Messages

841

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Edit Screen - Mutli-line textbox, label with scrollbar or table control?

« on: February 02, 2022, 06:39:40 PM »

Hi,
I rather think that requirement is outside of what Mach offers natively, but Mach itself offers only the very briefest subset of wx.Widgets.
I suspect what you want is eminentlty doable, try wxFormBuilder.

Craig

842

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Spindle Speed Problem

« on: February 02, 2022, 03:50:08 PM »

Hi,
this post dates back to 2011, do you suppose the links have expired?

Craig

843

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Using M2xx codes

« on: February 01, 2022, 11:25:03 PM »

Hi,

My diagnostics screen (attached) already  had a Parts Finished indicator but after running Gcode files this indicator has never turned on.

Could it be that it turn on and then off again that fast that you don't see it?

Craig

844

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Using M2xx codes

« on: January 31, 2022, 11:26:12 PM »

Hi,
Mach Motion is a company, separate from NFS/Artsoft that make motion control products, including full machines. They have over the years contributed a number of important ideas, code,
plugins etc to the Mach community. For instance the Lathe Wizards found in Mach4 are Mach Motion code, and note that only the compiled code is available, Mach Motion quite rightly
hold the source code for themselves.

Mach has a whole bunch of signals, some like mc.OSIG_PTRSF, is an output signal, mc.ISIG_PROBE is an input signal....but there are many hundreds more, many of which are not documented and are for signalling between
Machs different modules and plugins which are neither inputs nor outputs but event signals between components.

In Mach4Hobby/Docs/MachCoreAPI.chm under the Mach Signals you will find a list of all the input signals ( mc.ISIG_*********) and output signals (mc.OSIG_*********) available for use by users.

I have attached a pic of the Edit Screen page. You will note that I have just plonked an LED, called led108, you can see it in the file tree and its representation in Spindle block, it was a convenient open space.
Note also that I have attached the LED to reflect the state of the Parts Finished output signal. Easy.

Now you can run some parts and see what happens to that LED. This should inform your decision as to whether it is an appropriate signal for your purposes.

Craig

845

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Lua Chunk Error while running surface map wizard

« on: January 31, 2022, 09:28:24 PM »

Hi,
I've only ever experimented with mcSurface Wizard, and it worked as advertised, but why are you using it repeatedly?
Really its supposed to probe the bed of the mill and thereafter subtlely manipulate the Z axis to have the toolpath be absolutely flat
when the bed of the mill is not. The anticipation is that you'd do it once and then leave it alone.

I found that the probing routine was too slow. I use Autoleveller, a software utility that probes a PCB blank and modifies the Gcode to accommodate any
warp or bow in the PCB blank. It works so much better than mcSurface Wizard.

Craig

846

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Using M2xx codes

« on: January 31, 2022, 09:13:17 PM »

Hi,
those macros are Mach Motions and apply to their profile. They are however very simple macros for turning outputs on and off. You could replicated them if you need.
I think that SwiftyJ's post holds the most promise. Observing the mc.OSIG_PRTSF is the next thing. What you are looking for is some event or signal or condition in Mach that
reliably signifies that a part has finished.

Once you find a suitable event/signal/condition then turning on an output is trivial.

To facilitate the search why don't you temporarily make an on screen LED that reflects the state of mc.OSIG_PRTSF, and then run some parts. What you are hoping is that each time the Gcode file
completes (ie part is finished) then mc.OSIG_PRTSF will set. How long For? Don't know.

Craig

847

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Do a function that is in the load screen when m3 or m5 is send

« on: January 31, 2022, 04:33:23 PM »

Hi,
what you need to do is write your own m3 and m5 scripts.

m3 and m5 are considered built in scripts and you need a specific reason to write your own as your m3 and m5 scripts will dominate the built in scripts.
The procedure is that when the Gcode interpreter encounters an m3 call it will in the first instance look in the macros folder of your profile. If it finds your m3 script
there it will run it. If it does not find an m3 script it will search up the file tree until it finds one, usually the built-in script.

If you open the screen editor and investigate the event properties of the <m3> button on Machs screen you will see that Machs core runs a function  SpinCW().
If you include this in your own script your m3 will have at least the same functionality of the the built in script. Now you just need to include whatever extra
functionality you want, namely turning on the dust collector.

Craig

848

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Using M2xx codes

« on: January 31, 2022, 04:22:22 PM »

Hi,
so what are the m200 and m220 scripts. They are not standard Mach issue....so where did they come from and what do they do?

Craig

849

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Signal Library - RPM change signal?

« on: January 30, 2022, 02:44:08 PM »

Hi,
spindle speed is not a signal per se, its a continuously varying register quantity.

A signal, in Mach, has two states, either a 1 or a 0, or equivalently True or False, whereas spindle speed is a number.
For instance if you have a button logically connected to a Mach signal say ISIG_INPUT43, then the Signal Script will run every time
that signal changes state ie you hit the button.

A reasonable list of input and output signals are in Mach4CorAPI.chm under Mach Signals/Input signals and Mach Signals/Output Signals in Mach4Hobby/Docs folder
or alternately the <Help Docs?> button on Machs main screen.

If you want direct access to the register that Machs core uses to store its current spindle speed setting, its called a Pound Variable, which are viewable and editable in
Machs Diagnostic/Regfile/# Variables.

You will find a number of them described here:

https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=40051.0

Craig

850

General Mach Discussion / Re: Manual pulse encoder & mach3

« on: January 28, 2022, 11:30:59 PM »

Hi,
I use my ESS with Mach4 so the details may differ but the setting you need to make is in the ESS plugin.

Craig