[widgitmaster]

This afternoon I ran the exercise prog a few times, adjusting the spring tensions on the pivot plates and greasing everything. There were a few rattles, which I eliminatd by making shims for the y-axis motor pivot plates.
After everything was moving smoothly, I use a laser-thermometer to check the stepper motors. here are the results:

Room temp: 71°F
Stepper temp: 138°F
Run time: 1 hour
Feed rate: 1140 IPM
Stepper size: 960 Oz/in NEMA34

[tahustvedt]

One of the settings in Mach3 is "Look Ahead", by default it's too low a number! Set it to 200 lines or more!
Widgit

Mine does this too, and setting the look ahead to 200, or even 1000, doesn't help. They only thing that helped was unchecking the "Stop CV on angles > _____Degrees" box. I usually have this set at 90°.

[tahustvedt]

This afternoon I ran the exercise prog a few times, adjusting the spring tensions on the pivot plates and greasing everything. There were a few rattles, which I eliminatd by making shims for the y-axis motor pivot plates.
After everything was moving smoothly, I use a laser-thermometer to check the stepper motors. here are the results:

Room temp: 71°F
Stepper temp: 138°F
Run time: 1 hour
Feed rate: 1140 IPM
Stepper size: 960 Oz/in NEMA34

1140 IPM is pretty amazing. What is your acceleration rate set to?

[widgitmaster]

As for the Constant Velocity, Mach3 has settings hidden every where, turning some of them on makes it worse too! There is also a G-code for it, which should go in the init-string.


The 1140 IPM was at 150% over ride!
The X, Y, A axis R&P Steps/Per: 1270.7595, Velocity: 1000.2, the Acceleration: 64.1
The Z axis Ballscrew 10mm/rev Steps/Per: 5078.734, Velocity: 600, Acceleration: 38

Of what I've read, and all the suggestions I've received from the start of this build, I would say the high feed rates are from the CNCRouterParts Pinion/pulley as well as the 7A 960 Oz/In steppers! My voltage to the G203V's is only 57-VDC of the 80-VDC max!

[tahustvedt]

It's odd. It doesn't always happen. Just in some toolpaths. It pauses at the beginning of arcs. I cut some delrin yesterday and it would go perfectly smooth into the arcs on some files, and halt before other files. I'll try another version of Mach when I have the time.

64.1 acceleration is fast. Looking forward to seeing it in action.

[widgitmaster]

Last night I finished wiring the VFD Inverter, with the help of a good friend!
The Inverter is connected to a PMDX-107 spindle control board, here are the connections for the five wires:

PMDX-107 - FWD -> Inverter FOR
PMDX-107 - REV -> Inverter REV
PMDX-107 - COM -> Inverter DCM
PMDX-107 - AOUT -> Inverter VI
PMDX-107 - AGND -> Inverter ACM

The spindle started right up when I pressed the RUN button on the Inverter!
There was some vibrations, so I removed the ER20 collet & nut. The vibrations went away! So I'll have to find a higher quality set of collets & nut!

[widgitmaster]

Now that everything is running, I can take some amperage readings! Because there is a 110-VAC tap off of the 220-VAC, I have a slight imbalance in current draw. There is a sight imbalance in current draw at the Inverter as well, and that must be in the design!
With such a low power consumption, I can put 8A fuses in the power box! I'm a happy puppy :banana:

[widgitmaster]

On commercial machines, after releasing the E-stop, another button press is usually required to restore power. You don't want things turning back on as soon as you release the E-Stop button.

Hi Gerry,
This morning I fired up the spindle, when at full speed I pressed the E-Stop. This shut the system down, and the spindle did not restart when E-Stop was reset!
Widgit

[widgitmaster]

This afternoon, I decided to make the Delrin block to hold the Work Light socket. After squaring up a block of black Delrin, I started a large bore for the Spindle. The bore is 2mm larger, so the spindle never actually contacts it! I started with a larger block than necessary, so I could have a full bore diameter to measure. Then I band sawed off the excess, and drilled 4x holes for 4mm SHCS. Next I removed the z-slide from the router, and drilled 4x holes and tapped them M4.

