Messages

191

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Fusion 360 Cutter Comp "P" Value.

« on: May 02, 2019, 08:40:00 AM »

Cool! And herein lies one of the problems with customizing stuff. Like the wx4 screenset I've customized, and renamed, of course. If the wx4 screenset changes in the future with something I'd like, I'd have to go into it and figure out all the edits I've made and add them to the new version. I don't know of a way to copy/paste from one screenset to another, is there a way? Mach3 had some third party screen editors that allowed this, but Mach4 screen editing seems to be sticking to the built in editor and no one is doing screens like they did in Mach3, or very few anyway. I guess that's good because Mach4's built in editor is good, the basic screens are good, so people are just using and making the small edits themselves.

Same would hold for the Fusion Mach4 post. I've customized it pretty heavily for my knee tool length action and would have to go in and figure all that out and do it again in the new post!! I guess I'd go into the new post in VS Code and see how they did it and fix it in my post!! Ah, I see we're typing together, I'll check out your link and see if I care to fix it in my post. Thanks.

Tom

192

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Fusion 360 Cutter Comp "P" Value.

« on: May 02, 2019, 08:02:26 AM »

   
Still, I think the stock post from Fusion should output the D instead of P.

I do, too!! Maybe you can sweet talk them into changing it, like you did with the G30 thing. That was great:)

Tom

193

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Fusion 360 Cutter Comp "P" Value.

« on: May 01, 2019, 05:45:44 PM »

What is that P, Chad? Diameter as defined in Fusion, radius, something else?

Likely we'd need to edit the Fusion post to output the D instead.

In modern times I've gotten away from using cutter comp!! Mach3 didn't do it the Fanuc way, as I remember, and while Mach4 does, I've taken to using stock in the CAM software, measuring, change the stock, repost!! It's either change the cutter comp and rerun, or change the stock in CAM and rerun, not much difference. Back in the punched paper tape days it wasn't so easy to repost as it is now days, so changing cutter comp was easiest. Back in those days I insisted on reading the Gcode and if it was cutting across at Y 1.000 on the print, I wanted to see Y1.000 in the Gcode, dammit, not Y1.246 or something!!! That habit died hard but it's dead now!!

Tom

194

SmoothStepper USB / Re: Ethernet smoothstepper connected to a USB/C port to ethernet adapter

« on: April 05, 2019, 08:25:54 AM »

First you need to get the PC to recognize the USB-C adapter. It might just be recognized or it might need a driver.

Once the PC sees the adapter, use the Configurator from the warp9 web site following it's instructions on the site.

Or ask on the warp9 site, Andy will get you going.

195

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 Parallel Port Legacy Plugin

« on: March 30, 2019, 08:24:14 PM »

Functionality of Mach4 vs Mach3 aside, Mach4 runs the machine a LOT better than Mach3. I had an ESS anyway, so the switch didn't cost anything for me. I was reluctant because I have a BP clone with the knee and the quill CNC'd and I use the knee (A) for offsetting tool lengths while using the quill (Z) to machine. It took me a long time in Mach3 to get it to work and I had a lot of help or I'd have never gotten it. So switching to Mach4 meant I needed to figure all that out again and all the guys who helped me originally abandoned Mach3 for new horizons.

One day I was on a Teamviewer with Andy from Warp9 on a Mach3/ESS issue and we got to talking about Mach4. I had installed it but never gotten far. Andy went thru Mach4 and got it all setup in about 10 minutes. When I saw how much better it ran the machine I figured I needed to figure out my tool offsetting and other customization's I used in Mach3. And I did. Took me 6 months with help here and from NFS, but I got there. No looking back now!!

By running the machine better, I mean simple things like hit feed hold. In Mach4, the machine stops right NOW, not a half an inch later. I use a physical pot to control Feed Override, twirl the pot in Mach4, it slows down right NOW, not some time in the future. Soft Limits, Mach4 zooms right up to Machine Coordinates 0 and stops, only deceleration being a factor, where Mach3 slowed down for about an inch as it got closer.

The biggest thing with the switch, other than if you have to spend money, is the mental block. Mach4 isn't Mach3 with a different look. If you try to think it to be Mach3 you'll be disappointed. Like when you type G0 X0 in MDI and hit ENTER and nothing happens! Eighteen months in and I still catch myself doing that one!!

Only thing I miss is the Mach Standard Mill screenset, a masterpiece, but I've gotten over that, too. I've incorporated all Dave Bagby's stuff, all that I actually used anyway, and that isn't now a part of Mach4, into my modified wx4.set, minus the cool green/grey colors.

My 2 cents!

Tom

196

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: RefAllHome - then back off.

« on: March 25, 2019, 04:42:00 PM »

Can do easy....but still a lot of paper!!

https://www.print-driver.com/how-to/convert-chm-to-pdf

Tom

197

Mach4 Plugins / Re: Vista CNC Pendants - New Mach4 plugins

« on: March 25, 2019, 04:33:53 PM »

Works with my P2-S, but then, my P2-S worked before this. Nothing noticeable in new plugin, like settings similar to Mach4 plugins. I guess that's coming RSN.

198

PoKeys / Re: Mach4 Pokeys57E Registers

« on: March 25, 2019, 10:37:33 AM »

Looks like there are PoKeys registers, lots of them.

Don't know about changing value changing state.

Tom

199

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: RefAllHome - then back off.

« on: March 24, 2019, 08:19:55 PM »

Might need a G90 in those G53 lines. G1 and G53 work in my RefAllHome script, and the only thing I notice is the G90 in there.

200

PoKeys / Re: PoKeys 57U, Mach4, Buttons and you.

« on: March 24, 2019, 12:36:19 PM »

You passed me up now. No idea about all those inputs/outputs or functions!!

Sorry,
Tom