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Author Topic: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type  (Read 4510 times)

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Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« on: December 01, 2017, 12:05:56 PM »
Mach3 has the digitizing plugin which will probe a grid and create a point cloud file as many of you probably know.
I'm wondering if there is a similar digitizing routine "out there" that does the same except after tripping the probe it will simply raise a few thou and then move to the next point on the grid and repeat the process.
This is opposed to returning to Z0 after each hit which wastes a lot of time especially if the item being probed has a lot of depth.
Would anyone know where I might find such a digitizing plugin? 
I think that ShotBot has it but it's proprietary. 
Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2017, 12:51:35 PM »
How would mach 3 know that the next horizontal move won’t be a crash into a higher surface?
Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2017, 03:41:08 PM »
The next higher surface would trip the probe immediately when contacting.  The the X axis would raise a preset amount and then attempt to move laterally again. This would repeat until X moved a preset amount without tripping the probe and then the scenario repeats. 
Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2017, 03:57:15 PM »
Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2017, 04:02:01 PM »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAHTxzzz91A

Mach3 probing routine with its wasted motion.

Offline ger21

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Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2017, 06:21:17 PM »
In Mach3, load the Digitizing Wizard.
Try this.
Go to Operator > Edit Button Script, and click the "Create and Load G-code" Button. TheMach3 script editor should open, with the Wizard code.

Find these two lines:

code " G31 Z" & Min
code " G0 Z" & Safe

and replace them with

code " G31 Z" & Min
code " G91"
code " G0 Z0.005"
code " G90"

In the Script Editor, go to File > Save, and close the editor.
The modified wizard should now lift the probe .005" after each probe move. Adjust the value as needed (Z0.005)

Test carefully, as I haven't checked to see if this works.
Gerry

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http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html

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Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2017, 11:09:52 PM »
Many thanks, Gerry!  Will work on this and see what we come up with.  I'm very excited as have been looking for this for several years now.

Offline ger21

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Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2017, 06:29:51 AM »
It probably should be like this:

code " G31 Z" & Min
While IsMoving()
Wend
code " G91"
code " G0 Z0.005"
While IsMoving()
Wend
code " G90"
Gerry

2010 Screenset
http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html

JointCAM Dovetail and Box Joint software
http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html
Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2017, 02:19:42 PM »
That seemed to work!!!!
Now after running it once I'm unable to get a new probing routine program to load over into Mach3.
Any thoughts on how I can fix that?
Re: Digitizing Point Cloud Or "Bed of Nails" type
« Reply #9 on: December 07, 2017, 06:10:37 PM »
I downloaded a new copy of Mach3 to get the digitizing plug-in to work again. 
Would still like to modify the script to allow the retract for only a short distance before the probe moves to the next "hit".  This would make a great difference in the time it takes to digitize a large object such as an archtop guitar plate.