Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: Go To Z but ignore A

« on: February 12, 2013, 07:01:39 AM »

Thx for the offer. I was hoping for an easy fix, such as a configuration setting that could be changed.  Is this the only way to do this?

2

General Mach Discussion / Go To Z but ignore A

« on: February 11, 2013, 04:04:44 PM »

Hey everyone,

I modded my router to double as a 3D printer.  I'm using Mach3 and often have prints that fail and I have to restart.  The extruder is on the A axis and as it runs, it builds up distance in the DRO.  When I want to go back to Z (0 on X,Y,Z),  it also reverses the extruder gear to try to bring it back to 0 as well.  Is there any way to disable the A axis as being part of the Go To Z routine?  Or alternatively auto 0 it whenever I stop Mach?  I can't seem to find a setting for it, but then again, I'm not sure what I am looking for.

Thx

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: Noob question: Changing cutting start location

« on: September 23, 2012, 03:50:14 PM »

Thx for the suggestions.  Got the answer on the CamBam forums:

"Right click on a 'Part' or the 'Machining' object in the drawing tree, then select 'Set Machining Origin'.  Click on the drawing.  This will then be the 0,0 point for all machining operations in that part (or all parts if set in the Machining object)."

4

General Mach Discussion / Noob question: Changing cutting start location

« on: September 23, 2012, 07:17:15 AM »

Hey all,

Not sure if this is a Mach or CamBam question, but I figured this would be the best place to start.  I have a part modeled in CamBam that I want to leave where it is (see picture).  As expected, the g-code will generate the start location as the stock 0,0 location and the head has to move all the way over to the part.  I don't want to cut the part where it is, I want the part to start cutting close to 0,0 in the stock piece to save material.  How do I tell the machine that I want to do this?  Is is something I do in Mach?  

Edit: note, I realize I can quickly move the part I want cut down to 0,0 in CamBam, but I want to leave it where it is as it's reference to the larger outline part needs to be maintained.  Moving it back-and-forth (using undo for example) is something I'd prefer not to do.   Also note that the part I am cutting is only the part with the 3 holes in it. The outer part is for reference purposes. 

5

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Which version of 7 for Mach3? Home? Pro? Ultimate? 32 bit? 64 bit?

« on: September 19, 2012, 11:53:27 AM »

I just put XP on a new computer build..  no problems with drivers..  Many component mfg's still support XP and provide drivers.  E.g the Asus CD I got for the mobo, had XP drivers for all the components (built in video, lan, parallel port, chipset etc).  I did not need to go searching for anything and purposely got this mobo as it had video, lan and a parallel port on board.  Don't need anything fancy to run a CNC and all these are working great.

6

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Mach3 and W7/32 spindle setup

« on: September 05, 2012, 12:52:22 PM »

Free bump.  I had this same problem going from Win XP to Win 7 32.  Had other issues, so went back to Win 7.  Could not figure out why Mach would not turn the spindle on using the same config as well as the same g-code files I that were successful when running on XP.

7

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cut parts are wrong size, CNC knee mill problem

« on: July 26, 2012, 11:02:01 AM »

I recently had this problem and figured out the cause.  First - alert - I'm a noob... but I know that this caused my issue.   I was having issues with my part cutting fine, but then a second part of the g-code causing the finishing stage of my part to cut approx 1" to the right of where it should be (mill ended up going out into the stock where it shouldn't).  I was recommended to try to slow down the feedrates etc..  What I did was play with the Motor Tuning section of Mach.  However, I did it blindly and it caused my issue.  My unit is setup for 4000 steps per inch (157.48/mm).  I left this value, but cut the other two (velocity & accell) in half.  This caused my part to be cut at approx half the size it should have been.  When I changed it back, it worked fine.  Not sure if this is the same issue you have, but worth checking to ensure you have your Motor Tuning setup correctly.

8

General Mach Discussion / Scaling issue with milled product

« on: July 25, 2012, 03:20:15 PM »

Hi Folks,

I'm new to this forum and (very) new to CNC.  I've spent approx 2 months researching and trying to find all the info I can on the process for CNC..  I've got a MyDIYCNC for starters and am using CamBam / Mach3 to product the end product.  I have an issue with my first milling exercise.  Got an item in CamBam and it has all the measurements I expect.  However, when I cut it in the mill, the entire unit is being cut at a smaller scale.  However, I don't recall setting anything that would change the scaling of the milled product.   Can someone direct me as to what I should look for to determine why this is happening.  I figure the output product is approx 60% the size of what it should be.    I'll also add that I created another part (a box)in CamBam with a specific dimension 11mm x 13mm to profile and it came out to about 6.5mm x 7.5mm.  Any ideas?