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Messages - robertspark

331
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 G28.1 Z equivalent?
« on: January 26, 2016, 01:10:01 AM »
Haha thanks Gaz... Yeah I was being a Muppet thinking about it... Two files the same name upper and loer case in the same folder....

Yeah I was going to ask about the m6 as that was my starting point to have a look at as yup.... It's a lower case function

Not posh enough to have a toolchanger

Thanks

332
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 G28.1 Z equivalent?
« on: January 25, 2016, 06:31:13 PM »
Thanks Daz

Thought I'd better pull my finger out and start on the Lua journey...

Looks good to me, just remember that lua is case sensitive, so any function and variable must be the same

Ie if u declared m100 as function then M100 would not work,
And the macro needs to be named as per function name,

DazTheGas

Does this mean you should create an M100 and m100 macros.... just in case?  (obviously declaring the functions as per the macro names).

Thanks

333
Mach4 General Discussion / Mach4 G28.1 Z equivalent?
« on: January 25, 2016, 05:47:19 PM »
newb to lua

Mach4 G28.1 Z equivalent?

For plasma floating head?

Is this what the button code would be?
Code: [Select]
local inst = mc.mcGetInstance();
mc.mcAxisHome(inst,2);

is this what a macro code would be?
Code: [Select]
function m100()
local inst = mc.mcGetInstance();
mc.mcAxisHome(inst, 2);
end

if(mc.mcInEditor() == 1) then
m100()
end

thanks

334
here is a discussion about making PWM into an analogue signal with some circuits (sorry not read it fully but you may want to consider it later if you don't get a linear profile on your spindle or something strange later that you want to correct or investigate).

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=21722.0


Also post 20 here

http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/7992-Denford-Novamill-Mach3-conversion/page2?s=434addbb667d0275fc8c5938550fc096

cannot attest how well they work, but that is a due diligence thing before implementation really (many ways to skin that same cat)

335
Roskrow,

Your inverter manual is available for download here (E300, from Sunfar):
http://www.kunaimpex.com/admin/images/gallery/pdf/806263833.pdf

remember I know absolutely nothing about the GX6060 or the leafboy motion controller, but I'll try to give some suggestions given your first request was how do I bypass mach3 and test the spindle, hence there is a fair bit of presumption in this post (you've also noted the GX6060 came pre-wired).

Leafboy manual here: http://leafboy77.com/files/USB_Motion_Card_AKZ250_Manual_v1.17_CN-EN20121102.pdf.zip

Ok, the leafboy motion controller outputs a PWM (pulse Width Modulation signal from two of its pins to the spindle).... poor diagram in the manual (pdf page 8/80), two others on 58/80 and 59/80....

Looking at your inverter manual, its controlled via a 0-10v analogue input signal (inverter manual pdf pages 13/42 and 15/42).....

key words analogue and 0-10v (inverter), and PWM 0-5v (leafboy)

Although a PWM signal can look a bit like an analogue signal with a voltmeter and mimic it... its not analogue.... hence unless they have done it properly you may experience not quite the linear profile you thought later on.... but it may work (again no leafboy expert).

within the leafboy manual there is a "hack" to get it to run with a 0-10v analogue signal on page 59/80
there is a clearer (non Chinese) image here: http://www.mycncuk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13647&stc=1

there is a bit of a discussion here although its not about your inverter some of the consideration should be the same with the signal (analogue is not the same as PWM in simple terms without doing something to it). http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/7992-Denford-Novamill-Mach3-conversion

Ok....

to get your spindle to work in manual mode (as we'll presume it came pre-setup to run with mach3 and pre-wired)...

Have a look at pdf pages 21 & 22 of the inverter manual

as you can see "F0:0" provides the spindle control signal .... 0-10v external or from the potentiometer ... by selecting either 0, 1, 2 or 3 .... the default setting should be 3.... but as your machine probably came pre-configured they probably changed it to "1" ... external 0-10v control.

The same the "F0:2"... it is probably set to "1"... changing it to "0" should bring the control function back to the inverter keypad so you can control the spindle without mach3.

