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Setup help much abliged!
« on: September 24, 2008, 01:56:09 AM »
Hey,

I just got my new build up and am having a couple problems. The first being that the computer I'm running Mach3 from (and only mach3. . . it's a fresh windows install) will tend to sit in the "Windows is shutting down" screen indefinitely. I have a feeling its trying to do something with the parallel port pins but I really have know idea. I'm using a PCI card to get the parallel cable and I'm confident that the drivers are up to date. Any ideas on what is going on?

And the second problem that I am having is everything I do is scaled down. ie 1 inch is .2 inches. Mach3 is set to inches. The ball screws I am running are 5 rot/in and the steppers are 200 steps/rev. Under motor tuning, I've got mach3 set to 1000 steps/unit. I don't know what the difference is between full stepping/halfstepping/microstepping. Can someone please explain? I am running G203v drivers.

While I'm here, I'd also like to ask. . . what's the right way to change directions on an axis. For instance, my Y goes in when I want it to go out.

Thanks and I apologize for the basic questions,
Adam

Offline Hood

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Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2008, 03:17:43 AM »
Your first problem certainly sounds like a windows issue, it can happen with lots of different things, a google might help but there are so many things that cause this it may be a long search. Has it happened from day 1 or has it just started happening?

Motors 200 steps per rev, microstepping on your drives is 10 so thats 2000 per rev. Your screws turn 5 times to move 1 inch so if you have no gearing between motors and screws you need 5 x 2000 - 10,000 steps per unit.

Direction change is done in Homing and Limits, motor reversals, it can also be done by changing the active state of the direction pin but some drives prefer it one way or the other and I seem to remember someone saying the G203 prefer active High.

Hood

Offline jimpinder

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Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2008, 07:50:07 AM »
As Hood said - change direction by using the active high/low facility on Config/Ports and Pins - dir pin.

If however, you have to set up your motors in a particular direction, butwith dir in the wrong active state for your drives, you can physically change the way the motors turn by reversing the wires to them - they are DC windings. Change either A with A+ OR B with B+ (but not both) and the motor will rotate the opposite way.
Not me driving the engine - I'm better looking.
Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2008, 08:44:08 AM »
If you haven't already, check out these recommendations (a text file) for setting up Windows XP for Mach at http://www.machsupport.com/downloads/XP_Optimization.txt. This may not help with your shutdown problem (or maybe it will!), but it won't hurt for running Mach.

Oh! I'm assuming you're using XP.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2008, 08:47:16 AM by TetraLite »
-Mark
Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2008, 06:23:36 PM »
I will play with the computer more to see how it behaves. I believe that it only hangs up when I've been using mach3. As I believe I mentioned, its a fresh install with nothing on it except mach3. SP3. . . I'll trouble shoot it some more and verify if this is the case or not.

Changing the steps/unit to 10,000 got me to .960 in for g1 x1. Could the other 40 thou be backlash? I've got the ball screws from the deluxe CNC fusion and was under the impression that I shouldn't see any backlash.

Reversed the Y without trouble. Thanks,

Adam

Offline Hood

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Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2008, 06:30:58 PM »
Ah ok could possibly be Mach is not shutting down for some reason, possibly some VB code getting hung. When you have shut Mach down press Ctrl Alt Del and under the processes see if Mach is still there, if it is try and end it. If it wont end then go to the Mach3 folder and run the driver test, that should kill it. Now see if the computer shuts down properly.

Backlash can be from many places such as loose bearings, flexing brackets or even loose pulleys so give everything the once over. To know whether it is backlash move in one direction, zero the DRO and then command a further move in that direction, if its backlash you wont see it as you only see backlash in axis reversals.
Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #6 on: September 24, 2008, 06:55:52 PM »
Ok,

did this:
g1 x-1
g1 x0
Zeroed dial indicator
g1 x1

indicator reads 973 thou

I did the same thing twice and got 973 both times.

Offline Hood

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Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #7 on: September 24, 2008, 07:02:41 PM »
Could your screws be metric rather than imperial? 5mm pitch would move 0.98425 inch for 5 turns.


Hood
Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2008, 07:20:36 PM »
Yeah. . .  your good.

Looked at the site I bought them from. 5mm pitch

Leaves me at 10160 steps/in I believe. About to go check it.
Re: Setup help much abliged!
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2008, 07:27:28 PM »
And now I'm at 988 thou. . . Again, tried it twice.