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Author Topic: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?  (Read 8250 times)

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Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« on: November 07, 2009, 08:57:13 AM »
Today I cut a few basic shapes from wood - 1.5mm per pass - 200mm per minute, and had quite a few problems.

I have had my machine for over a year, and it has worked perfectly - only last week, did I upgrade to Mach3 R3.042.029. I have not tried Mach3 R3.042.031 - I just want feedback to see if upgrading will actually fix the problem. I will definitely upgrade next week. I am quite sure it is something to do with software. I am using a Pentium 4, Windows XP, 512MB RAM. About 5-35% CPU continuously while program is running. No programs in the background - computer is not connected to the internet.

Because my wood is 6mm thick, I do about 5 passes. The trouble is, randomly, when going to another location for cutting a new shape, or starting another pass, Mach 3 would move to the wrong place for no reason - it would be out by up to 5cm (X or/and Y). My controller is working perfectly - there are no skips when I jog manually. The axis are protected from dust. It is not my G-code - the preview is correct, and the same G-code was used to cut out the same shapes in different sections of the material. But with two of the five cuts I did with the same G-code, on the final pass, the machine decided to jump out of position - however it would continue to cut out the shape. This is a real pain - because I wasted quite a lot of material.

Any know issues?

Offline Hood

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Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2009, 10:21:29 AM »
Are the DROs in Mach showing that it is in the wrong position? If not then sounds like maybe one or more axis is stalling on a rapid.
Hood
Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2009, 06:39:15 PM »
"My controller is working perfectly - there are no skips when I jog manually." - That is not necessarily a true statement.  It is entirely possible, in fact quite common, for these machines to work perfectly when jogging, then screw up when machining.  There are many factors that can cause this, from noise and grounding issues, to power supply and controller problems.  Try detuning the motors - reduce velocity and acceleration by half or more - then re-run the program.  If the problem goes away, then there is a problem with the machine, not the software.  I'd guess you find it works fine detuned.

Regards,
Ray L.
Regards,
Ray L.
Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2009, 07:28:38 PM »
Seems someone else is having the same problem as me - refer to the post "Mach 3 shifts the toolpath to the left after 3minutes of cutting? Parts overlap!".

I have cut out almost one hundred shapes with my machine over the last year. I know about all the issues with grounding - I am an electronics technician. The wiring is all correct. I ran the program at about 80% of the speed. The issue is that 5 of the 6 passes went perfectly (on the second time I tried to cut the shape - the first try cut out perfectly). On the final pass, where the Z had to go down another 1mm, the X and Y axis moved as well (for a very brief moment) - it should have just been Z. This has never happened, until I upgraded to v029. I used to use v020, and will revert back I think - until I receive some kind of confirmation. It just that 1/3rd of a sheet of wood that cost $80 AUD has been wasted - and I lost about two hours of my day.

The DRO's are not showing the wrong position. How could I reduce the stalling (on a rapid)? I have already reduced the speed - remember on the last pass, the feedrate is reduced - a feature introduced in v029 (I think in LazyCAM). The preview looks fine. I have cut out much more complex shapes at higher speeds with success - in v020.

I think it may be a bug in v029 of Mach 3. Hopefully it is not in v031 - the latest release.

Offline matd

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Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2009, 07:44:28 PM »
Yes,

I'm having the same problem.
I've also already wasted a large wooden sheet because of this.
Here is my topic if it can help:
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=13061.new;topicseen#new
I hope we can solve this.
Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2009, 07:46:17 PM »
Actually, just looking at the cut, the error occured just before the move to the next Z level/depth.

I have put some pictures below - okay, their not simple shapes, however, they preview correctly. As I said, I cut one out fine.



Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2009, 07:53:15 PM »
And in case your wondering, I drew up these shapes in TurboCAD Designer, saved as a DXF file, imported and processed them into LazyCAM, and then Mach 3.

I should add that the stepper motors seemed to (obviously) be given the wrong signal at the time of the error. I can post the G-Code if you like. Once again, I did cut out one gear without any problems.

In the pictures above, I was cutting the teeth in an anti-clockwise direction.
« Last Edit: November 07, 2009, 07:55:43 PM by dannydig »
Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2009, 09:24:50 PM »
"the stepper motors seemed to (obviously) be given the wrong signal at the time of the error" - Nothing obvious about it.  If the DROs indicate the correct position, but the tool is not where the DROs say it should be, you have almost certainly lost steps.  One more time, cut the velocity *and* acceleration in *half*, and see if the problem goes away.  What you are seeing is typical of a machine that is being commanded beyond it's capabilities.

Regards,
Ray L.
Regards,
Ray L.
Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2009, 10:04:08 PM »
But I have cut out almost 100 gears before, with success. Sometimes I have gone at higher speeds too. Our machine is designed to cut shapes out of wood. It is similar in specification to the Probotix FireBall. I presume if we downgrade to v020, it will work normally again. There could be a bug in v029 - I would like to know if other people have had the problem too - so far there has been someone else who is having the same trouble as me!

Offline Hood

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Re: Problem in Mach3 R3.042.029?
« Reply #9 on: November 08, 2009, 03:11:04 AM »
Go back to your previous version and confirm it works fine or try the latest version and see if it cures your issues. Rev 029 has been out quite a while and yours is the first I have seen of this problem. However I am not saying  that there is not an issue with 029, it could just be something different about your setup that is showing this issue up.

As Ray has said however if the DROs are showing correctly then it is highly unlikely that it is a Mach problem, that is unless you are using some external motion controller (which you are not)


Hood