Messages

191

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Turn?

« on: April 21, 2019, 08:00:24 AM »

Seems this could be useful, DoOEMButton(131) - toggle mill/turn mode

Not found much about it - anyone know exactly what it does?
It does load the turn tool table and also allows the T0505 tool change code to pass ok

Also not found a LED or way to indicate what mode Mach is in but that doesn't mean there's not one

192

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Turn?

« on: April 21, 2019, 07:26:14 AM »

Does Mach3Mill understand the T0101 lathe tool change command style?

Seems not as i get a "Slot number too large" error, but thought i'd check

Can it be made to understand it?

193

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Success! Mini Machining Center under Mach3 control - Video link

« on: April 19, 2019, 04:33:24 AM »

These are the new drive parts. Older trapezoid tooth belt is gone, replaced by newer GT2 type. Quieter and can handle a lot more power. This time rather than making a pulley from scratch, I took an off-the-shelf pulley and modified it by cutting out the center and mounting it to a stock clamping collar which is comes already drilled for mounting a pulley. Between the stock pulley and clamp collar, I saved several hours over starting from scratch. Collar is bored for a slip fit on the spindle . . no  more threads. Preload will be accomplished differently. More on that later:

Spindle is out of a PhaseII brand 5C spin indexer. Still an import, but about three times as expensive as the normal junk and it is much better quality. Roughness in center portion of the spindle is from me reducing the dia slightly in that area with a coarse zirconia flap wheel to ease bearing press and reduce the interference fit on the rear bearing for preload purposes. Front bearing (next to shoulder will have full press fit. I will probably be making my own spindle, but for now this is easier.

Hi all, apologies for waking up an old thread but it's an excellent thread.

How did you manage the preload - I can't find the answer anywhere

194

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Turn?

« on: April 16, 2019, 08:23:24 AM »

If you want "basic turning" capability why not simply have a separate lathe profile for your milling machine, mounting the tool on the table and putting the work in the chuck?  "Turn" is based on "Mill" with the mill laid on its left side then on its back.  You could probably make your own screen.  This could be interesting: http://www.vinland.com/CNC-Mill-Lathe.html

I can't do mill spindle 'turning' as i need to pass 25mm bar through the spindle, mill spindles can't do that

I'll try a new mill profile, designate the mill X-axis as lathe Z-axis and the mill Z-axis as the lathe X-axis, spindle will be declared as a servo spindle drive is CS-Labs setup.

See how that goes......

195

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Turn?

« on: April 16, 2019, 12:59:53 AM »

Ok, so sticking with Mach3 I am limited to a new setup using Mach Turn, no CSS and no milling?

It will still do what i want but i always like the bells and whistles

196

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Turn?

« on: April 16, 2019, 12:49:00 AM »

Ok, so i'll forget CSS completely.

Does Mach3 have an OB axis or is that solely Mach4?

I can't use SwapAxis because my main spindle is VFD and my turn spindle will be servo - the Mach manual states both axes must be similar in setup IIRC  Plus I don't believe SwapAxis works with CS-Labs controllers as they do not use ports and pins very much in  their setup.

197

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Turn?

« on: April 15, 2019, 04:34:34 PM »

Hi,
if the turning spindle is free running in the manner of a lathe spindle then you would be advised to use a lathe
profile and consider the mill spindle as an add on to the lathe.

If however you want the turning spindle to be indexed then use a mill profile and consider the turning axis to be
a C axis, ie coordinated with you regular linear axes.

Craig

Thanks

I thought Mach3 couldn't spin an axis indefinitely?

I would prefer to use the mill profile as i have a custom screen and used to using it, i could easily add a new screen for turning jobs.

My C axis is used on my knee for mill tool-length compensation via custom M6 macros, can I use A or B instead?

Is there a post for Fusion that would work in this setup or do i need to look to get one altered to suit?

198

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Turn?

« on: April 15, 2019, 04:16:14 PM »

Hi,
at the current time Mach4 does not do Mill-Turn per se. It, like Mach3, has a multiaxis Lathe profile to allow milling
ops on a lathe and also A, B, C axes and Out-of-Band axes (up to 6) for turning ops on a mill. It accommodates CSS.

Thanks all,

i had an idea this would not be a walk in the park:)

I want to add a simple spindle to my mill so i have basic CNC turning ability, 4th axis/mill-turn would be nice but thats even more advanced i think.

The spindle will be servo driven, my mill spindle is vfd driven. Looks like i will be mounting the tools to the quill so mill Z-axis will be lathe X-axis and mill X-axis will be lathe Z-axis.

I use a CS-Labs IP/A controller.  Would i need to use Mach turn or can this all be done from Mach mill?

I use Fusion360 for my CAD/CAM, is there a recommended post for Mach3 turning ?

If anyone cares to throw tips into the pot it would be appreciated;)

199

General Mach Discussion / Mill or Turn?

« on: April 14, 2019, 12:02:05 PM »

Hi all,

i want to add basic turning to my mill conversion by building a servo driven spindle to mount on the table.

Is Mach3 Turn just a screen-set or totally different build of Mach?

Does Mill understand constant-surface-speed commands?


Thanks

dave

200

General Mach Discussion / Re: Importing A Chinese Machine......Roger Webb/Pacific Tooling - CNC Router

« on: August 08, 2018, 06:34:26 AM »

Interesting, thanks for the update.