Topics

11

General Mach Discussion / Urgent Help needed with Screen4

« on: May 05, 2008, 04:05:18 AM »

I am writing a script for Mach to use with touch tools for positioning.

The script is finished and works - but I am now trying to link in to a page on one of the screen sets - to use push buttons to start the various routines.

If I "open" a button, I get a choice of 4 options
1. System function
2. OEM code function
3. GCode Function
4. VB Script edited in Mach 3.

What is the best way to link my script to the button
My instinct tells me this is a VB script - therefore I tend towards option 4 - BUT I can neither find which file such a script should be in, or how to name the script once it is there.

The other option seems to be give the script a Macro number M*** and put it as a GCode function - will this work - I don't know _ I have just though of it and will try it.

Can anyone tell me the right answer ?

The other question was - can you edit the background screen on say the Mach Blue set to incorporate another button - I can put another button on to access my new screen, but it comes out as a white square amongst the blue ovals.

12

General Mach Discussion / How to wire steppers???

« on: April 03, 2008, 02:53:16 AM »

I'm trying to speed up my axis a bit - well a lot actually, since I cannot move them above 4in per minute at the moment.

Up til now, I thought it might be a mechanical problem with the lathe, but I took the belts off the motors and tried them on their own. I can't get them to spin any faster on their own.

I am running 1/8 step, 1.8 degree, 3 to 1 reduction, 1/10" leadscrew which, I think gives me 48,000 pulses per inch and therefore 192,000 pulses per minute for travel.

The motors are Arc Euro Trade Hybrid Steppers - 220Ncm, 2.5amp 7.5volt - and all in all I am satisfied with them - they are certainly powerful enough to do the job and at £22.95 each are relatively cheap.

They are 8 wire motors - and I have wired them in series.

The $64,000 question is - will they spin any faster if I wire them in parrallel - or is my computer - a Toshiba laptop - just up to its limit (says he looking longingly at the USB driver board just announced).

Anybody any ideas???

13

General Mach Discussion / I want to be clever !

« on: March 26, 2008, 02:12:32 PM »

I want to change my details on the forum and include one of these clever little pictures - I keep doing what I think is right - clicking profile on the options and changing things - but it doesn't change.

What am I doing wrong

14

General Mach Discussion / Laser Gunsight

« on: March 20, 2008, 06:30:43 PM »

Here is a picture of the laser homing device I have just fitted to the lathe/mill.

My Problem was I really needed two seperate homes on the X axis - one when the lathe was in use, and the other when the mill was in use.

I bought a cheap laser module from Maplin at £10. This is mounted on the cross-slide and shines parrallel to the length of the lathe to pickups mounted on the motor housing. The laser unit is mounted in a turned plastic holder and the beam is narrowed by shining it down a 1 1/2 mm x 1 inch long hole in the holder. The whole thing is mounted in a square steel tube bolted down to the table - with a screw adjustment for parralleling it to the lathe. It requires a 5 volt supply.

The detectors are Osram SFH 5840 Scmitt trigger infra red detector. These are three wire - +5v, 0v and output, in a 5 mm round can.
These are mounted in a strip of 1 inch square plastic strip - drilled 5 mm then narrowing down to 1 1/2mm for 1/2inch. The output from the detectors is TTL/cmos compatible and is Schmitt trigger - in other words it changes fast and needs no debounce.They use two seperate inputs to the computer (configured differently on lathe or mill) the outer on (on the right) also acts as a limit switch.

I have tested it all afternoon by repeatedly homing the axis, without the auto zero on, and it homes to between  0 and 0.0001 of an inch. This will do for me.

I have also tried homing with the crossslide at the opposite end of the lathe instead of near the chuck - and have managed homing between 0 and 2 thou (it will home to the same tolerance as the other end - but can be 2 thou out compared with the other end). The problem is ensuring the laser is exactly in line with the centreline of the lathe (hence the crude screw adjustment - but without a much finer thread I don't think I can get it better).

15

General Mach Discussion / Tell me where to get ball screws in UK

« on: March 03, 2008, 01:48:16 PM »

My lathe was relatively cheap, and suffers from a large amount of backlash on both axis. This was fine when I was only using it manually, but it does suffer now it is CNC.

Can anybody tell me where to get new leadscrews etc - preferably ball screws in the UK.

My lathe is a large Warco.

16

VB and the development of wizards / Visual Basic syntax

« on: February 10, 2008, 04:51:41 AM »

Can anybody tell me where I can get the Visual Basic syntax and commands as used in Mach 3 - i.e. the ones written specifically for Mach3 e.g. GetDRO() and similar,

17

General Mach Discussion / Constant Surface Speed.

« on: January 19, 2008, 03:47:50 PM »

Probably the only reason I have got into CNC is to hear my spindle accelerate as the tool takes a cut across the face of my work piece.

I think I am nearly there. My spindle control is in place (and accurate) with feedback through the index pulse. My X and Z axis are trembling - waiting to step into the new era of the unknown.

BUT - I don't know how to do it. I've looked through all the manuals I have available -

PLEASE - CAN SOMEONE point me in the right direction - is this a G Code thing, and will I have to write a Macro - or has it already been taken care of

18

General Mach Discussion / Help needed to get web camera going.

« on: December 15, 2007, 03:29:54 PM »

I've just got a web camera - an Advent ADE-A1 - and I,ve got it working on the computer - click MyComputer/Scanners and Cameras/USB Video Device - and up comes the picture.

I've got the plug-in installed on Mach3 Mill and Turn - but all I'm getting in "Unable to turn on camera" when I fire it up.
It doesn't, to me, seem to be pointing at the right driver, but I can't figure out how to change it.

Can anybody help???

19

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Need help with tool diameter offsets G40, 41,42

« on: October 17, 2007, 08:16:38 AM »

I am milling - in metric
I am starting at X0 Y0

I want to move out to X20 (which is the side of the workpiece) then mill up to Y20
The simple code is G0 X20, G1 Y20 - but in reality I want the table to move to position X24 and I only want to mill up to Y16 to take account of the tool diameter (8mm) (I then want to move back to Y0, move in 0.5mm to X19.5 and take another cut, and so on, down to 10mm)

I have tried several combinations of G40, 41 and 42, but I do not seem to have struck the right one. I can get the tool to compensate for diameter, but never in the direction, or on the axis that I think - HELP

20

General Mach Discussion / Can I have a beep and a flashing icon ???

« on: October 13, 2007, 02:06:36 PM »

Once my GCode is running, I don't like to just stand and watch it in awe, so to speak, the big advantage is I can get on with something else.

If I put in a suitable Macro at stages in the program that require my attention, e.g. a tool change, I would like the computer to signal me when it gets there.

Does Visual Basic have a "beep" facility, and can I flash an LED on the screen. Is this a problem for the "brains"