# Mach 3 Issues Now



## speedre9 (Jun 27, 2016)

In Mach 3 there's a widow in the upper right of the screen that's supposed to show the tool paths and an image of the part you're cutting. I don't get that I get a series of red circles, anybody have any ideas on what is happening, and why ??


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## rdean (Jun 27, 2016)

Under General Config check if you have Distance Mode set to Absolute and IJ mode to Inc.
That is where to start.

Ray


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## speedre9 (Jun 27, 2016)

O.K. I'll check that. Thanks


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## speedre9 (Jun 28, 2016)

So when I start my cut it seems to run fine until line 8 in the code. Line 8; N80X0.0000Y0.0000F100.0, this is where the machine travels
in the Y positive and slightly X positive as to make travel at an angle. I don't read or know code but even I can see that's not right.


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## JimDawson (Jun 28, 2016)

It looks like it assumes that Z is in a safe position, and is moving to X0, Y0.  If the machine makes a move then the starting location of the tool is not at 0,0.  I don't know why it wants to make this move.

Even more odd is the lack of a G0 or G1 on that line, and why a move would be made without one of those. It looks like that line is just to set the initial speed.

Try editing that line to read N80F100.0 and see what happens.
.
.


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## cs900 (Jun 28, 2016)

I still think you should throw a G54 in your code right before N80. This ensures that you're not working off your machine coordinate system, which can be completely different than your work offset coordinate system. Do you have home switches on your machine?

A lack of G00 or G01 is not a problem on line N80. Those commands are modal so the last one executed will stay active until a change is given. Your X0Y0 command will be a rapid movement in your code so the feedrate is redundant on line N80.


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## Boswell (Jun 29, 2016)

it is perfectly valid to have a X0 Y0 without a G0 or G1 on the same line in some circumstances. It would help if you shared the first 9 lines of code, not just the X0 Y0 F100


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## speedre9 (Jun 29, 2016)

I will try the edit and no I have not wired any limits or home switches as of yet. Question how does Mach 3 know the size of my working envelope, I didn't tell it.


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## speedre9 (Jun 29, 2016)

For more of the code see the txt. file three up from your post


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## cs900 (Jun 29, 2016)

speedre9 said:


> I will try the edit and no I have not wired any limits or home switches as of yet. Question how does Mach 3 know the size of my working envelope, I didn't tell it.


When you load your program mach3 checks the extents of the travel in the program. This tells it the working envelope of your current part. 

The the work envelope of your machine is set (i think) by the soft limits set in the homing/limits set-up.


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## speedre9 (Jul 5, 2016)

After getting help from member rdean I reconfigured my computers so they were close to my machine, and I could see it
I needed to calibrate my axis but I'm not sure I did it correctly. I wanted to move X axis, 0.500", it moved 0.0015.
I had accepted that and Mach 3 said it was calibrated. I did the same with Y, and Z. Did I do it correctly, is there a trick to it???
I loaded the test script we had made and, it did not work. The Z axis moved in the positive right up to the end of travel.
That made cutting the test square impossible as the Z moved to end of travel. I had hoped it would cut in the negative direction.
What am I doing wrong, what is happening here????????


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## Boswell (Jul 5, 2016)

Did you Zero all three axis at the origin for the test part?  After you completed the calibration step, did you verify the calibration by doing a manual JOG and verifying that you got what you expected?  for instance, move the head to the approximate center of your workspace and ZERO the X axis. Then manully enter G0 X1. Did the axis move 1" (or mm) is the expected direction, more? Less?  Do this for the Y and Z axis.
By verifying  that the system is moving the  correct distance in the correct directions through manual GCode entry you know if you should look at the GCODE (CAM) for the error or your MACH3/Hardware for the issue


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## rdean (Jul 5, 2016)

Boswell is right you must verify all axis are moving in the correct direction and amount.  You should calibrate each axis several times and then measure with a dial indicator or caliper.  The greater distance you measure at a time will be more accurate.  Don't forget to account for any backlash before you make the calibration or measured move.
Ray


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## speedre9 (Jul 6, 2016)

O.K. Here are the files I used, I remade the sprocket run file. When I used the jogging screen, the one that shows a pendant type image,(tab for screen)
The directionality was as it should be. What is driving me crazy is that when it starts the cut the Z travels in the opposite direction.
Please read the code and verify the axis movements, if it turns out to be correct I need some step by step direction in how to prepare for a cut!!
Can't load the other files, not on the list of accepted formats


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## JimDawson (Jul 6, 2016)

Your G-code looks OK.  I suggest that your Z 0 is not set correctly when starting the cut.  I normally set Z 0 with the tool at the surface of the material.  With Mach3, you are working with 2 coordinate systems, the machine coordinates, and the work coordinates.  (which makes no sense to me)  Just make sure that the offsets are correct.


