[Newbie] Mach 3 Or 4??

Mach3 Licensed! works like it should haha. helps if you search the web a little better about what the limits are on the demo.. Now to get my motors tuned properly. So far every time I tuned them after the license they run really slow.. accurate.. but slow.. kinda like pull out my eyes and do it by hand slow. When I mess with the motor tuning to speed them up, they get out of calibration. They also wont save the settings. I know that I am just missing something simple here.. one thing I need to find out about the motors is the info on them. Since this is a second hand machine that someone else added to a PM45M I dont have much to go on. It is running the G540 and the motors are not direct drive, which I wouldnt mind changing that since the motor mounts interfere with the table and limit its ability. Growing Pains.. still fun though haha!
 
Works a lot better and a little faster than it was, but still think it can go faster than its going.. this took 3 hrs to carve out a 6"x6" logo. The engraving bit is worn out from being used throughout the setup. Still cool though. not sure if that photo link worked.

The motors I am using:
Zaxis: NEMA34 HIGH TORQUE STEPPER MOTOR 906 oz-in KL34H295-43-8A
X and Y axis: KL23H2100-35-4B 381 oz In. Hybrid Motor
and then as I stated before using a G540 controller

if anyone can help me get the speed up it would be greatly appreciated. I have done the motor tuning and the calibration on Mach3 and everytime I do that it slows everything down.
 
My understanding is that Calibration is so that the units in the GCode match the distance actually traveled so if the Calibration is off then it will not show up as a speed issue but rather as a dimensional issue. As for Motor tuning. If I understand this right, this addresses the maximum movement rate and the acceleration and deceleration ramps. For those, I don't see any issue with manually adjusting them until you start to miss steps, then back off a bit.
 
I know that so far when I go through the motor tuning and get things moving nice a smooth, then I do the calibration to get everything to move the correct distance it slows everything down during the job and when I override it I can barely see it increase the speed. Now when I manually jog the machine its pretty fast. I didnt think about it till now but is there something in the g-code that is being automatically entered to limit the feed rate for the job I am doing?
 
totalyfrozen said:
Works a lot better and a little faster than it was, but still think it can go faster than its going.. this took 3 hrs to carve out a 6"x6" logo. The engraving bit is worn out from being used throughout the setup. Still cool though. not sure if that photo link worked.

The motors I am using:
Zaxis: NEMA34 HIGH TORQUE STEPPER MOTOR 906 oz-in KL34H295-43-8A
X and Y axis: KL23H2100-35-4B 381 oz In. Hybrid Motor
and then as I stated before using a G540 controller

if anyone can help me get the speed up it would be greatly appreciated. I have done the motor tuning and the calibration on Mach3 and everytime I do that it slows everything down.
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with the Gecko 540 but from the manual it looks like the max amps per stepper is 3.5A. Your Z-motor is rated at 6.1 if wired in parallel and 3A in series. Since this is second hand I would verify the motor is wired in series and the correct current limiting resistor is in place on the 540. I don't think this would affect your speed just available torque.

Is the head driven or the quill on the z-axis?

Have you adjusted the gibbs on each axis?

The NEMA23 motors on the x & y seem small to me for a PM45. I could be wrong but I would be concerned about loosing steps on anything but light cuts. Is there a ratio reduction on these axis?

As a comparison I have a PM932 (same as the PM45) converted to CNC. I'm using NEMA34 1800 oz steppers on the X & Y (belt drive at 1:1) and a NEMA42 4200 oz stepper on the Z direct driving the head. 200 ipm rapids is about as fast as I dare take it.

If you could post some screen shots of your Mach3 settings it would help in determining if there are some settings you could change.

Also are you running a separate motion controller like a smooth stepper or UC100?

Jay
 
The head is driven the quill is locked and the gear was removed by the previous owner. I am looking at putting it back in so that I can have control of the quill again.

gibbs? still learning the terminology sorry about that..

all the motors have gears and pulley's not sure what the ratio is though, havent checked the teeth count on any of them.

I will get some screen shots and put them up as soon as I can. Hopefully tonight after work.

No separate motion controller.
 
Rough, but just a test anyway. There is a lot of detail in this but cant be brought out till its cleaned up and painted. I could use a more basic setting to just get a nice clean outline which would probably be the best for this logo. Not sure why but if you look in the lower right corner the bit plunged in too far. Still learning..
 
Have you been to the Mach support forums and asked your question there?


They have been pretty helpful to me.

Try sending a Pm to "Smurf" there.
 
Thanks alloy I will do that as well. I have been looking through different forums along with the Mach one. still getting my bearings with this.
 
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