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Messages - lswatson

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1
General Mach Discussion / Loading mega million line Gcode files
« on: August 13, 2008, 08:46:35 PM »
Greetings,
I was head banging all day today trying to load and run a 4.5 million line Gcode.
It would load then lock up.
Had to zero my machine four times today on all four axis as a result.  What a p-sser.
So I PM'd Brett and he got back to me in no time with the solution.
Go to Diagnostics>Toolpath on/off and click to Off. 
This can be helpful IF the computer used to run your miill does not have a graphics card.
MOBO's native ability to deal with the display of tool paths can cause problems.
Thanks to Brett and the great support I have gotten on this Forum. 
Wish I knew enough to contribute, but I'm just a bottom feeder.
ciao,
Larry

2
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 30, 2007, 06:55:35 AM »
Thanks again, guys,
Couldn't ask for more helpful and timely support.
And at 6:30 am on a Sunday........

3
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 30, 2007, 06:51:29 AM »
I may upgrade later.
All I do is zero stuff out, jog a bit and load & go.
No major acrobatics within Mach on my part.

4
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 30, 2007, 06:42:20 AM »
Ah, thanks again.
My version looks to be from May, 2007.
But it does have a special interface set up by Taig. 
Anyway, now I know where the button is, and my code loads.
Which is a big step forward.
 ;D

5
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 30, 2007, 06:38:03 AM »
Just loaded the 4.9 million line file with no problem.
Thank you !!

6
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 30, 2007, 06:31:34 AM »
Thanks.  On my screen its right below the Diagnostics button on the Diagnostics page.  Which is top center.  Reset button is bottom left.
So I can turn toolpaths off and still run my part?
I know, that must be another really dumb question.  :-[
Thanks for the tip. 

7
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 30, 2007, 06:10:16 AM »
Excuse my ignorance, but how do I do that?
I'm creating the NC program in DeskProto and opening it in Mach.

8
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 28, 2007, 08:19:04 AM »
Hi Brett and TP,
I'll have to check which version I have.  It came with my Taig mill which I got in early June,  and was the most current version as of last May.
Last night I may have discovered two "operator errors" to account my my topsy turvy results.  I won't waste space explaining, but its akin to putting your hands on the wrong keys on a keyboard and typing away.  That one initial error creates endless errors afterward.
It seems Mach3 is in no way responsible for my results.
Although I do have a question about Mach locking up on my 4.9 million line code.  I even tried it on my dual core, 4 gig, 64 bit Win XP Pro system and Mach would not load the code.  Is there a known limit to the number of lines Mach can load? 
With a step over of .02 to .01 and very organic displacement surfaces ( like a cloud texture on a pendant), the G Code gets pretty lengthy.
Thanks again for your responses to my posting. 

9
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 27, 2007, 02:32:09 PM »
Hi Brett,
Thanks for the note.   I'll follow up.
I did not zero between part #2 and #3.
#1 and #2 were dead on re: thickness (Z height). 
So I ran #3 and got the surprise.  I checked Z after running #3 and it was .0003, high.  Which is well within my needs.
This extra thickness problem happens often.  Small parts (10mm and under) with step over more than ..5 to .1 seem fine.
When I go to .03 or .02 stepover, thats when I have the problem. 
I appreciate your help.

10
General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Problem? How do I check to know?
« on: September 27, 2007, 01:20:57 PM »
Hi Brett,
Thank you for responding. 
I am not setting a particular depth other than cutting to the surface of my model.  I import an STL of my model in Desk Proto, and generate the tool paths there.  I'm using bits in the .015 to .003 range, with 0 "skin" on the model, one tool cutting the entire model. 
The developer of Desk Proto has checked the code and it looks good.  Zero for the part is zero for all axis' of the mill.  The part is centered (half above, half below) the intersection.
I'm zeroing with an electrical widgit and a special gauge for setting Z.  From those settings I can cut test models to within .0003". Which is fine for my jewelry pieces. 
I just recently started using the Z gauge.  I zeroed it, cut two models in a piece of wax.  Both were fine, except for the step over.  Changed the step over of the second part, ran it a third time.  It was 1.2mm too thick.  This had happened time and time again.  But not until I got the Z gauge did I have proof the tool was not moving.  Z position of the tool was identical after the third part, as it was when I set it prior to running the first part. All indications while I am in Desk Proto is that the model is set up properly.  Needless to say, I've checked this many times since having this problem, which is over two months when I started milling.
My wax is put in the rotary axis with tail stock holding the other end.  I am performing a two sided milling proceedure with an auto flip between sides.  This is set up in Desk Protos N-Sided Wizard.  I then load the G Code into my milling computer, open in Mach3 and run it.
Any ideas of what to check are appreciated. 
By the way does anybody else have Mach lock up with G Codes approaching 5 million lines?  Thats another problem I have had.

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