Messages

7481

General Mach Discussion / Re: PCI Parallel port with 64 bit Win 7

« on: March 10, 2016, 02:39:28 AM »

Hi MachineMan,
I don't know what your BOB is but mine has LEDs on the outputs. Really handy for testing. If you issue a manual command like G0 X0.01 even if the stepper
doesn't move you should see the direction pin LED change state when you issue another command G0 X0. If the direction pin changes state then the chances
are fair that all output pins are being controlled by the BOB and it is in turn being controlled by the PP.

Craig

7482

General Mach Discussion / Re: PCI Parallel port with 64 bit Win 7

« on: March 10, 2016, 02:29:27 AM »

Hi  MachineMan,
when you say the machine 'clicks' does that mean the steppers are locked, try turning the by hand when powered up.
If you cant turn them that means theres current flowing thru them and a good start.

Craig

7483

General Mach Discussion / Re: PCI Parallel port with 64 bit Win 7

« on: March 10, 2016, 02:02:30 AM »

Hi MachineMan,
if you open the device manager can you see any com ports, there should at least be some USB ports. From what you have described it sounds
like your PC has not detected the card.

Craig

7484

General Mach Discussion / Re: Computer died, starting over, what to buy?

« on: March 09, 2016, 04:12:58 AM »

Hi,
when my old XP computer started to go really cranky I bought a MiniITX ATOM board, it had a PP built in and a PCI slot for another. Pretty modest
computing power but easily enuf for Mach3.
They can be had for under $100 plus RAM and hard drive etc but they are 'crispy' new..

Craig

7485

General Mach Discussion / Re: New user

« on: March 03, 2016, 02:19:05 AM »

Hi,
I found when first starting that using the 'teach' function was useful. I could manually program a set of moves and then re-run the
program to see how Gcode is displayed and executed.
Likewise some of the wizards are good, like a bolt hole ring or a line of holes can demonstrate hoe Gcode is constructed.
There is a lot of learning involved and can be frustrating at times but hugely satisfying mostly. Have fun!!!

Craig

7486

General Mach Discussion / Re: help setting the feed rate

« on: February 17, 2016, 04:22:02 AM »

Hi Sean,
you might try HSMAdviser (HSMAdviser.com), it has a great speeds and feeds calculator for all manner of materials and tools.
It also provides estimates of power/torque required, cutting force and tool deflection, all have proved useful as I flounder may way
thru. It has some useful little widgets for threading and some trigonometric calculators if coding manually or on the fly.
Free trial for a month or so but I liked it so much that I bought it....and getting me to part with cash is a mean feat!

Craig

7487

General Mach Discussion / Re: Educational Sources???

« on: February 17, 2016, 04:07:54 AM »

Hi,
I try to have say an internal scrap part stay fixed when milling aluminium. It sort of comes down to 'evacuating' chips, when slotting
or any internal milling evacuating chips is about the most significant thing you can do to ensure a good result, failure to do so
invites 'built up edge' and usually disaster for the part and the tool.
When milling an external contour or surface its less critical, usually compressed air or coolant flow is sufficient to clear the chips and
larger scrap bits tumble away from the tool.
Most of the parts I make are milled out of billet so the part stays attached to the parent material which  I then part off with a hacksaw
or a 125mm cutting disc with a mandrel which fits into the spindle. Works well IF and ONLY IF the spindle is trammed to the table, I had
some sticky moments learning that rule!

Craig

7488

General Mach Discussion / Re: Educational Sources???

« on: February 16, 2016, 02:26:41 AM »

hi davek0974,
sounds like youre sorted with software for the moment. I tried Fusion and it wasn't bad, the CAM is pretty seemless with the CAD. In the end I found the lack of 'determinism'
let it down. No doubt the programers of Fusion think their software is intuitive it can also be hard to control both CAD and CAM. It is free tho....
I went back to Mastercam which is not and can be cussed as hell at times but dependable and configurable.
I have a smaller spindle, 750W and use it a lot for PCB's and some aluminium. It is NOT up to steel. All the high speed spindles have poor torque at low speeds and if the spindle
stalls you have yet another broken tool. Even with 1/4" tools I try to get the speed down to 5000 rpm to save the tool from burning up but the wee spindle has very low
torque at that speed and has cost me a number of tools as a result.
So much so that I bought a second hand 2.8kW servo off Ebay with 12Nm rated and 48Nm overload at 3000rpm. Imagined I was going to run it with a sensorless vector
type VFD. That proved to be a mistake. My own experience and reports on CNCzone suggest sensorless vector drives work but well short of that than can be achieved by
a genuine servodrive. Theres the rub, plenty of good servos cheap but a mating drive is bloody expensive. I have spent the last two months building my own drive from
scratch and been a hell of a learnnig curve! Well on track tho...
If you want to cut metal, steel or tougher you will need a spindle capable of low speeds with plenty of torque, suggests an induction motor with gear or belt reduction
unless you can spend BIG bucks on a direct drive servo or async drive.
Good luck, keep posting, it great to hear how folks progress, and CNC addicts them!!!!
Craig

7489

General Mach Discussion / Re: 1/4" 2 Flute End Mill

« on: January 10, 2016, 03:44:05 AM »

Hi kolias,
unless the cutter is 'brand new' sharp then you risk getting a built up edge where aluminium sticks to the tool. There are cutters designed
for aluminium but any sharp, I mean REALLY SHARP cutter works pretty well. Coolant helps both with the aluminium sticking to the tool
and flushing away the chips, a real must and hard to achieve when slotting.
My experience is that if a tool goes off song stop and replace it otherwise it will load up and break often wrecking the part as well.
Spinning a tool fast is very appealing but unless you feed fast you cut tiny little slivers which get stuck in the works. With good flush  coolant
and good chip removal ie not deep pocketing or slotting I run at 15000 but any other, in fact most normal ops, I run around 10000 with 1/4 inch
tools.

Craig

7490

Mach3 under Vista / Re: Minimum PC requirements vs real life (Newbie)

« on: December 21, 2015, 04:14:02 AM »

Hi ITguy,
how did you get on? Did the customer buy the solution you advised and does it work as you hoped?

Craig