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## rdean (Jul 6, 2016)

It works fine call me tonight if you want.
Ray


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## speedre9 (Jul 6, 2016)

I am sorry I left out the test txt. file for the test cut.
One last ditch effort to understand.
 You say the code looks good, o.k., but on my machine when the cycle hits line four
N50G00G43Z07874
The Z axis goes up, positive direction, shouldn't it be, negative, to cut into the material?
I have verified the axis directionality three times, the safe Zero is set at0.250".
I set my Zero at material surface, X&Y are set to Zero.
The Program Limits on the setting page are as follows:
X range; -1.5565  +1.5685
Y range; -1.5646  +1.5604
Z range; -0.1300  +0.7874
Shouldn't they be the same in each column????


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## JimDawson (Jul 6, 2016)

speedre9 said:


> The Z axis goes up, positive direction, shouldn't it be, negative, to cut into the material?



In your Test.text file:
No, that's the clearance plane for the tool, it should be positive.  The next moves are rapid X&Y to 0 (for whatever reason, dunn0), then a rapid XYZ move to stage the tool into the first cut position.  Then on the N100 line, the Z moves to -0.130 to plunge the tool into the work.


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## Boswell (Jul 6, 2016)

On line 50 am I reading this correct that it is moving to Z 7874.  Is that in inches?  if so, that would be over 650 ft up from Z Zero


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## JimDawson (Jul 6, 2016)

Boswell said:


> On line 50 am I reading this correct that it is moving to Z 7874.  Is that in inches?  if so, that would be over 650 ft up from Z Zero



You caught that too!   In the test.txt file, it's Z0.7874


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## Boswell (Jul 6, 2016)

Did you verify that you can manually jog the Z axis up and down to the expected place?


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## rdean (Jul 6, 2016)

In V carve we set the clearance to 0.250 not  0.7874 that you had it set on.  Go back to the V Carve program and change it to 0.250 and recalculate the program.

While running a program the safe Z has no effect only when Go to Zero.

In the sprocket txt you did have the clearance gap set at 0.250.  
If you open a program that you used before and save it then V Carve will remember many of the settings from that program.  If you open a program that someone else wrote then write one of your own you have to check if any of the settings have changed.
Every time you start a new V Carve file you set up the material size, where the Z zero is, and where the X and Y zero is located.  When you are ready to compute the tool path the first thin you should do is check the material settings on the right hand side at the top.  Make sure you have all the settings where they should be for your machine.  This is where you set the clearance gap, material thickness, and Z zero.
Until you are comfortable with the program you should check this every time before calculating any tool path.  

Ray


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## speedre9 (Jul 7, 2016)

Friends over at Vectric Forum have suggested that I may using the wrong post processor. One has written a new code script for a test cut and it looks nothing at all like what I have saved!!
I don't think it's Mach 3 being configured improperly I think V Carve is remembering too much of the similar tool paths I had already generated. Compare this to my other file.
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/attachments/test-txt.131975/


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## speedre9 (Jul 8, 2016)

This is my latest and last attempt, it is just a 3.00" circle at the center of my material, it still does the same thing Z axis goes haywire!.


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## JimDawson (Jul 8, 2016)

speedre9 said:


> it still does the same thing Z axis goes haywire!.



Do you mean that Z goes to the top, to the end of travel or the limit switch?


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## jbolt (Jul 8, 2016)

Are you doing tool offsets? or just manually setting your zero off the top of the stock? 

In your code:
N40*T2*M06 
N50G00G43Z0.2500*H2*

If you are not doing offsets in your tool table in Mach3 if there is any value other than zero for tool 2 (T2)  mach3 will compensate for the tool offset (H2) based on the referece zero. This will cause the Z to do bad things.


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## speedre9 (Jul 8, 2016)

No I do not have tool offsets. When I print the code I don't see that.
 Yes it goes all the way up until it tops out and spins in the motor coupler.


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## jbolt (Jul 8, 2016)

Are there any values in the tool table in Mach3? or is everything set to zero? 

How are you setting the Z zero to the part?


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