Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / Amateur question - mach3 with plc

« on: April 07, 2014, 10:24:45 AM »

Hey guys.

Curious to hear how you incorporate a plc into a mach3 setup. Would be wanting to have the plc look after all inputs and outputs (where possible) also tool changes. I get the plc programming side of things but how does the plc tell mach3 what is going on.
Do you use something like Ethernet connection between pc and mach3

2

General Mach Discussion / rz axis runs away when i move my mpg in x+

« on: June 04, 2013, 04:15:15 AM »

having a wierd issue where the z axis runs away in the z+ direction every now and then when i move my vista cnc pendant in the x+ direction.

this causes the machine to crash as the limit switches dont trip in mach3 when this happens and the drives trip out from overload and the axis is still running away according to the screen,

i have to shut down mach3 and even after a restart of mach3 the program will open and i still see the z axis dro numbers rolling on.

if i manually press reset then the numbers stop but  as soon as i release the reset the z numbers start rolling again.

any ideas?

3

General Mach Discussion / Loading a radius cutter into the tool table

« on: May 15, 2013, 11:24:14 PM »

i am trying to load a cutter into the tool table and as it is a radius cutter with a point on it when i touch off the tool i then need the z to travel a further -1.5mm to get the cutter cutting correctly when cutting.

i have tried to enter -1.5 into the height wear section of the tool table but that doesn't seem to work.  sort of just addding the extra to my measured tool offset is there a better way?

i would have just expected that i would zero off the tool as usual then add a figure into the 'height wear' and hey presto it works.  but no cigar.

4

General Mach Discussion / please help before i burn the lot

« on: April 19, 2013, 08:40:33 AM »

hey guys,.  i am making a custom consol and am using an ipac keyboard encoder.

first it took me ages to work out the ipac software they send with the unit was not compatable with the board.

now i have issues with hot keys.

i want to use my own hotkeys and have downloaded screens4 and machscreen,  both programs are the worst things i have ever used.

i have been at it for near on 4 hours and i just cant get a screen to take.  they alway stuff up in one way or another.  you click somewere and new buttons pop up that you don't want.  the background moves around all the time.

i would not be lying if i said i have opened and closed a mach3 screen 100 times and have got no further that changing 3 or 4 hot keys.


then when i use mach3screen it keeps telling me about duplicate hotkeys so that is giving me grief as well.  i have been trying to use odd keys like alt= and the lik but still get the error.

ithe more i play around with all this the more i wish i never started a cnc conversion.  should have just brought something comercially available. the amount of hours of my life i have lost trying to work through stupid crap like this would considerably outweigh the extra cost.  i guess for some it is the journey and others the destination.  for me its the destination, i am hating this journery more and more each day.

rant over.  thanks in advance

5

General Mach Discussion / can i duplicate pendant buttons on my custom console?

« on: January 02, 2013, 05:06:07 PM »

I am looking to purchase a vista cnc pendant and want to run it along side a custom control.

What I am not sure on is can I have double ups of the buttons.  The pendant has buttons like cycle start, pause, stop, rewind, jog and mpg and so on.  So if I have those buttons on the pendant can I also have a duplicate of those buttons on my console (minus mpg)?
I am using an ipac keyboard encoder so the buttons on the console will just emulate a keyboard keystroke.

Anyone done something similar to what I am proposing?

6

General Mach Discussion / what pendant?

« on: December 30, 2012, 11:48:02 PM »

i need to buy myself a pendant but due the the many available i am a little confused as to what on the get.

i don't have an issue with spending good money on good product.

i think i want something with a MPG. 

i am building a custom controller so need to know whatg buttons i can leave off the controller as they may be present on the pendant so there is no point doubling up on things like a mpg etc.

what as you guys recommending ?

have looked at the vista cnc gear.  looks the goods but is it good?

7

General Mach Discussion / mach3 on VMC or production lathe

« on: December 17, 2012, 08:44:20 AM »

hey guys.

have been putting some thought into a bigger and better machine.  i currently have a bp clone with ac servos running mach3.

as great as it is i want better.  more spindle speed, full enclosure, higher pressure coolant and of coarse a tool changer.

i am also wanting a cnc lathe.  converting my 14x36 is an option but i would rather not.  

i have seen plent of machines for sale at some reasonable prices but if i was to buy say an old mori lathe or vmc what sort of result would you expect to get from a conversion to mach3 and how hard/easy would it be.

i understand this depends alot on my experience with machinery and i have very little.  i have never used a plc

what i don't know is does a vmc work on the same sort of design as my knee mill with servos?  eg no glass scale feedback.  sevos drive the screws either through belt or direct drive.  tune the servo for best result.

what i am curious to know is if a vmc would be pretty much just a larger version of what i have already done but just a little more complicated because of the tool changer, auto lube system etc.

i have been reading jh choppers threads and he makes it look so easy.  and seems to get a great result.

would i be better holding out saving my coin and getting somehting newer not needing a retrofit and starting there.  for me it is more the destination not the journey but i also am not flush with coin to throgh at a 30 year old chunck of iron

your thoughts thansk

8

General Mach Discussion / spindle load feedback to mach3

« on: December 17, 2012, 08:33:55 AM »

i have an invertor that has a rs485? output.  seems to just be 2 wire termainals.

is there a way i can feed back the amps/load to mach3?

9

General Mach Discussion / Hi all, new guy struggling with DC-03 & mach

« on: November 28, 2012, 02:56:46 AM »

hi guys

have been lurking around here for a bit.  there are some great conversions and very knowledgeable people kicking around here.

i have a BP clone mill that i have converted using 400w yaskawa servos.  so far all going well, only a couple of issues that were more related to hardware than anything else.

due to how user friendly mach 3 is i have got through the conversion reasonably pain free but this latest issue has me stumped.

i have been running the mill for a couple of months and now want to get the spindle speed up and running.  i was only using the dc03 from peter homann for on/off duty but now want to use it to vary speed.

i have had email conversation with Peter about my issue but it looks like his board is set up, wired and should operate correctly. i have also email him some screen shots of my mach setup and it all looks right.

i have taken pics of my dc03 setup and he confirmed it seems correct but it doesn't matter what i do all i get is 100% speed output from the unit. when i power up the board i get the correct flashes and when i activate the pins i get the fast flash saying the board has signal.  if i deactivate the pin in mach 3 the flash on the dc03 changes to say it is getting no signal.

so my question is how do  i tell if machi3 is outputting the PWM to the board?

i am sure it will be something basic but i have spent literally hours trying to get this thing working but no joy.  i have used a pot on the inverter to confirm i have the inverter set correctly and when i put the dc03 in trimpot mode and turn the on board pot the speed changes accordingly.  got me stuffed

any ideas?