[Vatorman]

Hey to all .. Im new here and want to say this site is full of great information and just glad to be here. I just started building the SX3 conversion and im pretty new at this so would like to know if anybody out there is able to use a tapping feature with this conversion??
Im using the g540, Mach 3 and the cnc fusion #4 kit with helicals. thanks

[cornbinder23]

Welcome Vatorman,
I have an SX3 conversion, If I am correct rigid tapping is NOT possible with the stock motor/speed control set-up under mach control
BUT I believe that if you were to convert over to a 3ph motor/ sensorless vector drive and add an index pulse card you can, I might be wrong, there is plenty of people on here smarter than I am in this respect so hopefully someone will chime in and give an educated response

I converted over but have not really given rigid tapping any thought
here is a link to my build http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...eady_go-4.html
most of the spindle info is on page 2 including pics of the motor mount assembly
I think I still have all of the dxf's for it so if you need them let me know
good luck and keep us informed of your progress, again welcome to the zone

JTCUSTOMS

[cornbinder23]

one thing I didnt really think of is you could use the stock motor set-up and cnc control for precision positioning and then just use the tapping feature that the SX3 has and just unlock the quill tap your hole, use cnc to position the next hole, tap etc.. etc..
I dont know if I would trust it for blind hole tapping though

JTCUSTOMS

[Vatorman]

Thanks for the ideas Im stil no quite at that point yet, Just trying to think an advance before I tackle that part of the conversion.
Nice PICS cornbinder, by the way..I like the covers for the steppers nice touch. Im currently waiting for the ball screws and also had A signal failure on the g540 I put 48 vdc to the unit and NO GO on the leds, checked fuse and checked out good so gecko said they would take care of it no charge and also ship free with some extra fuses as well no charge so just waiting ..... for the goodies My controller is pretty much ready to go besides the missing g540 . When I have a chance Ill throw up some pics Thanks again for the insight.

[Starleper1]

You cannot rigid tap in Mach3. The cycle is not supported.

Now there are other ways around it. Essentially you can use a 3ph motor and vector drive. However you would need to use a floating tap holder. The motors are not in perfect sync so the floating tap holder takes up the difference. With having to do so, this is not true rigid tapping. EMC2 supports the rigid tap cycle but I'm not so familiar with that software.

Mach3 has a macro function called SwapAxis. What this does is allows you to turn your spindle motor into an axis. For example you swap your spindle axis for axis A. Now you can have both motors in perfect sync by means of general Gcode. This does however require a proper spindle motor.

[samco]

No fancy vector vfd required with emc2. You just need a decent encoder hooked to the spindle. The spinde needs to be revearsable from emc and slow enough of a revearsal that your Z axis can track.

This was done with just printer port hardware..
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C740zS9R9kk"]YouTube - Rigid Tapping M3X 5 750rpm[/nomedia]


This is my conversion (3/4" tap) (mesa interface hardware)
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E3PMooch1k"]YouTube - kearney and trecker rigid tapping at 400rpm 1 inch tap[/nomedia]


sam

[cornbinder23]

No fancy vector vfd required with emc2. You just need a decent encoder hooked to the spindle. The spinde needs to be revearsable from emc and slow enough of a revearsal that your Z axis can track.

Problem is no one has been able to control the BLDC motor on the SX3 with control software yet that I am aware of. You can have all the positioning feedback in the world but without spindle control it wont work

JTCUSTOMS

[Vatorman]

This sounds like a good setup, Can you run me in the right direction for parts and an encoder that would work for this application (SX3) stock spindle ad on. Mach3 obviuosly does not support rigid tapping so I would have to purchase EMC2 for the software, where would I get this for a reasonable price.
And do you have any kind of wiring prints for this setup...Thanks Sam your the man appreciate the info..BTW Im still awaiting some parts for the major build. Here are some controller pics btw......

[samco]

Heh - EMC2 is free.. (free and open source)

LinuxCNC.org - Home
EMC Documentation Wiki: EmcKnowledgeBase

It runs in linux - but don't be afraid - if you can use windows - you can use linux.

sam

This sounds like a good setup, Can you run me in the right direction for parts and an encoder that would work for this application (SX3) stock spindle ad on. Mach3 obviuosly does not support rigid tapping so I would have to purchase EMC2 for the software, where would I get this for a reasonable price.
And do you have any kind of wiring prints for this setup...Thanks Sam your the man appreciate the info..BTW Im still awaiting some parts for the major build. Here are some controller pics btw......

[djsmith1000]

EMC2 is open source, and free. See linuxcnc.org to download.

I'm not familiar with the motor on the SX3 to point you in the right direction.

[Vatorman]

I have read on this topic quite a bit lately and there seems to be many obsticles that are stopping me and many others with the sx3 and spindle control through mach 3 what options would be best for now just starting the build ? I really dont like tearing things apart a second time around but if need be, I guess if it comes down to it Ill wait until someone comes up with a good setup with reliable aspects. I do like Sams idea with Encoder for feedback purposes like a closed loop system if that is its purpose .

[samco]

I am not firmillar with the sx3 control.. Does it use a pot for control? Any info?

If it is a pot - someone else had hacked in and replaced the pot with an opto.. (different control) and used pwm/pdm out of emc to control it.

http://timeguy.com/cradek-files/cnc/lathe/DSCN6292.JPG

sam

[cornbinder23]

No speed pot just a keypad for spindle speed changes

JTCUSTOMS

[samco]

could you explain how it works? Could you just do something fancy controlling the buttons? (using 6 or so outputs from emc that would control the buttons) - that and the encoder input into emc - you possible could know that the buttons are being 'pressed' and the drive is doing what it is told.

(just thinking out loud)

looking at
Spindle speed control for SX3... - CNCzone.com-The Largest Machinist Community on the net!

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...1&d=1266729556

sam

[samco]

anyone?

sam