Messages

561

General Mach Discussion / Re: Duplomatic turret for Colchester

« on: October 14, 2011, 01:20:23 PM »

VERY nice setup by you two- thanks for sharing the pics-

Dave

562

General Mach Discussion / Re: Continue from same point after e-stop

« on: October 14, 2011, 05:00:02 AM »

Unfortunately when you get an error or hit the e-stop button, you will lose position on the axes. If you have home switches installed, then you would rehome the machine to get back where you began.

Then, you can use "run from here" in Mach to start where you left off, but make sure you start from the line before as the run from here command can be a little tricky to get onto. Make sure you practice cutting in air above the workpiece to be sure it's going to do what you want it to do.

Dave

563

Tangent Corner / Re: Measuring with a Microscope?

« on: October 13, 2011, 08:06:04 PM »

That's very good, Rich, nice thinking! 

564

Tangent Corner / Re: Measuring with a Microscope?

« on: October 13, 2011, 07:32:12 PM »

Real nice Rich, thanks for sharing. This is exactly what I was referring to as a microscope would be perfect. Guess I need to watch ebay a bit more in the coming days. I'm thinking I could machine/scribe my own "reticle" as a background to compare to the tooling.

This looked pretty interesting and I know I've seen some software that has measuring grids as well.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/portable-usb-5-500x-2-0-mp-cmos-digital-microscope-with-8-led-illumination-black-47484

Thanks again-
Dave

565

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: New Guy with an Old Question

« on: October 13, 2011, 03:05:54 PM »

Where exactly do I find the 2.86 version.  The only one I can seem to find listed on the download
page is the 2.79 version.

Here ya go Tim:

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,18321.0.html

Dave

566

Tangent Corner / Measuring with a Microscope?

« on: October 13, 2011, 08:43:57 AM »

Hi, all, just wanted to bend your ear on how you all go about magnifying your tooling to assess the condition or size etc... Normally I take mine into the shop where I work and use the comparitor, but lately, that's getting to be a pain so I'd like to pick up some sort of small microscope comparitor type unit. Any suggestions on what to look for?

I guess I could pick up a used microscope but there are no witness lines or "gage" lines so I guess I could use it with a scale when checking against a cutter?

Also thought of using the mach 3 video window with a webcam, but I think I'd really like to have a stand alone unit.

Please let me know what you are using and thanks for your input..
Dave

567

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: New Guy with an Old Question

« on: October 12, 2011, 12:36:38 PM »

Hi,

To do a screen shot, when you have the image on your screen that you'd like to share, just hit the "Print Screen" key on the keyboard. This puts that image on the "imaginary" clipboard.

 Then, open up Microsoft Paint, which is a very small paint program that is installed in Windows. Start button->Programs->accessories->Paint.

Create a new file in Microsft Paint, than right click (right mouse button) on the white area and choose "Paste" from the menu. Your image should appear. Just save that as a JPEG (.jpg) file but name it something like "MetalShavingsscreenshot" and then transfer it to the Mac. Then upload it here.

Hope that helps-
Dave

EDIT: Ooops, sorry, I see Ron beat me to it!   

568

General Mach Discussion / Re: gecko540 problem under mach3

« on: October 12, 2011, 12:26:39 PM »

Cam some one using  a G540 comment if the PP needs to be 3.3V or 5.5V?

Hi Rich,

Quoted directly from Mariss Freimanis on the CNC Zone 04-27-2011 :

"The G540 inputs from the DB-25 connector are designed to work with 3.3V and 5V logic levels."

But I will also add that for me, the G540 did not work as "smoothly" on my laptop as compared to the desktop PC. So I do think that could be at play here depending on the output pulse.

Dave

569

Mach SDK plugin questions and answers. / Re: XBox360 Controller Plugin Version 2.3.8 Now Available

« on: October 06, 2011, 08:14:44 PM »

For general info, it is possible to use the xbox360 controller at the same time as the ShuttlePro to gain a few extra buttons and the wheel control.

Lee

That's VERY interesting, Lee, thanks for that-

Dave

570

General Mach Discussion / Re: screwed up sign

« on: October 04, 2011, 06:46:01 PM »

Thanks, hmmm, open vectors eh,  I suspected something like that. when the letters are blown-up from 270 pt to 6 inches the graphics program must forget to add pixels??

I don't really know anything about that particular program, so I can't really comment on it. As Rich mentioned, I moved away from LCam soon after I paid for the pro version as I do a lot of engraving and such, and I just couldn't see putting the time into it as it was buggy, and I just couldn't "bond" with it.

I saved my pennies for VCarve Pro and I have never once regretted it as the features and the support are unequalled.

Dave