Topics

11

General Mach Discussion / Newbie Help Please to a NOT so Stupid Question

« on: May 26, 2012, 04:53:06 PM »

Okay, I'm at the junction of putting my expensive time consumer to some work. I have imported some of my PCB files into Mach3, replaced the cheapo Biro with a sewing needle, tied some thick cardboard down to the table with the clamps and covered it with some A4 Paper. Set the Machine away and much to my delight it produced a boatload of pinpricks in the paper exactly - boy oh boy - I'm really impressed!!! 

But, and there is always one, the output results are a mirror image of how it should be. Fine if I am to drill my boards from the component side, but that is not recommended. There is nothing in my Ultimate Pro7 which will allow me to invert the output, and what I think I need is a routine or a small program which will flip my code so that I can drill from the print side - I don't know if there is anything around which will do that.

Ideally if I still had support from the Company I bought my PCB CAD program from in 1984, but they are no longer around 

Any comments hints or solutions would once again be really appreciated. 

12

General Mach Discussion / Newbie Help Please to Another Stupid Question

« on: May 26, 2012, 10:22:14 AM »

 
Just as I put one problem to bed - another pops up !

What on earth have I upset? All my Steps per Unit have gone to Hell in a Handcart..... It looks like that while I have pratting around with the Spindle Speed,I have adjusted a global setting which has altered all my Steps per Unit to something like 12 instead of 320 etc.

I have been over everthing that I think it could be, and I am cannot for the life of me find out what it can be....

13

General Mach Discussion / Newbie Help Please to Stupid Question Number 2

« on: May 23, 2012, 06:05:21 AM »

Well, so far so good, No broken bits or broken fingers/arms/legs.     I am now trying to set up my Spindle Motor which is a 200W Brushed Mains Motor. The Label reads ‘TM Multi-Use Heavy Duty Power Tool’ 200W Model No.99319   500 – 20,000 R/M and to all intents and purposes it looks and behaves much the same as a Sewing Machine Motor.

Poking about in the Engine Configuration | Ports and Pins Settings | Spindle Setup under the motor Control Options, I have checked the ‘Use Spindle Motor Output and set the PWM Base Freq. at 10Hz and the  Minimum PWM percentage at 20%

Using the Spindle CW F5 Button on the Mach3 Dashboard I can start and Stop the Motor running at about 600R/M but I cannot control the Motor Speed i.e. increase or decrease the speed with the up/down buttons. The Green slider goes up and down, but the motor speed remains the same - What am I doing wrong???

Once again, Not a jot of information in my useless Chinglish User Manual. Not even a mention that it has a Spindle Motor.   

14

General Mach Discussion / Newbie Help Please to another Stupid Question

« on: May 19, 2012, 02:09:31 PM »

What am I doing wrong? If I create a drawing, say a rectangle 100mm x 200mm for instance in Autocad, and import it into Mach3 through the File | import DXF | Generate G Code then Done, it works fine other than when I come to execute the G Code, the machine draws a tiny version of the job about the size of a postage stamp.

To my simplistic thinking it is needing to scale things up to a 'Real World' size.....

 

15

General Mach Discussion / Newbie Help Please to Stupid Question Number 1

« on: May 18, 2012, 04:19:47 PM »

Well, I have manged to make my Chinese wonder draw a circle (cheapo Biro tied to the Z Axis with elastic bands) Write my Wife's name and draw rectangles. No credit to my Chinglish User Manual, but anyway, I want to make sure the 4th Axis unit is working but I don't seem to be able to make it respond. I cannot find anything in the Mach3 Software Installation and Configuration Manual about it either.

My Chinese Wonder (a wonder that it works as the user guide is cr@p!) is a Tosin TS3040C

Can some kind person point me in the direction as to where I can find the settings/switches for the 4th Axis please.