Messages

11

General Mach Discussion / New pc not working

« on: January 05, 2020, 03:58:45 AM »

My computer died. I bought another, same computer running windows xp and parallel port. Loaded mach 3, and my mach liscence. My Syil x5 has a file on the cd x5spn that should have everything set up exactly for my machine. I load mach, i press tab and manually jog the machine. It works perfect. I load a program, zero everything press start. Machine moves right and a axis spins the rod the the beginning of the project. Then the machine just sits there, the dro is moving spindle slinning but nothing happening. I know my code is good, i cut it a hundred times.
    I think i know the issue but i dont really know. What i think is happening is the machine is cutting from the inside of the rod instead of on top of the rod. My toolpath display on one screen shows the rod and a cut line across the bottom. On the other toolpath display shows the rod and the image and cut line through the center.

12

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cuts are flipped

« on: February 28, 2015, 07:14:05 PM »

OK! Logic (or my logic :; ) says a+ is over the top away from me...but nope. I hit a button jog on my Syil and it went over the top towards me. I checked the new machine and it was wrong. Just 1 click of the button, soft limits reverse a off and the line on the toolpath screen jumped under the invisible rod. I fired up the 9 min run and in 5 min I could easily see it was cutting correct.  You know, big props to people like Syil that have the brains and spend an extra 5 seconds by giving you the xml file on their cd!! Why can't china do that??
  Big thanks to you Ger21 for getting me to the solution!!

Now ....maybe you can also help, but if not it isn't to important. Earlier the toolpath window showed a translucent rod, a line across top of rod (which I now know belongs under the rod) and it showed the actual image on the rod as a series of lines around the rod.  Now I only see the translucent rod and line below. Is there a way to get all those toolpath lines back that resemble the image I am cutting?

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General Mach Discussion / Re: Cuts are flipped

« on: February 28, 2015, 06:29:09 PM »

A axis is chuck on the right and tail on the stock left side, exact same directional setup as my Syil. A + direction on my Syil is it comes under towards me and over the top away from me, this machine, same way. All the jogging and dro directions are moving in the correct direction but the image is upside down. I just completely uninstalled and deleted everything. Reinstalled, entered all inputs, manually jogged correct, did a green screen measure test of 1 inch on x, it cut 1" to the right correct.
  Somehow I lost the imaging on the toolpath screen so now I just see an invisible rod and a thin line on top. I ran a 9 min test cut and darn thing still upside down.

Hmmm...ok, now I am thinking about that...in 30 min my Syil finishes a run. I will double check the a axis directions, compare the two, just in case I had an idiot moment.

14

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cuts are flipped

« on: February 28, 2015, 04:19:31 PM »

I think that's it...y has to be backwards somehow. If x was backwards my feet would move from right side to left side if I flipped over. If I flip over y, my feet are same but I change direction.  If that's right, how do I flip the y axis?

15

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cuts are flipped

« on: February 28, 2015, 04:15:03 PM »

Which axis do you think is cutting backwards?  It's hard to grasp. I picture in my head, laying on my left side, if I flipped to my right side my feet are same spot but my body facing right now. So then the x axis is upside down but in reality it's y that is backwards?

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General Mach Discussion / Re: Cuts are flipped

« on: February 28, 2015, 04:09:38 PM »

I think it's backwards to but I am so confused how. If I hit the left x button, the machine goes left the x dro goes into the negative. I hit the top y button, the machine moves back towards the wall, the y dro goes positive. The z dro goes positive as the spindle raises. The a axis, it goes positive as the chuck rotates up and away from me. But it's cutting a mirror of what it should. Pulling my hair out about it.

17

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cuts are flipped

« on: February 28, 2015, 02:07:04 PM »

One thing that I have noticed. In manual jogging the machine is moving correctly. There is an image on the screen showing the toolpath. That image is wrong. There is a face, like a coin...the face is looking down in that image, but the face should be looking up!

18

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cuts are flipped

« on: February 28, 2015, 02:03:57 PM »

When I jog it is moving correctly. Left button tool moves left or you could say table moves right.

What I do notice that must be a key to the puzzle is the tool path image. The toolpath image is flipped. So I am looking at the screen and I see a face looking down when it should be looking up. When I execute the machine it is cutting the image I see on the toolpath exactly but that image is wrong.  It's possible the code is the problem and not the Mach settings. I use visual mill for my codes. BUT, keep in mind that this exact code is running and displaying in the correct direction on my Syil x5 speed master.

19

General Mach Discussion / Cuts are flipped

« on: February 28, 2015, 12:01:55 PM »

I bought a Chinese hy 3040 column 4 axis mill. It only works with manual spindle control.
  I loaded in my Mach 3, i keyed in the inputs given to me in the machine documentation.
I am running 4 axis so I also did tool path set to radius .3525.
When I hit tab key, the jog screen, z was correct up and down. Hard to remember for sure but I believe all 3 x,y and a, ran in reverse. So if it hit x left button in jog the machine goes right.
I did a bunch of online searches, best I came up with was toggle home limits to reversed. In doing that, machine jogs correct in all directions.
I installed a bit, took machine to beginning, set my zeros and ran a g code that I know works, because I have a Syil x5 I use every day with these codes.
 After 2 hrs, the part was finished and looked perfect. I removed it and then....oh my!! It's cut in reverse, the bottom is still the bottom but the left to right is flipped or mirrored!   Image the word "BIG". It is cut as GIB, and each letter is backwards...so the letter B should be straight line left but the straight line is right and the arcs on left, a backwards B.

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Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Flaming Brass Dragon pen

« on: November 09, 2011, 03:12:56 PM »

Nah...Polyester Resin casting is no secret, it's been around forever. Usually I use Alumilite, which is a urethane resin, but both resins have their best place of use. PR is much harder. Alumilite is not as hard but it is stronger..you trade off hardness which can be brittle at times for strength..well the thing is that when you are turning two different substrates, if one is considerable harder than the other you will end up with a ridge between the two when you sand and polish it.  I cast my blanks in silicone molds that I make myself and in a home made pressure chamber. Basically just a quality paint pot that has the feed removed and plugged so it can hold pressure, the pressure crushes any air bubbles in the resin, so the bubbles don't technically disappear, but they shrink down to a size that can't be seen without a microscope. It's a fun hobby.