Topics

21

General Mach Discussion / Choppy cuts in X-Y direction

« on: May 19, 2009, 10:08:38 AM »

I've been dealing with this problem for a while now. Like over a year! I do mostly 3D contour cutting and have been getting really weird choppy cuts. I messed with lookahead and CV settings but never had any success.

I finally attributed it to gantry shake and slowly but surely started making needed improvements. None of my changes made a bit of difference.  Including trying a more powerful computer.

I now have a more traditional piece I'm cutting.

I'm cutting a piece with 72 pockets laid out in a circle. The pockets that are at the 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 positions are smooth as silk. They gradually get choppier until they hit the 45 degree mark and then start improving. There is a noticeable amount of chop on the first pocket that requires X+Y combined movement.

I'm dying ova here!

Derek

22

General Mach Discussion / how can I disable the Home hotkey

« on: April 30, 2009, 07:07:44 AM »

Hi
I'd like to disable the "home" and the "shift 7"  hot keys for homing. Their proximity to the Z axis jog buttons makes them problematic for me. I really don't home so much that I need a hotkey for it!

Thanks
Derek

23

General Mach Discussion / Need help triggering NextEngine scanner.

« on: April 10, 2009, 10:06:32 AM »

Hi
I have a Nextengine 3D scanner that has a rotary table.  The table only holds 20 lbs. I have some heavy pieces I need to scan so I'm putting together a rotary table that I'll control with Mach.

The Nextengine software has an attachment feature that assembles all the scans. You manually align 2 scans and as long as you use the nextengine rotary table the rest of the scans will auto align. The work around for this is to leave the nextengine table plugged in but off to the side and then manually trigger the CNC table for every scan. I want to do this automatically.

I'm imagining something like a macro that says when I get a signal on pin #(?) run this code. The code would be the number of degrees I want the table to turn. This I really need help with.

Then I need to put a signal on the pin. One way would be to put a cam wheel and micro switch on the Nextengine table. The cam wheel would have the number of scans I wanted to do cut into it. When the table turns it triggers the switch.

I'm hoping for something better. The Nextengine table runs off of 1.5V dc. I'm thinking of triggering a 1.5V relay and that would trigger Mach. This should work but if I'm missing something I'd like to know.


Thanks
Derek

24

General Mach Discussion / No jog control in turn cycle screen

« on: September 13, 2008, 10:07:13 AM »

Hi
I have no jog control while in the Cycle (run G code) mode in turn. Is there a way to turn this on? It's a pain having to change screens jut to jog.

Derek

25

General Mach Discussion / No Hotkey for estop in Turn

« on: September 13, 2008, 09:36:38 AM »

I can't seem to find the hot key for estop in turn. It's not the same as mill.

Thanks
Derek

26

General Mach Discussion / Lathe spindle index quit working

« on: May 11, 2008, 12:04:58 PM »

I posted this over on the Yahoo group but unfortunately I still can't get it to work
Here's my original post at Yahoo:

Hi
All of the sudden my index quit working. The true DRO would give a
reading and then go to 0 give a reading go to 0. I went to the
diagnostic page and the index LED will flash if you turn the spindle
by hand but as soon as you give it some RPM it stops reading and
flashes occasionally. I'm using the Omron reflective sensor and the
led on the sensor flashes in conjunction to the reflector. I have two
parallel ports and I tried different pin inputs on both ports. I put a
drill in the chuck and spun the spindle free of the VFD and got the
same results.
I have a CNC4PC breakout board on port 1 which was the original port.
And a Rutex motherboard on port 2.

This is really stumping me.

Thanks
Derek

Here's what I've tried since then
Replaced the sensor with a new spare
tried different spindle debounce settings
Tried a new cord to the Omron sensor.
Went from timing to index.

Again the spindle was working fine.
One thing that is constant is the red led on the omron sensor flashes in conjunction with the reflective strip and the led on the CNC4PC board flashes in conjunction with the sensor.
The index led on mach flashes when I turn the spindle slowly by hand but a soon as it gets some speed it stops reading accurately and starts flashing intermittently.

Thanks
Derek

27

General Mach Discussion / Question on OD Arc 3 In turn wizards

« on: October 02, 2007, 06:56:17 AM »

How does the wizard work without knowing the profile or dimensions of the cutting tool?
Thanks
Derek