Messages

81

Tangent Corner / Re: Denford Orac problem

« on: September 06, 2006, 05:41:51 AM »

Hi John

This doesn't seem right at all - is the chatter only at the shoulder or on the whole length?

Do you get chatter with all tools - tipped and HSS ? We had a problem where we had some tips that were slightly different and we couldn't get them to cut as well.

Presumably gibs etc have also been checked?

The previous work I have done in EN24T was at around 1000RPM, 50mm/min feed and upto 1mm cut with no coolant - this was on pieces around 12mm diameter.

I pass your video on to a couple of people and see what they think.

Cheers

Dave

How long do you estimate the delay to be? Seconds?

82

JetCam screen designer / Re: Screen (5 ?) by JetCAM

« on: September 06, 2006, 03:36:33 AM »

Look in the help in the topic Item Properties|Other Property Sheets|Function
See ScanCode,  I think this has what you are looking for.

Ah ha - that works now. If you could add a display to the side that gives an actual lisitng of the keys that would be great.

Cheers

Dave

83

JetCam screen designer / Re: Screen (5 ?) by JetCAM

« on: September 05, 2006, 06:59:59 AM »

Hello

I've only had a quick look at the new screen designer so far and have yet to use it in anger.

From my initial impressions I think the interface is great - it feels much slicker and natural than Screen 4.

One thing I have noticed though is that opening a previous screenset some items seem 'corrupted' - DRO sliders
Also where do you enter 'hotkeys' for buttons? Is it in scancode? If so would it be possible to have a system like the current designer whereby you press the key/combination you want and it automatically enters the values in the scancode. Would it also be possible to display what the actual key combination is next to the scancode - that would make configuring pendants etc much easier as it would save ages trying to find what the codes mean.

Please keep up the good work - I am very impressed.

Cheers

Dave

84

Tangent Corner / Re: Denford Orac problem

« on: September 02, 2006, 01:47:13 PM »

Hi John

Just had a look at the video - firstly have you tried dropping the spindle speed - we had a chatter problem and found that dropping it cured the problem.Can you give us an idea of speeds, feeds, depths of cut, diameters, material etc?

Secondly - headstock bearings? Have you checked them - do they need tightening?

Thirdly do you have backlash enabled? If so Mach will dwell as it applies the backlash to draw the tool out - from memory you can set this as a % of the max feedrate. Also if you are running with no backlash have you got constant velocity enabled?

I may be able to try the same test on the one at work-allthough that has the original control system in it.

Cheers

Dave

85

General Mach Discussion / New Wiki Page

« on: August 27, 2006, 07:13:01 AM »

Hi

I've been struggling to find a list of standard keys for Mach 3 - so I've created a Wiki page to keep tab of them :-
http://www.machsupport.com/MachCustomizeWiki/index.php?title=Standard_Hotkeys

I've put some in but PLEASE help by adding any you know of.

Cheers

Dave

86

General Mach Discussion / Re: Hotkeys ???

« on: August 27, 2006, 06:58:19 AM »

Cheers Hood - just the job.

Dave

87

General Mach Discussion / Hotkeys ???

« on: August 26, 2006, 05:50:31 PM »

Hello

Can anyone help me with the folloiwng enquiry, posted this on the yahoo group but no replies.

I think I'm on the last few hotkeys now - can anyone tell me what
the keys are for :-
On Jog panel
Jog Mode - key 32842
Cycle Jog Step - key 2122

Cheers

Dave

88

Tangent Corner / Re: Denford Orac problem

« on: August 25, 2006, 06:11:40 AM »

Hi John

As it happens I'm going down the RS232 front! I've got an AVR microcontroller that does all the work, Mach sends a code to it, the AVR does it's thing monitoring the sensor states and switching motor outputs and then returns a selected tool to Mach to ensure the correct one is selected. Only had it on the bench using switches but it seems to work ok so far. Now waiting for my mate to rebuild his toolchanger so I can start testing!

Cheers

Dave

89

Tangent Corner / Re: Denford Orac problem

« on: August 25, 2006, 03:33:59 AM »

Hi John

I've been building the controls for a friends Orac toolchanger. We're also thinking of swapping the motor for a stepper - probably a 17 frame and use a 555 timer to generate step pulses and simply toggle the direction line. I don't think there are any major issues with leaving the stepper pulsing away while its stalled but I need to do some further research into this. The big question is what torque rating to go for.

The power chuck is still around somewhere - unfortunately its in quite a few pieces with a smashed front plate as somebody drove the tool into it before it was put into store! It's not great as the air supply comes up the spindle so you can only put about 2 inches in the chuck - i.e the depth of the chuck.

Cheers

Dave

90

General Mach Discussion / Re: Text Wizard

« on: August 24, 2006, 11:18:07 AM »

I found last week that if you create the code, then save it, exit and restart Mach the file comes out as big circles - it seems to be something that is initialised by the wizard, but is then reset when you start Mach - i.e. something is changed by the wizard and not referenced in the G-code.

Cheers

Dave