Messages

521

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lathe tool offsets, tool table, surfeit of splash screens

« on: April 08, 2018, 04:31:40 AM »

Aha!  Just checking all 3 of these are in the "Bitmaps" folder (not surprisingly), so for some reason the system must make a random choice of which one to display.  Not a bug but a "feature"?

522

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lathe tool offsets, tool table, surfeit of splash screens

« on: April 08, 2018, 04:28:41 AM »

Pics of screens

523

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lathe tool offsets, tool table, surfeit of splash screens

« on: April 07, 2018, 06:05:09 AM »

Well I've been trying to upload pics of the splash screens but I just give up.  It doesn't seem to affect the system operation.

Rich, I have only one screen set, it's not that which is different between launches.

And the offsets seem to be working fine, as long as the system is applying them.  I will try TPS' suggestions.

Thanks, John.

524

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lathe tool offsets, tool table, surfeit of splash screens

« on: April 07, 2018, 04:42:34 AM »

TPS, many thanks, that may well be the problem.  To be clear, in General Config in the panel on "Pgm End or M30or Rewind" all the boxes should be unchecked except "Turn Off Spindle"?  Checking in my M^start it has both the instructions you mention already.

525

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lathe tool offsets, tool table, surfeit of splash screens

« on: April 06, 2018, 12:52:04 PM »

TPS, Rich, many thanks for these suggestions, I'll follow them up.  Are the other points I asked about just "features" then?

So, I'm rather pleased that my tool referencing system seems to work quite well.  I can use a setting bar in the spindle which fits direct in the MT4 taper and has a carefully measured diameter spigot at the end, to measure the offsets on all my tools mounted on Dixon holders, having first homed the X axis using a "touch plate" mounted on the apron.  So for the first time this afternoon, I went through the process of switching on, launching Mach, homing X, setting the tool to the end of a bar (using an OEM button script controlling the same referencing system), and taking a small cut on the bar to a target diameter of 15.900 mm.  I've been carefull to measure the test bar diameter to micron indicated precision on my Mitutoyo digital micrometer and record all the offsets etc to 4 decimal places (though I'm not pretending that the system is going to have real micron accuracy).  Anyway, the measured diameter of the test piece after that measured with the Mit was 15.900 mm indicated.  Only one trial of course, but quite gratifying, given the number of things that had to all go right for the system to work.

Now I have found another problem!  Up to now I've always ignored tool offsets and simply referenced the tool to the workpiece, setting the pgm coords in the X and Z DROs to the bar end (zero) and stock diameter.  Most of my turning has used wizards.  Now I'm trying to use the tool offsets and homing the machine, and I find some strange behaviour.  If for example I load some wizard-generated code and run it, first checking the tool position is correct and having selected the tool number manually (as Wizards don't have that facility), when it gets to the M30 at the end of the code and rewinds the offset is cancelled, though the same tool number is still displayed!!  

A bit of experimentation shows that M30 has this effect generally on its own - for example select a tool with a programmed offset, so that the correct pgm coord for say X is displayed, then  typing M30 in the MDI - after a short pause the displayed X position reverts to the "tool 0" coord.

I also find that typing "T<n>" as a code, either in the program or MDI, does not seem to change the tool number.

So at the moment, either it seems I have to make sure to manually select the tool before running the code, and after any M30 or rewind operations.  Is this expected behaviour please?

526

General Mach Discussion / Lathe tool offsets, tool table, surfeit of splash screens

« on: April 04, 2018, 04:37:07 PM »

I may have posted these questions a few minutes ago - the Forum software said I had but there is no sign of the post, so here it is again!

I have a system set up to measure lathe tool offsets using a specific screen to work with my measuring system.  This works well now I've got the (known!) bugs out and I can populate a tool table, and it works properly.  However, when I close down Mach and restart, though it shows the same tool number in the DRO on the Manual screen as it did before closedown, the offset isn't applied!  I have to retype the tool number and return for it to take effect.  Is this normal behaviour please?

