Messages

5301

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: ESS not communicating to Mach 4

« on: February 11, 2018, 07:27:41 PM »

Hi,
may I suggest using wx4.set to start with, its one of the older and more developed screensets.

Craig

5302

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: ESS not communicating to Mach 4

« on: February 11, 2018, 06:43:36 PM »

Hi,
what screenset are you using?

If you have a look on the Machine Diagnostics tab with Mach Enabled what is the status of output LEDs M0, M1 and M2?

Craig

5303

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Rebuild Problem

« on: February 11, 2018, 04:50:22 AM »

Hi,
I have encountered a couple of situations where I had edited the screen, a script in particular that produced an error such that Mach would not load.
If Mach doesn't load then I couldn't fix my mistake either. I had totally broken Mach.

Daz pointed out a way to get around it, I've only used it a couple of times since so I'm hazy on the details. I'm sure a PM to Daz would get you the gen.
The upshot is to use a command window to run Mach.exe\p, with the \p switch Mach opens straight into the edit screen where you can fix your mistake.

When the error screens appear does Mach continue to load? If it does then you can go to the edit screen and using the line numbers find the faults and fix
them. If Mach does not load, ie its totally screwed then you'll need to use the command line switch to start Mach.

If neither of those option appeal or you can't fix the script errors you'll have to start from scratch with a fresh and compliant copy of wx4.set. This time ensure
that you make a personalized copy.

Craig

5304

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Rebuild Problem

« on: February 11, 2018, 04:34:20 AM »

Hi,

I originally thought the screen changes I made were stored in the Profile

This is incorrect, all screen scripts etc are saved in the screenset. Your screenset started out as an older version of wx4.set but progressively got modified
as you modified your screen.

I managed to retrieve the original wx4.set file from the old hard drive which still works fine.

This rather proves the point that the original wx4.set is now modified and the modified screenset works to your satisfaction.

. When I put the original wx4.set file in place of the new one thats when I got the error messages show in my first post.

Your modified screenset now has two script errors in it. There may be something in the later Mach build which demands a certain feature or format from a screenset
that is not met by your older version. If you can identify and correct those two errors the old screenset would probably work. Failing that you will have to use
a copy of the current wx4.set and regenerate the tweaks and edits that individualized your screenset. A PITA!

Craig

5305

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3, PC with standard Paralel port working, just like to confirm input speeds

« on: February 11, 2018, 04:11:17 AM »

Hi Adrian,
yes you would have thought that the parallel port driver being Artsoft intellectual property that they may have been more forthcoming about the internal
details of features like THC. To my knowledge there is no such documentation.

Craig

5306

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach3 and Mach4 on same machine?

« on: February 11, 2018, 12:00:09 AM »

Hi,
yes you can run Mach3 and Mach4 on the same machine.

My laptop has both and I can run both and useful for development, coding and so on.

It was my intention to put Mach4 on my machine control PC and like you transition to Mach4. That would require both a Mach3 ESS plugin and a Mach4 ESS plugin.
In the event I found it too confusing to try to do that. Mach4 is quite different to Mach3 and if you think that you can do things the same way in Mach4 as you have
become accustomed to in Mach3 you'll have some issues.

Because of the two different plugins you CAN do as you propose. It will require for instance that if in your Mach3 installation that your X axis motor is on port1 pins 2 and 3
then your Mach4 installation will likewise have to have its X axis on port1 pins 2 and 3.
 
In the Mach4 Plugin Configurator however it is common, not mandatory, to use aliases for your ports and pins. Consequently in Mach4 your X axis pins are likely to
be Xstep and Xdir, not port1 pin2 and port1 pin3. It is perfectly possible to ensure a one to one correspondence between Mach3 and Mach4 pins but you are likely
to find it confusing. Additionally the Mach4 ESS Configurator updates the Mach4 plugin as well. It works really well, when you set a pin or other feature in the ESS
plugin the Mach4 plugin is automatically updated to work in conjunction with your new setting. There again as a new Mach4 user it will cause some confusion.

