Messages

331

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: Removing tool changes in a multi op wizard?

« on: November 13, 2012, 08:01:15 PM »

Each operation screen will always start with a tool screen. It should open  with the same values you used for the last tool, so there should be no need to make any changes, just click Continue.

When the code is generated it tries to only put in a tool change gcode if there has been a change. There are some places where this doesnt always do as you expect it to.

There is a radio box on the config screen that lets you ignore tool change. I agree, this is not often a wise choice. The choice to stop and wait for a cycle start is usually the wise choice.

There may be extra stops for tool change that are not really necessary, but the opposite- not stopping when a tool change is really needed is usually very bad.

Yes, .125 mills dont hog well at all!

332

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: Newfangled wizards for Mach4

« on: November 12, 2012, 09:06:37 PM »

I have been wanting to put up more on the V4 wizards, but I have been working on them a lot and have not had time to make screen shots to post.

We have moved them to a strong Job orientation. A job will have certain properties- like Units (mm or in), material, and a couple choices of things like the Z strategy. A NewJob operation always brings up a Tool Select operation, which stays in effect until you select a new tool.

The main screen has a list box showing the job elements, and a right click on the list will let you edit the element, delete it, or move it up or down in the list. This is much greater job control than the Mach3 version.

The main screen also has a large toolpath display, with full interaction to rotate, pan, zoom, etc.

You will be able to save a Job Template and re-open it, make an edit to one or more ops, then re-post the code.

It is really a lot more capable than the V3 product, and it will be offered for Linux, and Mac as well as PC. I am pretty excited about it, and every time I think I can make a release copy Brian comes up with some neat new idea that sends me back to the keyboard.

333

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: Newfangled wizards for Mach4

« on: November 12, 2012, 06:09:52 PM »

Yes, that is exactly how the current NFS wizards work. Aftre each operaton is completed you are returned to the main menu screen where you may select another operation. There is no limit to how many operations can be strung together.

My standard demo is to do a bolt cirlce, followed by a pocket in the center of it, then a circle cutout around it to create a pipe flange, which is a common model part. That can all be saved as one file and reused as needed.

In the V4 wizards there is similar functionality, but even more it allows editing of operations, deleting one, re-arranging them, etc.

334

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: NFS Wizards on Tormach

« on: October 26, 2012, 05:17:15 PM »

What wizard version are you trying to run? If its not 2.86 then get it from this forum at http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,18321.0.html

I assume you mean the Continue button doesn't work. That button needs to open the material file, and it should find it even on a Tormach system- I fixed that several versions back.

I need to figure out how to use the error trap function in CB so I can display a decent error message. Ill try to work on that soon.

335

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: Plus & Minus (rectangular pocket)

« on: October 20, 2012, 01:49:38 PM »

I assume you mean Z axis? Plus at the top and - going down is the standard for G code. You ought to change the settings to the standard convention or else the wizards will not work right.

336

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: Wizards to make dovetail joints

« on: October 09, 2012, 08:06:08 AM »

Tell me how you setup a router to do dovetails? I see how to do the 'socket' part but not the pin part.

I am now writing the wizards for V4 and would consider other functions.

337

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: 26" ABM Innova long arm quilting automation

« on: September 23, 2012, 07:42:36 PM »

Very nice. Is thre any need to sync the moves to the needle movement? Or is it just  matter of moving at the right feed rate so you get net stitches? What about when a major direction change occurs- lie those 'points' on the flower like design.

338

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: Newfangled wizards for Mach4

« on: September 23, 2012, 07:34:47 PM »

I have another question I would like to have some input on.

I have added support for either Z strategy- I can equalize the cuts or follow the input exactly.

The current wizard set allows you to string together several basic operations into one gcode program. There is a button that allows you to delete the last operation entered.

Would it be useful to allow a more general edit of the operations? In the simplest case to delete any op, but maybe also to go back and re-enter the values for one of the ops.

Do people use the multiple ops ability? Has anyone used more than 2 or 3 ops in one program?

I now have all the basic ops that the V3 set has, plus the text engrave. What other base ops would be useful? Im thinking about one to cut an ellipse and one for a general polygon.  What else is useful?

Brian expects to have the license code done in the next few days so I can release the first demo version.

339

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: I broke it??

« on: September 21, 2012, 07:58:57 AM »

Happy to hear you found it. How did you do that? Was the .dll still on your machine, just not registered?

340

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: I broke it??

« on: September 18, 2012, 10:28:19 AM »

Anyone planning on porting Mach to Mac?  Wink

As a matter of fact, yes. V4 is being done with a cross platform tools. I have been trying to get the new wizards to compile on my mac,but no luck yet- actually very little work on it so far, to busy with the win version. Also planed for linux.