Messages

41

General Mach Discussion / Re: New PlugIn just about done..

« on: August 21, 2014, 10:36:45 PM »

Yes it will, Ray. Art has been releasing versions of the parallel port driver for several weeks now.

Then they need to update the web-site.  It still indicates demo only.  IThe PP plug-in page even says: "Do Not buy this product if you need to run, operate, or control a machine."

Regards,
Ray L.

42

General Mach Discussion / Re: New PlugIn just about done..

« on: August 21, 2014, 10:20:50 PM »

I will be getting Mach4 very soon. Does the plugin software run on Mach4? If not, when can this be expected?

You do realize Mach4 doesn't really quite exist yet?  What you can get is a "demo", which is basically a mostly-functional UI.  It will not control a machine.

Regards,
Ray L.

43

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can Mach3 run 2 machines at once?

« on: August 21, 2014, 11:10:42 AM »

No, you can't do that - You must have separate computers, or run only one machine at a time.

Regards,
Ray L.

44

General Mach Discussion / Re: G code to generate a mathematical profile

« on: August 12, 2014, 11:07:42 AM »

No.  G1, G2, G3 are your only real option.  The only cutting move commands G-code has are G1, G2, G3.  Assuming you're using constant velocity mode, the moves will be "smoothed" to a small extent, if your feedrate is high enough, and/or your acceleration low enough.  Many CAM systems generate code in exactly that manner, and don't even use G2/G3 at all, and many very small G1 moves is really the ONLY way to generate non-circular arc moves.

Regards,
Ray L.

45

General Mach Discussion / Re: Slaved Axis Moves Wrong Direction When Homing

« on: August 04, 2014, 11:49:04 AM »

Gerry,

Thanks, I'll have him give that a try.

Regards
Ray L.

46

General Mach Discussion / Slaved Axis Moves Wrong Direction When Homing

« on: August 03, 2014, 10:48:21 PM »

A friend of mine just bought a CNC router, which has a slaved axis on the gantry.  All works perfectly when jogging, but when homing, the two slaved motors move opposite directions.  What settings can cause that?

Regards,
Ray L.

47

General Mach Discussion / Re: Ballscrew pitch comp

« on: June 27, 2014, 09:15:21 AM »

You do realize that, especially on a machine that size, unless you have closed-loop control with linear scales for feedback, the effects thermal expansion of the screw and machine will completely swamp any error in the ballscrews?  And if you have linear scales, you really don't need to map the screws.  In other words, mapping the screws is very unlikely to make the machine as a whole any more accurate....

Regards,
Ray L.

48

General Mach Discussion / Re: hand controllers which is best

« on: May 01, 2014, 02:43:38 PM »

You won't go wrong with VistaCNC.  I've been using their pendants for years, and love them.  Avoid the Chinese junk, and avoid the ShuttlePro - it's better than nothing, but compared to a real CNC pendant, it's a joke.

Regards,
Ray L.

49

General Mach Discussion / Re: Is this a suitable power supply

« on: April 20, 2014, 09:34:18 PM »

48V is just about perfect for the NEMA23s.  Voltage should be 32 * SQRT(MotorInductance), which, in this case comes out to 50V.

Regards,
Ray L.

50

General Mach Discussion / Re: Getting text to a macro

« on: April 20, 2014, 06:03:26 PM »

Modify your POST to output a comment, in parens, that contains "MSG " followed by your tool description.  Make sure it comes out just BEFORE the M6, and Mach3 will display it on the message line.

Regards,
Ray L.