Recent Posts

31

General Mach Discussion / Re: Spindle won't start - pwm bumped to minimum setting - Advice please

« Last post by edwardbent on May 14, 2026, 03:35:37 AM »

It sounds like the issue is related to the PWM signal or Mach3 settings rather than the Kress spindle itself. Since the spindle works when you change “Step Low Active,” the controller is still responding. Check the Spindle Setup settings, especially Minimum PWM, wiring connections, and the controller power supply. You can also try disabling PWM Control temporarily to test simple spindle ON/OFF operation.

32

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: tower lights

« Last post by cd_edwards on May 12, 2026, 12:24:42 PM »

none really. finding the event's was somewhat challenging, but overall it was fairly easy to implement. The GMS from MachPro is another matter though. that thing is painful and if your not careful, can lead to error's that are difficult to fix.

33

Probes and Tool Setters / Re: Rapidchange ATC

« Last post by cd_edwards on May 12, 2026, 11:41:51 AM »

Might want to approach RapidChange for a MachPro profile. It's been released now and works from my limited testing. I'm waiting on a new rcatc with all the bells and whistles. Should be here in next couple of days and then I can test alot more.

34

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: tower lights

« Last post by Indigaa on May 12, 2026, 04:22:36 AM »

What challenges did you face while implementing the LUA script for the Arduino and LED strip

35

General Mach Discussion / Re: mach3 pneumatic z axis setup

« Last post by ZASto on May 08, 2026, 10:22:37 PM »

OK, from the PostProcessor that you attached, I figured out that you use version 9 of Vectric (Aspire/VCarve/Cut2D)

Here is slightly modified postprocessor to use with your machine.

Code: [Select]

+================================================
+                                               
+ Mach2/3 - Vectric machine output configuration file   
+                                               
+================================================
+                                               
+ History                                       
+                                               
+ Who      When       What                         
+ ======== ========== ===========================
+ Tony     15/11/2005 Written for metric
+ Tony     06/01/2006 Added ATC option     
+ Tony     14/05/2006 Fixed G21 mm in header   
+ Tony     24/07/2006 Added G2 & G3 Arc support + removed (( ))
+ Tony     18/06/2007 Replaced the Tool comment     
+ Mark     14/08/2008 Added G1 to Feed moves,
+ Mark     28/08/2009 Added G91.1 to force use of incremental arcs
+ Mark     30/11/2009 Added TOOLPATHS_OUTPUT.
+ Brian    15/12/2009 Remove M05 from NEW_SEGMENT
+ Mark     18/01/2014 Added Dwell
+ Mark     24/10/2018 Added Helical arcs.
+================================================

POST_NAME = "Mach2/3 AirZ (mm) (*.tap)"

FILE_EXTENSION = "tap"

UNITS = "MM"

DIRECT_OUTPUT = "Mach|Mach4.Document"

SUBSTITUTE = "({)}"

+------------------------------------------------
+    Line terminating characters                 
+------------------------------------------------

LINE_ENDING = "[13][10]"

+------------------------------------------------
+    Block numbering                             
+------------------------------------------------

LINE_NUMBER_START     = 0
LINE_NUMBER_INCREMENT = 10
LINE_NUMBER_MAXIMUM = 999999

+================================================
+                                               
+    Formating for variables                     
+                                               
+================================================

VAR LINE_NUMBER = [N|A|N|1.0]
VAR SPINDLE_SPEED = [S|A|S|1.0]
VAR FEED_RATE = [F|C|F|1.1]
VAR X_POSITION = [X|C|X|1.3]
VAR Y_POSITION = [Y|C|Y|1.3]
VAR Z_POSITION = [Z|C|Z|1.3]
VAR ARC_CENTRE_I_INC_POSITION = [I|A|I|1.3]
VAR ARC_CENTRE_J_INC_POSITION = [J|A|J|1.3]
VAR X_HOME_POSITION = [XH|A|X|1.3]
VAR Y_HOME_POSITION = [YH|A|Y|1.3]
VAR Z_HOME_POSITION = [ZH|A|Z|1.3]
VAR SAFE_Z_HEIGHT = [SAFEZ|A|Z|1.3]
VAR DWELL_TIME = [DWELL|A|P|1.2]
+================================================
+                                               
+    Block definitions for toolpath output       
+                                               
+================================================

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output at the start of the file
+---------------------------------------------------

begin HEADER

+"( [TP_FILENAME] )"
+"( File created: [DATE] - [TIME])"
+"( for Mach2/3 from Vectric )"
+"( Material Size)"
+"( X= [XLENGTH], Y= [YLENGTH], Z= [ZLENGTH])"
+"([FILE_NOTES])"
+"(Toolpaths used in this file:)"
+"([TOOLPATHS_OUTPUT])"
+"(Tools used in this file: )"
+"([TOOLS_USED])"
"G00 G21 G17 G90 G40 G49 G80"
+"G71G91.1"
+"T[T]M06"
+" ([TOOLNAME])"
+"G00 G43 [ZH] H[T]"
"[S] M03"
+"(Toolpath:- [TOOLPATH_NAME])"
+"([TOOLPATH_NOTES])"
+"G94"
"G00 [XH] [YH]"


