Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: setting a permanent home point

« on: November 25, 2008, 11:50:44 AM »

Thanks guys for the help.
I will set up home switches this weekend will normal cheap NC microswitches work ok.

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: setting a permanent home point

« on: November 25, 2008, 06:09:22 AM »

Hi Ray

Thanks for the reply.
So in theory it should go to the same point everytime I home it, but is there a setting I can use so I can set a permanent point say 10mm away from the zero home point, do I just tell it to drive off 10mm from the home switch or what.

Thanks

3

General Mach Discussion / setting a permanent home point

« on: November 25, 2008, 12:00:12 AM »

Is it possible if I can set a permanent home point in Mach3 so whenever I cut on my machine it will always start there pls let me know how I go about it Im asking this because I want to mill a big L on the one side of the table making it easier to line up material on the bed and therefore I need that permanent home point

Thanks

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z Axis motor skipping

« on: November 19, 2007, 12:03:51 AM »

It appears the parallel port in the bios of my pc was set for bi directional, if I set it to EPP mode the motors are perfect no skipping on their own but I might still get a PCI Parallel Port card for my pc just for added protection.

Thanks
Edmond

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z Axis motor skipping

« on: November 16, 2007, 06:07:05 AM »

Hi Chip

I have set up all the ports and pins right, I think I sent you the wrong file, if I open the Mach3 folder on my work pc I see Mach3Mill.xml I assume this is the right file.Will send you the right one when I get home today.I ran config check on my home Mach3 and everything is 100%.Yes it is the same pc I ran TurboCNC with the same parallel port cable.I can jog the motors fine its just the Z motor steps on its own so something is sending spikes maybe to the parallel port.Maybe I should look for another motherboard as this pc was originally a network server does that make a difference.I will check the parallel port as you suggested.
 :)Thanks for all the help

Regards
Edmond

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z Axis motor skipping

« on: November 15, 2007, 11:58:44 PM »

Hi Chip

I could not find the xml files, I could only find the xmlbackups folder I hope its the right one.I checked the motors again and noticed the Z motor steps only in 1 direction by itself.

Regards
Edmond

7

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z Axis motor skipping

« on: November 15, 2007, 06:10:27 AM »

Hi Chip

I will post the file tomorrow.The Z motor just twitches its shaft sometimes in one direction then the other.

Regards
Edmond

8

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z Axis motor skipping

« on: November 15, 2007, 12:15:25 AM »

I have tried all the suggestions you guys mentioned but the motor still skips on its own, so it must be the pc.I have tried TurboCNC yesterday and the motors work perfectly in it but I dont like a DOS based program its not very user friendly.If I got a parallel port card would that solve any problems? Do you guys have any other suggestions as I really want to use Mach 3 for my machine.

Kind Regards
Edmond

9

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z Axis motor skipping

« on: November 13, 2007, 09:54:35 AM »

Hi Gary B and Les

I will try your suggestions today when I get home from work.By the way the board is not optoisolated from the pc, could it be the parallel port cable or something similar, if I had to optoisolate the pc could someone recommend a circuit or board.A lot of people use the HobbyCNC board with no problems despite it having no optoisolation.I have swapped the stepper motors but not the inputs yet.

Thanks
Edmond

10

General Mach Discussion / Re: Z Axis motor skipping

« on: November 13, 2007, 02:52:16 AM »

Hi Chip

Yes the Z motor moves without any commands, its shaft twitches every +- 15 - 20 seconds.I have the motors sitting on my bench, first want to make sure I can solve this problem before installing them on my machine.I have played around with the Step/Dir pulse settings but to no avail.I am running a HobbyCNC 3 axis pro board with HobbyCNC 305oz/in stepper motors.I have ticked low actives on for Dir/Step, all the pins are set correctly, all the axis move when commanded its just the Z motor twitches on its on.If I disconnect the parallel port cable everything is fine so it cannot be my driver board.Thanks for the Advice

Edmond