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Author Topic: Mill or Turn?  (Read 26075 times)

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Offline Davek0974

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Mill or Turn?
« on: April 14, 2019, 12:02:05 PM »
Hi all,

i want to add basic turning to my mill conversion by building a servo driven spindle to mount on the table.

Is Mach3 Turn just a screen-set or totally different build of Mach?

Does Mill understand constant-surface-speed commands?


Thanks

dave

Offline reuelt

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Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2019, 03:07:08 PM »
Hi all,

i want to add basic turning to my mill conversion by building a servo driven spindle to mount on the table.

Is Mach3 Turn just a screen-set or totally different build of Mach?

Does Mill understand constant-surface-speed commands?


Thanks

dave

MACH3 turn is a different profile turning MACH3 into a different "sub-product" with different screensets (*.lset   - different to  *.set for mill), different plug-ins, wizards and different set of macros. 

YOU cannot use a MILL profile for turning.
But you can have turn (lathe) sreensets with more than 2 axes.
"the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"

Offline Hood

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Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2019, 06:10:24 PM »
And also to add, CSS does not work in Mach3.
Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2019, 06:33:17 PM »
Hi,
at the current time Mach4 does not do Mill-Turn per se. It, like Mach3, has a multiaxis Lathe profile to allow milling
ops on a lathe and also A, B, C axes and Out-of-Band axes (up to 6) for turning ops on a mill. It accommodates CSS.

This is from Smurph:

Quote
You are welcome for the new stuff.  It is my pleasure.  Stuff I have in mind for the future is 3rd order planner, tie the multiple instances together for true multi-path capabilities (Screw machines, Mill/Turns, etc..), and kinematics.

So the intention is that Mach4 have multiple instances for genuine Mill-Turns. When is the next question.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'

Offline reuelt

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Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2019, 10:14:30 PM »
"the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"

Offline Hood

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Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2019, 01:40:58 PM »
And also to add, CSS does not work in Mach3.

https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=25647.0
Myth BUSTED?

No, that proved it was not a myth and was indeed the case that CSS does not work in Mach 3. Spindle speed will vary at the correct rate/speed but the feed per rev does not stay constant. Mach basically changes to feed per minute when you start a CSS move and that only changes when you again command a different feedrate.
The macro attached at the end may work, can't recall if I tested it or not but Mach3 itself can not do true CSS.

Offline Davek0974

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Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2019, 04:16:14 PM »
Hi,
at the current time Mach4 does not do Mill-Turn per se. It, like Mach3, has a multiaxis Lathe profile to allow milling
ops on a lathe and also A, B, C axes and Out-of-Band axes (up to 6) for turning ops on a mill. It accommodates CSS.


Thanks all,

i had an idea this would not be a walk in the park:)

I want to add a simple spindle to my mill so i have basic CNC turning ability, 4th axis/mill-turn would be nice but thats even more advanced i think.

The spindle will be servo driven, my mill spindle is vfd driven. Looks like i will be mounting the tools to the quill so mill Z-axis will be lathe X-axis and mill X-axis will be lathe Z-axis.

I use a CS-Labs IP/A controller.  Would i need to use Mach turn or can this all be done from Mach mill?

I use Fusion360 for my CAD/CAM, is there a recommended post for Mach3 turning ?

If anyone cares to throw tips into the pot it would be appreciated;)
Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2019, 04:27:53 PM »
Hi,
if the turning spindle is free running in the manner of a lathe spindle then you would be advised to use a lathe
profile and consider the mill spindle as an add on to the lathe.

If however you want the turning spindle to be indexed then use a mill profile and consider the turning axis to be
a C axis, ie coordinated with you regular linear axes.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'

Offline Davek0974

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Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2019, 04:34:34 PM »
Hi,
if the turning spindle is free running in the manner of a lathe spindle then you would be advised to use a lathe
profile and consider the mill spindle as an add on to the lathe.

If however you want the turning spindle to be indexed then use a mill profile and consider the turning axis to be
a C axis, ie coordinated with you regular linear axes.

Craig

Thanks

I thought Mach3 couldn't spin an axis indefinitely?

I would prefer to use the mill profile as i have a custom screen and used to using it, i could easily add a new screen for turning jobs.

My C axis is used on my knee for mill tool-length compensation via custom M6 macros, can I use A or B instead?

Is there a post for Fusion that would work in this setup or do i need to look to get one altered to suit?
Re: Mill or Turn?
« Reply #9 on: April 15, 2019, 05:05:45 PM »
Hi,
I think Mach3 is like Mach4 in that it has one spindle only. Thus if you have a free running mill spindle the you can't
have a lathe spindle as well without getting creative.

I've never used it but I believe Mach3 has a 'swap axis' command such that you could have two spindles say, provided
you use only one at a time.

I have upgraded to Mach4 and am more familiar with those arrangements. Mach4 introduces Out-of-Band (OB) axes, up to six
of them in addition to X, Y, Z, A, B and C axes. One, and only one, OB axis may be a spindle with all the usual spindle commands
and interpretations, things like PMW, spindle PID or alternately free running step/direction. The other five remaining OB axes
can be jogged only. Thus if you wanted to turn your turning axis 60 degrees to mill a flat when making a nut say you would
jog that axis 60 degrees using an API command. It is also possible to jog continuously. Lets say you jogged the OB axis
for a move of 108,000,000 degrees or 300,000 revolutions. Its a bit of a cheat, its not a genuinely free rotating spindle
but surely you can complete your lathe turning op in 300,000 revs!

Note that the OB axes are NOT coordinated with X,Y,Z,A,B,C axes. Thus if you started a 108,000,000 degree jog as I explained
above you can now still execute coordinated moves while the jog is running. This gives you the means of 'creating' MillTurn
behavior.

Note also that Mach4 has the possibility, not yet implemented but hinted at by Smurph, that would allow two machines
to operate at once on the same PC, using multiple instances of Mach4. There is supposed to be a common interface
between the two instances that allow genuine MillTurn behavior. Looking forward to that, and incidentally a third order
motion planner.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'