+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for rapid moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin RAPID_MOVE

"G00 [Z]"
"G4 P1.0"
"G00 [X] [Y]"
""


+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for the first feed rate move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_FEED_MOVE

"G1 [X] [Y] [F]"
"G1 [Z]"
""


+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for feed rate moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FEED_MOVE

"G1 [X] [Y]"
"G1 [Z]"
""

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for the first clockwise arc move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CW_ARC_MOVE

"G2[X][Y][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for clockwise arc  move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CW_ARC_MOVE

"G2[X][Y][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for the first counterclockwise arc move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CCW_ARC_MOVE

"G3[X][Y][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for counterclockwise arc  move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CCW_ARC_MOVE

"G3[X][Y][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for first clockwise helical arc  moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CW_HELICAL_ARC_MOVE

"G2[X][Y][Z][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for clockwise helical arc  moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CW_HELICAL_ARC_MOVE

"G2[X][Y][Z][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for first counterclockwise helical arc  moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CCW_HELICAL_ARC_MOVE

"G3[X][Y][Z][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for counterclockwise helical arc  moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CCW_HELICAL_ARC_MOVE

"G3[X][Y][Z][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for first clockwise helical arc plunge moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CW_HELICAL_ARC_PLUNGE_MOVE

"G2[X][Y][Z][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for clockwise helical arc plunge moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CW_HELICAL_ARC_PLUNGE_MOVE

"G2[X][Y][Z][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for first counter clockwise helical arc plunge moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CCW_HELICAL_ARC_PLUNGE_MOVE

"G3[X][Y][Z][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for counter clockwise helical arc plunge moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CCW_HELICAL_ARC_PLUNGE_MOVE

"G3[X][Y][Z][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for a new segment - toolpath
+  with same toolnumber but maybe different feedrates
+---------------------------------------------------

begin NEW_SEGMENT

"[S]M03"
"([TOOLPATH_NAME])"
"([TOOLPATH_NOTES])"

+---------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for a dwell move
+---------------------------------------------

begin DWELL_MOVE

"G04 [DWELL]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output at the end of the file
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FOOTER

"G00[ZH]"
"M5"
"G00[XH][YH]"
"M09"
"M30"
%
Use DIR signal of Z axis to control your air cylinder (UP/DOWN motion).
Timing you can control by altering Plunge rate in your tool table for a used drill.
Just in case, if needed be, I added a 1 second pause after your drill goes to up position.

36

General Mach Discussion / Apollo I vs Apollo 3

« Last post by ROTex on May 08, 2026, 02:09:12 PM »

Our system with an Apollo I board (parallel interface) died.  Is it possible to use an Apollo III board (ethernet interface) instead?

37

General Mach Discussion / Re: mach3 pneumatic z axis setup

« Last post by ryder2012 on May 08, 2026, 02:03:34 PM »

Just tell me which version of Vectric product do you use?

im using mach3 mill. not sure of the version number to be fair, its an older version. im sorry i didnt catch this post before i left work to check the version number of it, but 100% mach 3 mill.

38

General Mach Discussion / Re: mach3 pneumatic z axis setup

« Last post by ZASto on May 08, 2026, 05:08:42 AM »

Just tell me which version of Vectric product do you use?

39

Probes and Tool Setters / Re: Rapidchange ATC

« Last post by edcross on May 07, 2026, 11:17:26 AM »

M 31 controller

40

General Mach Discussion / Re: mach3 pneumatic z axis setup

« Last post by ryder2012 on May 06, 2026, 11:38:24 AM »

Or, you can use DIR signal for Z axis to control your cylinder.

eg.

G0 X100 Y100 // gantry moves to coordinate for drilling
G1 Z-10 // your cylinder gets energized and your drill goes down
G0 Z0 // your cylinder gets deenergized and your drill goes up
G4 P1.0 // wait a certain amount of time for the drill to clear the material surface

proceed to next hole
...

You can easily implement it in your postprocessor of your CAM software, or whatever you use to generate G-code

No switches, no aditional M codes, no extra configuration in Mach3

hey, this is an interesting approach however i dont really know a great deal about editing the post porcessor, i've got it here and i'll post it below, im wondering how i would go about implimenting this method into the post processor?

Code: [Select]

+================================================
+                                               
+ Mach2/3 - Vectric machine output configuration file   
+                                               
+================================================
+                                               
+ History                                       
+                                               
+ Who      When       What                         
+ ======== ========== ===========================
+ Tony     15/11/2005 Written for metric
+ Tony     06/01/2006 Added ATC option     
+ Tony     14/05/2006 Fixed G21 mm in header   
+ Tony     24/07/2006 Added G2 & G3 Arc support + removed (( ))
+ Tony     18/06/2007 Replaced the Tool comment     
+ Mark     14/08/2008 Added G1 to Feed moves,
+ Mark     28/08/2009 Added G91.1 to force use of incremental arcs
+ Mark     30/11/2009 Added TOOLPATHS_OUTPUT.
+ Brian    15/12/2009 Remove M05 from NEW_SEGMENT
+ Mark     18/01/2014 Added Dwell
+ Mark     24/10/2018 Added Helical arcs.
+================================================

