Messages

61

General Mach Discussion / Re: How to - code manual tool change?

« on: October 21, 2014, 01:46:12 PM »

Thanks for the post.

Does that mean I should "insert" into the G-Code manually the tool change information?

Since I'm new to the "tool change" scenario I guess I'm looking for an example of how people are currently doing it?

Is the "tool change" something that can be programmed into the post process?

Adam,

62

General Mach Discussion / How to - code manual tool change?

« on: October 20, 2014, 09:48:10 PM »

So, I'd like to run a single job that incorporates a manual tool change but I must admit I don't know how to make that happen. I was hoping someone could assist me with the process...

Below is the G-Code that has been produced and I see there is a tool change form a 1/4 to 1/8 bit (N258T2M6) but I need the machine to stop cutting, raise the Z axis, allow me to manually change the bit and them home the Z axis using the new bit and a touch off plate.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated..

Adam,

Code: [Select]

%
O0000
(PROGRAM NAME - TABLETOP FINAL)
(DATE=DD-MM-YY - 20-10-12 TIME=HH:MM - 20:37)
N100G20
N102G0G17G40G49G80G90
( 1/4 FLAT ENDMILL TOOL - 1 DIA. OFF. - 1 LEN. - 1 DIA. - .25)
N104T1M6
N106G0G90G54X11.375Y12.45A0.S5000M3
N108G43H1Z.25
N110Z.275
N112G1X11.625Z-.1F75.
N114X12.45
N116Y8.8
N118X8.8
N120Y12.45
N122X10.625
N124X11.625
N126X11.875Z.275
N128Z0.F50.
N130G0Z.25
N132Z.275
N134X11.375Y12.5
N136G1X11.625Z-.1F75.
N138X12.5
N140Y8.75
N142X8.75
N144Y12.5
N146X10.625
N148X11.625
N150X11.875Z.275
N152Z0.F50.
N154G0Z.25
N156X11.375Y12.45
N158Z.175
N160G1X11.625Z-.2F75.
N162X12.45
N164Y8.8
N166X8.8
N168Y12.45
N170X10.625
N172X11.625
N174X11.875Z.175
N176Z-.1F50.
N178G0Z.25
N180X11.375Y12.5
N182Z.175
N184G1X11.625Z-.2F75.
N186X12.5
N188Y8.75
N190X8.75
N192Y12.5
N194X10.625
N196X11.625
N198X11.875Z.175
N200Z-.1F50.
N202G0Z.25
N204X11.375Y12.45
N206Z.125
N208G1X11.625Z-.25F75.
N210X12.45
N212Y8.8
N214X8.8
N216Y12.45
N218X10.625
N220X11.625
N222X11.875Z.125
N224Z-.15F50.
N226G0Z.25
N228X11.375Y12.5
N230Z.125
N232G1X11.625Z-.25F75.
N234X12.5
N236Y8.75
N238X8.75
N240Y12.5
N242X10.625
N244X11.625
N246X11.875Z.125
N248G0Z.25
N250M5
N252G91G28Z0.
N254G28X0.Y0.A0.
N256M01
( 1/8 FLAT ENDMILL TOOL - 2 DIA. OFF. - 2 LEN. - 2 DIA. - .125)
N258T2M6
N260G0G90G54X11.5Y12.5125A0.S5000M3
N262G43H2Z.25
N264Z.275
N266G1X11.625Z-.1F9.6
N268X12.5125
N270Y8.7375
N272X8.7375
N274Y12.5125
N276X10.625
N278X11.625
N280X11.75Z.275
N282Z0.F6.16
N284G0Z.25
N286Z.275
N288X11.5Y12.5625
N290G1X11.625Z-.1F9.6
N292X12.5625
N294Y8.6875
N296X8.6875
N298Y12.5625
N300X10.625
N302X11.625
N304X11.75Z.275
N306Z0.F6.16
N308G0Z.25
N310X11.5Y12.5125
N312Z.175
N314G1X11.625Z-.2F9.6
N316X12.5125
N318Y8.7375
N320X8.7375
N322Y12.5125
N324X10.625
N326X11.625
N328X11.75Z.175
N330Z-.1F6.16
N332G0Z.25
N334X11.5Y12.5625
N336Z.175
N338G1X11.625Z-.2F9.6
N340X12.5625
N342Y8.6875
N344X8.6875
N346Y12.5625
N348X10.625
N350X11.625
N352X11.75Z.175
N354Z-.1F6.16
N356G0Z.25
N358X11.5Y12.5125
N360Z.125
N362G1X11.625Z-.25F9.6
N364X12.5125
N366Y8.7375
N368X8.7375
N370Y12.5125
N372X10.625
N374X11.625
N376X11.75Z.125
N378Z-.15F6.16
N380G0Z.25
N382X11.5Y12.5625
N384Z.125
N386G1X11.625Z-.25F9.6
N388X12.5625
N390Y8.6875
N392X8.6875
N394Y12.5625
N396X10.625
N398X11.625
N400X11.75Z.125
N402G0Z.25
N404M5
N406G91G28Z0.
N408G28X0.Y0.A0.
N410M30
%


63

General Mach Discussion / Re: Charge pump not functioning..

« on: October 16, 2014, 07:01:12 AM »

A follow up to the follow up... thinking about the problem overnight led to make the realization that the 12.5khz signal should only be present when Mach is loaded and not present when it isn't. So, I re-tested port 16 this morning cycling Mach and sure enough that is the case.

