Messages

1501

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

« on: July 22, 2016, 05:17:03 AM »

AFIK the spindle cal feature needs feedback from the spindle - tacho etc. for it to work, and from what i read when looking into this, it doesn't work very well

1502

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

« on: July 22, 2016, 02:11:19 AM »

Is the speed controlled by Mach or not?

If yes then calibration is via the "Spindle Pulleys" menu option, my one needed a max speed of 24000 and a min speed of -2000 to get the ratio somewhere near correct. It's not spot on but near enough, don't forget if this is one of the usual water-cooled spindles they are only usable down to about 8000-9000 rpm.

1503

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 21, 2016, 04:57:53 PM »

Ok, sorted it i think

Couldn't rest without a fix so a couple of hours fiddling and a few thin shims later we have smooth motion from top to bottom, its pretty easy to reverse-drive it by moving the quill lever

The bracket that holds the nut was slightly twisted and the nut hole was too tight, fixing both of those cured the problem.

Now i need to fix up some limit switches and get the motor hooked up.

1504

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 21, 2016, 03:11:39 PM »

Nice, thanks again,

My idea is similar - the part that connects to the nut goes through the upright like yours, then i was hoping to simply join it to the original quill-stop block.

I think i may just have made things too tight - there is no slack where it connects to the nut, a smooth sliding fit, so any misalignment at all will cause binding and that's where i'm at.

I will open the nut hole out a little, get a dial indicator on it and see where its out.

1505

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 21, 2016, 02:25:46 PM »

Yeah i think that part is ok, it could well be the weld pulling that is causing trouble, I am going to split the parts, clean up, and try one bolt through the middle - there is a large surface area so it should be sturdy enough, that will let me work it up and down with a dial indicator on it to see whats not true.

Its not far off, i'm just not happy yet

1506

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 21, 2016, 02:08:53 PM »

Its the screens i think, Gerry says i need to either edit the macros or replace them with the bog-standard ones and try it.

The Z-axis is doing my head in

My idea of welding it together is doomed to failure I think - the original bridgeport quill stop is porous and soaked in oil, any attempt to weld it simply creates a pool of oil and crap welds. I managed to tack it up but that only got me to my next headache....

Alignment is being a bitch - I cant seem to find a position where all the parts just play nicely, there is fair amount of stress and strain between the screw and the quill, it can be moved up and down but I'm not happy with it from an engineering point of view.

Not sure how to sort this at the moment, a right PITA.

1507

General Mach Discussion / Re: Using Android device as a 'pendant' for Mach3 (Working)

« on: July 21, 2016, 10:51:48 AM »

Nice, the only concern i have is that team viewer always seemed pretty processor intensive, may not be an issue if your pc has some big cahona's

1508

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 21, 2016, 10:44:34 AM »

Altered my safety and control wiring a little.

Fitted a safety relay - Telemecanique XPS-AS24v, this might look a little more complex but its not really. The benefit is that it has two separate output channels with contacts that are forcibly opened as well as constantly monitored internally, I have one output telling the CSMIO/Mach3 whether or not its in reset and the other channel supplying power via a contactor to my servo drives - also one N/C pair on this contactor is monitored by the unit in case it does not close or jams etc.

These relays seem much cheaper than the PILZ units shown in the CS-Labs book but have pretty similar functions.

I think that's about as safe as I can get it - if a drive runs amok, it hit a limit and kill power, same with Mach/CSMIO, the e-stop/limit chain is monitored for shorts etc, the only scenario where it gets shirty would be a runaway drive with the control contactor fused in the shut position but at this low power level thats pretty rare i think.

Of course, thinking of safety as we all do all of the time I have just created an autonomous machine (runs from code) with open moving parts (cutters etc) that has absolutely no guarding or barriers anywhere Only mentioning this as it made me laugh when i thought of how many of the rules I have to obey all day in the print factory where i work have been broken, smashed, severely infringed or otherwise ignored

1509

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 20, 2016, 01:06:14 PM »

Manual toolchange?

Anyone know the answer to this?

I have the CSMIO and the 2010 screen-set on my project.

In general settings i have "Stop spindle and wait for cycle start" checked in tool change options.

When i hit a Txx M06 command, the spindle stops, i change the tool, press cycle start but then it starts lowering the Z axis and i get a message "CSMIO probing z axis.."

I don't want to probe as i want to use tool offsets or probe only at the start of a program.

Something missing or not set right?

1510

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: July 20, 2016, 09:47:33 AM »

Ok, the tool length offset table I have no ATC

I'm going to try R8 ER collet chucks or the Torch TTS system as a repeatable method of tool holding, have asked many people and resounding reply was yes it should be plenty accurate enough for this style of machine, so....

1 - With the tool offsets, can I measure them using the Z axis probing and touch-plate setup?

2 - I guess i need a "default zero tool" or some-such to enable a reference length to be kept and then I would measure all tools against that one? This would be tool zero or 250 etc?

3 - If i was using the tapping head say, i would need to lower the knee about 5", ref the surface again, tap the threads then return the knee roughly to the higher position. Fit the next tool, set the tool number in Mach3, ref the surface and good to go again??

Am i on the right tracks here?