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41

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Erratic GoTo Part Zero function

« Last post by joeaverage on September 29, 2026, 05:19:59 PM »

Hi Paul,
OK, that's sounds logical. I'll try it out.

With Mach4 there was no need to delve into any settings to get <GoTo Work Zero> to operate, and in this regard MachPro is a little more complex to configure.

Still can't quite work out why it worked on one day and not the next? A bit bizarre.

The thing I did notice when it did operate is that it was very violent, that is to say 100% of max speed and 100% of max acceleration.
My machine has fast rapids and acceleration of 0.15g.....so it moves with a decided 'THUMP'. So not that it was faulty (when it did work),
but I'd ideally dial the speed and accel back to a more sedate pace.

Craig

42

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Homing Offset in Control Plugin

« Last post by joeaverage on September 29, 2026, 05:12:55 PM »

Hi,
I am homing to a physical switch. I have a home switch about 2mm-3mm inside the extreme end of travel, with a limit switch a little outside that, say 1mm short of
extreme travel.

I get that the DRO reports the position declared by the motion control (ESS), but the why does the HomingOffset parameter appear in the Control/Homing-SoftLimits tab?
If this were entirely ESS thing then would you not expect the HomingOffset parameter to be declared and maintained in the ESS plugin?

Anyway it sounds like the ESS v236 plugin, that used in MachPro differs from the ESS Mach4 plugin.

As I say I have got it figured out but end up with the machining envelope including negative machine coordinates for the Y axis. The Z axis I'm well used to, but the Y axis?

Craig

43

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Redundant Entries in Machine IO Tab

« Last post by paul.stephens on September 29, 2026, 03:48:26 PM »

I get that, hopefully we can get rid of all these artifacts and minor bugs by years end. Anything like this you stumble across, please let us know, so that we may check to see if it has been resolved or if it needs to be moved to the docket.

44

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Homing Offset in Control Plugin

« Last post by paul.stephens on September 29, 2026, 03:45:36 PM »

Hi,

When it comes to homing, if you are homing to a limit switch, your motion controller will be handling any and all motion, positional data, and offset data. The DRO's will display whatever the motion controller reports it should say. If that is not happening with your Y axis, then we need to get with Warp9 to address the issue. If you are using "Home in place" Offset functionality was removed in version 5363 of Mach4. I am digging into the reason why this removal happened for home in place..

45

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Erratic GoTo Part Zero function

« Last post by paul.stephens on September 29, 2026, 03:38:15 PM »

"GoTo" is a term that we use for specific functionality. Depending on the version that you are using, will depend on where you find it. Most MachPro versions, you can find your GoTo positions on your Configure → Control.. → GoTo Positions screen. You should have a checkbox for "Use as Part Zero Position" This will run a M228 P3 in the background and should only go to Current part coordinates X0 Y0. If this is not configured or setup, your GoTo Zero Commands will not function.

46

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Homing Offset in Control Plugin

« Last post by joeaverage on September 29, 2026, 02:32:46 PM »

Hi Paul,
at the time I found this issue MachPro was running via the ESS to my machine. Eventually I have gotten Homing to work.

Initially I had a great deal of trouble because I could not apply a HomeOffest as I have done in Mach4.

My Z axis homes to its home switch which is within 2mm-3mm of the very topmost point of travel. The Z axis backs of the switch until it deactivates and zeros the machine
coordinate for the Z axis. Normal, easy and as expected.

The X axis homes with the table within 2mm-3mm of the extreme right-hand most extent of travel. The X axis backs of the switch until it deactivates and zeros the machine
coordinate for the X axis.  Normal, easy and as expected.

The Y axis homes to its home switch with 2mm-3mm of its very closest approach to me. Thus when it stops, and then backs up until the switch deactivates the axis is 'homed', but it
is at my expectation homed to 350mm, not zero. In Mach4 I have nominated 350mm as the HomeOffset (Control/Homing-SoftLimits tab), and the machine coordinate is set no to zero
but to my desired HomeOffset.

MachPro (to date) has refused to apply the nominated HomeOffset, and instead sets the machine coordinate for the Y axis to zero. This in turn means that anywhere within the machining envelope
the Y axis machine coordinate is negative, between 0 and -350. It does work, and in most circumstances I do not need or regularly view the machine coordinates, but when I do, I find
that the negative value hard to interpret. In my current Mach4 installation where the machine coordinate has the HomeOffset applied the machine coordinate for the Y axis within the machining
envelope is always positive, from 0 to 350. This is my preference.

