Messages

1

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Pulley Ratio Accuracy Problem

« on: August 26, 2019, 12:28:24 AM »

Thanks, Art.  Unfortunate that this is one of the few items that are not user definable.  I'll see what I can do for a "work around".  If I get something that works, I will post it.

By the way, if the PID loop for spindle control could be made to work, this pulley ratio error would not be a problem.  Can anyone say if spindle PID is working in Mach4?

2

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Pulley Ratio Accuracy Problem

« on: August 25, 2019, 12:10:13 PM »

Hi Art.  Thanks for your response.

I did find the SPINRATIO info in the .xml file, but was trying to avoid having to write a script to edit the .xml file each time Mach3 wrote it out.  Is there no variable storage location accessible in Mach3 that would be easier to edit?  Or no easy way to tell the program to write out the SPINRATIO to 2 decimals?

Brian

3

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Pulley Ratio Accuracy Problem

« on: July 18, 2019, 10:32:25 PM »

Further to the original posting, the information is not stored where I thought it was.

4

Mach3 under Vista / Pulley Ratio Accuracy Problem

« on: July 18, 2019, 05:30:06 PM »

As someone else mentioned, you can set the pulley ratios in Mach3 to whatever level of accuracy you want, but as soon as you log out and the .xml file is updated, the ratio you entered is rounded to one decimal.  That is what comes up next time you start Mach3.

I am trying to get my speed control more accurate and need at least 2 decimals in the pulley ratio.  So, does anyone know how to either: (a) force Mach3 to keep more decimals in the .xml write out?; or (b) know where the pulley ratios are store by Mach3 so I can use a macro to reload accurate numbers each time I start without having to change each pulley individually?

I know variable 26200 holds the number of the pulley currently selected and 26210 and 26220 hold that pulley's min and max speeds.  i think the current ratio is DRO99, but I cannot find where the data is stored for the pulleys not in current use.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: Partial Solution to Axis will not Stop Moving when using Arrow keys

« on: September 03, 2017, 05:43:48 PM »

My version is Version R3.043.066

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Partial Solution to Axis will not Stop Moving when using Arrow keys

« on: August 26, 2017, 11:22:01 PM »

Full Solution:

I've now got a "brain" that works to prevent this problem.  It detects if the Step mode is active when the shift key is pressed.  If so, it causes a program "Reset".  This is a bit extreme but is necessary for me because the wiring for my speed control through the spindle VFD requires a Reset to halt the rotation completely.  If you don't have this problem, you can probably use "Offline" instead.  When building the brain, use the following:

Jog Continuous is OEMLED 14
Jog Increment is  OEMLED 15
Cont Shift Jog  is  OEMLED 58
Reset is ButtonPress 1021, or
Offline is ButtonPress 258

Don't forget to enable this new brain.  I called it NoShift.

7

VB and the development of wizards / Keystroke Trapping

« on: June 15, 2017, 05:12:18 PM »

Does anyone know of a way to read a keyboard keypress so it can be acted upon within Cypress basic.  I cannot find an "Inkey" function and don't see a replacement.  In particular, I'm looking for a way to see if the shift key has been held down.

Thanks for any assistance

8

General Mach Discussion / Partial Solution to Axis will not Stop Moving when using Arrow keys

« on: June 06, 2017, 08:25:12 PM »

When moving the axis using the arrow keys or buttons on the jogging control I've recently had a few times when the motion of the axis would not stop as I released the button.  Usually I noticed it right away and hit Escape in time to avoid problems.  Unfortunately last week I did not react in time and broke parts within the servo drive for my Z axis when the tool collided with my fixture.  This expensive problem has caused me to do some diagnosis.  I wish I had a full solution, but maybe this partial solution will help someone else.

The problem only happens when two things occur at the same time:  (a) the Jog Motion on the flyout window is set for step, not continuous; and (b) I have over-ridden the step action by using the shift key to high speed travel to the next point.  The problem of not stopping does not always occur under these conditions, but it has never occurred without both conditions.

So the temporary solution is to make sure the jog mode button is on Continuous before using the shift key!  I'm going to see if I can build a brain to halt motion if the shift key is pressed while the mode is Step, but have not done that yet.

For reference, I'm using Mach 3 with Smoothstepper.

9

General Mach Discussion / Re: A Axis not Rotary but Affected by Rot 360 Rollover

« on: June 03, 2016, 12:50:35 AM »

Thanks for the advice.  Disappointing but at least there is a work-around.  I may see if I can build a "Brain" to do what I want.

10

General Mach Discussion / A Axis not Rotary but Affected by Rot 360 Rollover

« on: May 29, 2016, 05:55:16 PM »

I've configured my A axis as linear by unchecking "A axis is Angular" on the General Config page.  Nevertheless, when I give a code a move in the negative direction, the axis moves in the positive direction as if it were angular.  I have determined that if on the General Config page I uncheck the "Rot 360 Rollover" the axis behaves as I want a linear axis to do. 

Unfortunately, this means that I cannot use the Rollover feature on my B or C rotary axes.  This appears to be a bug in the Mach 3 software.  Does anyone have any comments or suggestions?

By the way, I have also found I can have the axis operate correctly as a linear axis even when the "Rot 360 Rollover" box is checked, but this requires going to Incremental Mode (G91) and out again every time I want to move in the negative direction.