I have Mach 4 - hobby, C82 - dual-port multifunction board - torch height control - PlasmaSensOut
I had installed and purchased a hobby license.
Mach4Hobby_Installer-4.2.0.4612
ESS_Mach4_v278.1
The X axis, Y axis and Z axis worked correctly. When I connected and turned on the HC
the signals for the HC come to me and I see them on the screen as the indicator light lights up, but the Z axis does not respond to them. Even though I have the HC switched to manual control, the Z axis does not respond.
I tried everything I could think of but the HC did not work.
I uploaded a new plugin, I did not change anything, I just uploaded a new plugin there
ESS_Mach4_v320
The X axis, Y axis worked correctly but the Z axis does not move at all even when I turn off the HC. At least the Z axis worked with the 278 plugin.
When I put plugin 278 back in, my Z axis starts working again.
1. Can you tell me what changed that made my Z axis stop working after uploading the new plugin. And how do I fix it?
2. Why doesn't my HC work at all?

Hi,

You may need to assign your up and down pins to THC up and THC down on your inputs. You will also need an ARC OKAY signal from your THC in order for Axis Override to happen.

Basically, with a digital THC in Mach, we need two things. An ARC OKAY signal, and a signal that tells Mach to go Up or Down.

The M3 process is basically just probe, pierce Height, wait for ARC OKAY. If there is no ARC OKAY signal, Mach will fault out. If there is an ARC OKAY, we will continue with the process.

How to Get an ARC OKAY signal:

• Have an ARC
• Have a Digital THC able to read the arc
• Have the Digital THC send the 5-24v to an input on your motion controller
• Once the Mapped signal Activates, Mach will start looking for the ARC UP or ARC DOWN signals to decide to move or not.

Determining up or down with a Digital THC.
Voltage must be within Deadband of your target voltage.  If Voltage exists outside of your Deadband, you will have either a THC UP or THC DOWN signal.

Common issues:
If Z is only going up or going down and your ARC voltage is within the Deadband of your target voltage, odds are very high that you have EMI and you will need to find ways to eliminate it.

The signals from the THC went up and down correctly because I saw them on the monitor when the UP and DOWN lights came on. I also had ARC connected, because when the sheet metal started to wave, the cutting was interrupted because it lost ARC. Similarly, when I simulated the up and down movement on PlasmaSensOut, I saw the signals on the monitor, but the plasma did not respond to them. That's why I wanted to try installing the new plugin ESS_Mach4_v320. I didn't change anything in the configuration, I just installed the new plugin and the Z axis stopped working even in manual jogging mode. I don't understand why? When I uninstalled the new plugin and installed the original ESS_Mach4_v278.1. The Z axis works correctly but does not respond to THC. I also noticed that during cutting I could not even manually correct the Z axis. I don't know if this is correct or not. Then I reinstalled the entire Mach 4 and installed ESS_Mach4_v320. I tried to move only the Z axis so that I wouldn't have to configure the entire thing unnecessarily. With the ESS_Mach4_v320 plugin, I don't want to move the Z axis at all, even in jogging mode.
I don't know if I understood correctly: if no program is running and the plasma is just standing still, I can't move the Z axis using THC UP and DOWN even if I have THC ON turned on like in jogging mode?