Now that the Delrin is bolted to the slide, I put everything in the vise and leveled the taper on the z-slide. Now I can mill the same angle on the Delrin, making sure not to cut the yellow powder coating!

Then I drilled some holes and milled a slot in the bottom of the Delrin part, so the little socket would mount nicely and the wires from the LED's could enter from behind. Then I soldered all the same color wires together, protecting the joint with heat-shrink tubing. Then I cut a pair of short pieces of split wire-wrap tubing, as they will cover the wires outside the Delrin block. I made the block mount so that the top is co-plane with the top of the spindle. The last job is to solder the plug on the end of the feed line, and plug it in!

[kuroguy]

that's turning into one good looking machine. I knew I should have been more persistent with my offers to provide an annex to your workshop at my house. by the way, that offer still stands.

[widgitmaster]

Thanks Kuroguy!

Looks aren't everything, as I have not been able to get ALL the electronics under control!

Today I ran the spindle for over two hours, with the cooling pump connected and digital thermometer attached. First I let the spindle heat up to 90F, then I plugged in the pump and it leveled off at 87.5F

The problem I'm having is the spindle is generating an E-Stop request when running, so I'm unable to move any of the axis. I do not think it is noise, as all cables are shielded & grounded.

[kuroguy]

have you got an oscilloscope? that would allow you to eliminate noise pretty quickly.

[kuroguy]

wait. is the shutdown coming from the drive or from your own emergency stop circuitry? most modern drives have settings that help them match up to the motor they drive such as overcurrent limits, motor temperature simulations, etc. and they may need adjusting.

[widgitmaster]

wait. is the shutdown coming from the drive or from your own emergency stop circuitry? most modern drives have settings that help them match up to the motor they drive such as overcurrent limits, motor temperature simulations, etc. and they may need adjusting.

Unfortunately I have a serious Noise issue, so I'll be working on it first!
No, I do not have a scope!
Widgit

[kuroguy]

might be able to filter out the noise with a low pass filter (capacitor to ground). any real e-stop signal would last long enough to make it past a suitable low pass filter.

[mactec54]

widgitmaster

Almost done you will have another great machine to make bigger widgits

How did you terminate the VFD shields, do you have any photos of the VFD wiring, Did you use shielded cable for your limit switches, it will be the limit switch circuit that will be causing the E-Stop, you could give the debounce a big number & try it, But it won't solve the problem completly, you can check the EMF by putting a TV near by, you will see it on the screen

[CNCMAN172]

Wiget,
You are getting EMI interference. You need to add a choke on the wires going to your breakout card. The wires need to be looped through the donut shaped choke. Spindle motors are notorious for this type interference. You will be shocked how easy adding a choke will makes things work like magic. I will post a picture of one, had this issue on my water cooled spindle.

Russ

[CNCMAN172]

Look on eBay for ferrite ring core, eMI
Russ

[widgitmaster]

It appears that I've made the classic error in wiring my machine! I had grounded the shields to the breakout board, which uses the PC ground! So I'll spend a day or two re-wiring and grounding everything properly! I'll add a ferrite-core to the end of the VFD cable, and replace allot of the smaller cables with an 8-conductor cable. This will remove the tight pinch on the water lines, increasing the flow! I have order some copper braid to cover the 220-VAC line entering the VFD box, along with some long shrink-tubing! Hopefully this will keep the EMI from traveling through the AC lines!

I guess I was a little anxious to see this monster dance!
No Biggie, just a learning curve-ball

[CNCMAN172]

Wigit,
I would recommend looping the control wires that go to the VFD from your breakout through a EMI ferrite core on both ends. This noise runs right down these lines which often puts MACH3 in estop condition or just hung. Yes connecting the grounds on the controller side versus PC ground will also help;.
Russ