Messages

701

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Difference between Macro and Button Script?

« on: March 04, 2013, 08:28:17 AM »

Thanks Ian.  I am but a barrack-room programmer I fear, my colleagues at work would laugh at me if they saw my code.  I'm an RF engineer at heart...

Actually the if... label construct was there from the version that I started with and I don't think really that it's needed.  It is just so that if you start with the probe too high and it doesn't have enough programmed movement to meet the plate the code tells you and gives you a chance to try again - but it won't help!  I will remove it.  I think I can remove one of the "contact tests" (the first one).

If not response time, why should probing precision depend on feed rate?

Thanks for your help,

John.

702

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Difference between Macro and Button Script?

« on: March 04, 2013, 05:15:47 AM »

TP, thanks for trying my script.  My OP described the behaviour and error.  I think I need to try increasing the amount by which it lifts before the second try.

Ian, useful comment, I am using the parallel port.  Nevertheless, quicker feeds do seem to affect the accuracy when I try them, and I think I have seen other posts saying the same.

John.

703

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Difference between Macro and Button Script?

« on: March 02, 2013, 05:56:53 PM »

Thanks - here it is.  Just copy the text and paste as the button script...

704

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Difference between Macro and Button Script?

« on: March 02, 2013, 03:09:41 PM »

Thanks TP, I wondered about that and will give it a try.  But it doesn't explain why the macro that works when you call it as a macro doesn't work when it's a button script!

705

VB and the development of wizards / Difference between Macro and Button Script?

« on: March 02, 2013, 12:18:47 PM »

I have been successful at loading Tweakie's script for auto tool height setting; and also turned it into a macro so it can be called from within a program.  Turning it into a macro was easy, I just copied the button script and saved it as "M900.m1s" in the macro folder.  

However, I have now hit a strange problem which I wonder if anyone can help with?

I have added a feature to the macro that inserts an extra probing pass.  So, first it lowers the tool at a reasonably high speed (100mm/min for example) until the probe triggers; then raises the tool by .25mm; then lowers it at a slow speed (20mm/min) until it again triggers.  This I did because I found, as have others, that the accuracy of setting seems to depend on speed, presumably because of delays between the probe signal being asserted and the software actually seeing it.  This works very well as a macro, being quicker to reach a more accurate setting from a higher starting position which is desirable if you are changing a tool.

However, copying the modified macro back into the button script doesn't work!  When I press the button, the tool lowers to the probe as before, but when it reaches it it stops, then after a few seconds starts to randomly and very slightly "jiggle" up and down, whilst the following message appears in the status window:

"Probe Ignore, activated at call for probe"

I'm baffled, can anyone help please?

A subsidiary question: having written a macro, is it not possible to just call it from within the button script?  It isn't obvious why not, since for example the original script contained various calls to built-in macros (for spindle stop for example).

TIA,

John.

706

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Mach3 machine material surface ZERO script

« on: March 01, 2013, 01:25:12 PM »

Fixed it!  Little bit of searching on this forum and I found that M codes up to and including 100 appear to be reserved for Mach...so I changed my file name to M999.m1s and it sprung into life!

707

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Mach3 machine material surface ZERO script

« on: March 01, 2013, 12:51:18 PM »

Many thanks!

708

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Mach3 machine material surface ZERO script

« on: March 01, 2013, 11:55:41 AM »

Hi Tweakie, I have implemented your auto-tool-zero button script and it works very nicely with a little height-setting button I've made.  This has an insulated carbide sprung plate on a magnetic base that sits on the mill table.  Being sprung it can cope with tool over travel.  Thanks very much for this, a very nice utility. As you predicted I had a couple of issues with odd unicode characters in the copied code but soon fixed those.  I have a couple of questions.

First, I'd like to use the code as a macro in a program so that after a tool change I can just call the macro from the code - say "M100" - and it will set the tool height then let the program continue.  So I have copied the button code into a file and given it the name M100.m1s, but when I insert that code in a programme or type it into the MDI window, nothing happens!  There's probably something simple I've forgotten about or never knew - any ideas please?

The second thing is that I would like to generate modified code to set the X and Y zeros, using an isolated probe of known diameter I've made.  As you are the copyright owner, may I have your consent to this please as my code is likely to copy many of the same lines?

Thanks,

John.

709

VB and the development of wizards / Re: Any new WIZARD ideas to work on ???

« on: February 20, 2013, 04:45:41 PM »

A nice turning wizard would control the tool to cut a multi-lobed cam-like cutter that could be turned into a form-relieved gear milling tool.  The tooth form would be made using a circular button (or two), and the X axis moved in and out as the work rotates to make the form-relieving.  Would be a CNC version of a methid that has been described by several model engineering authors.

asw, see Tweakie's posting at http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,23603.0.html!

710

General Mach Discussion / Re: About ready to throw in the towel!!! Help Please.

« on: February 05, 2013, 10:50:04 AM »

Do you have backlash compensation turned on?  I think, if it is turned on and the amount is not aligned with the actual backlash, it will introduce a progressive error depending on the cutting sequence.