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Author Topic: Help please! Work is way outside of table.  (Read 2828 times)

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Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« on: December 14, 2018, 05:51:27 PM »
Hey guys new here. Just messing around with the software and come across a weird problem. Using a mill. When i Load Gcode from mastercam into mach 3, it shows the toolpath correctly, but its in the very far bottom left of the display screen and zeroing the offsets does not work.
I first ref all home on the machine, then move the work to the tool press the zero buttons and then regen toolpath... toolpath is still way off to the bottom left on the display screen, displaying outside of my defined table dimensions...
I've been at the problem now for a few days and I'm totally stumped!

help!
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2018, 06:09:32 PM »
Hi,
what that means is that the Gcode produced by Mastercam has a work zero at some remove from the part.

When you reference and then zero Mach you have indentifed the work zero position. The Gcode however calls for
machining moves at the same remove as the Mastercam work zero and some distance outside of the machine boundaries.

There are two possibilities to fix it:
1) Manually adjust the G54 work offset such that the toolpath of the part lands within the boundaries of the machine. This is doable
    but is confusing and I would consider it as a one off solution.
2) Go back to Mastercam and translate the part toopath closer to the work zero location, commonly the corner of the stock. Now when you
    engage Mach you can touch off to the corner of the stock....hit <zero all> to set Machs work zero to be coincident with Mastercams
    work zero. This is a much more satisfying approach to your problem and is the norm in industrial practice.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2018, 06:36:30 PM »
Craig. Thanks for trying to help... I do believe i have the origin on mastercam at the corner of my stock. Here is a picture, sorry im very new to this and trying to learn, thanks for helping me.
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2018, 07:16:32 PM »
Okay, so ive taken your idea of translate in mastercam and translated the part +x and +y about 250 units... This got the part in my table, to do that i had to post the gcode to mach3 and extrapolate the coordinates from there using my machine coordinates and the given workoffsets..

This does not seem like the right (efficient way) to do this... How do i go about machining a part without having to translate the original drawing every single time?
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2018, 08:10:47 PM »
Hi,
you need to compose the CAD drawing and therefore the Gcode that results from the CAM program derived from that
drawing to be the corner of the stock.

I can only presume that the example you have posted is that the stock is larger than your table dimensions?

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2018, 08:16:21 PM »
No, you can see the stock outline there in red dashed lines. unfortunately simply translating the work +x,+y did not work, as the code is still telling my tool (table) to move outside of its defined area.
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2018, 08:41:43 PM »
Hi,
yes I can see the stock outlines. What are the overall dimensions of the stock?

How do they relate to the dimensions of your machine boundaries.

Quote
unfortunately simply translating the work +x,+y did not work, as the code is still telling my tool (table) to move outside of its defined area.

Translating the workpiece has that disadvantage, usually the first  move of any Gcode job is 'go to the origin' and you have carefully shifted the origin
so that the part is centered on your table thus putting the origin outside of those boundaries. You may be able to manually edit the Gcode to delete
that first 'go to the origin' move. That will require that you have passing familiarity with Gcode. It is a necessary skill of CNCing.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2018, 08:48:35 PM »
Hi,
I've been looking at your Mastercam pic a little more closely. Normally the gnomic (the red/green/blue axis orientation symbol) is displayed
at or close to the work zero of Gcode. As displayed it is a considerable distance from your stock boundaries.

Go back to your Mastecam file and place the cursor on the corner of your stock and note the WCS coordinates. They should be 0,0,0.
Your description and the pic you have attached suggest to me that the corner of the stock is not 0,0,0 as it should be.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2018, 08:51:13 PM »
25x25x50mm stock. 5x9x10” defined machine soft limits. I’ve tried setting mach3 native units to mm before posting the g code already.
Re: Help please! Work is way outside of table.
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2018, 08:52:17 PM »
I will double check this when I get home... thank you