Messages

1491

General Mach Discussion / Re: Machine setup help - urgent if possible :)

« on: July 23, 2016, 11:31:47 AM »

Yes, it does not seem to like jogging in the loop?

I have sorted something out though - the reset issue was me being stupidly clever or cleverly stupid

When i ripped the macro apart, i thought i would be smart and re-use the Clearance Plane DRO var as my Z tool change position

The mistake was that the clearance plane DRO had +2mm in it and it had to be -2mm to work - the limit switch hit error was Mach being smart i guess and hitting a fake limits switch as it couldn't move to Z2 as all Z moves are negative

A short video of 3-axis tests and manual tool change.
https://youtu.be/mJUxtS997MQ

1492

General Mach Discussion / Re: calibrate mach3 to the vfd or the vfd to mach

« on: July 23, 2016, 10:55:35 AM »

You said earlier that pressing +/- did make the speed change just did it slowly???

Is that the case?

If yes them Mach IS controlling your speed, its just not set right, if NO then you have more work to i'm afraid.

All my code will (should) do is to start your spindle and send it to max speed, nothing else, just wanted to gain an idea of your spine speed control ramp-up setting.
The last bit of code should simply turn the spindle off.

1493

General Mach Discussion / Re: Machine setup help - urgent if possible :)

« on: July 23, 2016, 10:52:43 AM »

Well, still getting nowhere

I tried empty M6 macros and no you cant jog once in the M6 routine or it just ePid's out every time, if you do nothing and just press start it works fine.

I then tried cutting up the 2010 macros - removed all the probing stuff, also took out the clearance plane stuff as all i want is to go to Z0 or Z-2 move the Y axis to zero and await a tool change, then go back to where it was and carry on.

Pulled it all apart, saved it and now it goes into tool change but then mach goes into reset on Limit Switch Triggered message although there is no movement!

Will go back and play some more but what does everyone else do when wanting a manual tool change and has a CSMIO fitted?

1494

General Mach Discussion / Re: Machine setup help - urgent if possible :)

« on: July 23, 2016, 10:10:45 AM »

Hmm, this is whats currently in M6end...

REM The default script here moves the tool back to m6start if any movement has occured during the tool change..

x = GetToolChangeStart( 0 )
y = GetToolChangeStart( 1 )
z = GetToolChangeStart( 2 )
a = GetToolChangeStart( 3 )
b = GetToolChangeStart( 4 )
c = GetToolChangeStart( 5 )
if(IsSafeZ() = 1) Then
   SafeZ = GetSafeZ()
   if  SafeZ  > z then StraightTraverse x, y,SafeZ, a, b, c
      StraightFeed  x, y,  z  , a, b, c
else
Code"G00 X" & x & "Y" & y
end if


Not clear what all that does, this is all thats in M6Start..

  tool = GetSelectedTool()
  SetCurrentTool( tool )

No position stuff

   

1495

General Mach Discussion / Re: Machine setup help - urgent if possible :)

« on: July 23, 2016, 09:50:20 AM »

Got it, thanks, all going the right way now

Got limits, homing, home offset, safe-z all going now.

Tool-change - have put the original M6 macros back as i don't want to do auto-probing for the Z after a change.

Load some simple code with 2 tool changes in it, run code it says Press cycle start after etc as normal, NOW, at this point I presumed i could jog the bed away to gain room to get the tool in/out??

If i move the bed at all during the M6 as soon as i press cycle start i get the damned ePid fault and Mach goes into reset?

If i just press cycle start on the M6 it works fine.

Anyone have any ideas here - it clearly won't work if i cant jog to get the tool in.

1496

General Mach Discussion / Machine setup help - urgent if possible :)

« on: July 23, 2016, 08:08:28 AM »

Hi all
I'm in the last stages of my Bridgeport conversion but i think something is backwards?

Todays task was hooking up the z axis at last - the final step. I have motion from my CSMIO/IP-A and have done a basic pid tuning on the servo drive.

Limits are working and homing does too.

What i need to know is :- Z++ is at the highest point and all cuts are taken in the negative direction so a 1mm depth of cut will be -1mm yes???

At present the DRO on this axis is backwards - it reads lower as the axis rises.

How do i reverse the Z axis on this setup???

1497

General Mach Discussion / Re: calibrate mach3 to the vfd or the vfd to mach

« on: July 23, 2016, 03:31:01 AM »

Have you considered whether the VFD is ramping up and/or down slowly because that's how the VFD is setup?

If this is a pre-configured machine, probably with a Huanyang VFD and water-cooled 2.2kw spindle which is the most common setup, it could indeed be programmed with a slow curve for speed +/-

On your screen, enter an MDI of something like M03 S24000 and try and time how long it takes to get from standstill to a constant speed, normally around 3-4 seconds. Your one could just be programmed for a little extra safety margin to protect the somewhat delicate nature of these low-end drives

It can be adjusted but one mistake in the settings and you will be in for a lot of head scratching and pain possibly.

When finished, just enter M05 and press enter or press the Stop on screen, spindle should stop, again time this as they will normally slow down on a curve as well rather than just free-wheeling to a stop.

1498

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 22, 2016, 02:20:20 PM »

Started fitting switches tonight, picture below.

On the left we have
top = ++Limit for standard mill setup
middle = ++Limit for engraving setup
bottom = -- Limit

On the right is the homing switch for both setups.

The bracketry gets in the way of the fancy recesses for access to the tramming nuts but you can still get a spanner on them easily.

1499

General Mach Discussion / Re: Motors are not operating correctly

« on: July 22, 2016, 09:50:31 AM »

It is ALWAYS a good idea never to have network or wifi on the control pc, it can work but is a known source of all thats bad.

The control PC should only run the control program - Mach 3/4 etc and nothing else.

It would be worth trying a clean boot with networking turned off etc just to check

I have never tried a wifi keyboard but i cant see it being an issue - the interference would have to cause the exact signal as the Z down function needs and i think that would be pretty rare, more like it would just lose connection if interference was present.

1500

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 22, 2016, 05:53:09 AM »

similar stuff, thanks.

the weak point is the connection between nut and quill, i can see a small amount of flex there when the quill is locked and i turn the screw pulley by hand.