Messages

411

General Mach Discussion / Re: Soft Limits and a Linear A axis

« on: November 01, 2010, 10:54:06 AM »

No problem!

Thanks

412

General Mach Discussion / Re: Soft Limits and a Linear A axis

« on: November 01, 2010, 10:44:35 AM »

Here it is.

413

General Mach Discussion / Re: Soft Limits and a Linear A axis

« on: November 01, 2010, 09:45:38 AM »

Well, I have full DOWN as Zero, moving A positive moves the knee UP, opposite of the way it was when it was Z, of course. Doing this to use Ray Livingstons "tool comp with knee" macros which assume this. In homing and limits A Max is positive 15.1 inches and A Min is zero. Should be the same difference, right?

414

General Mach Discussion / Re: Soft Limits and a Linear A axis

« on: November 01, 2010, 09:23:41 AM »

Just tried in simulation here and softlimits work fine for A axis, are you sure you have the softlimits enabled and rthe correct values set on Homing and Limits page?

Soft Limits is enabled, it works great in X, Y, and Z, axis grinding to a halt before stopping just short of the limit switch. XYX work,  just not A. I think I have the correct values in Homing and Limits, they're the same values that were in Z when A was Z, last week!

I do run the dev version, and SS, so perhaps this is another potential dev version thing, or perhaps even an SS thing. Another one not worth switching for, I guess!

415

General Mach Discussion / Re: Soft Limits and a Linear A axis

« on: November 01, 2010, 08:03:25 AM »

Should work fine I think, have you unchecked the A as Angular on General Config page?

Yes, I have unchecked A as Angular in General Config. Soft limits does nothing on the A, at least at the bottom of the travel. I may have only checked jogging with my pendant, I'll try today with the jog key to be sure. The other 3 axes Soft Limit just fine.

416

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

417

SmoothStepper USB / Re: How to use closed loop spindle rpm with SS

« on: October 27, 2010, 11:02:39 AM »

I fiddled with the settings in my VFD, Hitachi SJ200. I got the curve better. Now it's right on at the high end and off more and more as it goes lower. I see another setting in my VFD I may play with, a setting that seems to adjust the bottom. My guess is once you get your PWM coming out of your BOB correct then tuning in the VFD may get it pretty close.

I, too, would like the closed loop thing to work, that would add icing to the cake!! I'll be watching this for sure.

418

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

419

General Mach Discussion / Re: mach 3 in minneapolis

« on: October 23, 2010, 01:19:32 PM »

That would depend heavily on what you want programmed!! A 4 hole bolt pattern for 9/32 holes, or a 3d gizmo hewn out of a solid block with a 1/8 ball endmill!!

Might get more offers if we all knew what you wanted, at least roughly. A lot of things affect programming needs!

I don't need mill time on your mill, but working out payment could happen, again, depending on what your needs are. I'm in Wisconsin, but emailing a gcode file can span the globe!

420

SmoothStepper USB / Re: How to use closed loop spindle rpm with SS

« on: October 21, 2010, 11:00:05 PM »

Just as a side note, the closed loop spindle control does or doesn't work with SS? In your setup, if it does work, if you put a load on the motor, how long does it take Mach 3 to respond and bring the speed back up?

This is the question and I'll be following this thread closely.

maddios, your curve is WAY worse than mine, but a solution to yours would seemingly help me. I don't know what to change or where, to change the linearity of this PWM spindle with SS. I also don't know if I can fix this somehow in my VFD settings or in the PMDX-125/107 combo.

I've never sat down and tried to figure it out. I know my index sensor is feeding Mach the absolute right RPM, but the commanded RPM is not what the index sensor is reporting except at one spot in the curve.