Topics

11

General Mach Discussion / Spindle Control

« on: August 20, 2009, 05:21:56 PM »

Hey guys...

I am completely out of my depth here... but thats how i am most the time.. so without further ado..  i need to interface my spindle controller with mach.. not to have simple on off capability but speed control as well, the spindle is a fantastic one but currently i have to use it manually.. which kind of defeats the point of having great pathing software that can dynamically controll spindle speed and feedrates on chipload scenarios...

I realise this will require a mechanical/electrical interface to my pc and then most likely a plugin for mach as well..


my spindle is a NSK e2530

http://www.nsk-nakanishi.co.jp/en/industrial/products/imf/e2530.html


im at work now but im happy to upload images of pin layouts and tech details if someone can point me in the right direction

12

Share Your GCode / lego block just for kicks.

« on: August 11, 2009, 06:14:46 PM »

drew this for the kiddo while i was waiting on a job.

uses

0.127mm pyramid flat
1.5mm Ballnose 9mm flute   (may have to custom grind)
1.5mm Flat Endmill.

happy cutting!!!

13

Tangent Corner / millers humour...

« on: August 10, 2009, 07:17:19 AM »

so i heard this funny joke i thought i would share....

14

Share Your GCode / DeskProto Ring Flip plus rotary

« on: August 09, 2009, 07:12:33 PM »

Did a tut video. not best person for this job but here you have it.

download DeskProto demo from www.deskproto.com  and video and all files including paths are here for this tut.

VIDEOS:

http://3dcadjewelry.com/tuts/chris/DeskProto/Rhino_Deskproto_flip_plus_rotary.swf

FILES:

http://3dcadjewelry.com/tuts/chris/DeskProto/flipplusrotaryfiles.7z

15

SmoothStepper USB / Does it reduce CPU load ?

« on: August 07, 2009, 03:57:05 AM »

I still have the issue where clicking the toolpath window on will kill my job, stall my mototrs and generally cause pandemonium around my machine. i use 5 - 15mb files with heaps of path so Mach pulsing and drawing the path is not happening for me.

If i invest in a SmoothStepper will this take the load of the processor enough for me to run with toopath display on?

My mill pc is a dell gx620. 3.2ghz HT with 1gb drr800, XP Pro minimal install.

16

Tangent Corner / Diseases...

« on: July 31, 2009, 03:36:41 AM »

 

17

General Mach Discussion / ARC codes cause issues with program extremes calculations.

« on: July 10, 2009, 12:02:32 AM »

not a complaint. merely an observation.

my screen gives me a program run extreme synopsis as i load my gcode which lets me know how far either side of XYZA 0 my part will move,  great feature as i can quickly check what size wax to chop up for a job, but if i path with ARCS then these extremes can reach bizarre false limits and has made it impossible for me to setup softlimits since they are almost always overshot by this error.

as an example a small ring with x not going more than say  20mm either side of X0 may be read be program extremes as being from -X780 thru +X1980 if i path the flip cuts with arc outputs into the code. 

perhaps this is a known issue and someone has allready solved it?

18

Tangent Corner / David Laser Scanner

« on: May 31, 2009, 06:57:31 AM »

David Scanner playtime...

i was bored..

pretty poor result but im sure that cuz i only spend an hour trying it plus used crappy laser of bandsaw with $10 webcam  

ill let tweakie get it right!

http://www.david-laserscanner.com/

19

General Mach Discussion / Index switch / limit switch

« on: May 19, 2009, 09:56:45 PM »

This is a complete noob question.. proabbly covered in documentation somewhere but im too lazy/old/ignorant to find it...


i have four "limit switches" on my mill which are used to home my axis' and one is used as a probe.. and they work really really well..

the only headache with them is that if I accidentally crash into them they move out the way to save the switch but that means I have to refind my 4th axis Y centre after I recover from the crash.. major PITA..

now it occurs to me it should be a reasonable simple thing to just tell the mill to stop moving in its current direction if it hits the limit switch in the course of a errant path or manual jog.. like a mini estop if you will..

I checked the options but its all greek to me..

dumb jeweller here...


any help appreciated

20

General Mach Discussion / Just got my Jog Dial!

« on: May 19, 2009, 04:51:38 AM »

This thing makes jogging a breeze!

now my next question is this....

can i use two of these together... so i can roll 2 axis' at the same time?

would i have to unload its driver and manually setup each one with keygrabber? Is the developer of this driver on this forum?