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What Is My Read-Out Reading Out?
« on: July 13, 2021, 07:50:04 AM »
I've asked this question elsewhere, but I think I didn't ask it clearly enough.

What is my DRO showing?

After setting the Y axis to zero, I jogged my machine along the axis one physical inch. My Mach3 is, and always has been, set to millimeters as the measurement unit. After this move, I would expect the DRO to show 25.400 (mm). If it somehow got reset to inches, I would expect the DRO to show 1.000 (inches). My actual read-out was 4.066 (whatever).

Would anyone care to repeat this little exercise on their own machine and share the result?

Not sure what is going on here. I have no idea how to inform Mach3 of the size of my table, and trying to set work coordinates results in odd positioning in the display window.

Thanks!

Offline Tweakie.CNC

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Re: What Is My Read-Out Reading Out?
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2021, 08:32:42 AM »
Make a note of your existing Steps per Unit for each axis (Config : Motor Tuning).
Then...
Try running the Axis Calibration wizard (for each axis in turn) following the on-screen instruction (Settings page of Mach3).

Tweakie.
PEACE
Re: What Is My Read-Out Reading Out?
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2021, 06:09:08 PM »
Tweakie CNC--

I think you are right. I am going to tune the motors and calibrate the axes tomorrow. I've only done this once before, so I need to get up to speed again on how to handle my Y axis, which is driven by two motors. Any suggestions to keep me from disaster? I should also mention that this machine has been out of use and disconnected from line power and Internet since the pandemic shut down my shop over a year ago. The rig was working perfectly on the last day, and I don't think it "knows" whether it's been sleeping for 12 hours or twelve months. I powered up for the first time last week, and it clearly needed help. Not sure how it gets so far out of calibration, but you can hear the motors complaining so somehow it did. Is this a known possibility, or am I just one of the lucky ones?

--Bob

Offline Tweakie.CNC

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Re: What Is My Read-Out Reading Out?
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2021, 12:57:31 AM »
Hi Bob,

The Axis Calibration is pretty simple with 'on-screen instructions' so you should not have any difficulties.

(When older PC's have been stored for long periods they can loose track of the date / time and Mach3 can load the wrong .xml file at startup. If your PC did have an incorrect date then your BIOS backup battery may need replacing).

Tweakie.
PEACE
Re: What Is My Read-Out Reading Out?
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2021, 05:16:29 PM »
Tweakie--

I am not sure what caused the problem, although I have read a few posts in other forums from people who turned on their computers and loaded Mach3 after a long hiatus only to find that the program had "changed" items in their Mach3 configuration. The cause of this odd behavior might never be found, but now at least I know what to do, thanks. My axes configurations were miles off. I have a fairly large table, and when I asked Mach3 to move the X axis 50 millimeters so I could calibrate it, the cutter head shot across the table over 700 mm and crashed before I could hit the kill button. So I started out moving it by 5s and 10s, believe it or not, and finally got it calibrated. Just cut a obne-hour job while experiencing a ton of anxiety, but all went well.

Just curious, but do the motor settings in Mach3 affect how hot the my NEMA 23 motors get after running for a couple of hours? I'm cutting at 4000 mm/minute, but I'm sure the machine and motors could handle 6000. How hot is too hot?

Also, for CNC questions not directly related to Mach3, could you recommend a forum that would be suitable for someone at my stage of the game.

Thanks again!

--Bob

Offline Tweakie.CNC

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Re: What Is My Read-Out Reading Out?
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2021, 01:08:35 AM »
Hi Bob,

I am pleased to hear that you have tamed the beast and now have it under control.  ;)

If the drive current is set correctly stepper motors should run hot to the touch but not too hot that you cant touch them. (About 60 deg.C max. case temperature would be acceptable).

Members of this forum are probably as good at responding to non-Mach3 questions as any other forum so perhaps give it a try and post any questions you may have in the general section.
You could take a browse through my website as I started out knowing nothing about CNC and more or less documented my progress as I learned new stuff and new techniques. http://tweakie.byethost10.com/
I am, of course, still learning about CNC as there will always be something new.  ;)

Tweakie.
PEACE