Messages

11

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: February 01, 2021, 07:32:14 PM »

Will try those settings tomorrow .
Is there an option to select different pulley ratios ?

Will try this and report back

12

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: January 30, 2021, 04:37:22 PM »

We tested the UC100 and it is working fine putting out the PWM so I think it is just a setting we need to get sorted

Hi Brian
No doubt you see the settings I attached for Goomba
Attached here too

13

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: January 30, 2021, 04:33:51 PM »

Hi Goomba
These are the settings  which work fine on my lathe in Mach 3  .

It  wont  accept  spindle ratios .    so I just alter motor speeds until I get a reasonable true speed reading
I am confident that my true speed readings are good..  Checked with mechanical tacho.

Cant get to build number at the moment . Computer is set up for another job . Shout if you cant do without it .

14

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: January 29, 2021, 08:57:57 AM »

Hi,
CNCDrive is the manufacturer of UCCNC software, a competitor to Mach4 and NFS.

With all the good will in the world its hard to imagine CNCDrive would be overly concerned about their Mach4 plugin, they'd rather have
you buy UCCNC instead.

Craig

I have tried  UCCNC on the mill and it seems OK  but I am told that the lathe function is inadequate.The more I look around  , the more I see that lathe users are not well catered for

15

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: January 27, 2021, 05:35:20 PM »

Will do Brian
May take me a while tomorrow.

Are you maybe suggesting it is up to CNC drive to provide the appropriate settings.
Their manual for UC100 only covers M3

16

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: January 27, 2021, 03:58:46 PM »

Hi Brian
I have been through that process!  and no further forward
Chose  pwm  control which works fine in M3

I also used the same pin,  step , direction settings which I had used in M3   but  in  M4
However the setup pages are far more involved .. lack of a manual is a serious defect IMHO.
I am trying to progress by trial and error  .  hardly an effective way forward.

I can run a program in M3   Cant (yet)  in M4 .   I suppose it may be easier for those with stepper spindles where effectively it is little more than another axis .

Where are the lathe users out there using other spindle speed controls , Vfd,   Lenze  etc


 

17

Mach4 Plugins / Re: Mach 4 wont recognise UC100 controller

« on: January 27, 2021, 07:34:22 AM »

Hi John,

I used the UC100 on my lathe when I converted to Mach4.
I'm sure you have already done all of this but just to make sure.
The uc100 plugin files (.sig and .m4pw) must be in the mach4hobby\plugins directory.
You must enable that plugin by Config->control select Plugins tab and then enable so the green check appears.
Then you can go to the Config->Plugins menu and configure the uc100.

Having said that I abandoned the uc100 because they had not done a thorough testing of the plugin on lathes and there were errors in certain operations.  I went with a pmdx411 and have been happy with its performance but it is limited in the number of inputs as is the uc100.  I still have a version 1 usb smoothstepper that runs a mill under mach3.  Have recently add another mill that runs mach4 with a Pokeys57cnc.  I and others have not been able to get the pokeys to run under usb but runs great over ethernet.  Haven't tested it on a lathe.

HTH
RT

It seems you were correct RHT .  I am told that UC100 needed to be enabled  in the control/ config/ plugins page .
I must say  there is  a lack of info  for anyone going into Mach 4 from scratch, they just have not yet got around to a manual  which expands on the configuration, and even with experience of Mach 3  the configuration of Mach 4 is  bewildering.

And even then if UC100 does not support threading it may not serve my purpose for long.
I am looking at other options , but some members on other forums seem to have bitten a software bullet and gone to Linux CNC.  I am told that is likely to involve a steep learning curve but it seems to me that so does Mach4.

I am not looking for commercial precision  so if I can make decent short (maybe 10 mm long) threads on my TCL 125 then I would I think be satisfied .
As I have said elsewhere I dont mind spending the bucks (within reason)  on licences and a chunk of hardware as long as I am confident it is leading somewhere . Without a decent Mach 4 manual I feel that I may be troubling members of the forums unduly.

These machine are toys to me and I hope to quickly outgrow  the TCL and move  on to something more "up to the job"
My current dream is to convert a turret lathe  and would love to do one  like this , so would need  axes for LT, XT, and turret rotation , as well as spindle motor , and speed  variator ( variable speed pulley system ) But I have a way to go before I embark on that.

Maybe a prompt release of the Mach 4 manual will speed my journey   

18

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: January 26, 2021, 04:47:04 PM »

Thanks

19

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: January 26, 2021, 03:22:55 PM »

Using  uc100 as I did in Mach 3

20

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 configuration manual

« on: January 26, 2021, 01:57:33 PM »

(At this stage ) I need to start it , simply switching the spindle relay to take a 230v supply to the DC controller .
I then need to apply a 0-10 v analogue signal to control the speed up or down.

I need to input spindle index pulse  for feedback to tell me  what speed it is doing .
Finally I will need to input ratios for the spindle gearing  to relate the spindle speed to the motor speed .  Hopefully I may eventually be able to do a bit of screwcutting


In Mach 3  I had the following settings :-
Spindle  enabled with PWM control  ( spindle clockwise on  output#2) 
spindle step pin 1 (low active)   dir pin 1  all on port 1
Output #2 set for port 1 pin 17      Index port 1 pin 12

Clearly the settings in Mach 4 are much more involved.