LOL yes I really need to copy that spiel so I can paste instead of typing it out all the time

Ok your xml looks to be reasonable for steps per unit and it is set to metric native units. Velocity and Accel look low but leave them at that for now as it will complicate matters.
If you go to MDI page and zero the X DRO then command a G0X10 from MDI does it move 10mm?


Hood

No, it does about 80 Miles per hour (Fast!) and traverse's about 70mm I am adjusting the Steps per Unit in the Motor Settings to try and achieve the 10mm - I hope this is the right way to go about it. I have a clock gauge etc handy to fine tune it, but at the moment I'm miles off! 

Eureka .... Success !

For those who are looking for the same information the Steps per Unit is as follows:

X Axis = 320
Y Axis = 320
Z Axis = 640

This coresponds to the jumbled up data in a hieroglyphics symbol table in my 'Chinglish' Manual.

I know in real terms, I got a bit of a bargain with this machine as in essence it is very well made. If I were to put a price of 3k GBP on it, it would be still worth it. But as I have said previously, the Manual is Cr@p and the software is all Pirate. Goes without saying, Pay Peanuts, you get Monkeys!


Now, time to get my clock gauge out and fine tune everything.

Thats great you have got it working
I like to calculate the steps per unit myself but there is a button on the Settings page, its called Set Steps Per Unit, if you press that it will ask you which axis and how far then it will move it then you tell it how far it actually moved. Problem is it will only ever be as accurate as you can measure and that is why I prefer to calculate as that will be as accurate as your hardware and I suppose your  maths skills (math for USA guys )
To calculate you need to know the degree per step of the stepper, usually 1.8 degree so that is 200 steps per rev. You need to know the microstepping of the drive, any gearing between drive and motor and lastly the pitch of the screws.
As an example we will say its a 1.8 degree stepper, the drive is set to 10uSteps, no gearing and 5mm pitch screw, so it is as follows
200 x 10 / 5 = 400.

Hood

Looking at your numbers it would seem you have on X and Y 1.8 degree steppers,  5mm pitch screws  , drives set to 8 microsteps and no gearing, the Z seems to either be a 0.9 degree stepper or 2:1 gearing or 2.5mm pitch screw or microstepping set to 16.

Hood

Finally had to commit 115 quid for a licence. It's now firing on all cylinders now. Maths used to be one of subjects when I was teaching, afraid like all skills it is use it or loose it. I have been busy with the Clock gauge and I have found that this machine is quite accurate to about 1/10 mm so I did not adjust the Steps per Unit any further.  I'm very pleased with it.

I'm still dithering around with a pen and a couple of elastic bands, don't have the confidence to tool up the spindle. I have created a basic drawing in Autocad, banged it into LazyCam and then into Mach3 and, IT WORKED !!!!  I got sick of running the Roadrunner image, so I found some code on the forum which makes a Deer's Head...
Very impressed.

I will stick my new Xmas Mailing List on the end for you to pick over if you don't mind.

The xml looks fine, the only thing I see is you have the spindle enabled in the motor section of Ports and Pins but you dont have the relays set up, so either you have manual spindle control or if you wish it to work via Mach you need to set the relays up.
Are there limits on the machine as you dont have any set up, would recommend that you fit some if there are none.

Hood

The spindle motor is a huge 20,000 RPM Motor on a flexi. It is mains driven and I have plugged it in to test it - it works. I think it is speed controlled by PWM. There are no limits on it and I'm looking forward to fitting some.

Since my last post, I have set up the 4th Axis (A Axis) Steps per Unit. I take it that you would define the Units as degrees being 360 in 1 Revolution ??

Yes, 4th axis a unit is 1 degree or normally anyway

Hood