Hello Guest it is March 29, 2024, 08:50:08 AM

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - mrprecise44

Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 »
201
dspMC/IP Motion Controller / Re: Work Offset issues
« on: August 28, 2013, 01:23:49 AM »
Hello BCMaint:

Do you have home switches installed ?

It sounds like you are not using home switches to set the "machine reference zero" positions on the machine.
There are two sets of axis data. One is the "machine coordinates", and the other is the "work" coordinates. The work coordinates are the G54 .... etc.

Example: X axis has a "reference switch" when the machine spindle is at the far right end of the table travel, but just short of the limit switch. When this switch is tripped during "Ref X", the dspmc will set the "machine X Zero coordinate to 0.000., and move off the switch the amount set in the "ports and pins"  limits section.

This table has columns for all the axis, homeing in the + or - dir, active high or low, reference rate, distance to move off switch, etc.

The dspmc "Config Plugin" has a box to check on the right side of each axis page, for the Index channel on the encoder.

After all the axis are referenced, you can set the G54 home for x,y,z anywhere on the machine you choose; then when you "Goto Zero", the machine will move to the G54 Zero positions for x,y,and z which are relative to the "Machine Home x,y,z.

The dspmc controller has inputs for the reference switches.

Hope this helps.

John
 

202
Finished Screens / Re: Mach3 2010 Screenset - Now available
« on: August 28, 2013, 12:51:00 AM »
Hello Gerry:

I should have spent more time looking for my problem. Sorry about that.  >:( The problem turned out to be my error! I forgot the "Configure Plugins" screen. The dspmc controller plugin needs to be configured for every new profile!

The mill runs great now, with the 4 axis set.

I did not think it was at all related to your screen, and didn't mean to imply such. I really like the screen set, and the elegant simplicity.

Thank you for all your efforts.

Best regards,
John


 

203
Finished Screens / Re: Mach3 2010 Screenset - Now available
« on: August 27, 2013, 03:28:12 PM »
Hello Gerry:
I have your screen working great on a small mill running PP and steppers.  I have two other commercial CNC mills, one of which I converted to Mach3, and the dspmc controller, driving analog Westamp servos after the original control failed.

The Mach3 CNC mill commercial conversion is using the MSM screen, and also Modbus running on the Cubloc hardware. This machine has been in operation for several years.

Last week, I decided to put your 2010 screen on the above mill. The effort has been very frustrating, but I am close to getting it working. For some reason, the MSM macros kept appearing in the 2010 macro file of my new profile. The MSM macro files are in the Mach3 macro folder along with the 2010 macro file folder.

I finally was able to make a separate folder on the desktop which held the original Mach3 macros. I then opened the new profile, went into the macro folder for that profile, and deleted all the macros. Now I copied all the original Mach3 macros from the file I made on the desktop, then copied the 2010 macros from your folder into the new profile.

I then loaded the appropriate 2010 screen, and all looks OK. No more MSM corrupted macro files to be found.

However, the Mill will not run normally; on power up, the servo's go into a creep, no response to the e-stop, and it will not act normally. No jog key response, no e-stop response, just the motors creeping slow towards hitting limits

I have laboriously checked all the Mach3 settings in ports and pins, and all other settings that work fine in the MSM profile.

Any suggestions where to look, or any other users with a similar problem ?

Thanks,
John



204
PoKeys / Re: Adventures in Pokeys
« on: July 24, 2013, 02:02:08 PM »
Hello OzzieII:

I hear you about needing a step by step manual re Hi-Tech mods for the Mach3, but don't be so quick to write off learning some electronics. If a person absolutely has to just start cutting metal, even a new Haas or Mitsubishi CNC mill or lathe will take some study before you can do anything with it; and about $45,000.00 or more up front.

Mach3 is a way to get into CNC for a very small $dollar investment, but not at all plug-and-play.

Look at it like an adventure in electrical/mechanical schooling, with a lot of fellow students. Be patient, try stuff, follow the forums, and things eventually will make sense, and fall into place.

The "Arduino" is a family of micro-computer boards designed in Italy by a group of very savvy computer engineers with the goal of making electronics and computers usable,  and understandable to the newbie. The boards are in the neighborhood of $30 to $75, follow a basic, similar layout, run on 3.5 or 5 volts DC, and use an easily learned programming system. It uses a basic form of the "C" computer language, and they have an excellent reference forum, explaining in detail every imaginable task you can think of, and then some. Many of the contributors to the forum are professional software engineers, and University teachers who enjoy helping people learn. It, the "Arduino", is a truly outstanding development platform used worldwide.

