Messages

11

Brains Development / Z-Axis Safety

« on: January 26, 2012, 04:07:18 PM »

I have an issue with the Z-axis on my mill occasionally falling. This is a problem I have to work out with the hardware but I am thinking of a safety that could be implemented with Mach3.
My thought is to add an encoder to the motor that would be calibrated to the same units as the stepper motor. Mach3 would then compare the DRO’s and if the 2 numbers were different by a set tolerance an E-stop would be triggered also engaging the Z- axis brake.
Any thoughts if this is possible or ideas to make this happen?

Thanks,
Paul

12

Brains Development / Re: Mach Running Signal?

« on: January 25, 2012, 11:19:53 AM »

The OEMLED 166 worked great for the signal to control my relay. the only thing I had to do in Brains is to invert the signal instead of using a pass-through.

Thanks again,
Paul

13

VB and the development of wizards / Rotary tool changer

« on: January 22, 2012, 01:38:03 PM »

I am trying to setup a rotary tool changer in Mach3 and I am having trouble figuring out the VB code. The tool changer has 21 positions it can rotate cw and ccw but it only has a sensor that indicates when a tool pocket is in position.
My thought is when Mach3 is started the tool that is in the spindle would be input into Mach3. When a new tool is called the current tool is put in the drum. Then the drum wouldrotate to the called tool. The sensor could indicate the tool as they pass. The macro would have to detiemine to rotate cw or ccw (for the shortest distance) then count the signals from the sensor.

Any suggestions?
Paul

14

VB and the development of wizards / Mach3 Shutdown

« on: January 17, 2012, 09:37:03 AM »

When Mach3 is closed by clicking the “X” in the right top corner can a VB script be ran before the shutdown happens?
I am using a modbus device and when Mach3 shuts down some of the outputs stays active. I want the outputs to turn off before exiting.

Any Suggestions?

Thanks,
Paul

15

Brains Development / Re: Mach Running Signal?

« on: January 17, 2012, 09:30:34 AM »

Thanks Scott I think this will work just fine. I will give it a try later tonihgt.

Paul

16

Brains Development / Mach Running Signal?

« on: January 16, 2012, 11:55:47 AM »

Hello,

I am looking for a way to close a relay when Mach3 is running but is not effected by the E-stop.
I tried using the Macropump but my relay opens when there is a E-stop.

Thanks,

17

Brains Development / multi axis selection for MPG panel

« on: March 21, 2011, 12:59:10 PM »

Hello,

I am working on converitng an older mill to Mach3. The current interface has buttons to select an axis for use with the MPG. The problem is the buttons are momentary and they have an indicator light. What I would like to do is when a button is pressed it will select the axis and light the light in the button and when another axis button is pressed it will cancel the first selection and select the second lighting the button. I have been trying to do this with a brain but I have 2 problems I cannot have 2 outputs (1 for the axis selection and the second for the light) the second is getting the first axis to cancel when the next axis button is pressed. Currently my panel is setup for 4 axis but I am only using 3 at this time.

Any suggestions or examples are appericated.

Thanks,
Paul

18

dspMC/IP Motion Controller / Re: dspMC and Pokeys

« on: November 30, 2010, 01:04:11 AM »

Thanks for the responce. I would like to use the pokeys for the MPG input and FRO and spindle speed override. Do you think there would be any problems the using the pokeys to control those features?

Thanks,
Paul

19

dspMC/IP Motion Controller / dspMC and Pokeys

« on: November 28, 2010, 01:01:59 PM »

I am in the planning stage of converting my mill to mach3 and I will be using the DspMC/IP for the motion control.  I am thinking of using a Po-keys device to for the front panel inputs. This could eliminate a large bundle of wires. Can the dspMC and Po-keys work at the same time in Mach3?

Thanks,
Paul

20

General Mach Discussion / Servo controllers with analog input

« on: November 27, 2010, 10:11:01 AM »

I have a Cincinnati Arrow 500 and the control computer is not working any more. The servo controllers in the machine have an input for an analog control of +10v  to -10 volts. What methods are available for Mach3 to to control a system like this.

Thanks,
Paul