Messages

2261

General Mach Discussion / Re: Control input methods...

« on: August 15, 2015, 02:56:25 AM »

Thanks mc,

i use end-of-line junk from work so the pc's are very old, the mice are mostly ball type and keyboards well worn, but all free

I can fit a mouse in easily, just trying to be that little bit more 'slick' 

Yes i saw an article on using the joypad to control a pc but as you say, probably not mach at the same time.


What was the issue with mycncuk?? Its a very slow forum, very little response, i tend to use it as an echo to my posts on plasmaspider - hardly get any response on mycncuk.

2262

Finished Plugins for Download / Re: USB JoyPad and game device plugin - New Version 2.0

« on: August 14, 2015, 10:44:29 AM »

HI

I have a CNC Plasma and just ordered a joypad, looks like it will work great.

Is there any way to load g-code with the joypad or does that still need a mouse etc??

I can see i could script the "Load G-Code" button to a trigger button but what then as i will be in windows not Mach3??

Possible or a dream

2263

General Mach Discussion / Re: slave axis aleatory movement

« on: August 14, 2015, 10:27:15 AM »

Are the motors/drives identical and setup with the identical values in motor tuning??

2264

General Mach Discussion / Re: Control input methods...

« on: August 14, 2015, 09:51:03 AM »

The joypad looks great, i have the software/plugin installed and have a unit on order.

Is there a way to load code with it or does that have to have a mouse??

I can see how i would call the "Load G-Code" function but what then???

2265

General Mach Discussion / Re: Control input methods...

« on: August 13, 2015, 03:52:25 PM »

That looks like it would fit the bill, i'll get one to try.

Is it possible to load/run g-code from a memory stick or does it have to come from the disk drive?

Currently i copy the code file from a stick (i do my cam indoors on a Mac) to the disk drive but being able to run from a stick would remove that step and be plug-and-run.

2266

General Mach Discussion / Control input methods...

« on: August 13, 2015, 02:53:12 PM »

Building a new CNC Plasma table so it seems a good idea to fix other little niggles at the same time. One of these is the keyboard / mouse.

The keyboard is mostly not used, just a few keys - shift, up, down, left, right, pg up, pg down, maybe a little g-code etc  the mouse gets full of crap and needs space to work.

I thought of a touch-screen monitor but then i lose the jog arrow and other keys which are far better than the tab fly-out screen in Mach.

I then thought of a keyboard track-pad but these are pretty expensive.

Next up was a keyboard track-ball - this is possibly what i'll get but is there a better method?

I can't fit a pendant as the serial port is used by my THC, so i need an easy method to jog the torch around.

2267

General Mach Discussion / Re: Life at the bottom end of the PC food chain :)

« on: August 04, 2015, 03:37:56 PM »

I was surprised it even let me do the XP upgrade

I'll use it for testing and ditch it after, basically just need a control system to run the motors around while I'm tweaking the machine.

2268

General Mach Discussion / Re: Life at the bottom end of the PC food chain :)

« on: August 04, 2015, 02:07:26 PM »

Hmm, ok

its mainly for testing and debugging the new table motion out, don't think it will ever get to fire the torch.

I'll try it anyway as nothing to lose but not push it into service.

Thanks

2269

General Mach Discussion / Life at the bottom end of the PC food chain :)

« on: August 04, 2015, 10:46:22 AM »

Ok, so i'm trying to put a second pc together to enable me to test a new table i am building without stopping my existing table working.

I have managed to find a lowly Dell Dimension desktop that had '98 running on it and updated it to XP sp3, it has a speedy 500mhz processor, massive 128m ram and a super 10gig hard disk 

I have Mach running on it now, it passed the port test at 25khz only, any other speed results in instant reboot 

I have set the motor tuning to something like what i need (9000mm/min) and have a simple g-code running an 1100mm square at full speed repeatedly on it.

Is there anything I should be aware of or does this sound like it will work when i connect the BOB up to the drives???

Thanks

2270

General Mach Discussion / Re: Need help setting up Mach 3 for my table.

« on: July 10, 2015, 06:11:56 AM »

Have  a look also on Plasmaspider.com you may get more generalised plasma help there.