I've been using Mach4 for just over a year and have become much more comfortable with how it all works and how to setup both Mach and ESS plugins. I suspect that
I could now do as you have proposed but at the outset I certainly could not have.

Craig

5307

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Rebuild Problem

« on: February 10, 2018, 11:23:57 PM »

Hi,
on your old PC what screenset were you using in DQ Working profile?

Any changes like motor assignments and so on get stored in your profile.

The machine configuration settings look ok

It would appear therefore that your old profile has successfully transferred to your new PC.

But what about any alterations, edits or tweaks that you made to your original screenset? I suspect that you had nominated wx4.set as your screenset on your
old PC. All the tweaks and modifications that you made would be stored in that copy of wx4.set. Note all the screen tweaks are saved in your screenset NOT
your profile. When you changed PCs and you downloaded a new copy of Mach you also got a fresh copy of wx4.set. All your modifications have been overwritten.

Ask me how I know....because I did something very similar myself.

The correct thing to do is in the Screenset folder of Mach4 make a copy of wx4.set and rename it to something unique like MYwx4.set. Use that personalized
screenset in your profile and when you update Mach it will not be overwritten.

Unless you are lucky I think you'll find that the old screenset is now gone, you'll have to start afresh, I did. I might point out that I then re-read the instuctions and by virtue
of 'a burnt hand teaching best' followed them. I always have an personalized screenset now.

Craig

5308

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3, PC with standard Paralel port working, just like to confirm input speeds

« on: February 10, 2018, 10:11:11 PM »

Hi Adrian,

I have not seen this information in any docs, but will continue to look for it.  Will have to re-read all again including the stuff i do not use.

Given that THC is a function of the motion controller I would not expect to find any documentation about how it works internally.

All of the functions which are enacted by the motion controller like probing, lathe threading, homing and so on have been developed by each
manufacturer. While I little doubt there are many similarities between the methods and approach taken by each manufacturer they will all be unique.
Further as the THC example I pointed out above shows that a seemingly simple function is very often not simple to program at all. The investment in time
to devise and test these functions is very substantial. The individual manufacturers will not be releasing any details that give a leg up to any potential
competitor.

Craig

5309

General Mach Discussion / Re: Nmotion Controller

« on: February 10, 2018, 09:57:08 PM »

Hi Gerry,
those Clearpaths are so damned expensive.

Until fairly recently I'd never had a chance to experiment with a 'modern' AC servo. I bought a second hand 1.8kW Allen Bradley and drive for a spindle.
Setting it up and programming the EPROM requires software on your PC. I have been absolutely amazed at the breadth and depth of data in the servo
database, the many different modes of control, the vast array of diagnostic tools for tuning and the list goes on.

I have joked that the only thing this servo can't do is 'make me a cup of coffee', as I am still working through all the setup options its not beyond the realms
of possibility that I will find the coffee making instruction! All in all I am extremely impressed by AC servo technology.

I bought 5 phase Vexta steppers with 10:1 low lash (<2 arc min) planetaries and high voltage Vexta drives for my machine some years ago. Despite being second
hand I paid a very hefty premium for them. They have been great and once I got them tuned in they have never missed a step since, unless I am doing
something really dumb.

Had I known at that time just how capable AC servos are I would have bought those instead and given the somewhat esoteric choice of steppers probably
for similar money. I note that there are some very cost effective AC servo units, albeit low power, from some Chinese manufacturers. I suspect they will do well
in the market, no doubt there will be questions over quality but the prices are such that we can afford them which is not the case with American/European/Japanese
brands.

Craig

5310

General Mach Discussion / Re: MAch 3 stops working

« on: February 10, 2018, 09:30:56 PM »

Hi,
going to need a lot more info than that before anyone could make a guess.

What PC do you have?
What OS is installed, especially is it 32 bit or 64 bit?
What is your motion controller....parallel port or UC100 or Smoothstepper or....?
If its a parallel port machine what does DriverTest.exe reveal, and I mean a screen shot not some meaningless 'excellent' or 'pulsing to fast'?

Craig