6090 Chinese machine on the bay.....

Been looking at a 4 axis machine as an entry level project. For a little less than 3K I'm not expecting industrial precision but just curious what lies ahead for a purchase like this?
They all say USB connect.........Problems?
How is support if needed? (which I assume there will be a question or two in my future)
Can anyone that has made the jump on a similar machine already give me a heads up on the pitfalls.
I know it is not going to be a receive the box...assemble....and start running parts project but just trying see what I might be dealing with.
Everything I'm using now is parallel port 25 pin connect running on Gecko control and Mach 3.
I've done a little research on the USB connect thing and have read about some potential problems down the road.
Any one have a fail safe solution for running this machine off a USB port?


Thanks for any help/input.

i bought my chinese machine from https://www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/ . They have stock in chicago so I didn't need to worry about shipping from overseas. Mine came with the ethernet smoothstepper. I think they had options for the usb one also. It works without a problem. The machine is solid and i had few setup issues. Inside the control box, the smoothstepper connects to the breakout board via 25 pin cable, so it's basically a replacement for lpt port. You can always replace this part with a different type. Perhaps could even bypass it and just use lpt port.

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Originally Posted by ironspyder

i bought my chinese machine from https://www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/ . They have stock in chicago so I didn't need to worry about shipping from overseas. Mine came with the ethernet smoothstepper. I think they had options for the usb one also. It works without a problem. The machine is solid and i had few setup issues. Inside the control box, the smoothstepper connects to the breakout board via 25 pin cable, so it's basically a replacement for lpt port. You can always replace this part with a different type. Perhaps could even bypass it and just use lpt port.

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Thanks appreciate the reply.
After I made my original post I found a couple post elsewhere recommending the smooth stepper also. Good to know.
I purchased stuff in the past directly from Offshore sellers and never worried about shipping issues. It just generally takes so friggin long but the upside to that is you can generally find stuff some things a lot cheaper on AliExpress as some products come direct from the maker. I did find some parallel port options there after a deeper search.
I checked out your web page you supplied and bookmarked it for future use.
Yours looks like a solid constructed machine using Hiwin rails and US support is a plus.
Good luck.

Hello Ironspyder,

I’m reaching out to you because I have the same machine (KL-6090) purchased from the same place. They were supposed to have the machine set up out of the box, but my z is not moving in the negative direction/cut into the wood when the program is run. I can move the machine via the keyboard with no problems at all. The guys at AT are telling me the machine is configured correctly and it must be the g-code. I’ve run code from Aspire, both in .txt and .tap formats and I’ve run g-code from the wizards within Mach 3 and the roadrunner test g-code included with Mach 3, and they all do the same thing, the z will not cut into the wood. My question is, what problems did you have when you first ran your machine? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Anton

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Originally Posted by antonfuntek

Hello Ironspyder,

I’m reaching out to you because I have the same machine (KL-6090) purchased from the same place. They were supposed to have the machine set up out of the box, but my z is not moving in the negative direction/cut into the wood when the program is run. I can move the machine via the keyboard with no problems at all. The guys at AT are telling me the machine is configured correctly and it must be the g-code. I’ve run code from Aspire, both in .txt and .tap formats and I’ve run g-code from the wizards within Mach 3 and the roadrunner test g-code included with Mach 3, and they all do the same thing, the z will not cut into the wood. My question is, what problems did you have when you first ran your machine? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Anton

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Stuff like that can make a sane man crazy!
I'm not an expert but....you're running mach 3?
Will the machine move when you type in a MDI asking it to move in a specified amount?
Can you show a sample of the code you asking the machine to move?
It could be something so simple...yet it could be something beyond belief also!
Curious also......are you running the a smooth stepper thru your usb port?

You are leaps and bounds ahead of me. Haha

Yes. I’m running Mach 3. Someone else suggested I try MDI code. I used G01Z2.5F10 and the Z moved 2.5 units (not inches) up/in the positive.
If you are using Mach 3, you should have the roadrunner sample file that I used. It can be found in C:/Mach 3/gcode. I only know about it because you tubers reference that file as proper/good g-code.
As for the smooth stepper, I have no idea. No documentation of any kind was included with my machine. Where would I find that info? Attached is a picture of the control box.

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Originally Posted by antonfuntek

You are leaps and bounds ahead of me. Haha

Yes. I’m running Mach 3. Someone else suggested I try MDI code. I used G01Z2.5F10 and the Z moved 2.5 units (not inches) up/in the positive.
If you are using Mach 3, you should have the roadrunner sample file that I used. It can be found in C:/Mach 3/gcode. I only know about it because you tubers reference that file as proper/good g-code.
As for the smooth stepper, I have no idea. No documentation of any kind was included with my machine. Where would I find that info? Attached is a picture of the control box.

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Ok....if you have zero at the top of the piece you're cutting....you will need a - (minus sign) in front the 2.5 for it to plunge into your work piece.

example........ G01Z-2.5F10

Depending on how you have your machine set up that could possibly mean 2.5 inches so be careful.
Try this and zero your machine out in air space for the test and run a test program that includes G01Z-0.250F10
That should move 1/4 inch and be far enough for you to see it moving. Just do it open space with no cutter or piece involved.

You bought the machine and didn't get any paper work with it??

How are you connected to your computer??? USB port or Parallel port?

