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Messages - pplug

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1
General Mach Discussion / Mach modbus or serial and a hitachi NE-S1???
« on: January 17, 2014, 09:50:10 AM »
Hi Folks,

I've been looking for instructions on setting up a Hitatchi NE-S1 inverter to work with Mach3. I have used a G540 to control it through PWM, however, i would like to get more precise control. I would like to use the serial interface on the computer or set up modbus to send commands to the inverter.

I do have a rs485 serial convertor wired to the VFD from the built in serial port. I have enabled serial and mod bus in mach, but I'm not sure how to test the connections, what commands to set up or anything else.

What are my next steps?


 

2
General Mach Discussion / Re: Gcode won't start spindle HELP!
« on: November 10, 2013, 08:43:19 PM »
Hood, I'll post the XML as soon as I can.

DonMarkey, the system has been restarted several time with no change.

Thanks for the thought though

3
General Mach Discussion / Gcode won't start spindle HELP!
« on: November 10, 2013, 01:00:33 PM »
I have an interesting problem.

I wired up a probotix meteor for Mach3. I got everything to work perfectly but the spindle. The spindle works when you manually hit the start button or F5 but the gcode program won't start it. Am I missing a toggle button somewhere to run spindle with the M3 command? The gcode was generated by vcarve pro and looks looks good.

I've built or converted 3 routers over the years and have never run into this problem before!

Thanks for your help.

4
General Mach Discussion / Re: Motor Tuning Help
« on: December 13, 2011, 08:07:48 AM »
Try using a separate video card. The video card built on the motherboard can slow the CPU and create problems for mach. you could use one of the cheapest video cards out there and still get good results. 

5
Feature Requests / Re: Retract Z on pause option, pretty please?
« on: November 01, 2011, 08:19:51 AM »
Yeah, I could do all that but it is a huge PITA when you don't know how to do it in the first place. Right now the end of the marking period is coming and I don't have the time to sit and learn how to do that right now. It kills me because that kind of stuff is right up my alley.

6
Feature Requests / Re: Retract Z on pause option, pretty please?
« on: October 28, 2011, 06:07:45 PM »
Thats interesting my stop button is set for 2" retract as well. I was suggesting the option to raise the z on pause because all the other router control software we have does this action on pause as well as stop. The space bar is also the biggest button on the keyboard and by default, the easiest to hit!

7
General Mach Discussion / Re: Anybody use Galaad to control Mach?
« on: September 18, 2011, 06:07:02 PM »
I think that's about right. I'm not 100% sure though. I did some experimentation and something weird is happening with Mach or Galaad or both (I'm not surprised.) when Galaad envokes the "external driver", Mach does not update anything on screen but my router goes crazy. All three axis move and I have to hit the e-stop before the z buries itself or the gantry goes out of whack and racks (4 axis slave). The racking gives me the feeling that Galaad is sending pulses directly through the parallel port. The strange thing is, is that I have a G540 on the machine and the charge pump is active.

Nasty surprises really don't surprise me anymore when working with Galaad. That software is crazy buggy! Too bad it's the only reliable interface for the techno.

BTW... Does Artsoft offer any educational discounts? We have to get registered!

8
General Mach Discussion / Re: Anybody use Galaad to control Mach?
« on: September 17, 2011, 08:51:33 AM »
Sorry Guys,
I should have given you more background info about myself. I'm used to posting on the zone so everybody would see my sig. I've been tooling around with CNC for 7 or 8 years. Over the years, I have built 2 machines that use Mach or EMC as their controller software. I learned CNC systems using Techno DaVincis and I personally own and operate a Techno lc4896. I know quite a bit about how CNC systems work but I always want to try something a little different.

In school I built a 4x4' machine that uses Mach as a controller. The only Cad/CAM program the school currently owns is Galaad (for design and also to control the davinci). I got really exited when I saw that Galaad could control Mach as per this page: http://www.galaad.net/machines-eng.html . Look towards the bottom of the page and you will see what I mean. If galaad could control Mach, I would have to teach one interface for cutting on both machines! If you have ever taught middleschoolers CNC you would know how important this is!

The first time I looked at Galaad, I did not see any way to export G-Code. I think the software was either old or I did it after teaching 5 periods strait.  :-[ The next day I loaded the latest Galaad on the machine with Mach. Lo and behold.... There it was! The export function took a bit of mucking around but I eventually got it to work with Mach.

My ultimate goal is to still have Mach be controlled by Galaad, but its nice to know I can still export usable g-code.

9
General Mach Discussion / Re: Anybody use Galaad to control Mach?
« on: September 14, 2011, 08:31:57 PM »
When you work with middleschool kids you want to simplify processes. We have had the davinci for the past 5 years and the best controller for that antiquated machine is Galaad or their controller only product Kay. I would gladly switch to mach and a proper cam program if the machine controller could do it. In Galaad you can use it for design and tool path creation, but you cannot export just the g-code. Btw, this is our only cam program. However, if we can use Galaad on the machine to set up the tool paths, we can then send the file directly to Mach for the machining. It should be as simple as pushing a button. Should be...... :)

10
General Mach Discussion / Anybody use Galaad to control Mach?
« on: September 14, 2011, 06:02:58 PM »
In our school we have a Techno DaVinci machine that uses Galaad to design and control it. Galaad has a feature that it can control mach on our homemade machine but it doesn't work at all for us. I was wondering if anybody has any experience using this software.

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