[mcphill]

Title says it all, but some more info anyway... I already fried one coolant pump by running it for over an hour totally dry as I was cutting wood on my machine. I finally figured out "that smell" wasn't from cutting treated wood, but from the smoking hulk of what used to be the motor on my coolant pump... I replaced with a nice new higher flow pump, and then last weekend I almost did the same thing again! Looks like the toolpaths default to coolant "On"... Is there a way to change the default to "Off"?

[jrmach]

If you open your post processor,under #1,there is this,,,,

n,rapid_move,length_offset,coolant_on


Change on to off.Might wait till somebody confirms this,as PP's are not my strong point.

[mcphill]

I would think that would get the on/off status from what you program when doing the toolpath... When creating toolpaths it defaults to on in the dialog setting. I will try the PP change, though, to see if that works (maybe that is a "master" on/off that overrides the setting from BobCad?). Thanks!

[mcphill]

This one ought to do it...

673. Coolant on string? "M08"

Changed it to "", now I get no code when coolant is "called". Created a *_NoCoolant.pst and that worked great! Thanks for the input :banana:

[BurrMan]

This one ought to do it...

673. Coolant on string? "M08"

Changed it to "", now I get no code when coolant is "called". Created a *_NoCoolant.pst and that worked great! Thanks for the input :banana:

Hey mcphill,
Awhile back someone made a scripted post to put a coolant dialoug in your features. You would have to make a "COOLANT.CustomIrregularPocket" file for each feature you would like to use it in..... Maybe Al Depoalo could help you get the script and program block and all the custom features setup for your situation.

[mcphill]

Maybe Al Depoalo could help you get the script and program block and all the custom features setup for your situation.

That would be.... ahem... Cool!

I would prefer to use a single post, and having a dialog pop up at the start of running MACH3 would "remind" me of the dangers of running the pump with no coolant. I have a workable solution, but would be interested in this "slicker" remedy...

[jrmach]

""would "remind" me of the dangers of running the pump with no coolant""


Think that should be engraved in the old noggin now.Just turn coolant motor off by unplugging or flip a switch,,end of problem.

[mcphill]

Just turn coolant motor off by unplugging or flip a switch,,end of problem.

Well, the old noggin seems to forget an awful lot of things these days! The pump is near silent, there is no switch on the control panel (it is a Mikini, the button on the panel controls it for manual mode, but MACH has complete control when in CNC mode), and due to the placement of the pump, you have to pull the filter stack and the whole coolant reservoir in order to unplug it... Another option would be to hard wire a switch to the coolant pump, but a software solution requires no $ and no sweat equity!

Another option would be to disable the pump within Mach, but I would prefer to handle it in the post... The solution of two posts is perfectly workable, but I would like to get more knowledgeable on macro's and dialog entry anyway, so maybe the is the impetus I need to figure this out on my own... (knowing full well I have 1000 other projects ahead of this one in the queue, and that I next to NO chance of ever "getting to" it....).

[jrmach]

(knowing full well I have 1000 other projects ahead of this one in the queue, and that I next to NO chance of ever "getting to" it....).


Ain't that the truth.I understand.

[BurrMan]

mcphill,
Can you zip and attach the post processor you use here?

[mcphill]

I just use the "stock" Mach3 No ATC post.

[BurrMan]

Hey mcphill,
So I created all the files for each feature to have the coolant option as an advanced posting page.
Turning it on and off at "posting block 1" works ok, however, at the toolchanges and ends of program, we have the "coolant_off" variable, but the posting engine is bypassing that variable, because
It is looking for it to be turned on with the "coolant_on", therefore, doesnt output an off in that case.

Solutions for now: BobCad is looking into this to see if the engine can accomodate something in the future.

For now, how do we want to handle it? We would either have to make a second posting block script that would
evaluate a "mem" variable we setup in the first posting block (May need help with that) that tracks whether it's been set to on or off
place that second block in the toolchange and end positions to output there, the correct "off" or "nothing at all"....

The other option which we could do right now, is just hard code and "off" command, that would output an off in any case, at all times for those positions...

Does the second sound like something you want? We could do that now. If the first (more desirable) is the one you would rather wait for, then we can ask for help to implement it.