I've previously asked here about exporting tool tables from M3 into CAM - now I have the opposite requirement (I never did that by the way for various reasons).  Is there a method to import a tool table formatted as say CSV from a spreadsheet program into Mach?  I use a spreadsheet to record the measurements and do some averaging and it's a pain to have to copy/paste the values into the Mach tool table editor, as well as error prone.

When I start my Mach3 Turn, I randomly get one of 3 different splash screens - is this normal behaviour, a bug, or a sign of misconfiguration?

Help much appreciated on the please!

TIA, John.

527

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: G-code or button for setting radius/diameter mode?

« on: March 11, 2018, 04:46:24 AM »

Indeed!  Thanks for the confirmation.  I'll add some warning lights!

528

Mach4 General Discussion / G-code or button for setting radius/diameter mode?

« on: March 10, 2018, 08:51:52 AM »

I think the answer to this is "no" but just checking - are there either G-codes or OEM buttons that can select radius or diameter modes in M3 Turn please?

RFA - I normally work in diameter mode but for tool setting it is useful to work in radius - to make sure I don't forget I'd like to have my tool setting button codes select radius mode first, then do what they do, then switch back to diameter mode.

529

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 lathe home input

« on: March 09, 2018, 07:24:44 AM »

Just an update - I think I've made a step forward, by defining my own DRO to which to write the probed value rather than trying to re-use the OEMDros 175 and 176; and also working in radius mode for the purpose of probing.  Essentially what I want to do initially is to be able to make tool offset measurements and manually populate the tool table until I understand how it all works!  Thanks for your advice above Rich.  Just a few comments...

1.  As far as I can tell from the documentation the Master Tool (No. 1) is assumed to have zero X and Z offsets.  When the work is mounted in the lathe you touch off end and periphery using the master, possibly turning a short section to get a concentric diameter first.  When you enter that diameter as an X coord for Tool 1 (when set to that diameter) then every other tool if put in the holder instead and selected would turn to the same diameter; and equivalently for Z.  What I'd like to do is to start by homing the machine as I have a pretty repeatable X home switch (<10 microns as far as I can tell), then use the offsets for all tools including Tool 1 to avoid the touching/turning step.

2.  I think I've got the coordinate systems straight and realised that radius mode is key for measuring offsets.

3.  I think I'm right in saying that for the lathe, only the Z offset is relevant?

4.  Documentation is a bit hazy on this but "Zero World" buttons zero the m/c coords?  For the work offsets you select work coordinates and zero the DRO?

5.  I'm fairly familiar with G31 as I've been probing on my mill for some time.

6.  Once I've made a test bar I will have in effect a 4 surface tool setter.  I'm finding the limits to the concentricity of the MT4 to MT2 adaptors for my Myford at the moment, so once the probing routines are working I have to make a test bar with a 4MT short taper on the end.

7.  I'll look again at that screen set - once I understand better what I'm doing!

Thanks again for all your help Rich.

Cheers, John.

530

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 lathe home input

« on: March 08, 2018, 04:27:36 PM »

OK, well I'm making progress but in fits and starts!  My probe hardware is operating, I have modified the "tool table" screen of the standard turn screen set to add some buttons to activate the probe and written some probe macros as button scripts.  I'm getting some very puzzling results, so I was wondering if I could just check a couple of points with you please Rich?

1. In a few places I have seen references to an M40 macro and that it needs to be activated to open a point file for the vars - on the other hand all the working probe macros I use on my mill don't use it.  So am I correct to ignore M40?

2. I'm trying to operate only in machine coordinates for this exercise, but I read somewhere that G31 operates in work coordinates - is this correct?  I'm getting some very anomalous behavior which I can only think is because there is some offset coming in that I don't understand.  

I'm sure there's more I don't understand but I don't know it yet!

Thanks, John.