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Messages - joeaverage

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831
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Probe calibration help?
« on: February 07, 2022, 03:55:04 PM »
Hi,
what motion controller are you using?.

Its common practice for programmers to code a g31 move when they want to move to a given location without a probe contact. After all a g31 move behaves exactly like a g1 move
if there is no contact. Its a safe way to move a probe around,if it touches something the machine stops rather than carrying on and crunching the probe.

The problem with that is that many motion controllers consider a g31 move that DOES NOT result in a probe contact before its terminal location as a fault and Mach stops.

The ESS has a programmable feature that turns off the 'Signal a Fault' behavior in absence of a probe contact.

Craig

832
General Mach Discussion / Re: Getting started
« on: February 07, 2022, 03:32:39 PM »
Hi,
then you have mis-programmed, or not programmed any Home switches.

Craig

833
General Mach Discussion / Re: Getting started
« on: February 07, 2022, 03:04:18 PM »
Hi,

Quote
But the AXIS ZERO BUTTONS on the DROs will not change from red to green

No, they won't, nor will they, nor are they supposed to. The green LED indicates whether that axis is Homed or Referenced.
The only way to cause that is to Home or Referefnce  with <Ref All>, say, each axis in turn and therefore zero the MACHINE COORDINATE for each axis, and the LED go green.

<Axis Zero> button zero's the WORK COORDINATES not MACHINE COORDINATES.

Craig

834
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: SoftMin Error
« on: February 06, 2022, 09:14:58 PM »
Hi,
I have discovered the same problem with G83 cycles when drilling PCBs.

Mach 3 would accept a G83 block but with not all parameters specified. Thus the first line would include the X and Y coords, plus the drill depth,
dwell etc. Thereafter a G83 block might include ONLY the X an Y coordinates, and assume all the other parameters unchanged.

Mach4 adheres rather more strictly to the ANSI Gcode standard, that if a G83 block is encountered then all parameters must be explicitly defined.
Drill cycles are modal however so subsequent lines may just have X and Y coordinates WITHOUT a G83 prepending them, very convenient.
I have written a macro that converts the Gcode from the rather lax Mach3 interpretation to the stricter Mach4 interpretation.

This is the only example, that I am aware of, where Mach3 compliant code will not run on Mach4...Mach4 being somewhat more particular
about Gcode ANSI compliance.

Craig

835
General Mach Discussion / Re: Getting started
« on: February 04, 2022, 01:40:38 PM »
Hi,

Quote
&I get no waveform when I do a driver test.

The DriverTest.exe program is to test/asses a parallel port driver installation....and yet you say your machine is USB.
Why would you even attempt to run DriverTest.exe when you don't have a parallel port driver?

Craig

836
General Mach Discussion / Re: Missing steps running code
« on: February 03, 2022, 01:32:32 PM »
Hi,
it could be to do wit the parallel port. Small variations like you have described are normal.

I upgraded to an Ethernet SmoothStepper eight years ago, and is light years ahead of the parallel port. Not that I ever
had that much trouble with the parallel port, but the ESS is just that much faster, smoother and more reliable.
I've also been using Mach4 for seven years, and it too is light years ahead of Mach3.

I still think your problem lies in the tuning of the steppers, but without some extra diagnostic equipment we can't prove or disprove it.

Craig

837
General Mach Discussion / Re: Missing steps running code
« on: February 03, 2022, 01:37:45 AM »
Hi,
you will never know until you measure the inductance.

Do you have an LCR meter?

High inductance does not mean low or lower quality, but it does mean severe speed limitations which is of particular importance in CNC machines.
The same high inductance motor which misses and stalls at the slightest provocation but could still be a top candidate for a telescope positioning
motor say.

All steppers lose torque the faster they go, that's the physics of how they work. Inductance is a good measure of how bad that torque degradation
will be. A 500oz.in stepper but 8mH will be lucky to have 5% (25oz) of its torque at 1000rpm while a 300oz.in stepper but only 1.2mH will
have 40% (120oz.in) at 1000rpm. First time buyers are likely to go for the higher torque unit, but at speed the lower torque unit, with very low
inductance, will far outperforms it.

The classic way to mitigate the loss of torque with speed is to use the highest voltage drivers and power supply you can. At the current time there
is a good selection of good to excellent quality 80VDC drivers at fair prices. If you want to get your steppers to perform at speed, doesn't matter
what steppers, then get some 80VDC drives and a 80V supply.

Craig

838
General Mach Discussion / Re: Rotator switch for Jog increments
« on: February 03, 2022, 01:22:05 AM »
Hi,
do you actually use the switch?

I had previously used a VistaCNC P1A pendant, and it had a switch for changing jog increments....which I hardly ever used. So much so
that I basically wore the pendant out and that switch is still new.

When I made my own pendant I just have a single sprung loaded toggle switch for jog mode. In the normal position it is in Incremental
mode, and I have found that 0.05mm to be almost prefect, fast enough to jog a reasonable distance and yet sufficiently fine to touch off
for anything but the most demanding of jobs. With the switch in the off-normal (sprung) position the machine is in Velocity jog mode,
which is great for traversing big distances....but absolute disaster for touching off, hence releasing the toggle switch and the machine
reverts to the much safer Incremental mode. The switch requires one, just one, signal wire, too easy!

Craig

839
General Mach Discussion / Re: Missing steps running code
« on: February 03, 2022, 01:10:19 AM »
Hi,
really the speed of the machine is immaterial, what matters is that the steppers have sufficient torque at the speed of operation to NOT
miss steps....whatever that speed may be.

You have not said what your steppers are, they could be high inductance 'first time buyer traps', nor have you said what voltage drivers and supply
you are using. If its 24V or even 36V then its no bloody wonder the things won't go.

First thing to establish is 'is there a speed below which these steppers behave'. Second step is to assess whether the speed obtained is just the physical
limits of your hardware or is it some fault, be it hardware or software.

Craig

840
General Mach Discussion / Re: Missing steps running code
« on: February 02, 2022, 11:09:15 PM »
Hi,
when you are jogging or even just a dry run there are no cutting forces for the steppers to contend with.

Try reducing the max velocity of both X and Y axes to half, and try again.

All steppers lose torque the faster they go, so reducing the max speed will mean that the stepper has more torque to contend with cutting forces and acceleration.

Craig

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