Messages

1681

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 19, 2016, 10:39:37 AM »

Found it....

It has to be done in SpindleSpeed.m1s....

rpm = GetRPM()
pulley=GetOEMDRO(56)

If pulley=1 then
  if rpm>500 then
    Call SetOEMDRO(56,2)
    MachMsg ("Change Back-Gear To High Range","Pulley Error",0)
  end if
else
  if rpm<500 then
    Call SetOEMDRO(56,1)
    MachMsg ("Change Back-Gear To Low Range","Pulley Error",0)
  end if
end if

SetSpinSpeed( rpm )

Seems to do exactly what i want - pulley 1 would be low range, 50-500rpm and it warns me if the current set pulley is wrong, pulley 2 would be high range 500-3000 and it warns me to move machine into high range.

Nice

1682

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 19, 2016, 09:38:19 AM »

Seems it IS reading the S-word BUT only if it is < the current pulley Max limit.

So if pulley set is 0-1000rpm and I call S500 M03 the speed is read as 500

But if I call S2000 M03 the speed is read as 1000.

Seems odd.

1683

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 19, 2016, 08:32:05 AM »

Hmmm, just messing about here...

should this work in M03.m1s...

rpm=GetRPM()
pulley=GetOEMDRO(56)

If pulley=1 then
  if rpm>500 then
    Call SetOEMDRO(56,2)
    MachMsg ("Change Back-Gear To High Range","Pulley Error",0)
  end if
else
  if rpm<500 then
    Call SetOEMDRO(56,1)
    MachMsg ("Change Back-Gear To Low Range","Pulley Error",0)
  end if
end if
DoSpinCW()

The result I get on my laptop setup is that GetRPM() is not reading the S-word from the code line "S1500 M03" for some reason??

Maybe I am not clever enough yet

1684

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 19, 2016, 08:00:11 AM »

By "speed knob" I was meaning the mechanical speed knob on the mill head, my thought was to set that at say 1500rpm and then use the VFD for speeds between 500 and 3000 which are the mechanical limits for normal gear on a BP. Mach3/CSMIO would then control the VFD via 0-10v as well as fwd/rev.

I had not thought of fiddling with the m3/m4 - that would work nicely as I will only have 2 pulleys - high and low or 50-500rpm and 500-3000rpm so the logic seems easy - it would switch the spindle pulley DRO directly and just warn me to change gear on the mill with a message and "press enter to continue"

Thats the sort of control I would like.

The high speed spindle is easy as it will have it's own profile in Mach and I already know the pulley settings etc for that VFD.

1685

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 19, 2016, 06:22:18 AM »

Blasted autocorrect again, It should say "speed knob can left in one position..."

I have just been playing on my laptop setup and have macros controlling the pulley DRO so that is useful.

Is there a way to stop code execution if speed requested is wrong?

All you seem to get is a message that says "spindle speed too high/low for pulley, using min/max" but that is pretty useless as using the wrong speed can get messy pretty quick.

Really just needs to pause like a tool change maybe then change pulley and press start - can that be done?

1686

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 19, 2016, 05:25:11 AM »

Thanks Hood,

It might even work out that the speed knob can be left unnamed position and VFD control range would work ok in normal or back-gear setting.

When using pulleys in Mach is there a control setting for this - I can see a "Pulley" DRO on hidden away on the settings page but in the 2010 screen-set it's missing completely.

I guess the "pulley" DRO can be controlled externally via macros or OEM trigger? Will have to get the manual out....

1687

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 19, 2016, 02:20:16 AM »

Thanks Hood,

On the BP CNC, when you had the VFD variable, did you have a fixed point that you left the vari-speed wheel set at - I'm just trying to get a handle on Mach calling S2000 but your spindle is only giving 1000 or 3000 because of the setting on the actual pulleys? Wrong speed would make a mess of feed-rates and chip-loads etc.

So maybe set mid-point on the mechanical, mark it on the dial and the calibrate Mach to that point?

I see with OEM triggers we are limited to 15 I think, so maybe Macro-pump is the best way if more is needed, the CSMIO book goes with OEM triggers.

I'm a bit quirky with Ref's, probably just lack of experience and this one will likely be different than the mini-mill, I am making notes of each use on the mini-mill to see just what buttons I do actually use, that should narrow it down. I want just enough buttons on the panel to do some work without having to think about which button to press - panels should be clear and easy to figure in a hurry if needed.

1688

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 18, 2016, 02:01:09 PM »

Panel controls...Looking for ideas...

As well as the complicated dual spindle system I have to get going mentioned a few posts back, what about things like manual spindle on/off buttons - would they control Mach3 or would they control the vfd directly as well as Mach3?

Also, with the Bridgeport back-gear system, you have run the spindle in reverse when in low range, would there be a smart way to control this from Mach or is it still a manual fwd/rev choice and selector switch on the panel?

Axis ref - hows about a single "Ref" button and a multi-positing knob to select "All - X - Y - Z - Z2"

VFD for main spindle, with the var-speed system I'm not sure if i should try using the vfd as variable or leave it fixed, the top speed is fixed at 3500rpm absolute max as it tends to wreck the spindle bearings above that and low down it probably would not have the torque needed.

So many ideas but not sure of what will work in reality here...

1689

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 18, 2016, 08:32:11 AM »

Ok, I'm sticking with the 400/750w combo on the motors, my reasoning is that the table is a considerable weight with a lot of bearing surface i.e.friction the quill is relatively light in comparison, even with large tooling installed, drilling will present the largest load on it in use, the table does most of the work on a mill, the quill is mainly for tool positioning and plunging. Will see how it plays out.

Drive belts, just had a chat with a very knowledgeable guy and it seems HTD is the best option here, GT is better but more expensive all round. The backlash concern is valid but equates to approx 0.25mm linear which if i have my sums right on 5mm pitch screws and a 75mm pulley will give me an error of 0.0053mm - I think thats acceptable on a 30+ year old machine

He did however strongly recommend going for 8mm pitch and 20-30mm wide belts.

1690

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: May 18, 2016, 07:53:58 AM »

Im only looking for GT profile as it is supposed to have much less backlash than HTD and be higher power size for size.

I could probably change the motor to 750w still, won't be dispatched for a few days yet??

Yes, just found Brammer and they do them.