Messages

7141

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can this computer run mach3

« on: February 09, 2017, 12:57:47 AM »

Hi Malcolm,
there was at a time a list of things that you could do to your PC which made it better for Mach3, haven't seen the list for a while but maybe
someone else will chime in.

I think I ended up with 2 Gig RAM with XP SP3. Have also seen comments on the forum that SP2 is adequate and avoids some of the CPU
loading which occurs with SP3.

Craig

7142

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 ruining parts

« on: February 08, 2017, 01:08:03 PM »

Hi Oilver,
straight out of the manual:

6.2.7.7 Line Number
Line DRO is the ordinal number of the current line in the G-code display window (starting
from 0). Note that this is not related to the "N word" line number.
You can type into this DRO to set the current line.
6.2.7.8 Run from here
Run from here performs a dummy run of the part program to establish what the modal state
(G20/G21, G90/G91 etc.) should be and then prompts for a move to put the controlled point
in the correct position to for the start of the line in Line Number. You should not attempt to
Run from here in the middle of a subroutine.
6.2.7.9 Set next line

Craig
Like Run from here but without the preparatory mode setting or move.

7143

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 ruining parts

« on: February 08, 2017, 12:58:17 PM »

Hi Oiliver,
its not a software fault at all. If you read the documentation about RFH it tells you how Mach does a dummy run thru the
code to the restart point so its modal are correct. It cant accommodate G31 because without movement such a code can
never complete.

The same documentation will tell you that there is another means of restarting Mach that doesn't require a dummy run but
just starts at the nominated line with its current modals. If the modals are wrong that's your problem.

Once I understood how RFH works and the preparatory move works I've used it without bother. You can too. I'll see if I can't
find the documents, I know they exist, I read them and that's how I know to correctly handle RFH.

Craig

7144

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 ruining parts

« on: February 08, 2017, 02:16:41 AM »

Hi,
just had a thought that might explain why the code jumps to line 13.

I have recently started using a software utility called Autoleveller which assists greatly in 'levelling' a blank circuit board
before routing. Amongst other things it does it puts a G31 probe code near the beginning of the gcode job. When you
execute 'Run From Here' the gcode rewinds and Mach runs thru it but without executing any motion to establish its settings
as if it were in the middle of the job. It doesn't like the G31 probe code, it stops there and won't progress to the point where
I wish it to restart.

May I suggest that you inspect the code at or just before line 13 and it may well be a similar situation. By this I mean that Mach
is asking itself a question ( G31 basically asks 'what is z at probe strike') but because it is motion inactive in 'Run From Here' mode
it can't answer the question and stops.

I found it necessary to delete that particular line in order to get 'Run From Here' to work with my circuit board jobs.

Craig

7145

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 ruining parts

« on: February 08, 2017, 01:56:06 AM »

Hi,
I used Mach3 quite extensively to cut circuit boards using 0.4mm endmills and would blunt and break them fairly regularly.
I became quite adept at fitting a new endmill, touching off and restarting the job from just prior to the breakage point using
'Run From Here'. It does require a little practice to understand the process Mach goes thru to restart, I had a few disasters before
I cottoned on but it does work.

Blaming the software cuts no ice here, I know it works, I just had to be patient and figure out how.

Craig

7146

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can this computer run mach3

« on: February 08, 2017, 01:44:48 AM »

Hi,
that this computer used to run Mach3 suggests that it should be capable of doing so again.

It sounds like its struggling to run XP smoothly and until it does so the running Mach3 is out of the question.

How much memory is installed?. I seem to recall having to add more RAM when I upgraded XP to one of the later service packs,
SP3 I think. You will probably need 2G to run XP SP3 smooth. Given the age of the machine finding compatible memory might
be an issue.

My XP machine became so unreliable I built a new computer based on a dual core Atom miniITX board. It has a built in PP and all
the usual connectors. Has SATA ports for HD, I used 64G mSata SSHD. You can buy a board like this for $75-$100 new. Add RAM and
an HD, reuse your power supply and monitor, probably for little more than fixing your old one.

Craig

7147

General Mach Discussion / Re: Motor Turns in Wrong Direction

« on: February 08, 2017, 01:29:04 AM »

Hi,
couple of things you can try...

If you are using a 540 try unplugging the x axis motor and plugging in the y axis motor instead- should prove either the motor
or the port is faulty.

Next idea requires a multimeter. Identify which pin in your printer port cable is the x axis direction pin. Test the pin, it should be logic
high in one direction and logic low in the the direction. The direction pins are persistent so they will remain the same until you change it.

To set the pin; from the MDI line;
G1 X5 F0.001 <enter>, the X dro should very very slowly start increasing allowing enuf time for you to probe the pin.
To reverse direction; G1 X0 F0.001, the DRO should now decrease and allow you to probe the pin.

Let us know how you get on.

Craig

You should double check that the pin you assigned for X DIR in Mach3 is in fact the same as the G540 expects the signal to be on.

7148

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Connecting to Mach4

« on: February 07, 2017, 02:57:15 AM »

Hi,
had a look at the vids, very interesting. Need to ask the question...why? Seems like you've just made a personalised
copy of Mach3, in these vids. Is there something that you can do with these things that Mach cant do?

I never understood the 'com' setup in Mach3 so wont be of any help for Mach4 either. The scripting manual has a description
of LUA panels but that would require you code in LUA. I read in one of the LUA manuals that its possible to have LUA run
compiled code fragments written in whatever. Would that achieve the same result?

I note also that Mach4 plugins tend to be written in C/C++ but would any compiled code in a plugin not work provided
it calls the API functions correctly?

Even if either or both concepts could be made to work still have to ask the question...why? Is there something about your
database that means it can only be used by a particular language?

Craig

7149

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Parallel port not recommended???

« on: February 07, 2017, 12:49:25 AM »

Hi crchisholm,
the simple expedient then is don't bother with an external controller at all. I used a parallel port for several years with Mach3 and had
a great time! Mach4 and ESS add scope but there is little or nothing that I couldn't achieve with a parallel port and some imagination.

Craig

7150

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Lua Editor Crashing

« on: February 07, 2017, 12:36:34 AM »

Hi Alastair,
I've had exactly the same problem. I made some enquires about it and Daz-The-Gaz wrote:

As you would of gathered by now Mach4 is quite reliant on lua, this is used within the gui and in macros etc.. we all have a tinker and tweek the scripts to our liking but we also dont always see some of the problems with a tiny bit of code thats just not quite right. In light of this it can sometimes crash parts of mach4 that we are not aware of, this can lead to parts not working like they should or an incomplete shutdown cycle.
I know from experience that unless mach4 shuts down gracefully it will not find the ESS until a power cycle is done, this is because the ESS still thinks its connected

When I started coding in LUA the number of mistakes and consequent crashes was very frustrating. It does improve.

Craig