Recent Posts

41

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Rapid change atc and Mach4

« Last post by Cbyrdtopper on August 04, 2025, 09:26:02 AM »

I have not watched all of this.  I just found it and I'm posting it here.
I would make my script from scratch and make it work how I want.......
But nonetheless here is a video I found with Mach4.

42

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Rapid change atc and Mach4

« Last post by Cbyrdtopper on August 04, 2025, 09:21:06 AM »

I've never seen something like that.  I just watched some YouTube videos on it.  Looks simple enough to implement into Mach4. 
It just requires some scripting.  Personally I would use #Vars for each X & Y pocket position and call those up depending on the tool requested. 

43

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: How to improve modbus latency?

« Last post by domnray on August 02, 2025, 02:36:13 AM »

Some systems allow polling time to be configured on a per-device basis, or even per-data tag or block basis, but there is not always a clear separation between Modbus “functions”.

44

General Mach Discussion / Re: Hi Guy's

« Last post by Tweakie.CNC on August 01, 2025, 12:28:52 AM »

The various jogging methods are described in section 3.2 of the manual. https://www.machsupport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Mach3Mill_Install_Config.pdf

Tweakie.

45

General Mach Discussion / Re: Hi Guy's

« Last post by RuddyCrazy on July 31, 2025, 07:31:19 PM »

Thanks for that tip Tweakie it worked a treat and now when I edit my GCode file I just leave the % there, now going off memory when I used Mach3 back in the days of 32 bit there was a jog feature builtin to Mach3 but now I can't find it at all. I do feel the jog feature is a needed item as I can't see the point of having to make a small GCode file just move the axis to start a job.

Regards Bryan

46

Mach4 General Discussion / Possible to use M3 to start plasma and use M63 or M65 to turn torch off?

« Last post by jjonbo on July 31, 2025, 03:15:26 PM »

Hello, I'm having trouble with using M63 (with G1 movement following it) to turn off spindle (plasma torch). I'm using Mach4 hobby licensed.

I have CSMIO IP-M motion controller which unfortunately doesn't let me set the digital output pin to both Spindle FWD AND Output#1 for example.

I would like to use M3 to start since it has all the built-in probing etc. working nicely, but it would be great if I could turn the torch off fast during lead out move with M63 so cuts would be smoother.

I think it's not possible to script M63 to turn off spindle. Any ideas?

47

Mach4 General Discussion / LatheCannedCycles Face Cycle - Strange positioning at start?

« Last post by ksemmy on July 31, 2025, 10:43:54 AM »

Hello,
I am using Mach4 Hobby (Build 5036 but also tryed 6105) with the LatheCannedCycles Wizard. It works great so far, but I have some issues with positioning at the start during the FaceCycle. For example, I want to perform a facing on 12mm round bar at Z=40mm. But why is the line N0080 inserted? This causes my tool to either crash or travel unnecessary distances. Is this a bug where the X and Z positions are swapped, or am I using something incorrectly? I've found the Example folder (Mach4Hobby\Wizards\LatheCannedCycles\Examples) and the file "Facing-Simple.tap" doesn't include this line. But I can't find any option to disable the generation of it. Of course, I can manually delete the line from the G-code, but if I forget to do so after new generation, it can lead to a crash again.

Here is the relevant code snippet: 

Code: [Select]

...
N0070 M03 (Spindle Forward)
N0075 M09
N0080 G00 X40.1000 Z6.2000 (Positioning for Start of Cycle)
N0085 G00 X6.2000 Z40.1000  (Rapid move to Clearance Height)
N0090 G01 Z39.9000 F0.0190  (Cut in on Z-Axis)
...
Could you please clarify why this line is added and if it’s expected behavior?
Thank you very much, and have a nice day.

48

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Y axis stepper not smooth / missing steps?

« Last post by Dale Grice on July 30, 2025, 08:38:57 PM »

Thanks Craig - you made me think.

I restored a backup to this Win 7 machine from several years ago when it used to work. Still had erratic X drive behavior. I physically swapped the motor drives. Problem stayed on X. Arturo with CNC4PC suggested I use a different axis. Since this is a lathe, I configured Y, Motor 1, to the X axis. Still had the problem. Interestingly, jogging is smooth. Only when I run my Gcode do I have jerky operation. So I abandoned my Gcode and used the canned facing program included with Mach. Xi @ 0.5, Xf at 0. Zi at 0, Zf at -0.1. Posted to Mach4, jerky X operation still there. Power Supply???

As background, used to work several years ago. Mach4 4.2.0.4300. Pokeys version, I don't know anymore.

Thanks,

Dale

49

General Mach Discussion / Re: Hi Guy's

« Last post by Tweakie.CNC on July 30, 2025, 02:56:12 AM »

Hi Bryan,

You need a "carriage return" (ASCII CHR13) at the end of your GCode file. Just add the character  %  as a final line.

Tweakie.

50

General Mach Discussion / Re: Hi Guy's

« Last post by RuddyCrazy on July 30, 2025, 02:22:34 AM »

Here is a bit more information about my CNC

Each stepper motor is driven by a DM556 micro stepper
The motion control board I bought from a Aussie seller Ncmaster and it uses BSMotion-V2.0
Each axis has ball screws and linear slides so no real backlash

Now my simple Gcode file

F250
G01 Z 5
G01 X 0

Now when I load the Gcode all I get is

F250
G01 Z 5
G01 X isn't shown at all and has problem has carried over from yesterday.

I have checked all the wiring and all is sound on the X axis and the DM556 leds are glowing green with no red led showing. So I do feel this problem is with Mach3 and not my CNC.

Regards Bryan