Messages

271

General Mach Discussion / Re: New Mach version

« on: August 12, 2010, 05:05:13 PM »

Alas, there is not -
For 3.43.16 the changes I know about are here:
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,15471.msg104782.html#msg104782
I know about these because I've worked with Brian on these for MSM purposes.

BTW - I heartily encourage you (and everyone else) to let Brian know if you think there should be a published change log for mach dev releases! I've told him (Several times) I think there should be - perhaps if lots of users say it, he might decide to hear the inputs.... <grin>

Dave
 

272

General Mach Discussion / Re: New Mach version

« on: August 11, 2010, 07:21:24 PM »

The latest mach development version (3.43.16) was posted today.
Dave

273

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Re: Probing and touch plates - your MSM experience?

« on: August 11, 2010, 04:48:39 PM »

FYI - I have the same issue..
I bought the nice little key kit for the bottom on my Kurt D688, thinking how nice it would be to just set the vise down and have it aligned. To my surprise the keys cause the vise to be off by 0.003 over about 5" - in hind sight, I don't know what I was expecting given that my table slots are rough finished on the inside vertical surfaces.
The keys do make a nice repeatable mount angle... just not the angle I wanted - so I made some keys of the right dimensions to place the vise in alignment with X when it is put on the table.

I also tend to like soft jaws for this reason - cut the jaws and I know the lip I just cut is now nicely aligned with X.

Dave

 

274

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Re: TLO Woes

« on: August 11, 2010, 04:16:11 PM »

I don't think I understand what you are expecting to see happen.

The position of a Work Coordinate zero for any axis wrt to the machine axis coordinates is determined by the axis offset values (and maybe a G92 offset as well). The only way to move the WC origin is to change the WC offset values.

Changing a tool, will cause mach to use the TLO for the new tool (when TLO is active).
However, changing a tool does not change the location of the WC origin.
It sounds to me like you are expecting a tool change to move the WC origin - ?

To my knowledge, mach has never done that  (and this matches both my experience on other controls (primarily Haas) and the way g-code works in the books I've read (Ex: Smid, which is pretty much the Fanuc Bible)).

Perhaps you could give a detailed example of what you are expecting but not seeing?

Dave

275

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Re: Probing and touch plates - your MSM experience?

« on: August 11, 2010, 03:58:46 PM »

We choose not to support rotating the WC system based on vise misalignment in MSM.
The reason is that mach does not rotate jogging when the the WC system is rotated.

Mach jogging is always aligned with the machine axes.
I personally consider that a bug in mach - but it is what it is.

Thus jogging in combination with a rotated WC results in odd side effects.
If you think you are jogging along X in the WC, you are also probably moving in Y and/or Z in WC...

That would be too confusing, so the edge measure facility can be easily used to we measure a vise alignment and MSM simply reports the measurement.

Tap the vise to get it aligned and skip the whole set of issues associated with rotating the WC to match vise.

Re: other probing abilities: I have to say that these will not be coming for MSM anytime soon. I kind of have my hands full with the support of the features MSM already has. But I have added the request to my "things people would like list".


Dave

276

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Re: Warning: MSM Macropump appears to have stopped running.

« on: August 11, 2010, 03:44:54 PM »

Please see the announcement re MSM beta 5 and Mach 3.43.16
These should resolve the "MSM macropump has stopped running" issues.

Dave

277

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Re: MachStdMill release announcements

« on: August 11, 2010, 03:38:53 PM »

MachStdMill Beta 5 has been released.

The two changes from Beta 4 are:
1) MSM beta 5 now requires Mach 3.43.16 as the minimum mach version.
2) The MSM installer has support for installing optional (yet to come) MSM components (e.g the bitmap source files).

Mach3.43.16 has fixes for the following Mach bugs that were impacting MSM:
   MDI command no longer causes loaded Gcode to start execution.
   PeriodicScript execution time > script period no longer causes the script to hang.
   Back to Back StartPeriodicScript calls no longer cause syntax errors from scripts being started.
   Spindle pulley reverse direction repaired.

Mach 3.43.16 is now the recommended version for use with MSM.

Please see the release notes for more info.

The release notes also contain updated info re still existing mach bugs as well as update to probing functionality with Smooth Steppers and multiplexing BoBs.

Dave

278

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Re: Warning: MSM Macropump appears to have stopped running.

« on: August 10, 2010, 08:00:47 PM »

When the background process is dead the following screen controls don't respond to user actions and/or don't get updated with current data:
        The MSM Probe Result DROs
   Tooling page:
             parts of the Current Tool Info panel
        the Next Tool info panel
        The TT Browser panel
   The inhibited indication LEDs
and probably some other things.

I hate to see someone using a partially dead control - no telling what that could lead a user into doing.
I know it's a pain, but the best thing to do is wait for a revised mach release from Brain.
(or go back to using 1024 until then).

Dave

279

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Re: Warning: MSM Macropump appears to have stopped running.

« on: August 10, 2010, 01:08:31 PM »

Thanks for the info.
I'm mostly just curious at this point - I don't have enough data to predict the likely hood of the issue occurring.
We do know what the bug is in mach - once the fix is released, this becomes a moot point as it won't happen anymore.

I'm afraid that you seem to be stuck until Brian gives us a fixed Mach rev.
Brian does have a fix for the PeriodicScript bug already - I've tested it.
I've asked Brian if he would release a dev rev with the MDI vs gcode and periodic script fixes.

Now all we can do is wait. 

Dave

280

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Re: Uninstalling MSM

« on: August 10, 2010, 11:25:50 AM »

John,
MSM installs a start menu group and within the group there is an uninstall icon -
start - all programs - MachStdMill - uninstall
just click it and MSM uninstalls.

Note for Beta 4, the location of of the MSM start menu changed to be under mach's program group (Seemed like a more natural place for people to look for it) - so it will be
start - all programs - Mach3 - MachStdMill - uninstall
from Beta 4 forward.

Also, as an alternative, MSM is also listed in the control panel's add/remove programs app.

Dave