Messages

101

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: About G Code of Mach4 Demo

« on: September 02, 2021, 02:48:58 PM »

I'm not sure what you mean.  Line in line?  But generally, feed hold is not allowed in during a tap operation because feed hold does not also stop the spindle. 

Steve

102

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: About G Code of Mach4 Demo

« on: August 31, 2021, 05:35:05 PM »

Ok, ESS Mach4 plugin doesn't support rigid tapping.  That is why you get the feature not supported.  So regular G84 (no M29) with a floating tap head is what you will need.

Steve

103

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH4 G31 MOTION WILL NOT STOP ON PROBE CONTACT

« on: August 31, 2021, 04:00:39 PM »

I haven't had any probing problems with the pokeys57CNC make sure you are wired to pin 19 on pokeys and on some of the older boards you need to add a i think pullup resistor to pin 19  but been a while and don't remember for sure, the only drawback for me is it won't work with more that one probe connected..

Wow.  Good information.  Thanks!

Steve

104

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 vs Mach3 Gcode?

« on: August 31, 2021, 03:57:15 PM »

That makes sense and I think you did the right thing but Why does a G02 go CCW and a G03 go CW? Is it because the tool post is mounted front and a Fanuc is mounted in the rear? I guess i would have thought that those two commands are set in stone. If it is a case where it is tool post dependent there would be an option check box for forward or reverse tool post.

It depends on which side the tool post is and which way the spindle turns.  It is more machine centric than controller centric as the machine tool builder decides where the tool post is and the spindle direction.  Meaning all Fanuc controlled machines will not have the tool post mounted in the rear.  However, most CNC machines have the tool post in the rear or they have both a rear and front tool post.  And most CNC lathes determine the spindle direction as if looking at the spindle from behind the chuck too.  Mach3 could not handle a dual tool post machine and it did not adhere to any industrial standard.  But even Mach 3 defaulted to a rear tool post for a CNC lather.  However, most lathes that Mach 3 ran were manual lathe conversions that had the tool post in the front, hence the swap G02/G03 checkbox. 

Mach4 adheres to an industrial standard and can handle a dual tool post machine where some tools can be on the rear tool post and some tools can be on the rear tool post.  So it isn't a binary choice where all tools are either on a front or rear tool post like Mach3.  Have a look at the "Newfangled Lathe Turret Standard.pdf" doc.  It explains the tool direction.  Since Mach 4 can support both a read and front tool post, it is a little more complicated than just having a check box to swap G02/G03 in Mach4. 

To fix your issue, you have two options.

1. Change the direction of your tool in the tool table.  Keep in mind you may need to change the spindle direction as well (swap the direction that M3 and M4 do).  You just have to figure out if you need one, the other, or both. 
2. Swap G02/G03 in the G code.  (Change what the post processor outputs if you use CAM.) 

Steve

105

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: About G Code of Mach4 Demo

« on: August 31, 2021, 02:09:49 PM »

You turned on rigid tapping with M29 and the motion controller doesn't support rigid tapping.  If the motion controller is the Simulator, then that is what is up.  Take M29 out to test. 

Also, you can use M29 with Mach4 Hobby.  However, the motion controller you choose has to support rigid tapping.  So do your research. 

Steve

106

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: shut down output while close mach PMC

« on: August 29, 2021, 11:03:10 PM »

I think the unload script is the only place where that could be done.  One could make a PMC object that does just what you want and then that PMC object could be called from the screen unload script. 

example using myPmcObj object and calling it from the screen unload script. 

Code: [Select]

machDir, rc = mc.mcCntlGetMachDir(inst)
myPmcObj = require(machDir .. "/myPmcObj.lua")
myPmcObj.PlcCycle() -- this will cycle that PmcObject one time. :) 

I will see if I can add something in that can run PMC objects on startup and shutdown without having to add code. 

Steve

107

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 vs Mach3 Gcode?

« on: August 29, 2021, 07:26:56 PM »

Nice to meet you.
I am migrating from Mach3 to Mach4.
I also got an error when I loaded Gcord that worked on Mach3 into Mach4 as it is.
I gave up. I use FUSION 360 for CADCAM. When generating a Tap file, Mach4 is specified and the Tap file for Mach4 is used.

Mach4 is not Mach3.  Most G code made specifically for Mach3 will not work in Mach4.  This is true primarily for Lathe but can also be the case for Mill as well.  Mach 4 is a lot stricter and adheres to a standard a LOT more than Mach 3.  Since Fanuc is pretty much the industry standard, we made Mach4 primarily emulate a Fanuc 21i system in both Mill and Lathe.  This made it a LOT easier for people to run CAM programs that didn't have a Mach 3 specific post processor. 

But the fact that some Mach3 G code will not run on Mach4 is not a bug, it was by design.  In fact, most machine controllers can have major differences between versions.  But Fanuc maintains compatibility better than some of the others, which is another reason we chose to become Fanuc compatible. 

Steve

108

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Tool path window in lathe

« on: August 29, 2021, 04:52:02 PM »

Tool paths are displaying better.

Is there a setting or an edit to keep the tool paths from moving in the window and have the cutter position move. The tool paths moving like that gives me motion sickness.

You have to edit the screen set and change the tool path's properties.  The "Follow Mode" property, to be specific.

Steve

109

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: MACH4 G31 MOTION WILL NOT STOP ON PROBE CONTACT

« on: August 29, 2021, 04:49:52 PM »

Hi,

Since probing is a real-time process, it must be handled entirely by the motion controller.  So I would investigate the settings of the Pokeys.

Steve

110

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Current Position not updating

« on: August 29, 2021, 04:45:31 PM »

DFitz,

It sounds like you have turned on the encoders for position feedback in the HiCON plugin.  Also check that nothing in the screen load script calls mcCntlDroSetUseAuxPos() or mcCntlDroSetUseAuxPosAxis().

Steve