Anyway....

[mcphill]

Hard coding a Coolant Off on the last set (or for all sets, for that matter) should be fine, right? Turning "off" a pump that is already "off" seems to me would be harmless and not THAT inefficient... That said, I am not sure what you are saying you did... Did you modify the post processor, or the toolpath generation in BobCAD? What/when would I need to interact to implement your suggestion (at CAM feature definition, code creation/post-processing, or on the CNC machine when running the code? With each feature or "globally" for the whole file?). FWIW, I do manual toolchanges now, so no PDB or ATC macros to worry about...

[jrmach]

Burr,under my post,#2,out of curiosity,,does that do squat.Of course if it did,all programs would be coolant off.Which means he would need 2 PP,and remember which one to use.And I have no idea how Mach plays in this,as I have no need for it.Which brings us back to the memory again,where a switch for coolant pump would work,if you remember to turn off.I bet it would suck to get a nice slab of Hardwood soaking wet or burn another pump out.
That also brings a question of why a pump would burn out ?Must be something about the build of the particular pump.I could run mine all year,with valve off,it doesn't care.

[BurrMan]

Burr,under my post,#2,out of curiosity,,does that do squat..

No, your post there would work fine also. He would just need the 2 posts and remember to change between them for posting his program. I was just giving the scripted setup, which allows having a setting in the feature to turn it on and off. I suppose at some point, you have to rememeber that you want it on or off It would just be easier (And more memorable for me) to have a setting in my feature dialogues to set it.

I made a video where I tried to explain how it works a little. If mcphill likes it, then we can look at cleaning it up a bit to have only what he wants in it....

I didnt make the posting block. I dont remember the thread where it came from. It was either sbc or a sample from Al, to show the scripting. I'm just passing it along...

[BurrMan]

Hard coding a Coolant Off on the last set (or for all sets, for that matter) should be fine, right? ...

So here is the post processor and the accompanying feature files to start with. Here' a video to try and give a visual of whats going on....

coolant posting - YouTube

I just hard coded an "M09" for the areas that it would need to be off in, if it in fact was set to on....

Let me know if you want to clean it up.... (But not really my area)

[BurrMan]

So if you want that dialogue to only have the "coolant" drop down, you would open all the "feature companion" post files in notepad, and delete everything but this:

COMBO_BOX,2,Flood,Mist,Air,None
TEXT_LABEL,2,Coolant
DEFAULT_COMBO_INDEX,2,3

If you wanted to have your own customization added to it, you would change the text in the second line that reads "coolant" to be something like "Slather the sh** on" or something. Thats the label part.

[The Engine Guy]

the button on the panel controls it for manual mode, but MACH has complete control when in CNC mode)option but a software solution requires no $ and no sweat equity!

I think I must have the wrong handle on this, been reading all the Posts and Burrmans excellent coding solution
But I still don`t see why you can`t just switch the coolant off on the main Mach3 "Program Run" screen, as you rightly say Mach controls the Coolant on/off via M08/M09 but the software button on the Mach3 screen will override, it does on all of mine anyway, when the machine is running or not running I can turn the coolant on or off anytime I like.
I don`t have to go into the configuration (Ports & Pins) and disable the coolant, just switch it (Toggle on/off) on screen or via the keyboard

I can only assume that you are using a Mach3 screenset that doesn`t have the Coolant button on it, on mine there is a small square LED beside the button that flashes all the time the coolant is switched on.

If you don`t have the button try using "Ctrl-F" on your keyboard, do it once and coolant should run, do it again and coolant should stop again and if you have it the LED should flash all the time the coolant is on

Regards
Rob

[jrmach]

I think he really wants a "radio button" in BoB,staring him in the face while he programs.That way he does not forget to make a decision of off/on coolant.

[The Engine Guy]

I think he really wants a "radio button" in BoB,staring him in the face while he programs.That way he does not forget to make a decision of off/on coolant.

Hi James

Could well be right with that Each to their own as the saying goes

I find that a Blue flashing light on my control screen kinda gets noticed around here, flashing lights will always get a second look from me

Maybe it`s just me, I have this thing about Blue flashing lights and taking appropriate action

Regards
Rob