Messages

51

General Mach Discussion / Re: Height Following

« on: June 12, 2008, 02:25:32 PM »

here's a pic of the type of sensor we use , although it's set in it's holder , it's a linear sensor gives us + - volts out ,dc swing either side of 0v of around 8 - 10v
you can see the shoe that rests on the material being cut , this is spring loaded to keep the tension on the sensor shaft , it has a calibrated range of  + - 1.0mm
with a range or + - 3mm each side of 0v point. we are using 15v + & -  dc  so as to get a negative voltage swing from the sensor , but if your sensors only positive output , then we should be able to set it for a specific voltage for your zero reference point , this then depends on what voltage drift you may have etc .   

we are looking at either a remote triming encoder for fine tuning or just setting the points in mach 3 , i am hoping to get some machine time to start testing it all shortly
to test for voltage drift and repeatability of height control

email me off list
what's  required ? , the full electronics or just a plugin for mach3 , if so what type of connections do you need if any ,  parrallel port , serial etc


Dave
   

52

General Mach Discussion / Re: Height Following

« on: June 12, 2008, 11:33:41 AM »

i am working on a plugin at the moment to do exactly that for a Laser ,
let me know directly what voltages u need etc , or exact requirements

i hope to have it tested shortly

Dave 

53

General Mach Discussion / Re: Path not correct

« on: June 11, 2008, 05:23:28 PM »

is there any other software running in the background ? , antivirus , backup , etc , this will also affect performance issues , if it happens to be running tasks at the times you have problems , this includes Updates or network activity


Dave

54

General Mach Discussion / Re: Path not correct

« on: June 11, 2008, 06:14:56 AM »

check your timing settings you may have them slightly too high , steppers can and do miss steps .
also check for any binding on your slides or ballscrews etc , any tightness can in some cases make the steppers lose steps

As the steppers only move then presume they have reached the correct point , if they have missed then their is no closed loop feedback to tell the controller it's wrong
servo motors fitted with encoders are the best as they can send any error ( or counts ) back to the controller , and then the controller can adjust it's settings to allow for change

Dave

55

General Mach Discussion / Re: Direction change makes the stepper motor run ruff.

« on: June 10, 2008, 02:55:10 PM »

as a check disconnect the steppers / servos and turn the ballscrews by hand and see if you notice any binding or they being stiff more  in one direction etc , on the face it sounds as if you have some binding on slides or screws etc  ,or try reducing the tuning a small amount from what would be optimum .


Dave

56

General Mach Discussion / Re: Fried 2nd Computer (Newbie)

« on: June 10, 2008, 03:19:50 AM »

stop trying to jump to far too quick , otherwise we will not find the problem for you , and More damage WILL HAPPEN
is this the bob you are using ? http://www.probotix.com/diagrams/PBX-RF_diagram.gif

looking at this bob there are 2 supplys needed one for the pc side of the bob and another for the controller side , you can not run them from one supply, has the regulator pcb you made fitted with supply filtering caps on the input and output side ,their are a few areas suspect , do you have the transformer wired correctly , did you fit 100uF caps across the 7812 on both the input and output sides , is the common 0V the same to  both the motor driver and 7812 power supplys.

using an old pc power supply as suggested , is a good idea although for this application of realy only supplying power to the bob is overkill
 

as the problem manifests it's self when you connect the pc then i'd suggest you dont have the second power supply fitted or your not supplying power from the USB socket 

also a simple check is if you have an old printer you can connect to the printer port and see if it's working ok , if your not comfortable pokeing around with a multimeter .

if you wish contact me on skype or email me , i dont mind helping you further , but it seems that without either someone local to you or interactive help you may struggle , you'd probably at the moment be better off using the standard breakout board rather than the isolated one
as they can induce other problems of their own doing , changing things half way through can only move the underlying problem around not solve it  .

Dave








 


 

 

57

General Mach Discussion / Re: THC 300 and Sheet Cam... Touch off question.

« on: June 09, 2008, 04:59:23 AM »

take a look at the sheetcam  post file

under pendown macro
it appears by my understanding it multiplys x 3 ? , i may be wrong , as i dont use sheetcam often
sorry i cant be more specific

Dave

58

General Mach Discussion / Re: THC 300 and Sheet Cam... Touch off question.

« on: June 09, 2008, 03:59:26 AM »

G28.1 is reference axis ,
G28.1  is set in mach3 under  Configure .. config referencing

Dave 

59

General Mach Discussion / Re: THC 300 and Sheet Cam... Touch off question.

« on: June 09, 2008, 03:01:42 AM »

i'd check the calibration of your stepper / servo and backlash if any , if you move the axis say 1" how far does the axis actualy move
and is it repeatable every time , if your using steppers it could be loosing steps , so giving you this problem , you may in that case have the tuning too high .

so check for repeatability of axis movment and motor tuning
and any backlash etc
Dave   

60

Flash Screens / Re: Mach3 Flash OEM .fla: "Mach Nation 11-20.fla"

« on: June 08, 2008, 03:59:46 AM »

well i for one will be supporting Jason 100% , we have all learned at least one item from him

Dave