Note.... the F0:2 I say should as they are not clear about the 1st and second digits.... hence have a look at what the F0:2 number is before changing it

Best advice.... write down all settings before you change any....

Access to the functions is listed on pdf pages 17 and 18

And the "simple" (non mach3) operation is listed on page 19 & 20.

Rob





336
General Mach Discussion / Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« on: January 24, 2016, 05:35:12 AM »
Terry, if you reread my post again you will note that I was talking about machines without any cut tables published, and tried to give a bit of guidance as to how you may use a good tested and published table of cut speeds for a machine without a table of cut speeds

Zero, no tables....  Nothing ... What would you use as a starting point....

I live very much in the real world... And there are way more machines being sold without any published information than those that have good detailed manuals.... Should they be purchased... NO... But people do... And then put them on a home built CNC... Why because they are cost effective to their objectives.

337
General Mach Discussion / Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« on: January 24, 2016, 05:19:47 AM »
Yup, agree 100% lab conditions... Don't forget cutting in an in temperature regulated shed without slowly preconditioning whatever you are cutting will also result in a different cut as the material will be slightly warmer or colder relative to the plasma gas temperature (aerospace industry they precondition materials to very close temperature tolerance before machining)

The main thing is with some machines there are no cut tables so at least you have a starting point

Here is another interesting read here about controlling the cutting current whilst inhibiting z-axis motion for corners (Jim colt and tom caudle

http://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?t=16534

338
General Mach Discussion / Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« on: January 23, 2016, 03:10:38 PM »
Sorry don't agree with you there the rated cutting voltage is important as it affects the power output of the unit, and provides a simple direct comparison between machines

Wrong forum... Suggest asking over on one of the CNC forums frequented by Jim colt I know he wrote a bit on it if I can find it again I'll post it.

If you have no cut table, it can aide you in setting something up.

Compare two machine with a similar rated cutting current, say a powermax 600 and powermax 45 or a powermax 1000 and the newer powermax 65, cut tables are not the same but current maybe... Why?

Here is an article
http://www.fsmdirect.com/cutting/laser-cutting/247-volts-amps-and-plasma-power

And another
http://www.hyperthermspark.com/taking-the-mystery-out-of-air-plasma-power-supply-specifications/

339
General Mach Discussion / Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« on: January 23, 2016, 01:49:59 PM »
Glad to have been able to help, note the L1 and L2 are likley to be an inductive filter.

You can build a higher voltage, voltage divider very easily.

Sorry was not really advertising, just saying as it was if another manufacturer publishes their data so fully and freely I've not seen it.  Don't work for them, sell them or even do a day job in the industry.  The operator manuals are very good too for the cut tables, which I have wondered if you can equate them to other manufactures machines, although I'd suggest as I read somewhere... Don't focus on the ampage alone but the actual cutting power... Say the machine is set at 65a/140v, so the cutting power is 9100W... Rival machine... Say 60a at 105v... Cutting power is 6300W, so proportionally the cut speed of the rival is probably going to be about 70% of the ones in the published manual... At least as a starting point if you have only an ampage and target cutting voltage without any published data..

There are obviously other bits that come into it like air pressure, inverter frequency which may affect the concentration of the plasma flame?  Arc? ... Whatever the correct technical term is of the plasma cutting zone.

340
I'll admit first off, the leaf boy card is not my thing, but I'll have a go at helping (sure someone else will chip in maybe)  [I have a smooth stepper and have used the parallel port before, and given armchair advice once on the leafboy (never owned one).... best to know the credentials of who is telling you what, as it will give you a degree of confidence / not in what you're being told]

Can you provide me with a link to the machine you bought, interested in knowing what the controller was (black or blue box)

The leafboy is a motion controller card, so it does the same job as the printer (parallel) port... just via USB.

The interfaces with the stepper drivers and a spindle controller, as well as the estop interface connection and any limit switches etc.

Trying to figure out how you wired the two together (which pins on the leafboy are connected to which pins on the box that has the stepper motors and spindle drive within it).