Messages

1901

Mach Screens / Re: Tool Path Display Question

« on: December 04, 2019, 12:52:34 AM »

Hi,
see my previous post about posting on the Mach4 General Discussion board rather than here.

The reason I want to do this is I always use the graphics window to verify that; Mach4 interpreted the tool path correctly, it posted correctly, or more than likely it was programmed correctly

I agree that we use the visualization for that purpose but really Mach4 is a motion control program NOT a Gcode simulator.
I think Mach4 will ALLWAYS struggle to display complex 3D imagery of toolpaths, that is really the province of a Gcode viewer.
I use a couple of freeware ones which I find adequate.

There have been a few posts that all but demand that the developers at NFS provide a better toolpath plotter and while
I understand the demand I do not support the request. I would rather the developers stick to the motion control functionality.
You may recall that Mach4 has a nearly new software only THC solution....this is an example of what the NFS developers can and
actually do......and may not have happened if they spent their time on a Gcode simulator.

I favor the idea of 'socketing in' your favorite Gcode simulator.

I have not used:
https://www.machsupport.com/software/3d-cutting-simulator-moduleworks-plugin/
but I have heard good reports from those who have. I understand that it was written by a third party as a paid for ($50) add-on to
Mach4Hobby. It might satisfy your requirement to view a more detailed and revealing toolpath WITHIN Mach4 as opposed to a
stand-alone Gcode viewer/simulator.

Craig

1902

Mach Screens / Re: Telling if the G-Code window has loaded code

« on: December 04, 2019, 12:34:49 AM »

Hi,
this board concerns Mach3 screens rather more than Mach4....I think you'd get more views on the Mach4 General Discussion
board.

You can interogate Mach to determine the number of lines of Gcode are loaded:

Code: [Select]

LUA Syntax:
count, rc = mc.mcCntlGetGcodeLineCount(
number mInst)

If you used that in the PLC script, if count>=1 then Gcode is loaded and therefore set an LED to blink or whatever.

Craig

1903

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH 4 screen contrast

« on: December 02, 2019, 02:17:16 AM »

Hi,
I have not used it myself but there have been favourable reports from those who have:

https://www.machsupport.com/software/3d-cutting-simulator-moduleworks-plugin/

My understanding is that it is written by a third party company and they sell it to enhance Mach4. The cost is $50.
I suspect it would go a long way to satisfying your requirement of a more sophisticated toolpath simulator.

I am still happy with my two freeware viewers despite not being integrated into Mach.

Craig

1904

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH 4 screen contrast

« on: December 02, 2019, 01:46:41 AM »

Hi,

Visualization is very useful. Seeing how the lines move in relation to the spindle is a big advantage and can help prevent crashes.

You are misconstruing what I said, I have nothing against visulaisation at all, but rather find that it can be too cluttered and
therefore obscure that potential 'crash' situation. For that reason I like to turn off or make invisible G0s so I can focus on
the G1s. You may chose otherwise but having too much on the smallish toolpath screen is a pain.

In my opinion the gcode viewer of mach4 should be expanded even more as it is too rudimentary. Like adding 3D models of bed/spindle/vice etc to it. Maybe even a visualization of the workpiece and how the tool machines it.

That's what a Gcode viewing program does, and because such programs specialize is displaying complex 3D visualizations they do
a much MUCH MUCH better job than Mach4. Further Mach4 is a machine control program, not a toolpath simulator and
I would rather the developers enhance machine control and allow the user to 'socket' in their favourite toolpath simulator.

You must now go to Operator > Edit Screen. Then click the large gray area designated to the paths

And I said:

Go to screen edit mode and click on the toolpath window.

Aren't they the same?

Craig

1905

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH 4 screen contrast

« on: December 01, 2019, 09:38:53 PM »

Hi,
what I found was useful was to 'declutter' the toolpath. Mach as shipped has one colour for the background, another
colour for rapids, yet another for G1 moves and yet another for completed moves.

I found that the toolpath became so cluttered that I struggled to determine a good toolpath. I found with my PCB isolation
routing jobs that the best way is to make the rapids the same colour as the background, ie it disappears.
May I suggest that you 'disappear' one or two toolpath elements as see how much better you can veiw it.

To be honest if I really want to view a toolpath, say for verification before committing the job, I use a standalone Gcode
viewer. Mach4's toolpath display will never be a highly resolved and richly featured display like you would expect from a
dedicated viewer.

Craig

1906

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH 4 screen contrast

« on: December 01, 2019, 08:31:37 PM »

Hi Chuck,
the reason that your version differs from the pic posted by brandbob is that the version that branbob is using is old.

As I said the idea of setting the toolpath colours on the toolpath tab changed some months back. Your version is later
and now toolpath colours are a screen edit function.

Go to screen edit mode and click on the toolpath window. I'm not sure whether its 'properties' or 'events' that specify the
colours, but one of them. There you will be able to set colours, line weights and other things, rather more than we had
been able to do from the toolpath tab.

Craig

1907

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH 4 screen contrast

« on: December 01, 2019, 06:16:11 PM »

Hi Chuck,
what version (build number) of Mach4 are you using?. From several months ago the toolpath tab was
deprecated in favour of direct screen edit function, yet your screen shot still shows the tab?

Can you also tell us what screen set you are using, the lower right hand corner will display both the profile
name in use AND the screen set.

Craig

1908

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: How to process analog inputs

« on: November 28, 2019, 09:33:07 PM »

Hi,

Is there somehow a way to list all registers in Mach? Maybe I can spot the CSMIO Registers then.

Yes, with Mach4 open click the <Diagnostics> tab, select Regfile and that will display ALL of  Machs registers.

Craig

1909

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: How to process analog inputs

« on: November 28, 2019, 07:57:57 PM »

Hi,
Mach cannot in itself handle analogue values, the motion controller can.

If the CSMIO works similarly to other controllers the analogue value is converted to a digital number and that number is stored
in a register within Mach, but the register is 'owned' by the CSMIO plugin.

Consult the CSMIO plugin documentation and you should be able to find the name and path of the register used.

Craig

1910

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Threading Problem When Changing Motor Speed! WEIRD

« on: November 26, 2019, 06:55:55 PM »

Hi,
may I suggest splitting the experiment up a bit.

You say you are threading and so it could be that your servos are being inaccurate and 'losing steps'. Surely though you would have noticed this before.
If your motors are losing steps they would be doing it on all machining operations, not just threading.

When threading you are relying on the motion controller to control the z axis motor speed to stay in synch with the spindle. I suspect that is the issue here,
not that the motors are losing steps but that the motion controller is in-accurately specifying the motor revs. Even more likely is that just before
a cutting pass the spindle might be doing 500 rpm and so the controller specifies that the Z axis motor do 78.56 rpm say, to execute a threading pass of the
correct pitch. When the cutting comenses the spindle will slow a bit (to 450rpm say) but the controller is maintaining it spec of 78.56rpm for the Z axis, hence
the apparent  inaccuracy of thread pitch.

Can you think of or devise some test to determine if the controller is altering the Z axis revs to match the acutal spindle speed. If it updates its Z axis rev
command.....how often?

Craig