Topics

11

Mach4 General Discussion / Hobby/Industrial and Profiles

« on: February 27, 2017, 07:00:03 PM »

So I am new to Mach4, long time Mach3 user. I have a hobby license and have my mill all setup and working with an ESS. I also have an industrial license. I'd like to use the profile from the hobby version and not have to reset everything up, same machine, same ESS. Can I do that? If so, is it as simple as copying the profile or do I need to package it in hobby and restore it in industrial? Or do I have to suck it up and start from scratch?

While I have your attention!

Are *.m1s macro files usable in Mach4 or do I need to start from scratch with those, in Lua?

I have an old PoKeys 55. In Mach3 I wrote brains to access the buttons and SRO/FRO pots wired to the PoKeys 55. No brains in Mach4, so does the Pokeys Plugin just let you use the PoKeys as Inputs in Mach4 or what? I haven't tried yet, working up my courage. Just thought I'd ask.

Feeling pretty dumb again, it's a lot different here!

12

Newfangled Mill Wizard / Install issue

« on: March 09, 2013, 06:03:10 PM »

I installed the wizard and trying to open it it says it can't create files that appear to be in My Documents. I've moved the location of My Documents folder on all my computers. Is that a problem? If I try to start a job it says it can't find files in Documents, like material.txt. I'll attach a couple screen shots.

I thought I posted here yesterday, but I don't see the post. Must have done something wrong.

Edit...........

Sure enough, I moved the My Documents back to the "legit" location and it works. Is it possible to change this and make it point to the Windows internal My Documents location instead of being hard coded however it is now? I'm on Windows 7 if it matters.

13

General Mach Discussion / Dev 035 and FRO

« on: April 24, 2011, 11:12:21 AM »

I have an analog pot on a Pokeys and use a brain in Mach for FRO. It's worked for years 'til 035. If I switch back to 030 dev. it works fine. It's worked fine in all versions of Mach up to now!!

What it does. When the FRO percentage gets to 100% it actually goes to 0%. I've tried this while feeding and it does indeed stop. It works fine above and below 100%.

I'll attach the brain file, originally written by Hood, and pretty simple, in case anyone thinks editing the brain would fix this in Mach 035!! As I said, switching to any other Mach3.exe and my pot and brain work fine.

Any help appreciated.

Tom

14

SmoothStepper USB / Port 3 Inputs?

« on: April 04, 2011, 07:32:26 PM »

So, Pins 1A, 1B, 1I on the SS? Are these Port 3 Pins 1-3 respectively? And although I don't need them now, what ports/pins are the differential inputs?

I'm at the moment wanting to run my spindle index signal into the SS, but for the life of me I can't remember the port/pin deal even though I'm sure I knew this at one time!! Reread the doc and searched a bit, but can't seem to find it.

Thanks,
Tom

15

General Mach Discussion / Soft Limits and a Linear A axis

« on: October 31, 2010, 08:01:05 PM »

Does Soft Limits NOT work with an A axis even though it's set to be linear? I have Soft Limits on and all three normal axes, X, Y, and Z work fine, but A does nothing. Am I missing a setting somewhere, or is this the way it is? I've tried reversing the A axis with Ports & Pins/Motor Outputs and also in Homing & Limits, check REVERSED, nothing makes the soft limits work.

BTW, BP clone with servos on X, Y, Z quill, and A knee. It works great other than the Soft Limits issue, so far.

Tom

16

General Mach Discussion / Spindle Pulley setup, Reverse

« on: October 23, 2010, 01:45:45 PM »

I have a BP clone on Mach. I've had it running for 19 months or so. I currently run a SmoothStepper and the Mach3 dev version, 3.043.022 and MSM screen, but I can also run 1024 screen on the dev version.

I've had my spindle setup for ages and it's been OK on a Hitachi VFD 0-10v, PMDX-125/107, PWM spindle control. I have a step pulley head and have 8 pulleys setup, 1-4 for low gear, reverse, 5-8 for high hear, not reverse. I've never run in one of the low pulley speeds until today when I was setting up an index sensor on the MOTOR PULLEY and setting ratios in the spindle pulley setup, which I got working well BTW. I noticed that for pulleys 1-4, no matter if the Reverse is checked or not, the spindle doesn't run the right direction. MDI M3, click Start Spindle, or hit F5, in pulleys 1-4 it starts in reverse. M4 starts it forward. It works as it should in pulleys 5-8 where reverse is NOT checked. I have not tried checking reverse in pulleys 5-8!

