Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / Problem #2 & 3 on my reinstallation- spindle doesn't turn & units

« on: November 13, 2014, 07:47:59 PM »

#2- Whether I try to manually turn the spindle on from within the interface or through G-code, it doesn't respond.  It's set up as a simple power on/power off with no speed control.

#3- Something's up with the units or scaling also.  I set the machine to inches in configuration during set-up and I've made sure it was in inches in the setting tab.  When I set the step jog to 1.000 the machine moves about 1/4" (~7mm).  Scaling is set to +1.000 on the DRO.

Any help with these?  Thanks.

2

General Mach Discussion / Missing Z movement w/keyboard

« on: November 12, 2014, 04:06:07 PM »

I've done a reinstallation of Mach3 on a mill and am slowly getting everything back to an operational condition (and when I'm done I've got to save the settings so I don't have to go through this again).  Anyway, I can manually jog the x,y,z axes using the buttons on the jog tab menu and the x,z work with the keyboard arrow keys, but the z doesn't respond to the +,- keys.  In every other way, the z seems to respond find.  Any ideas?

Thanks, Glenn

3

General Mach Discussion / Tool change location problem

« on: March 08, 2013, 04:38:02 PM »

I'm experiencing a problem involving manual tool changes, but first I want to ask, where do you set up the default tool change location?  I'm certain I've messed with it before, but now I'm not finding it.

So the problem I had today– at the end of the first tool's operation it went off the part to what I'm assuming is the tool change location.  I had to more it more to do the tool change and when I resumed the code the tool moved further from the part, stopped, and then headed in another direction until it hit the axis limit switch.  I'm not very code savvy but there are no move command in that line that would be sending it out to the wild unknown.  After trying for quite a time I gave up and ran the code from the beginning with the second tool installed (it was small so didn't cause a problem), and it ran through that tool change to the end of the code without a problem. 

Can anyone tell me what the cause of the problem is?

Thanks,
Glenn

4

General Mach Discussion / Installation problem

« on: January 10, 2013, 04:26:07 PM »

I am installing Mach3 on a newly formated computer running windows 7 32 bit.  As instructed I disconnected the CNC machine cables before running the installation.  I did not create a custom profile because I already have one saved.  I rebooted the computer and am trying to run the DriverTest.exe but when I double click the icon nothing happens (I am using the parallel port).  Also, I don't see in the instructions when you are supposed to reattach the CNC machine.

Any help?

Glenn

5

General Mach Discussion / Installation problem- "No Driver sensed installed"-

« on: December 14, 2012, 11:29:24 AM »

I am installing Mach3 on a Windows 7 64bit PC and I get a screen that says "No driver sensed installed. Run driver test."  After hitting the yes button it goes with no noticeable delay to the installation finished screen but the program is not engaging the steppers.  I've retried from the DriverTest.exe file with the same result.  Any ideas about the cause of the problem?

6

General Mach Discussion / Loosing X,Y position location

« on: January 23, 2012, 01:48:04 PM »

Hello,

I manage a student fabrication shop at Hampshire College and four or five years ago a student converted one of our manual Bridgeports to CNC run with Mach3.  I have no prior experience with CNC and haven't been able to dedicate much time to working with this one, but I'm trying.  The student did an impressive job considering he had no prior experience with this sort of thing and was completely self guided.  Not everything worked out quite right including being able to have MPG control on only one axis at a time, and, of greater significance, he was never able to get the positional feedback system (whatever that's called) working.  Fixing that is more than I can probably take on at this point but I can't ignore a new problem we're having.

For a while now if I rapid in both axes simultaneously one of them will unpredictably stall and won't more again until I stop moving the other axis (and of course it loses its position).  I have not had this happen when I am feeding a lower rates.  Recently, after zeroing on a part and starting to run code the machine would go to the wrong Y starting operation position, and (after stopping the code) when I hit "Go to Z" it would go to a position offset from the part origin.  Sometimes it would do the same thing (to the same position) on repeated attempts and sometimes it would offset by even greater amounts.  This primarily happened on the Y but then started happening on the X as well.  Now, it makes sense that this might happen like it does on the manual rapiding since it is rapiding in two directions at once, but the odd thing is that it hasn't happened (except for possibly once) while in the middle of running code (even though it rapids multi-axis for tool changes and such).  Also,  when it happens during manual rapiding you can hear the motor complaining as long as you're holding the jog.  I don't ever hear this while running code.

I may be leaving out some relevant details, but does anyone have any suggestions about where this problem is coming from?

Thanks,

Glenn
http://lemelson.hampshire.edu/
http://www.hampshire.edu/academics/index_lemelson.htm

7

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / G-code note displaying correctly

« on: March 19, 2010, 11:51:38 AM »

I am trying to run a g-code created in CamWorks.  It runs fine for the first 11 feature operations then it hits line "N501 M03" and stops all movement and the spindle.  Now the weirdness starts.  The remaining lines of code (to line 672) all display as "N501 M03".  Though the line number in the code displayed window doesn't change, as I scroll down the lines, the line number in the line number box does change.  When I click the "edit g-code" button the code displays in its entirety all the way to line 673 (also M30) with no apparent irregularities (to my untrained eye).  An additional curiosity– after loading the g-code but before running it, I can scroll down to line 501 then it won't allow me to go any further and the display follows that line with lines 498 through 501 repeating.

Tell me this is some simple bug to fix, please.

Glenn

8

General Mach Discussion / Really basic spindle question

« on: November 09, 2007, 01:18:42 PM »

When I click on the Spindle button, its border flashes yellow, as does the Dwell button (for the appropriate amount of time), but no movement on the spindle.  Does the flashing happen during normal operation or is this an error sign?  If it's an error, any ideas for a cause?  This machine has run properly in the past (with intermittant problems).  The software was recently updated due to another problem which is resolved, but the spindle has behaved this way since the new software installation, which was reinstalled a second time, in case that was the problem, to no avail.