Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: Axis Mixing Issue

« on: June 04, 2013, 10:58:39 PM »

I ran the driver. The test results were the best for 100kHz, and fairish for 25kHz. I selected the 100kHz kernel option in "Ports & Pins" with no improvement in the result. Any ideas? I am using a Mach3 demo, just to make sure everything works, but I think I remember reading somewhere that the demo only allows the user access to the 25kHz kernel. The program allowed me to select the 100kHz kernel, so I ASSUME it is allowing me to utilize the option. Is this a good assumption?

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: Axis Mixing Issue

« on: May 30, 2013, 09:31:22 PM »

I don't know what you are referring to.

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: Axis Mixing Issue

« on: May 30, 2013, 11:44:06 AM »

Ok, after a couple hours of troubleshooting, I am getting a lot of noise from the system. Sometimes when I boot everything up, there is no noise and the motors move very smoothly, or at least, as I would expect. Other times the motor move the correct distances, but not very smoothly. The best way I can describe it is that the motors "chatter" along the rails. Also, the motor will occasionally leap into the smooth operation that I mentioned, and very quickly leap back out causing the gantry to "stutter". I have iterated through quite a bit of motor tuning to mitigate these issues with no luck, so I am thinking its something else. If I tune the motors to move very slowly (<20 in. per min) there is no stuttering or chattering, just lots of static noise. This is most likely because it is moving so slow I can notice it.

To be explicit with the questions...

A) Is it typical for the to be a lot of static noise when none of the motors aren't being utilized?
B) Why are the motors behaving as stated above?

Posted below is a video that demonstrates some of the issues. During the video the motors are not moving very smoothly and some stuttering occurs about 13 sec. into the video. (you can tell from the change in pitch of the motors).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeYtJVUH3Zc&feature=youtu.be

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: Axis Mixing Issue

« on: May 30, 2013, 08:57:41 AM »

Excellent! Thank you so much Ian! It now works as desired. I am having some other issues, but for now I will read literature to see if I can find the answers there rather than plaguing you all with questions. I'll post anymore questions if I can get it resolved.

Thanks again,

Jacob

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: Axis Mixing Issue

« on: May 30, 2013, 12:39:38 AM »

Parallel cable is straight through; there are no issues there. I assigned the hot keys as instructed but no change in behavior. I kind of anticipated this being the case, as I had entered g-code into the prompt and I got the same results as using the hot keys.

So the quest continues! I feel a little better knowing that it was not something super easy thus far.

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Axis Mixing Issue

« on: May 29, 2013, 10:50:24 AM »

Easy enough... My .xml file is attached. Also, I included a picture of my board so you could see its corresponding pin-out. I have check and rechecked those numbers a few times so I doubt they are wrong, but it would be just my luck.  Also, it may be relevant to point out that my driver board is a Hobby CNC driver board.

Thanks again for all the help!

7

General Mach Discussion / Axis Mixing Issue

« on: May 29, 2013, 12:02:24 AM »

Hello All,

I must first confess that I am very new to CNC machines, but I hope to become a pro with a little patience and advice from the experts. I am having an issue wherein Mach3 seems to be mixing my axes. What I mean by this is the following:

1) My z axis is being treated by Mach 3 as my x axis.
2) The x & y axes are being treated as only my z axis. For example, when I press the pg up and pg dwn keys, the axes jog together at a diagonally at an equal rate across my mill.

I am sure this is simply a setting somewhere in Mach 3 that is easy for the experts, but I just can't find it. However, if that is not the case, I would be happy to provide some more background information about the setup procedure I used and the hardware as well. Lastly, I apologize if I am asking my question in the wrong section of this forum, but I did not see a particular place it belonged; therefore, the "General Mach Discussion" seemed to fit the best. Please feel free administrators to move this if it is posted in the incorrect discussion board.

Thanks,

Jacob