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Messages - ozymax

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51
Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Scanything
« on: February 14, 2015, 07:15:17 AM »
I found this program on the Sheetcam website today and I'm wondering if anyone here has used it.
I have managed to get Scanything to work but I can't save any file without purchasing the licence. Before I do that I'd be keen to hear of anyones experience with it.

I have been looking for a template tracing program for awhile now. I have tried and tried to get the copycat addon in Mach3 to work properly but it doesn't. That was a waste of money.

52
Vcarve Pro or Aspire from Vectric will do this and more.

53
I have suffered the same issue with job destruction.
I think I know what you're doing wrong.
If, like me, in your CAD you set the Z zero to be at the centre of the job, that being the center line of the rotary axis.
When you OK'd the preperation move in the pdf, you needed to type in a rapid clearence height. The screen capture shows '0' in the rapid height box and that is the centre of the job, thus plunging into the job and then running from there.
Not sure what the other DRO numbers indicate, but I would say that you need to reference the machine to the start position of the job before running to the line number.
Do you use a saved offset for your rotary work so that the machine knows where the centre line of the A axis is?

54
General Mach Discussion / Re: Need a 7th Axis.
« on: January 13, 2015, 01:13:38 AM »
Another thought about the speed needed to advance the screw using a 4x lobe wheel.
If you have one pin mounted on the motor, then the motor must do 4x revs to advance the wheel 1x revolution, but if you have 2x pins on the motor then the motor only does 2x revs to advance the wheel 1x revolution.
I found this video that might help explain what I'm talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cunj4O_03e4
I can't see why you couldn't have 4x pins acting on the wheel and thus saving time.

55
General Mach Discussion / Re: Need a 7th Axis.
« on: January 13, 2015, 01:01:09 AM »
Hi ozy,
  As I see your example, the Geneva would need to index through 3 full cycles, then stop on the fourth (without 4:1 gearing) to make 1 full revolution.
Quite time consuming just to make 1 rev at the feed screw.
But would certainly work as you describe.
Am I seeing your example right ?
Thanks,
Russ
Yeah, that's how I see it.
The speed of the Geneva Wheel is soley governed by the choice of the actuating motor. They can run at a very high speed if made accuratly and with bearings etc.
To eliminate the time factor, the wheel could be advancing whilst a cut off wheel or welder was retracting for example.

I remember as a kid, my Dad gave me a people counter from an old showground that was being pulled down. The counter consisted of several Geneva Wheels in a row to change the numbers of people through the gates. I used to hook the counter up to an electric drill to see how fast I could make the numbers incresase. Believe me when I say that they can operate at quite high speeds and survive.  :D
It was my knoledge of this counter that made me suggest it in the first place.

56
General Mach Discussion / Re: Need a 7th Axis.
« on: January 12, 2015, 09:45:43 PM »
Don't make it more complex than it needs to be.
The Geneva Wheel doesn't need any more than 4 positions because the important point is that the worm screw must rotate once and park in an accurate, repeatable position. That's why I suggested the wheel.
If you hook it up as I suggested in my reply #10 you don't need a reduction drive of any sort.
If you use a DC motor, relay and micro switches to drive the wheel then you don't need software, programing or driver boards etc, you simply use a DC supply feed that I assume can be got from the computers supply rail.
Simply using a cam operated switch mounted on a gear motor won't give you a repeatable stopping position as the motor will always over run to some extent once the switch is tripped. The Geneva Wheel addresses this situation.
I guess I'm looking at the original post, which talks about all 6 axis ports being used in Mach3, so the 7th axis would need to be controlled mechanically.

57
General Mach Discussion / Re: Need a 7th Axis.
« on: January 12, 2015, 06:24:53 PM »
yikes
I just realized to rotate a 4 lobed plate one revolution, the motor drive has to rotate 4 times !
it would now also need a 4 to 1 gear train
The way I see it, you would direct couple the lobe plate to the worm screw that you have. This worm screw needs to rotate once to advance the pin tree 1.85mm each time.
You would have the motors contact switch acting on one of the 4 lobs of the Geneva wheel. That way when the switch is triggered the motor simply keeps running until the lobe wheel completes one revolution. The motor will need to complete 4 revs and thus no need for a gear reduction.

Maybe this triggering could all be done outside Mach. For example, another switch could be placed elsewhere on the machine so after the cutoff wheel has done it's part it retracts and trips the switch. I don't know if that's feasable or not without seeing the machine. Just trying to think outside the box.

58
General Mach Discussion / Re: Need a 7th Axis.
« on: January 12, 2015, 09:04:59 AM »
I was reading your post thinking this is all above my head, but then looked closer at your drawing and wondered if you could use a Geneva Wheel to advance the pin tree.
Plenty of videos on the net showing how they work if you don't know what they are.
The motors stopping position isn't critical with a Geneva Wheel, it just simply needs to complete one turn to advance the pin tree and you could simply use Mach to activate a relay.

59
WOW.
I'm still amazed at the unique things people do with their cnc's.
Very cool.

60
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem
« on: December 16, 2014, 09:24:30 PM »
Not sure if this has anything to do with it, but at about the time the A axis starts moving, the code has lower case or small letter z in it as apposed to an upper case Z.
Line 224, then again at 230, which is when the A axis starts to move.
I'm no expert in reading or creating code so I don't know what effect that has on axis movement.

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