Hi Guys...

I have a problem where Mach 3 seems to lock up during a run.
I am trying to cut 100m high letters out of a 6mm sheet of MDF.

The G-code looks fine, and it's not like it's crashing in the same place every time.

What's really weird is that when the cutter is not running and i run it in Mid air, i cannot get Mach3 to crash.
However as soon as its running it seems to lock up at random points during the run.

I have a couple of unshielded limit switch cables in the x axis of my machine and was wondering if it was possible that the cutter was causing interference with the switches -  so i have disconnected them and its still doing it.
(I am waiting on shielded cable to come through).

It's not like the emergency stop is being triggered. Once Mach3 locks up, it's impossible to move the cutting head at all, even after a reset - and you have to shut Mach3 Down and restart.

Photos of my machine on this page:: http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,26997.10.html

Any ideas ?

Cheers
Martin

Martin;
In my opinion, you most likely have an electrical noise issue.  The source of the noise likely is the router motor itself.  Two statements you made lead me to this opinion: 1) The issue is random, and 2) It happens only when the spindle is moving.  Also from the pics in the referenced post, you have a variable speed router.  These are notorious for creating electrical noise.  Computers don't do random very well:  Treat this as a serious problem that should be solved before you use the router (turn on the motor), as the computer is not reliably controlling the machine's motion.  There are several threads here and on other sites explaining how to shield the rest of the system from the noise generated by the v.s. router.  Nothing much new I can add - other than it takes a bit of perseverance.  What I mean is many time you don't know the issue is solved until the system doesn't lock up anymore.  Search for toroid or ferrite rings, these are small electrical chokes used to quench high frequency noise transmitted through electrical systems.  They must be sized correctly.  Also, on the other post, the point-to-point wiring recommendation should be treated as necessary.

Best of luck solving this.

Regards.

Thanks...

I have shielded cable ordered. Gonna redo all the wiring.
Will ensure that i have point to point power supply wiring.

Best Regards
Martin