Is there a reason that MachPro will not apply a Home Offset as Mach4, and Mach3 before that has done?

Craig

47

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Redundant Entries in Machine IO Tab

« Last post by joeaverage on September 29, 2026, 02:14:11 PM »

Hi Paul,
yes I've seen multiple entries for the same variable in that list, but then I've been fiddling a lot with with EditScreen/Configure/Control, the exact circumstance
that you sight. Indeed I've found that only a Mach restart will cause the fault to disappear.

I presume in several months form now when I've finally got MachPro to my liking that I will use EditScreen very little and thus the fault is unlikely to bother me......but it has confused
me when I'm still trying to get MachPro setup.

Craig

48

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Perfect DRO block.

« Last post by joeaverage on September 29, 2026, 02:08:15 PM »

Hi Paul,
you may think its easiest to have a widget button......I do not!

I've had twelve years operational experience, six of those years daily, with a DRO block with a <Zero Axis> button alongside and be able to edit the DRO numeric content
thereby imposing what amounts to a coordinate shift. It works in Mach4, and at least in the Tools tab of MachPro it works as well. What I want is THAT DRO block
to be instantiated on the main Gcode tab of MachPro.

Over the last few days I've been working my machine hard and I've been taking particular note of those functions and features that I use often, and those that I seldom if ever use.

Top of that list is the DRO block I have described. I want and need it top-dead center all the time.

Next on that list is <GoTo Work Zero>, I use it a lot for touching off and am frustrated that it is unreliable at best in MachPro.

Another thing that I use a lot is Speed edit. If I am doing any manual or MDI type machining I routinely type into the Spindle speed DRO and hit <Enter> This has always worked
in Mach4, but not so in MachPro. You type in a number and sometimes it might stick and the spindle respond accordingly, but mostly MachPro repopulates the speed DRO with what
'it thinks' it should be. Hugely frustrating. You might say use the spindle speed slider.....but I don't want or need the spindle speed slider, I can and do determine the spindle speed
to effect the operation I'm attempting, I type it in and hit<enter>........thats it. Pretty damned simple. I want and need the MachPro spindle speed DRO to replicate that edit authority
that I have in Mach4.

My machine in standard tune is capable of 15m/min in all axes. That is itself de-tuned from the 25m/min that its capable of. In 95% of my operating I find even 15m/min too aggressive,
so in normal operating condition I select the RRO (Rapid Rate Override) to 50%, thus bring the g0 rapids down to a manageable 7.5m/min. Only when I have long tool paths especially if it entails
many g0 moves do I up the ante to 15m/min. Thus my preference for MachPro is jus simply two buttons, or maybe just one toggling button, i.e. 50% or 100%. Is it possible to
edit the functionality of the RRO?

Last thing (gripe/wish) is that on the right hand widgets panel I have a manual jog block, and until I get my wired pendant running properly I'll have to rely on it heavily, but the good news is that
it works perfectly. What dies rather concern end even frighten me on several ocassions is when I first fire up MachPro the jog speed is autmatically 100%. To jog at that speed is to break things.
If you use the slider then you can reduce the jog speed to say 5% (comfortable) or 10% (fast but without being frightening), and thereafter everything is fine. Is it possible to set the defualt setting
of the jog speed slider to 10% say?

Craig

49

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Erratic GoTo Part Zero function

« Last post by joeaverage on September 29, 2026, 01:37:21 PM »

Hi Paul,
I do not have any logging for the fault yet.....and I've become so busy with customer projects neither am I going to be
able to devote the time to do so at the moment.

I do not have ANY GOTO locations programmed. It is not something that I required in Mach4 so I've never bothered with it in MachPro.
What I did expect to work was hit <Go To Work Offset> would take me to the part zero, namely 0,0,0 in the current work coordinate system.

Craig

50

MachPro General Discussion / Re: Erratic GoTo Part Zero function

« Last post by paul.stephens on September 29, 2026, 12:03:16 PM »

I will need the full logging of the occurrence or a screenshot of all the more info details. LUA works in the form of Tables, so that table number is actually a memory address .A reverse lookup would need to happen on your computer for it to mean anything.

Could you give me a rundown of your GOTO position as well?