Messages

881

General Mach Discussion / Re: Laser pointers to set starting mill position

« on: November 28, 2009, 12:26:35 PM »

Are there inexpensive laser pointers available to chuck in the mill spindle and point me to a reference point on a work piece? Most common laser pointers are too bright and the spot is too big to set the origin. I built one once out of a "bullet" laser pointer but it was short lived and it seems like there ought to be a commercial one. I have seen expensive optical finders. There must be lower cost options these days.

I would strongly recommend either using probing, or a USB camera.   Lasers are just not very precise.  Personally, I find probing to be the fastest, most accurate method.

Regards,
Ray L.

882

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to install Shuttle Pro?

« on: November 28, 2009, 10:14:56 AM »

I second Daves opinion at the moment. My shuttle pro 2 has worked flawlessly since plugging it in. I do agree that it is a clumsy device and probably never meant to be picked up but now I can move part to tool effortlessly. I also do as Ray suggests with the manual machining. It does make manual machining easy and accurate. Did you use a plugin for the imach or is it a pendant where you used keygrabber? And why arent you using your mini mill? Hood can you see your parts in your machines from where that console will be? Also I saw that probe you built. Solid seems to be a constant around your shop.

For reasons I do not comprehend, the iMach plug-in works only with the iMach connected to a PP.  It does not work reliably on either SS or Modbus.  So, I tossed the plug-in, and wrote my own driver as a macro pump.  It works perfectly on any interface, and let me modify and expand the functionality.  I posted the macropump on the Yahoo forum, and I believe here, and gave it to VistaCNC, and I believe they make it available to their customers.

Regards,
Ray L.

883

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to install Shuttle Pro?

« on: November 27, 2009, 10:12:05 PM »

Ray why do you say FAR? How do you set up the imach? Keygrabber or plugin? I watched the video it seems nice and it looks like the price must have come down. I was using a defective joystick and this was available at Micro Center NOW. So I bought it, but you know this is an evolutionary process and tools can be reallocated. I like the Campbell and Homann designed stuff too.

I used a ShuttlePro for almost a year.  I found it a little squirrelly.  Button presses were not always reliably captured by Mach3, and the jog wheel was also a little dodgy at times - jogging would get jerky.  The form factor is HORRIBLE for a hand-held pendant - too big, too thin, and too top-heavy.  It's hard to operate one-handed.  It is incredibly easy to accidentally hit a button while picking it up, or putting it down, or, dropping it, which happens often. 

The iMach Pro is MUCH smaller, does more, and has additional jog modes that make it ideal for doing "manual" milling.  In fact, I can do 90% of my normal operations using just the pendant.  The important functions - spindle on/off, coolant on/off, etc, can be assigned to "double-click" actions, so they're almost impossible to trigger accidentally.  Plus, you can control far more "continuous" functions.  I can control continuous jog rate, increment jog step size, spindle over-ride and feedrate over-ride all from the pending, in addition to turning the spindle and coolant on and off, activating CycleStart, FeedHold, Stop, and E-Stop, and jogging four axes in several different modes (incremental, continuous, velocity, and step/velocity).  And, the E-Stop is a TRUE E-Stop, with dedicated hard-wired switch connections that directly disable my power supplies, even if Mach has (once again...) gone out to lunch.  And, it is, for all practical purposes, a passive device - the only electronics are a few TTL gates to light the LEDs.  So, it should be VERY reliable.  It is also physically robust, and has a nice rubber "cozy" to keep it from being damaged if you do drop it.

Like I said, from the day I got the iMach, I've never used the ShuttlePro again, and never will, except perhaps on my (rarely used) mini mill.

Regards,
RayL.

884

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to install Shuttle Pro?

« on: November 27, 2009, 09:30:00 PM »

The VistaCNC iMachPro is a FAR better pendant than the ShuttlePro.  I got one, and have not used the ShuttlePro since.

885

General Mach Discussion / Re: M98 subroutine L-word doesn't call subroutine correct number of times

« on: November 26, 2009, 12:32:41 AM »

Hi, Ray

I guess it's to much to expect a few String's in a G code interpreter or a few more Error warnings, I still have my caveman outfit, Didn't think it would be that big-a deal and don't remember so many issues in earlier versions of Mach3.

Thanks, Chip

Part of the problem with Mach3 is it's tried to be all things to all people, and in some cases, did not follow standards, or followed multiple standards.  I think this is one of the latter.  The G-code parser has also become rather tangled over the years, making it difficult to maintain, and probably a bit quirky, as you're seeing.  For V4, Brian is using a completely new parser that will be much easier to maintain and extend if necessary, and he is following a very well documented and published syntax, so there will be NO ambiguity.  It will also be thoroughly tested by a true expert.  In terms of consistency and reliability, it should be a big step up.

Regards,
Ray L.

886

General Mach Discussion / Re: M98 subroutine L-word doesn't call subroutine correct number of times

« on: November 25, 2009, 03:05:46 PM »

You should not expect the G-code interpreter to distinguish between "30", "030", "0030", "0000000030", etc.  The argument to G98 is simply a numeric value, and all of those evaluate to "30", so *should* be seen as identical to the interpreter.  If you write code *expecting* the interpret to distinguisjh between those, you *will* have problems, as that behavior will be very much dependant on the specific interpreter, and will likely vary from machine to machine.  If the interpreter DID distinguish between those, I would consider that a bug in the interpreter.

Regards,
Ray L.

887

General Mach Discussion / Re: Handwheels stall the table easily

« on: November 25, 2009, 01:57:37 PM »

BTW - Leaving the handwheels on also works very much against you, as it creates an imbalance that can excite resonance at certain speeds (and resonance is already a problem with large steppers), and cause the steppers to stall.

Regards,
Ray L.

888

General Mach Discussion / Re: Handwheels stall the table easily

« on: November 25, 2009, 01:55:48 PM »

What stepper controllers are you using, with what current limit, and what power supply voltage?  Limited current, or low voltage will seriously degrade high speed performance.  Even with steppers, properly setup you should get at least 100 IPM, though using leadscrews instead of ballscrews will decrease performance significantly, due to the greatly increased friction.  You will also likely find the nuts wear, and develop backlash, very quickly.

Regards,
Ray L.

889

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Z-axis question

« on: November 25, 2009, 01:52:36 PM »

Either change your G-code, or go to Config->SafeZ Config, and enable SafeZ.

Regards,
Ray L.

890

General Mach Discussion / Re: M98 subroutine L-word doesn't call subroutine correct number of times

« on: November 25, 2009, 01:38:08 PM »

This will all become somewhat moot shortly, when Mach3 V4 comes out - It will use a completely new and different G-code parser, and will accept *only* () for comments.

Regards,
Ray L.