Am I missing a setting somewhere that the spindle can't be reversed with the spindle pulley settings or is there some other issue? Is it perhaps the Dev version? Or the SmoothStepper? I don't remember reading anything like this in the past, but I've never had a need as I never run in the lower pulleys. I THINK I remember it working OK way back when I set the machine up, but I was on a CNC4PC C23 and step/dir control, still with SS and same VFD.

Tom

17

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Error, artcode 904

« on: September 27, 2010, 09:25:26 AM »

MSM Beta 11, Mach 3.043.022.

Every once in a while, seemingly randomly, upon exit of Mach I get an error box with something about artcode 904, attempt to recover, YES/NO. It doesn't do it every time and not all that often, but I haven't been able to determine what I might have been doing that might cause it. It happens on my milling machine computer and on a test computer both setup the same way except test computer doesn't have a machine hooked up. I don't remember seeing this ever on 1024 screens, hence the post here.

Any idea what artcode 904 is and what might should look for?

Tom

18

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / G73/G83

« on: September 15, 2010, 04:35:30 PM »

Not sure if this is an MSM issue, SS issue, both combined, or what.

Today I tried to drill a bunch of holes with G73. The hole was only a couple pecks, 3 maybe. It seemed to do one peck, not to the correct depth, retract up too far, peck again to HIGHER than the first one, retract HIGHER yet. When it was done, Z said +.100, the R plane, but it was 3/4" above the part. Each hole got worse, Z saying .100, and it was higher each hole!! WCO G54 Z was still what it was, TLO for T6 was still what it was, but the tool was NOT where it should have been. Only way out was re reference Z even though WCO Z did NOT change before or after referencing!! Set G73 Pull Back .1 and .05, same result although the numbers may have been different WRT depth and retract.

Tried G83, same result.

Drilled the holes with G81 just fine, no peck.

Haven't tried 1024 screen or PP instead of SS. Not sure what to try or what's going on.

Here is a sample of my G-code:

O1
G90 G80 G40 G17
T6 M6
(TOOL 6)
(17/64 DRILL)
(OPERATION 2)
G0 G90 G54 X-8.625 Y-0.375 M3 S1400
G43 Z1. H6
G0 Z0.1
G73 G98 X-8.625 Y-0.375 Z-0.4798 Q0.2 R0.1 F8.0
Y-3.8125
X-5.1875
......
......
 
This has worked with 1024 screens for years, so it isn't the code.

Tom

19

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Tool Table Report

« on: August 08, 2010, 04:43:39 PM »

Dave,

Mach3 v3.043.010, MSM beta 3.

I click Report in Tool Table Information on Tooling page and I get all 253 tools even with no lengths/dia's in them. Did this change from how it used to only show tools with something in them? I could have sworn that's how it used to work. I even loaded the All Empty *******.m3tt and it still shows 'em all in Report. Not a big deal if this is the intended behavior now, but I KNOW it used to only show tools with lengths/diameters. Manual pg. 103 still says Report is smart and only includes tools with info in them. Do I need to uninstall/reinstall or something?

Tom

20

General Mach Discussion / Probing Questions

« on: July 28, 2010, 10:09:17 AM »

I have questions about probing that is SOMEWHAT related to MSM but I don't want to bother Dave over there!

I have a Wildhorse probe and find it difficult to get it centered precisely. I also have a PerformanceMotion probe that's NOT adjustable for concentricity, runs out .034",  and PerformanceMotion said I'd need to calibrate it. This probing is new to me, and MSM is my first attempt to use probing. I'm having other probing issues with MSM, but Dave and I are working thru those and I'm sure we'll fix it. I'd prefer to use MSM for my foray into probing rather than rummage around for macros and writing screensets.

Does MSM's probe calibration compensate for the probe tip not being concentric with the spindle centerline or does it simply figure out the probe tip diameter? If it does compensate for runout, I'd assume one MUST indicate the bore precisely before starting the calbration routine so the routine knows where center is, and of course, orient the probe the same way all the time. MSM manual, Rev 1.1 , page 114, 7.1.3.1.2 says, "By probing a circular hole of a known size, an effective tip
diameter can be calculated. The effective tip diameter is the physical tip diameter plus compensation for angular probe tip movement when edge finding." Not sure if "angular probe tip movement when edge finding" is what I'm talking about or not.

It seems to me calibrating a probe for the tip being off center would be immensly complex, but maybe it's simpler than I imagine. If this probe calibration is simply the way it's done, how, in Mach3 without MSM, does one calibrate it short of writing macros to do it? Or are there macros commonly available for this I need to find?

If there's somewhere this info is available, just point me to it!!