POST_NAME = "Mach2/3 Arcs (mm) (*.txt)"

FILE_EXTENSION = "txt"

UNITS = "MM"

DIRECT_OUTPUT = "Mach|Mach4.Document"

SUBSTITUTE = "({)}"

+------------------------------------------------
+    Line terminating characters                 
+------------------------------------------------

LINE_ENDING = "[13][10]"

+------------------------------------------------
+    Block numbering                             
+------------------------------------------------

LINE_NUMBER_START     = 0
LINE_NUMBER_INCREMENT = 10
LINE_NUMBER_MAXIMUM = 999999

+================================================
+                                               
+    Formating for variables                     
+                                               
+================================================

VAR LINE_NUMBER = [N|A|N|1.0]
VAR SPINDLE_SPEED = [S|A|S|1.0]
VAR FEED_RATE = [F|C|F|1.1]
VAR X_POSITION = [X|C|X|1.3]
VAR Y_POSITION = [Y|C|Y|1.3]
VAR Z_POSITION = [Z|C|Z|1.3]
VAR ARC_CENTRE_I_INC_POSITION = [I|A|I|1.3]
VAR ARC_CENTRE_J_INC_POSITION = [J|A|J|1.3]
VAR X_HOME_POSITION = [XH|A|X|1.3]
VAR Y_HOME_POSITION = [YH|A|Y|1.3]
VAR Z_HOME_POSITION = [ZH|A|Z|1.3]
VAR SAFE_Z_HEIGHT = [SAFEZ|A|Z|1.3]
VAR DWELL_TIME = [DWELL|A|P|1.2]
+================================================
+                                               
+    Block definitions for toolpath output       
+                                               
+================================================

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output at the start of the file
+---------------------------------------------------

begin HEADER

"( [TP_FILENAME] )"
"( File created: [DATE] - [TIME])"
"( for Mach2/3 from Vectric )"
"( Material Size)"
"( X= [XLENGTH], Y= [YLENGTH], Z= [ZLENGTH])"
"([FILE_NOTES])"
"(Toolpaths used in this file:)"
"([TOOLPATHS_OUTPUT])"
"(Tools used in this file: )"
"([TOOLS_USED])"
"[N]G00G21G17G90G40G49G80"
"[N]G71G91.1"
"[N]T[T]M06"
"[N] ([TOOLNAME])"

"[N][S]M03"
"[N](Toolpath:- [TOOLPATH_NAME])"
"[N]([TOOLPATH_NOTES])"
"[N]G94"
"[N][XH][YH][F]"


+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for rapid moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin RAPID_MOVE

"[N]G00[X][Y][Z]"


+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for the first feed rate move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_FEED_MOVE

"[N]G1[X][Y][Z][F]"


+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for feed rate moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FEED_MOVE

"[N]G1[X][Y][Z]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for the first clockwise arc move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CW_ARC_MOVE

"[N]G2[X][Y][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for clockwise arc  move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CW_ARC_MOVE

"[N]G2[X][Y][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for the first counterclockwise arc move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CCW_ARC_MOVE

"[N]G3[X][Y][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for counterclockwise arc  move
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CCW_ARC_MOVE

"[N]G3[X][Y][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for first clockwise helical arc  moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CW_HELICAL_ARC_MOVE

"[N]G2[X][Y][Z][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for clockwise helical arc  moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CW_HELICAL_ARC_MOVE

"[N]G2[X][Y][Z][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for first counterclockwise helical arc  moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CCW_HELICAL_ARC_MOVE

"[N]G3[X][Y][Z][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for counterclockwise helical arc  moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CCW_HELICAL_ARC_MOVE

"[N]G3[X][Y][Z][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for first clockwise helical arc plunge moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CW_HELICAL_ARC_PLUNGE_MOVE

"[N]G2[X][Y][Z][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for clockwise helical arc plunge moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CW_HELICAL_ARC_PLUNGE_MOVE

"[N]G2[X][Y][Z][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for first counter clockwise helical arc plunge moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FIRST_CCW_HELICAL_ARC_PLUNGE_MOVE

"[N]G3[X][Y][Z][I][J][F]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for counter clockwise helical arc plunge moves
+---------------------------------------------------

begin CCW_HELICAL_ARC_PLUNGE_MOVE

"[N]G3[X][Y][Z][I][J]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for a new segment - toolpath
+  with same toolnumber but maybe different feedrates
+---------------------------------------------------

begin NEW_SEGMENT

"[N][S]M03"
"([TOOLPATH_NAME])"
"([TOOLPATH_NOTES])"

+---------------------------------------------
+  Commands output for a dwell move
+---------------------------------------------

begin DWELL_MOVE

"G04 [DWELL]"

+---------------------------------------------------
+  Commands output at the end of the file
+---------------------------------------------------

begin FOOTER

"[N]G00[ZH]"
"[N]G00[XH][YH]"
"[N]M09"
"[N]M30"
%




thank you for any help.