[bill south]

Hey Guys;
My preditor (bobcad) backplot looks fine. I'll try to post a screenshot of it for your entertainment. I'm going to try a second electronic probe after a new calibration procedure to center the jeweled tip and try again. I'll also try the cut with Aspire code to duplicate the cut.
Quite the riddle but we'll figure it out. I have the best help available here at the zone!
I'll post my findings after testing.
Thanks for all the help.
Bill

[engnerdan]

Have you tried some fixed size moves against an indicator? I am thinking setup a 1" travel indicator, zero the indicator them move 0.5", and see if the physical move comes out to the 0.5".

-Dan

[Hirudin]

Good idea!

[dertsap]

if you want to post the bobcad file then I can help verify its good ..
You mentioned probing , are you manually inputting the coordinates or are you running a probe routine which puts in the coordinates for you . If your running a probe routine then I'd suggest probing the part , move the spindle away from the part then do a x0y0 move in mdi . Then you can dial the part to verify that the probe routine is calculating correctly .
Also , I don't suppose you've been playing with any g52 shifts around that period of time ??? a g52 shift will stay modal in mach until it is canceled , reset etc won't cancel it

[bill south]

Thanks for all the help guys. Yes, I have done the indicator and fixed movement testing (several times) looking for anything that would indicate a loose nut or coupling. Nothing showed up.
Now for the bad news! It's fixed! I reloaded Mach just for the hell of it and the problem went away. Same code, same stock, same everything but it is now producing the cuts as designed.
Bad news you say! Well, when something like this just disappears and I really don't understand what "fixed it", well I'm just uncomfortable and will always be on the lookout for it to reappear at the most damaging moment!
Again, thanks for the help and sorry I didn't pin point the solution.
Bill

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Bill,

Sadly, that doesn't surprise me too much. I have, more than a few times, had Mach3 suddenly start doing insane things. Replace the XML file from a backup, and/or do a fresh install, and it's back to normal. The Mach3 XML seems very fragile, and when it gets damaged in any way, almost anything can happen. Further indication of the truly horrible software "architecture" of Mach3. In fact, it was that kind of problem that finally induced me to drop Mach3, and move to the KFlop. I haven't had a single problem of that sort again - the machine has been rock solid for years, and the only problems I've had have been self-induced, either by operator error, or bad G-code.

Regards,
Ray L.

[gd.marsh]

Hey Bill,
I tried to PM you but your inbox is full .. Gary