Yeah, I’m not thrilled about it. I’ve requested the info, but I doubt I’ll ever see anything. It’s connected via USB. Based on the MDI you gave and the MDI I tried earlier, I think the z units are off. The first MDI was supposed to move the Z in the positive direction 2.5 inches as you confirmed now. I would say the Z moved maybe a half an inch in the positive. Is calibrating the axis very difficult? I’m guessing YouTube would have some insight.

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Originally Posted by antonfuntek

Yeah, I’m not thrilled about it. I’ve requested the info, but I doubt I’ll ever see anything. It’s connected via USB. Based on the MDI you gave and the MDI I tried earlier, I think the z units are off. The first MDI was supposed to move the Z in the positive direction 2.5 inches as you confirmed now. I would say the Z moved maybe a half an inch in the positive. Is calibrating the axis very difficult? I’m guessing YouTube would have some insight.

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The short answer is yes it is a little complicated to set the units if you don't know where to go and how to do it. But it can be done. It is in Mach in the configure setting. Are you sure your machine is set for inch? or maybe they set for mm? 2.5mm is only .098 of an inch tho and not close to a half inch.
Can you get it to move both ways tho? + and - in MDI?
Youtube would be a good place to start.
Or the Mach manual which you should be able to download and print off.

That was my first thought was that the units were set to MM, but the units are set to inches in the set units box in the config menu. The text also reads inches in the motor tuning section in the config menu. Is there another place to check/change units?

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Originally Posted by antonfuntek

That was my first thought was that the units were set to MM, but the units are set to inches in the set units box in the config menu. The text also reads inches in the motor tuning section in the config menu. Is there another place to check/change units?

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The only other thing I can think of or suggest would be put a dial indicator on it and give it a command to move 1 inch and see how far it moves.
If everything in Mach is set in inches mode AND the motor is tuned correct...it should move 1 inch.
If it DOES NOT move one inch and you're sure all the settings are in inch mode then your motor needs to be tuned to the proper steps to create a 1 inch movement.

Okay. Unless the inches can be set in multiple locations in the software, I should be set to inches. That just leaves the steps. I’m reading the Mach 3 manual now and will try to sense of it. I’ll keep you posted.

I drove to Chicago and picked up my machine in person. They burned a disk while i was there and gave it to me, but all the files are on the website. They have an xml file for mach3 that will take care of most settings. You will have to calibrate the machine though, and might have to reverse some of the axis' which can be done in the settings. if you go to the description page of the unit you bought, there are many red links that will load pdf files that you can save and use for reference. I discovered that my breakout board wasn't wired according to their documentation, so I fixed it. Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by ironspyder

I drove to Chicago and picked up my machine in person. They burned a disk while i was there and gave it to me, but all the files are on the website. They have an xml file for mach3 that will take care of most settings. You will have to calibrate the machine though, and might have to reverse some of the axis' which can be done in the settings. if you go to the description page of the unit you bought, there are many red links that will load pdf files that you can save and use for reference. I discovered that my breakout board wasn't wired according to their documentation, so I fixed it. Hope this helps.

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Gotta love the plug and play retailers! :rolleyes:

Just an update. I seem to have calibrated the machine to inches. My new problem is setting ref all home position. No matter what I try I cannot clear the values that are currently there. When I manually put the machine in its 0,0,0 position and try to zero out the “machine coord’s” it will not let me clear/zero out the values as I’ve seen in other videos.

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Originally Posted by antonfuntek

Just an update. I seem to have calibrated the machine to inches. My new problem is setting ref all home position. No matter what I try I cannot clear the values that are currently there. When I manually put the machine in its 0,0,0 position and try to zero out the “machine coord’s” it will not let me clear/zero out the values as I’ve seen in other videos.

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Click on the Ref all Home button....then hit the zero buttons next to each axis....click the ref all home button again to make sure it cleared all previous values out. If it didn't you may have to hit the zero buttons again for each axis.

That should put your machine at 0-0-0 on all 3 axis

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Originally Posted by cnc Rookie

Click on the Ref all Home button....then hit the zero buttons next to each axis....click the ref all home button again to make sure it cleared all previous values out. If it didn't you may have to hit the zero buttons again for each axis.

That should put your machine at 0-0-0 on all 3 axis

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I have a 6040 Chinese machine and thought I would ask you... that zero on mach3 is permanent? I mean, ever time I power up the machines and start my mach3... ridiculous coordinates are in the program until I hit the zero on each. Most time when I first power up the mach3 and load a new g-code file, the coordinates randomly change to other ridiculous numbers... until I hit zero again. Does this happen to you?

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Originally Posted by DarbyOhara

I have a 6040 Chinese machine and thought I would ask you... that zero on mach3 is permanent? I mean, ever time I power up the machines and start my mach3... ridiculous coordinates are in the program until I hit the zero on each. Most time when I first power up the mach3 and load a new g-code file, the coordinates randomly change to other ridiculous numbers... until I hit zero again. Does this happen to you?

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If I'm understanding you correctly, no your machine should not arbitrarily change coordinates when you "load" a file. It should remain at where ever your home is before you load any files to be run.
I always double check my home before running a file by zeroing all the axis and hitting the ref home button (rinse and repeat) as a double check as to where I want the machine to reference home before the start of running a file.