Messages

1

Third party software and hardware support forums. / Re: HELP WITH OPTIMUM CNC CONTROLLER VI AND MACH3

« on: October 22, 2015, 11:41:49 AM »

Ok, I am in Malmesbury, I will send you a PM

2

Third party software and hardware support forums. / Re: HELP WITH OPTIMUM CNC CONTROLLER VI AND MACH3

« on: October 21, 2015, 11:29:38 AM »

Where abouts are you in SA, maybe I can help.

Regards

Steve

3

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: 2nd window

« on: July 13, 2015, 03:11:59 AM »

if you have an internet connection, the easiest way will be to use Teamviewer, otherwise Google "remote desktop access software"

Regards

Steve

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 for press brake controller?

« on: July 13, 2015, 03:04:56 AM »

I have retrofitted many pressbrakes as well as CNC machines and have found that the best pressbrake setup is with a PLC and HMI with recipe management.
You could definitely do it with Mach3, but it will take a lot more work and will need a lot of macros and work arounds. Tuning of the proportional valve outputs, tooling libraries and program parameters, angle calculations and compensation are much easier in a PLC and can be easily changed if something doesn't work. You may also run into problems with the hydraulics, as the valves may need closed loop feedback to ensure that both cylinders are constantly synchronised. The cycle/next step is also controlled by the completion of the bending cycle, the footswitches will only control the movement.There are many other smaller intricacies that you will find as you go along, which will need correcting and adjusting.

Regards

Steve

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: How can I change analog output continuously from a location to another?

« on: March 28, 2014, 06:11:51 AM »

You could possibly use a timer in the M3 macro to increment the feedrate override.

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Trajectory planning and CV

« on: February 17, 2012, 12:53:46 AM »

I only realized later that there is a menu item under the config menu to enable Tempest   .

It runs the code much better, but.... I cannot save the settings, and on the machine I hide the menu.

So... now I tried using VB script, but it will not select the Planner menu item.
Is there anyone that can modify the Mach code to save the Planner settings and enable the checkbox - or can it be added to the XML?

Regards

Steve

7

General Mach Discussion / Re: Trajectory planning and CV

« on: February 16, 2012, 07:55:08 AM »

I spent the day testing Tempest, and it seems that my USB board (Xulifeng) is not supported.
If I run the code in Tempest on my computer, I can see the feedrate changing for circles and curves, but when I run it on the machine, it does not change, and the results are the same .

Any other ideas?

8

General Mach Discussion / Trajectory planning and CV

« on: February 15, 2012, 11:08:57 AM »

Hi all,

I have retrofitted a CNC plasma table for cutting of thin ducting profiles (0.6 - 1.6mm), so the cutting feed rates are quite fast (8000 -12000mm/min). The problem that I am having is that I cant seem to get the CV settings right with the post from the Map ducting software.
Attached is an example of the code.

The only way that I can get the machine to run borderline acceptable is to tune the motor velocity right down to 200mm/min, and set the CV distance to 3, but this is very slow and worse than the old analog control that I replaced.  

I have tried to:
1) set the look ahead higher - no change
2) tick "stop CV on angles > 89 (or 79 or 44) - the corners are better,the long arcs are smoother, but the tight curves are segments of small line, so they run with a jerky motion.( in the Map software, there is a "simplify islands" check box that removes a lot of this, but not everything.)
3) tick "Plasma mode" - no change
4) I have tried making the "look ahead" larger or smaller - no change

I have been trying to solve this problem since December, so Please, if someone has suggestions - let me know, your help will really be appreciated.

Regards

Steve

9

General Mach Discussion / Re: CAPAITIVE THC PLASMA PROBLEM

« on: November 26, 2011, 12:56:51 AM »

The Cap. THC has a very low current PWM output which is made for the H-Bridge to drive a DC motor more accurately.
I preferred the old THC which only had digital up/down signals.
 I suggest you speak to Argun for a solution, or if it is possible to send the THC back, order the older version.

Regards

Steve

10

General Mach Discussion / Re: Anybody use Galaad to control Mach?

« on: September 15, 2011, 02:49:37 AM »

Mach will not control Galaad, it will be a replacement for it, you need to have a look in the control panel, or the wiring diagram and firstly check.
1) is it controlled from the parallel port of the PC
2) Does it have stepper motors or servos
3) Do the drives accept step and direction signals.
With this basic info, we will be able to help you further
Regards
Steve