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4181

General Mach Discussion / Re: Jerky Movement on combined X-Y Movmenet 3 Axis CNC Router

« on: June 14, 2011, 05:32:01 PM »

Does the machine have steppers or servos? I can't believe that CV is causing those issues, as the M in "Motor Control" is made up of long straight moves, which CV would have no effect on.

If it has servos, I'm thinking it's a servo tuning issue.

4182

Finished Screens / Re: Mach3 2010 Screenset - Now available

« on: June 13, 2011, 08:49:14 AM »

There are no Shortcut keys for the Auto Zero buttons. All the other shortcut keys are listed in the manual in the Toolbar Button section.

If you want to add them, it's pretty easy to do. Open the .set file in Screen4 (Specify the correct size, it's in the manual toward the back. 1015x726 I think)
Right click on the button you want to add the shortcut key to. Check the Hotkey box, and press the key(s) you want to use for the shortcut. Save and your done.

I can do it for you if you want, just email me what you want them to be, and let me know if you're using the 3 axis or 4 axis version.

4183

General Mach Discussion / Re: Toolpath not showing

« on: June 12, 2011, 09:16:33 PM »

Change your IJ mode to incremental. Make sure it says G91.1 on the status bar at the bottom. The default in Mach3 is absolute, but almost all CAM programs use incremental IJ.

And a few notes about the screenset. In the upper right corner of the Mach3 Title bar, click the middle button between minimize and close. This should let you then drag the lower right corner to fit the screen. There are some things that aren't meant to be seen outside the 1024x768 window, like the 300.0000 at the bottom.

Also, in General config, uncheck "Boxed DRO's and Graphics" Actually, uncheck all 4 options under "Screen Control". When you restart Mach3, it should look a little better. It looks like you may have Auto Screen Enlarge on, which you definitely don't want.

4184

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Import DXF

« on: June 12, 2011, 09:08:11 PM »

Converting an image to a .dxf like that will never get you any real usable results. For best results, try a program like Image to G-Code, or Photo V Carve.

It's also possible to use a program than can create g-code directly from the image. I think LazyCAM can do this?? MeshCAM can. Depending on the image, these can work OK, to not so good.

4185

FAQs / Re: Tooling

« on: June 12, 2011, 08:00:21 PM »

I use a Porter Cable 690.

You can get precision collets for a Bosch Colt from www.precisebits.com that have extremely low runout. I use them on my Porter Cable for 1/8" and smaller bits.

4186

FAQs / Re: cant find "config"logic"

« on: June 12, 2011, 12:41:44 PM »

The older versions of Mach3 had separate State and Logic configurations. Newer versions (last few years) have them combined into one General Configuration window.

Unfortunately, there's only one manual, and it's about 5 years old.

4187