Messages

1551

General Mach Discussion / Re: reinstalling mach3

« on: October 03, 2008, 11:34:13 AM »

Mike,

    Good news!

Regards,
Ray L.

1552

General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool Changer Using Tormach Holders

« on: October 03, 2008, 11:33:25 AM »

Budman,

    Thanks!  I saw that some time ago, but forgot he had used Tormach knock-off toolholders.  Seems to me a nice way to go.  Really simplifies some things.

Regards,
Ray L.

1553

General Mach Discussion / Tool Changer Using Tormach Holders

« on: October 02, 2008, 11:07:34 PM »

Has anyone here made a toolchanger using Tormach tool holders?  I'm considering doing this for my BP clone knee mill, and wondering if there are any negatives, other than the cost of the many Tormach holders that would be required.

Regards,
Ray L.

1554

General Mach Discussion / Re: servo selection.......

« on: October 02, 2008, 01:25:16 PM »

Hood,

 3000 / 60 = 500? Looks like the ol' Casio may be ready for new batteries.... :-)

Regards,
Ray L.

oops, bit of a typo there but the final figures are correct I think just put an extra zero in, I have an excuse, I was running the mill, the lathe and also drawing a ciorcuit board up while I was working it out and replying , well thats my story and I am sticking to it

Hood

Hood,

    Doing all that, it's a miracle you didn't spill your Scotch!  :-)

Regards,
RayL.

1555

General Mach Discussion / Why are we suddenly getting spammed??

« on: October 02, 2008, 01:23:40 PM »

Never seen that before here....

Regards,
Ray L.

1556

General Mach Discussion / Re: servo selection.......

« on: October 02, 2008, 10:50:12 AM »

OK but 200KPS is not 3000RPM, you have 2,500 line encoders so that is 10,000 pulses per rev as far as Mach is concerned. So 3,000RPM = 500Revs per second, multiply 500 x 10,000 pulses and that equates to 500KHz (Kps as Yaskawa are calling it)
 The only thing is there is a possibilty that Yaskawa, because they state Kps rather than KHz , so their 200kps would actually be 800KHz and in that case you will be fine.

Hood

Hood,

    3000 / 60 = 500?  Looks like the ol' Casio may be ready for new batteries....  :-)

Regards,
Ray L.

1557

General Mach Discussion / Re: reinstalling mach3

« on: October 01, 2008, 11:45:10 PM »

Mike,

    You can download Mach3 from here: http://www.machsupport.com/downloads.php

    Run the installer, then just copy all your files into the install directory, and you should be good to go.

Regards,
Ray L.

1558

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 issues, just upgraded from mach2.

« on: October 01, 2008, 10:47:15 AM »

John,

1) Are you asking *how* to set the jog rate to 10%?  Hit the tab key, and an on-screen "pendant" will pop up, that lets' you change all the Jog settings.

2) Homing works in the manner that is most reliable and conisistent, so no "fix" is required.  Your switches are the problem, so you need to fix those, rather than trying to band-aid the software to get around broken hardware.

Regards,
Ray L.

1559

General Mach Discussion / Re: reinstalling mach3

« on: October 01, 2008, 10:43:16 AM »

Mike,

    Look in your Mach3 directory, sort the display by file type, and scroll all the way to the bottom.  You should see just a few files of type "XML Document" (I only have 3).  You'll probably have Mach3Mill.XML, LazyCAM.XML, and maybe a customized XML - that's the one you really need.  If you don't have a customized XML, then Mach3Mill.XML is the one you care about.  Just copy it to another directory, a USB drive, or wherever is convenient.  After re-installing Mach3, copy it to the new installation directory.
   There's no need to muck with the registry at all.

Regards,
Ray L.

1560

General Mach Discussion / Re: servo selection.......

« on: October 01, 2008, 10:37:35 AM »

I have just CNC'd my knee mill using servo motors from www.homeshopcnc.com.  They have 500 line/2000PPR encoders.  Mach3 never "sees" the encoders - they are only connected to the servo controllers (Gecko or whatever).  I could not be happier with the way my mill now works.  It's fast, powerful, and accurate.  The motors have enough torque to snap off a 1/2" endmill without losing position!  I used Geckos G320s, and a SmoothStepper (which was MORE than worth what it cost!), running Mach3 on a lousy 540MHz PC.  The servos are "geared down" 2.5:1 with GT2 timing belts.  (BTW - I can provide CAD drawings of the belt reducers I designed if you like - they are easily adaptable to other machines by changing the adaptor plate).  My power supply is 70V/20A.

Regards,
Ray L.
Santa Cruz, CA