Messages

31

General Mach Discussion / Re: G53 oddity

« on: January 05, 2011, 08:04:24 AM »

Shouldn't need any other inputs at all.

To simulate the issue (or not !) you shouldn't need any other inputs, as it occurs before the sensing is active. It may get confused later in the script when G31 is called, although if no probe is connected it should either interpret that as a sensor failure or failure to detect, both of which are trapped in the code.

If no driver is installed you need to press the 'simulate' button on page 1 to set it to ignore the sensing, as G31 doesn't work on development machines without the driver.

Tim

32

General Mach Discussion / Re: G53 oddity

« on: January 05, 2011, 07:54:23 AM »

Yes, the 'find clamp' button in version 20 had the following commented out:

'  Code "G0 G53 Z-1"            ' preparatory move of Z in machine coords
'  Hold
'  Sleep(100)
'  Answer=MsgBox("OK ?",0)

The G0 G53 Z-1 was the original, with a call to the 'Hold' subroutine, which is a While/Wend loop.
The extra Sleep 100 was added just in case, and didn't change the action
The messagebox was an extra debug attempt just to separate out the code segments and isolate the issue.

Tim

33

General Mach Discussion / Re: G53 oddity

« on: January 05, 2011, 07:10:02 AM »

The system doesn't quite run like a normal CNC mill or lathe with a single page for a particular function, they flow in sequence to try to minimise the skill level and training requried of the operator.

The system starts up with page 1, and on pressing the image button the axes home and DROs/labels/variables are initialised and then a prompt pops up asking which format to cut. Selecting 'slab' brings up page 2 to assess the position of the clamp jaws with a colour discriminating sensor (funky piece of kit from Omron and not ridiculously expensive). The issue comes when the 'find clamps' button is pressed. I've got a feeing that the file I sent has the G53 command commented out to avoid the movement, so have attached a slightly earlier version (18) of the screen set.

When the clamp assessment is complete, screen 3 is displayed to allow an operator to set up the cutting order for the required quantities of the four sizes of material.

Tim

34

General Mach Discussion / Re: G53 oddity

« on: January 05, 2011, 06:13:15 AM »

Many thanks for the prompt attention Hood !

Tim

35

General Mach Discussion / Re: G53 oddity

« on: January 05, 2011, 05:58:13 AM »

now that was quick - congratulations to whoever downloaded the file within 3 minutes of posting !

<chuckle>

Tim

36

General Mach Discussion / Re: G53 oddity

« on: January 05, 2011, 05:54:24 AM »

OK, here's a zip with what I think is everything. no guarantees though !
Should include : xml, set, gcode, macros, bespoke bitmaps and a photo of the machine. The Mach3 setup drives a gantry type 3 axis machine with a cylindrical cutting blade on the spindle that cuts pieces out of a slab of material. Not quite the normal CNC machining setup ! X is across the table, and Y is up and down the long axis.

Bitmaps live in the bitmaps directory, and the screens do use some of the standard bitmaps from the millbitmaps directory, but that's one benefit of Klaus' machscreen - it tells you when bitmaps are missing.

The new machine is running Mach3 version 3.042, and the older one is running 2.42 (can't be changed without a big hassle)

Please let me know if i missed anything

Tim

37

General Mach Discussion / Re: G53 oddity

« on: January 04, 2011, 04:33:42 PM »

Thanks for the prompt response. I'll stick them on this thread when I'm back in the lab tomorrow.

Tim

38

General Mach Discussion / G53 oddity

« on: January 04, 2011, 11:49:55 AM »

After previous experience with our older machine failing to move in fixture coordinates directly from home (complaints about soft limits) I added G0 G53 Z-1 and G0 G53 X-1Y-1 to the beginning of the code. This worked a treat.
We now have a second machine, and it's running a newer version of Mach3. Things seem to be different ! On the newer machine the G0 G53 Z-1 command does send the head to Z = -1 in machine coordinates, but on the first run after Mach3 startup it also sends the X and Y axes right across the bed, which is around 500mm travel. They happily then move back to machine coords -1 on the next command. These commands are being issued from a Vb button, with the While/WEnd loop between them. Further runs after the complete script is run do not elicit the same behaviour ! On this machine, I can simply remove these preparatory moves from the script and it seems happy to run in fixture coordinates right from the get-go.

Any ideas ? I was more than a little surprised to see X and Y movement as a result of a Z command !

I cannot upgrade the software on the previous machine as it is being run in a locked down environment, and any software changes will probably need extensive verificaiton testing.

if anybody wants the complete set of xml/set/bmp/macro/fixture.dat/gcode I can send it !

Tim

39

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Re: Read only DRO

« on: January 03, 2011, 10:10:06 AM »

Looks like I'll be swapping over to userlabels then ! No small task though

Thanks for that suggestion, I hadn't thought of it. Sounds better than the image button solutino I've been playing with.

Tim

40

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Read only DRO

« on: January 02, 2011, 05:49:19 PM »

Is there a way to restrict users from selecting a DRO - ie making it read only ? i have several DROs on the screen of our bespoke production machine that show aspects of the machien performance. it is not necessary for the operator to update these, and could in fact be undesireable.

I've tried dropping a blank image button over the top, with code to pop up and info message explaining 'don't mess with this', and that works for all areas except the DROs, where clicking simply selects them anyway !

I have pretty much all the mach3 screen editors, so if anyone has a suggestion for any of these I'd love to try it !

Tim