Messages

71

SmoothStepper USB / Re: Smooth Stepper and Plasma

« on: October 20, 2010, 12:23:30 PM »

i have had the ss working on a plasma , but because of no thc  function at the time  am using pports. i have the pc, montor, keyboard, gecko drives, and power supply built right on the gantry.never have had any connection problems or shutting down even when trying out the smoothstepper. i have no special grounding techniques. what is the brand of plasma cutter that you are using? if it uses a hi frequency to initiate the arc, it will freeze up the computer. i had a hypertherm powermax 40  that i had tried to use when my main plasma power unit , a hypertherm 1100 was  in for repair. once that thing started the arc the computer would freeze up and have to be powered off. could never get that to work. parallel port or ss.

72

General Mach Discussion / Re: starting pasma arc after a pause

« on: April 20, 2010, 08:35:44 PM »

Greg, are you meaning to start and stop the torch, as with m3,m5? or just if you hit pause because of a misfire and are attempting to ignite the torch again? i find that i need to rewind the file and scroll to the start that was missed and run from here.are you using a touch off macro for the initial starting height?

73

SmoothStepper USB / Re: smoothstepper install triggers error in mach

« on: March 05, 2010, 08:59:34 PM »

thanks hood, tried that didnt work.reentered all the settings manually before i read jeffs post.

74

SmoothStepper USB / smoothstepper install triggers error in mach

« on: March 01, 2010, 08:29:28 PM »

today i decided to install a smoothstepper on my hardinge chnc 3 . reading others success with threading with the smoothstepper vs the parallel port . installed the ss and the driver . installed the latest ss plugin. in mach 3 loader , created a new profile (smoothstepper)
and cloned from my previous mach3turn settings. start mach, open configure plugins, check the ss plugin. under plugin control, the ss plugin menu is not there. so thought, mach3 needs to be restarted. close mach3 and get" mach error 99991 ". mach crashes. completely reinstall mach3 version 38. install plugin. clone from mach3turn. repeat the above. mach gives error message and crashes.if i do not clone the machturn profile, then the plugin is there. but all the port and pin settings are not. any solutions anybody, besides going thru  my previous mach port and pin settings and writing them all down.

75

PoKeys / Re: Pokeys with Mach Turn

« on: February 19, 2010, 06:18:54 AM »

i am using the pokeys with turn. not using it with the plugin though. i found the mpg mode did not work satisfactory for me.but as a keyboard emulator its great. built a control panel with the functions of jog select , increment select,step, multistep,velocity step, select mpg, select axis, +- feedrate,+- spindle speed,reset feed, reset spindle, spindle on, coolant on.used momentary pushbuttons. created my own keyboard shortcuts for each function in screen4.also installed a 12 button keypad from velleman for future use.

76

General Mach Discussion / Re: threading success with mach turn today.

« on: February 19, 2010, 05:44:01 AM »

i had read your threading on a lathe writeup. the threading tool would not keep a consistant cut.after about 6-10 passes the cutting point would be out a position by a few thou. each successive pass would be out of position again by a few thou. backlash cant be blamed as i can turn parts all day and be on dimension. machine is a hardinge chnc 3.currently using version 27. version 36 during threading would make the x axis behave strange,jittered back and forth a few thou and  the x dro would be changed by mach. only using g32 has worked . i agree that i like the format of the g32, more info .

77

General Mach Discussion / threading success with mach turn today.

« on: February 18, 2010, 09:22:56 PM »

i have been trying to eliminate threading  problems for a few months now.probably ran 100 test pieces , from 1/2" to 5", different pitches and depths, different versions of mach, index settings, ramp and acceleration settings,could not stop the double tracking while threading.about 6-8 passes would be fine then would  lose position. today read a post about editing the 1076 macro, changed false to true, and now excellent threads.   more testing with threads , from .625 hot rolled to 5" dia 12 tpi piece and all were good. question is why does the g32 work and the g76 not , for me anyways ? all my test pieces had the code generated by the mach wizards, and with poppabears quick threads wizard.

78

General Mach Discussion / Re: hiccup with threading x axis

« on: February 11, 2010, 09:51:12 AM »

thanks, Graham. have tried version 33 and am getting better results. x axis is not getting the jitter any more. had first tried version 20. cut threads well but in the middle of the cut would start cutting a taper. i have  set the ramping values to a high rate,  jog speed 100,velocity 16. the faster ramping seems to do better but noty quite there yet.

79

General Mach Discussion / hiccup with threading x axis

« on: February 05, 2010, 02:53:10 PM »

i have been having trouble with the x axis during threading. version is 3.041 36. machine is hardinge chnc 3 with servos, 500 line encoders, gecko 320 drives. parallel port , cnc4pc breakout boards. am using the cnc4pc index pulse from the spindle. rpm will display from 100 to 2500 . spindle is 7.5 hp drive is allan bradley 1336 impact with encoder feedback to drive.commanded  spindle speed is steady . during threading tests, x axis will make a random hiccup, like jump +- a few thou and then continue to cut thread. position of x is lost. thread is ruined. perhaps bad encoder on the x axis so did test with indicator. ran x for 1 hour back and forth . 0 error. i can turn pieces all day and the hiccup does not happen. only when threading. frustrating.

80

General Mach Discussion / Re: Sheet MEtal Bending with Mach3

« on: January 18, 2010, 09:47:17 PM »

i have been running  our press brake for 2 years now with mach3.before that with turbocnc. drives are gecko 201 driving vexta 34 stepper motors.5 tpi ball screws each side of machine, 2x6x.25 aluminum tube with movable stops. steppers are reduced 3:1 to ballscrew. move speed is 1.5 ips.all you need is the demo version as all moves are 1 liners. just bring up an mdi box and enter your move. set up an oem trigger with a remote button, and you can move to next depth of bend by pushing remote button.
for instance

g0x1.5 z4750  " move to 1.5 inch  z to 90 degree 12 ga. steel"
m00   "pause wait for remote button to advance to next move"
g0x3
m00
g0x20 z 4500 "move to 20 inches z to 45degree"
m00
m30
next week i am about to controll the angle of bends with mach. my brake has an ac motor drive that turns two depth stop nuts on the cylinders.has a mechanical number readout .has to be set with pushbutton control that is tedious to hold.replacing with dc servo, viper drive.    this will be my z axis.having saved written records of different settings thicknesses of steel, aluminum, and the angles formed from the number readout, should be able to automate a lot of complex shapes.