There are many Mach3 users who have employed the Arduino in projects as an addition to their CNC systems. There are step-by-step examples to be found within this Mach3 forum.

In a way, the Pokeys is similar to the Arduino, but is a "stand alone" pulse engine, and is also a microcomputer. However, the Pokeys has far fewer people to provide hands on assistance, being a very small Hi-Tech company. The both "talk" to the PC running Mach3 through the USB, or Ethernet port.

I have been in the CNC machining business since the 1980's, and used to write programs on a TeleType machine, on paper tape rolls. The world of CNC machining and the related electronics have come a long, long ways, and what we watch these machines do today is indistinguishable from "magic."

Hang in there, and be patient. Things have a way of eventually working out.







  
 

205
Modbus / Re: Lathe Toolchanger in VB via Modbus and PLC
« on: May 04, 2013, 12:28:21 PM »
ModBus is NOT a high-speed communication protocol as compared to the speed that a PC runs at. Most PC's run in the Giga-hertz range. If your application is very "time-sensitive", ModBus is not the way to go.

If you watch the videos on Brains, their function is defined. Brains are VERY, VERY fast, but the ModBus scan time is still only about 10 scans per second.

Brains are designed to run within the Mach3 environment, and trigger the appropriate Mach3-OEM code by means of LOGIC such as; compare two inputs, apply a formula to an analog signal, make a "AND" decision, make an "OR" decision, etc.




206
Modbus / Re: Lathe Toolchanger in VB via Modbus and PLC
« on: May 03, 2013, 11:27:12 PM »
Hi Darlly01:

I believe you are unclear on how Mach3 and ModBus communicate. There are several pretty good posts regarding this topic, especially those posted by Scott Schaefer.

Basically, Mach3 is continually scanning the "registers" in the ModBus Serial page, and the "registers" each relate to an output from the PLC. This scan is about 10 times a second.

If the PLC output is a panel button changing from 0v to 5v, the register scanned by Mach3 will change from a 0 to a 1.

Mach3 "knows" what to do with this information through a Brain, which is written so Mach3 can take the appropriate action, for instance turning on/off a Mach3 OEM function such as a coolant relay.

Brains can handle digital and analog inputs, like a Feed Rate override potentiometer, or a simple on/off relay switch.

The "Brain" is the method by which Mach3 responds to an external input that is not one of the basic Input channels, which are limited in the basic parallel port.

 

207
Hi Telco:
You might try posting in the HiCON section. Your post regarding this controller is only the second one I have seen in the forum, the other one being by Mike in the HiCON section. One possible cause of computer/board communication could be the Ethernet cable. On my dspmc controller, the other board made by Vital Systems, before they produced the HiCON, the cable must be a "Crossover" type, versus the standard 1:1 correspondence.

208
Modbus / Re: Mach3, Arduino, Modbus and MPG
« on: March 16, 2013, 04:29:03 PM »
(1) Go to the Arduino website.
(2) Study the examples in the "Learning section."
(3) Learn operation procedure and functions for I/O with an Arduino board.
(4) Write some simple sketches to verify the many kinds of functions in the Arduion IDE.
(5) Test a basic I/O on the ModBus sketch, such as creating an input from a pushbutton, and a brain to cause a Mach3 action, or copy the example posted by Zafar using a potentiometer.


209
Modbus / Re: Modbus Slave simulator
« on: March 02, 2013, 03:24:16 PM »
There are (2)ModBus programs that run on the "Arduino" posted in this ModBus forum section of the Mach3 Forum, free and in the public domain.
I am not sure what else you may be referring to. The "Arduino" is the copyright name of a large family of CPU boards that was designed by a group of high-tech computer experts in Italy. Google the name, and it will direct you to the main website.

Arduino boards cost from $30 to $80 depending upon the designed usage, and communicate with a PC through the USB port. Some versions also use the Ethernet protocol. There are also quite a few Arduino boards built under license, using the Arduino IDE.

210
Modbus / Re: Arduino Modbus, Complete, Documented and free
« on: February 27, 2013, 05:34:14 PM »
Hello Wayne:
Sounds like you have the basics going in the right direction.

John

Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 »