[Jonesyc]

So I purchased this Chinese 3040 cnc that was never used from and elderly lady that just lost her husband. It came with Mach3/LazyCam. All I need to do right now is set it up correctly to engrave logo's and then cut out the design. I have worked countless hours/days on trying to set up correctly with some success. I have gcodes loaded, I have the machine moving but it is still not correct. The spindle goes all the way to the top when I start a run and grinds so I have to emergency stop and try something different. With very little or no help from support I have tried everything to just get the settings that I need for my set up. I am not very intelligent when it comes to all the code names, wiring, relays and such. Is there anyone that can get me the setup screens needed to get started. I have a paper weight right now as far as I am concerned and need to get started as the markets start very soon. Please help! I am so glad I found this forum and this group.

[routalot]

I know nothing about Mach 3 except that it is quite old now but a lot of people are still using it.If the machine is moving the correct axes in response to the code received,I'd say there is a very good chance that metric instructions are being sent to a machine that is defaulting to imperial units.If you look at the first few lines of your Gcode do you see a G20 or G21? that is the first step to resolving the problem and then you need to determine whether there is a G54 somewhere that tells the machine where the part datum is located.Without a G54there is a strong possibility that the machine is trying to raise the tool to the clearance height before moving to the start of the cutting sequence.

In summary,you need to verify that the CAM system and the machine are working in the same units and then you need to establish how the machine knows where to locate the part datum.I would expect most systems to flag up a warning that you may have loaded a program that would take the machine out of it's working envelope.

[awerby]

Go to the MDI panel and give it a G21 command. That will set it to mm. If the previous writer is correct (and it seems likely) then the initial instruction, which is likely in mm, will send the Z axis to 25 mm or whatever, instead of 25 inches.