we are both thinking of is using the Knee just for tool length offsets, how it will be done woukld probably have to be via a macropump but to be honest I havent put much thought into it yet.
 As for A B C or whatever I dont think it would really matter as long as your CAM can put out the right letter for any code it will spit out and that should be easy enough to do in your CAMs Post Processor.

Hood

Ha!  That's exactly what I've always planned to do as well!  I've got the knee CNC'd right now, and honestly don't see any down-side to it - it was dead easy to do, only took one day - so I may not even bother doing the quill at all now...

Regards,
Ray L.

1508

General Mach Discussion / Re: To Ramp, Or Not To Ramp. That Is the Question.... And Others...

« on: October 16, 2008, 08:53:46 PM »

1. ramping is used especially when you have an endmill as they are not centre cutting and therfore cant plunge in. Yes I know you get centre cutting endmills but are they really endmills or just 3 and 4 flute slot drill

2. Alu, especially the softer grades are a PITA and possibly faster feeds may help.

3. Probably spindle deflection, I get this on the Bridgeport, partly because there is some wear in the bearings but mainly because Bridgeports are about as rigid as a piece of string

Hood

Hood,

1) So, if I have center-cutting mills (which are the only kind I buy....), then there's no reason to ramp?

2) I'll give that a try - maybe faster feed, shorter peck?

3) You know I don't want to hear that!  :-)

Regards,
Ray L.

1509

General Mach Discussion / To Ramp, Or Not To Ramp. That Is the Question.... And Others...

« on: October 16, 2008, 04:47:46 PM »

1) I'm using SheetCAM to generate G-code for my mill.  I've just gotten the Z axis CNC'd, so I'm learning how to program in 3D now.  SheetCAM supports ramping, but I'm not real clear on when this is advantageous, as opposed to just plunging in Z, then moving in X/Y.  Ramping is kinda fun to watch, but slows things down quite a bit.
So, when/where/why should I ramp.

2) When drilling aluminum (6061), I usually end up with huge masses of "strings" wrapped around the bit.  How do I prevent this?  I'm generally "pecking" 1/8-1/4", but even that is enough to generate a huge quantity of "aluminum wool".

3) When cutting, for example, the perimeter of a part, I usually end up with a small "divot" in the profile at the start/end point, even when I arc in and out.  I do have a small amount of backlash (under 0.001"), but this seems like more than that.  How can I avoid this?  Am I not doing the best kind of entry/exit?

Regards,
Ray L.

1510

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach2 inconsistent motor drive pulses

« on: October 14, 2008, 10:46:02 PM »

You don't say what the CPU speed of the PC is.  Or how much memory it has.  That is critical.  If it's a dog, you won't get good performance.

Have you gone through and turned off EVERYTHING that doesn't need to be there?  Especially any power management features?  There is a document on the ArtSoft website that describes the steps for optimizing the windows install for Mach.  You need to pare the system to the bones - you should have only about a dozen processes running.

Regards,
Ray L.