Messages

41

General Mach Discussion / Re: Pause, turn off spindle, jog & resume

« on: April 08, 2009, 08:44:54 AM »

M1, cool Scott! Didn't know that. I will use that to set the feed speed reduction after the approach and before the cutting..... as it is fecked up with the smooth stepper...
Thanks!
Rainer

42

General Mach Discussion / Re: Pause, turn off spindle, jog & resume

« on: April 08, 2009, 07:56:44 AM »

1.feedstop
2. stop

bla bla bla

3. run from here
4. cycle start

I'm not at the machine but along this line it works. There will be a menu popping up and an option is the spindle start and coolant which is the signal I use for the dust collection.

Cheers
Rainer

43

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Finished my 4th axis

« on: April 02, 2009, 01:46:17 PM »

Be hard to find a piece of maple that big though.

Glue up is your friend! Lot's of glue up I might add haha.
Might buy a good planer as well.... Would not be cheap either.
But you would have chips for three heating seasons.
R

44

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Finished my 4th axis

« on: April 02, 2009, 10:06:20 AM »

Maple, about 12-16 inches od.
R

45

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Finished my 4th axis

« on: April 02, 2009, 09:52:53 AM »

Actually, the 1" od with a couple of dinky ones floating in the middle is not an issue if it can be ABS.... There is a 3D printer which can do that without any problems.
But of course... the real thing is to CUT it out. Not build it up layer by layer in a rather boring process... No chips, just a wif of smelly plastic... Makes it look and feel chinese.
Gotta be wood or metal. Otherwise it has no value.
R

46

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Finished my 4th axis

« on: April 02, 2009, 07:39:06 AM »

I have a little flap sander. That makes a quick job out of that. Sharp ridges would be a sanding nightmare....
L

47

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Finished my 4th axis

« on: April 01, 2009, 06:10:06 PM »

Alright alright.... I did not mill it... It's a computer render.
But I created the scene and rendered it, so I don't feel to bad haha.
I do a lot of product depictions for a living and this fooled many people.
But in any case, this is my desired end result.
I'm saving for a 5th axis and then it's time for this puppy to be milled.
I got the tool path already.
Cheers
Lemo

48

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Finished my 4th axis

« on: April 01, 2009, 08:01:23 AM »

Thanks for the kind remarks. The beefy design originalted from the chuck and lazyness... The chuck has a 1Inch 8TPI chread on the back. So i went and looked if I can get a pre fab shaft. And there it was... The next thing were the bearings for it... those are not small either. And then there was that ebay offering for the aluminum for a very reaonable price. The rest is the old Lego System Machining trip and there wee go.... Spiral stuff all over the house
Rainer


Btw: Here is a sample of what I routed last night:

49

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Finished my 4th axis

« on: March 30, 2009, 11:16:01 AM »

I finally had the time to make my 4th axis. It's pretty feisty. All heavy components so I can suspend a log in between....
There was no space in the cabinet for the machine for the 4th axis. So I made an external power supply, and bolted the gecko right onto the frame for cooling.
Now it's completely mobile. Power and step and direction and it runs. Thirteen steps per degree gives me plenty of accuracy.
A few days later I finished the equally feisty tail stock. MT3.... I have a 'regular' life center, a life chuck, and a life spur for it. All work great.
The little Gecko got a cover in the meantime. Just in case I mill some AL....
For wood... I would not really care if the gecko becomes a tad dusty.
The 1.5" steel rod is supported by two angled roller bearings which sit in three inch thick aluminum blocks.
If that get's bend... I don't want to be around and see why!

50

General Mach Discussion / Re: Large files

« on: March 30, 2009, 07:18:52 AM »

Jimpinder came up with a fairly simple way of dealing with long files and his solution is reprinted here.

If you want to run more than 500 lines of code, then you must use sub-routines, and an editor, like Microsoft Word, to split your code into 500 line chunks. Word is best at this, becasue it automatically numbers the lines, and as you chop 450 - 500 off, it renumbers.

I did this on a 5000 line code for drill and milling a printed circuit board, and it worked a treat. The main prgram just called the 10 subroutines in order.

When you  feed it into mach 3 at the beginning, then, as Hood said, it goes through all the lines, and the subroutines, and paints a full picture.

A bit messy, but it works. Thank goodness I don't use long program.

If you have Microsoft Word this looks like a possible solution.

Tweakie.

Thanks for the input, but no, my amount of lines is beyond that.... It's 15MB of code.....

Sad that there is no batch processing. With the advent of more and more 3D stuff, it will be important real soon.

Rainer