I believe this is a G540 problem..

Adam,

64

General Mach Discussion / Re: Charge pump not functioning..

« on: October 15, 2014, 07:58:59 PM »

As a follow up, this is not a Parallel port problem. It's a Mach problem or even a G540 but not a PC problem... anyone know how to test a G540? What about Mach, how do I know its working?

With the G540 charge pump off all is good (Green) with the charge pump on (Red), nothing.

Here are some screenshots of the test I ran with my meter, 12.49khz...

http://youtu.be/_JMpFfcrvKA

65

General Mach Discussion / Re: Charge pump not functioning..

« on: October 14, 2014, 04:45:45 PM »

No ideas???

The charge pump issue seems to come up a bit mostly due to port related issues or is it a Mach issue?

66

General Mach Discussion / Charge pump not functioning..

« on: October 12, 2014, 07:57:57 PM »

I have a G540 and Mach3 currently setup with a PCI Parallel port card that I thought had been working well, until I realized I had the Charge Pump "off" on the G540.

After some further testing it appears that either Mach or the Parallel port is not functioning correctly and not generating the necessary pulse for the G540 to pick up.

So, can someone assist me in how to determine what is not working? I see 3 variables here, the G540, parallel port or Mach.. I need to be able to eliminate them but I fear I need a oscilloscope to do so.

Is there another way? I have pretty cool multimeter that is supposed to measure frequency but alas I'm not sure how to use it.. maybe it could be useful?

http://www.amazon.com/Amprobe-37XR-A-Digital-Multimeter-Component/dp/B0012IUYK0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413158160&sr=8-1&keywords=37xr-a

I'm hoping other have run into similar issues so I'm open to suggestions..

Thanks.

Adam,

67

General Mach Discussion / Re: Homing and Home Offset

« on: February 09, 2014, 06:03:45 PM »

In General Config, make sure that "Home Slave with Master" is NOT checked.

1), you don't have to "turn on" machine coordinates when homing. The Machine Coordinates" button doesn't really turn them on/off, it just toggles which coordinates are displayed in the DRO's.

So, you're saying if you home the machine, and then jog somewhere, you can't zero any axis? Are you clicking the Zero buttons?
You may need to give a more detailed step by step explanation of EXACTLY what you're doing.

Spot on Ger21 many thanks for that, got the Axis homing correctly now.

As for zeroing the DRO that also seems to be working now.. strange my mouse clicks seem to be delayed somehow.. gonna check in on a PC problem.

Thanks again.

Adam,

68

General Mach Discussion / Re: Homing and Home Offset

« on: February 08, 2014, 06:09:34 PM »

Sorry for the delay in responding, I really appreciate the expertise and guidance you guys share it certainly sheds a lot of light on the numerous questions from us beginners.

I got a chance to get back in the shop this morning and was trying a few things with "SoftLimits" and the like and I have some additional setup/implementation questions.

Like I said earlier Homing seems to be working fine with the exception of my slaved axis "A" not individually homing even though it is on a separate pin and set to home in the Ports & Pins, not sure I understand what's going on there? I may start another thread if I can't get it figured out..

So, back to "SoftLimits", when I home the Machine using the "Machine Coord's" it zero's as it should ("Machine Coord's" turned on). I have the "Soft Limits" enabled ("Machine Coord's" turned off) as well, I then move my X, Y and Z axis to be in a location that I deem to be a starting point for cutting (Work Offset) and then try to Zero but Mach seems to not let me unless I hit the "Reset"?

Am I misunderstanding how this works? Shouldn't I be able to set the Work Offset by zeroing the axis, even though the "SoftLimits" are enabled?

My understanding is that "SoftLimits" are on or off and independent of the "Work Offset"?

Adam,

69

General Mach Discussion / Re: Homing and Home Offset

« on: February 02, 2014, 12:08:17 PM »

Thanks for the reply's, yes I think were now into theory/application and not machine specific answers.

For instance, my router's X axis is 45", and my home switch is at the far right. I use a Home Offset of 45, so that X zero in machine coordinates is at the opposite end from the home switch.

So, when you "REF ALL" on your machine your X moves all the way to the right to home, finds the home switch and then bumps off to the left, its now machine "Homed". The Home offset is set 45 to the left, so the grids that Rich suggested (good explanation by the way) are now different in the X by 45 mm/inches.

If you lay a piece of stock on your table to be milled without moving anything after "Homing", you have to find the edge of the material by jogging your X axis, correct?

When jogging your X axis to find the edge of the material is the Home Offset used for the machine to identify how far it has until it hits the "Home"  assuming you jog 25 (45-25 = 20)?

70

General Mach Discussion / Re: Homing and Home Offset

« on: February 02, 2014, 09:03:14 AM »

OK, very helpful.

One last question on the subject I hope..

Since a machine is physically limited in the x,y and z planes what is the purpose of setting a "Home Offset"?

For instance in my case I have them set for 2" and 1", if they physically don't set the machine's coordinates after a REF ALL then if I were to send a G code for a negative -3 or -2 in the Z axis then its going to hit the limit switches if I understand that correctly.

This is also correct. When you set a "Home Offset" of "2", your telling Mach3 the switch location is 2, rather than 0. "Home Offset" doesn't add any movment to the homing, it just changes the location of the coordinate system.
If you want the machine to move 2" off the home switches, you'll need to add those commands to the Ref All script.

Can you tell me where the Ref All script lives?

Thanks.

Adam,