Hi All,
This is a copy of the mail I posted on the Calypso forum in case the problem is more Mach3 related - or in case someone here has some thoughts....
Hi All,
Required information first of all:
1) Mach version: 3.043.037
2) MSM version: 1.1.11
3) Windows version: XP
3a) If vista or W7, 32 or 64 bit? N/A
4) Interface: Parallel Port? Smooth Stepper? or ? Parallel port
5) Are any plug-ins installed? If so, what are they? none
Background:
I have been using my home converted BF20 for around 2 years now and I joined the MSM beta users when the opportunity arose.
Over this period I have been steadily improving the mill to operate faster and more accurately and it now runs at a comfortable 700mm/min and does what I want (I am not an industrial operator, my CNC work unwinds me from a day of high tech telecoms - usually!)
My most recent change was to design and build my own high speed spindle which so far has been successful - with the inevitable debugging and problem solving along the way along with configuration changes.
During the period spent debugging the spindle, I have had the power turned on for the parallel interface board and to the steppers but, because everything was in a huge tangle of wires, circuit boards, components, scope probes, etc, I did not move the axes.
2 nights ago, I decided to put the spindle aside until I could design the Mk2 version and I went back to make a simple aluminium cutout.
The problem:The axes will not move at even 1/10th of their normal speed - they are loosing steps, stuttering whining and all sorts of noxious things.
This happens under MDI doing rapids, also using the joystick I use for large movements and with the MPG.
Max speed is around 9 mm/min.......
Obvious conclusions:
I had damaged something electronically or electrically. I went around the entire system ensuring that:
- every cable was either properly connected or completely disconnected
- all power supplies were at the correct voltages
- signals were as they should be (at a quick glance)
After that, I did what every Windows user does and restarted MSM, then tried rebooting and restarting, all to no avail.
I then decided to load an old version of Mach3 on a bit of a whim - this is my pre MSM version and did not even have the correct steps per mm values for the Y axis. This worked perfectly (apart from the steps).
After that, I went around the 2 setups trying to see what configuration setting is different between the 2 - and I cannot see what it can be.
PLEASE forum users, if anyone has any bright ideas on this problem which is causing me some grief, I would be very grateful to hear them.
Remember, this started
directly after I was playing around with the spindle and spindle settings - which are now all at the disabled or set to minimum.
Thanks in advance,
Simon