Messages

1171

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle button and M3 and M4

« on: September 15, 2016, 05:32:53 AM »

If done correctly, Mach will remember the variable for the current session.

I would need to test it out but possibly put the variable in M3,M4 macros or there may well be a better place.

It will need some testing but I'm sure this can be done.

1172

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle button and M3 and M4

« on: September 15, 2016, 04:33:48 AM »

Could possibly be done with a #var - every time the M3 or M4 is called it will store a value representing the last called direction in the variable, when you press spindle toggle manually, it would read that variable and call the correct direction.

I can see issues here but thats where i would probably start

1173

General Mach Discussion / Offsets :)

« on: September 15, 2016, 02:27:27 AM »

I learnt a Bridgeport specific lesson yesterday, it was free too

Spent an hour trying to figure out why my G55 offset I had set up for a groove in my almost permanently mounted vise had shifted about 50mm in the Y. Totally stumped, tested it, tried adding new offsets, these all worked, co-ax indicator on a mounted shaft showed 53mm shift in Y only

It wasn't until the penny dropped that i remembered sliding the ram out to get a better position in readiness to machine my sub-table - D'oh!

So, that got me thinking, offsets are pretty much useless on a flexible machine like the Bridgeport - any movements in the head will instantly wipe out all offsets saved and if not remembered, could be expensive in bent tooling.

The one that WILL bite me is the semi-auto manual tool change on the engraving head - this uses a fixed touch-plate to gain the height offset and its location is stored in the setup pages.

Need to put a large sign on the head-shift bolts i think.

1174

General Mach Discussion / Re: Different speed in material and above

« on: September 14, 2016, 10:48:38 AM »

Depends on the process - if slotting then no, multiple step-downs, if side-milling then yes but only with engagement of 0.59mm max - you have to balance one with the other especially at this tool size.

I think i go to 0.3mm step-down if slotting (cutting full-width) but keep the speed/feed rates.

I use "Alu-Power" single-flute YG carbide from CutWell ltd

1175

General Mach Discussion / Re: Different speed in material and above

« on: September 14, 2016, 07:50:36 AM »

I can get you some figures if you let me know your spindle power and what type of tool - 1flute or two flute etc.

Or you can look in to a program called HSMAdvisor its great for speeds and feeds but you will need to know how to set it for a small machine as it assumes industry size stuff

Once set correctly, the motor tuning never really gets looked at again, unless you alter the machine etc.

Is there a tool library feature in ArtCam - this is where i would set my feeds for each tool/material combination then its just a simple matter to choose the tool when doing the CAM and you always get the right speed settings etc.


I use 2m single flute carbide a lot in aluminium and on my machine i use 24,000rpm, 370mm/min feed, 1mm depth max, 0.59mm width max and it will run this all day.
You can tune differently though as it will also run a 5mm cut depth but only at a max of 0.1mm engagement - great for finish passes.

1176

General Mach Discussion / Re: Different speed in material and above

« on: September 14, 2016, 06:50:42 AM »

I don't know ArtCam but the post-processor is a part of the program that adjusts the code generated to suit various machines - G-Code has many different flavours and needs tweaking to suit the hardware.

It is usually an option at save time or in the preferences somewhere - you need a processor that lists Mach3 etc, its probably using a generic one which sort of works most times.

The feed and speed are usually set in the CAM stage of the job and then passed through the processor as G and F parameters etc.

1177

General Mach Discussion / Re: "Software Limits" in Status during Ref All Home

« on: September 14, 2016, 04:00:49 AM »

Yes i think so, not sure on what Index debounce does.

1178

General Mach Discussion / Re: Different speed in material and above

« on: September 14, 2016, 03:29:12 AM »

If its at 500 then that is your current max speed with ANY code, that does not mean it is all it can do though, who set that speed?

To go higher will need testing and tweaking unless you know for a fact that it can do it, not hard just tedious

If you look at your G-Code file, you should see lines beginning with G0, G1, G2 etc these are the moves, G0 is a rapid and never used for cutting, G1 is a cutting move - straight at a feed speed commanded by the F parameter on or near that line, G2 is clockwise circular cutting again with an F parameter maybe and so on, these are all documented - Google Mach3 G codes and you will get a document that explains it all.

Now, there is no point in the code asking for a speed of say F1000 if your machine is pegged at 500 - it will be limited to 500 for cutting OR rapids.

To increase the speed you change the settings in motor tuning, increase in small amounts say 100 at a time, save it then jog the machine at full rapid (shift & jog) if it screams you have gone too fast and the motors are throwing in the towel, if ok then advance some more, at some stage it WILL give up, at this point you need to back off maybe 20% and start testing for lost steps - this will cause circles to come out square and other lovely cock-ups

Its an art to get right as every machine is totally different, but can be done, just make sure you note what you are doing.

Once you have found the sweet spot, set the acceleration to 1/10 of the speed and start testing again for lost steps etc.

Definitely get the book on G-codes though, there is also a smaller on on M-Codes

Also a little more info on the machine would be good

1179

General Mach Discussion / Re: "Software Limits" in Status during Ref All Home

« on: September 14, 2016, 02:28:28 AM »

Not seen it mentioned yet but certain points here make me think switch bounce, try increasing your debounce value - General -> General Config -> Debounce just for tests stick a reasonable figure in like 1000

1180

General Mach Discussion / Re: Different speed in material and above

« on: September 14, 2016, 02:16:27 AM »

What is the maximum speed your machine is configured for? It may be going slower simply because it cannot go any faster

Motor Tuning -> Speed for X & Y axes.

As mentioned above, is your G-Code using both G0 & G1 moves?