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  1. #141
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    304
    "I ran another long program last night. The Y axis is drifting. Its not the heat in the control cabnet and the motor is warm but not hot. I lost about .2" in 3000 lines of code. I'm not familiar with Mach3. Could this be backlash adding up?
    i_r_ "

    IR,

    I'd check your calibration of that axis. It sounds to me like you don't have the steps per inch calibrated accurately enough..

    Mach3 has a function - under the Settings Tab, -> Steps Per Unit

    Where you tell it to move a certain distance, and then input what you actually moved.. Put a test indicator on a 1-2-3 block with another 1-2-3 block standing vertically - to make a sort of horizontal "L" shape..
    always move in the same direction -and never reverse direction - to take backlash out of the equation.. (ok you can do the same thing with a calculator, but why when Mach3 will do the math for you...)

    Note: If you're using a cheap 1-2-3 block -it may actually be off as much 0.005 in. - so use a known calibration gage block.. make sure you align it .. and take your time..

    Just my $0.0015 worth..

    Joe
    www.CNC-Joe.com
    CNC Is Not Just My Passion.. It's My Addiction !!!!

  2. #142
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    142
    Sorry for the delay, I had to fab my wind turbine tower and get it put up. I had several major projects come to a head at the same time.
    Anyway,,,,
    I'll make a test program this evening to test repeatability. It seems to me that if I had a scaling problem, I would see geometry errors in both negative and positive y. IE, an elipse when I program a circle.
    The machine is only creeping in the +y position. I think it may be the cheap encoder that I bought picking up interference?
    More later.
    Thanks
    i_r_machinist

  3. #143
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    142
    I just got a request for an update.
    So..
    The Y drift was a mechanical issue. Drive hub was not keyed to the ballscrew.

    The machine was going into estop and giving me an error that a limit switch had been engaged, but would not tell me which one. That turned out to be a faulty Z axis limit switch. Got that fixed.

    I was reading the Mach3 documentaion and it said to turn the "look ahead" value up to a couple of hundred lines to get rid of some of the constant velosity jerkyness. This estopped the machine because it kicked in the "watchdog" parameter, which I had to turn off. I ended up with about a 50 line lookahead value. I guess my computer is a little weak, and am keeping an eye out for a bigger, better, faster one.

    OTHER THAN THAT......
    I can finally start the machine and walk off with confidence.
    I'll post some more pics.
    have fun
    i_r_machinist

  4. #144
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Posts
    300
    i_r_,

    Thanks for the info. I'm keeping all of this in case I run into similar problems.


    JAckal:cheers:
    Everything is bio-degradable, if you run over it enough times with the lawnmower.

  5. #145
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    93
    Hey lr, was wondering if you ever figured out the e-stop when starting the spindle as that is what is happening on my machine right now. I can have only the Campbell board powered up and reset the button and as soon as I start the VFD, it triggers an E-stop.
    YCM-40 converted from anilam to Mach3 and lovin it.

  6. #146
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    142
    I got tired of messing with it and just wired the vfd to run off of a pot. Works fine, I just edit in a dwell to adjust my spindle speed before cutting. Its been working great. If you figure the problem out, I'd like to know what the fix is.

    Other than that the machine is running fine. I'm pretty impressed with some of the canned cycles in Mach3. Very handy for quick machine path.
    have fun
    i_r_

  7. #147
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    93
    Found out that the E-stop was inducing 35 volts into the contactor solenoid wires that also run up to the e-stop switch in the same cable AARGH. Then I'll mess around with the Mach3 BOB controlling the VFD. (Probably in another YEAR or so)
    YCM-40 converted from anilam to Mach3 and lovin it.

  8. #148
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    142

    Re: Sharnoa 4 axis retrofit

    Well, I've been threw two towers on the same Viper drives and Bob Campbell BOB. The last tower I got I plugged it in, loaded Mach3 and was running. The current tower had some kind of memory error and would not boot up. Took it to my computer guy and he fixed it right up, and said that I didn't loose a thing. But now my x and y axis are jerky.Do I need to go back threw the process of the Hyper terminal tuning of the drives?
    Thanks in advance
    i_r_

  9. #149
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    93

    Re: Sharnoa 4 axis retrofit

    Quote Originally Posted by i_r_machinist View Post
    Well, I've been threw two towers on the same Viper drives and Bob Campbell BOB. The last tower I got I plugged it in, loaded Mach3 and was running. The current tower had some kind of memory error and would not boot up. Took it to my computer guy and he fixed it right up, and said that I didn't loose a thing. But now my x and y axis are jerky.Do I need to go back threw the process of the Hyper terminal tuning of the drives?
    Thanks in advance
    i_r_

    Something doesn't add up. I don't think that those settings would just inadvertently change. Has anything changed as far as the printer port settings? It's been too long since I have messed with it.
    YCM-40 converted from anilam to Mach3 and lovin it.

  10. #150
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    142

    Re: Sharnoa 4 axis retrofit

    I've thought of opening the tower and seeing if some pins are not lining up. I uninstalled and re-installed mach 3, nothing. Z is fine, just x and y. It is a puzzle. Like I say, I got this thing from ebay, plugged it in and was running, so....
    have fun
    i_r_

Page 8 of 8 678

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