PM-45M-CNC Setup and Configuration with Mach3

[ajg308]

What a difference a day makes...

Excellent progress with the machine today! I got the homing and soft-limits working the way I want them. The machine comes pre-configured for Home set at the South East corner of the table -which is apparently more common outside the USA and also in some of the really gigantic machines. All the darn tutorials on YouTube etc have it set on the South West corner, making it hard to visualize/translate all the available instructional materials.

It didn't take long at all... -Just moved the position of some stop switches and twiddled the software configuration. The soft limits need a tiny bit of tweaking but, it's all but a done-deal right now. I also made progress on setting and using predefined offsets. -Very valuable thing to do... Wow, what possibilities!

Very soon, I'll be ready to cut some metal.... probably by the end of the week. I'm taking my time and learning EVERYTHING I need, to do this right and not screw things up... Funny how you get that way when around 7 grand is at stake...


Ray

This is where I am at right now. I have the machine homed at the SE corner and I am trying to flip that to the SW. I think I have the soft limits set as well.

When I ordered this setup I visualized this all being so easy...

 

[Ray C]

This is where I am at right now. I have the machine homed at the SE corner and I am trying to flip that to the SW. I think I have the soft limits set as well.

When I ordered this setup I visualized this all be so easy...

Surprise!

By any chance, did you look at the setup guideline that was posted and if so, was it readable/useful?

The machine itself is/was pretty well behaved. No technical problems once the software was installed and configured.

Anyhow, yes... Everything looks easy when you see it on YouTube but when you're face-to-face with a sophisticated program like Mach 3, suddenly, the tail is between the legs, the head bows down and the ears hang to the sides... I can see however that it will get easier once basic familiarity is established and the machine and Mach 3 "have one-ness". It won't be long after that that we'll be bemoaning the hurdles to overcome with our respective CAM packages -and soon after that, we'll bump into the limitations of our economy CAM programs and we'll be bellyaching that we didn't spring for the more expensive software. All of this will probably happen in the next 4, 6, 8 weeks... Life is short. Enjoy it.

Ray

 

[ajg308]

Surprise!

By any chance, did you look at the setup guideline that was posted and if so, was it readable/useful?

The machine itself is/was pretty well behaved. No technical problems once the software was installed and configured.

Anyhow, yes... Everything looks easy when you see it on YouTube but when you're face-to-face with a sophisticated program like Mach 3, suddenly, the tail is between the legs, the head bows down and the ears hang to the sides... I can see however that it will get easier once basic familiarity is established and the machine and Mach 3 "have one-ness". It won't be long after that that we'll be bemoaning the hurdles to overcome with our respective CAM packages -and soon after that, we'll bump into the limitations of our economy CAM programs and we'll be bellyaching that we didn't spring for the more expensive software. All of this will probably happen in the next 4, 6, 8 weeks... Life is short. Enjoy it.

Ray

Yes I printed the guide. It was written in English and easy to understand and follow. Excellent work there.

I agree about the machine, no issues there and it does what it is told. I am trying to learn at least 3 software programs at once, that is the struggle.

 

[Ray C]

Here's an updated version (Draft II) of the Software and Driver Setup manual and an additional draft document covering Homing and Setting Limit Switches. There are two documents because of their large byte size. The first document is just cleaned up a little with no changes to the technical content.

Please let me know if this stuff is helping you folks so I can get some idea if I'm knocking myself out for nothing... Comments and suggestion for content and to improve readability are welcome.


Once again, I'd like to thank a nameless person for proofreading the latest doc... Once we get beyond "draft" status, I'll put editor information in there. I'm going to keep these in "Work Instruction" format as I hate pedantic manuals with all kinds of headings, titles, lists of figure -and all that crap. Beef. I want beef -no fluff.


Ray...

View attachment ADDENDUM-Homing-1.pdf

View attachment PM45CNCBasicSoftwareSetup-2 -.pdf

 

[ajg308]

Here's an updated version (Draft II) of the Software and Driver Setup manual and an additional draft document covering Homing and Setting Limit Switches. There are two documents because of their large byte size. The first document is just cleaned up a little with no changes to the technical content.

Please let me know if this stuff is helping you folks so I can get some idea if I'm knocking myself out for nothing... Comments and suggestion for content and to improve readability are welcome.


Once again, I'd like to thank a nameless person for proofreading the latest doc... Once we get beyond "draft" status, I'll put editor information in there. I'm going to keep these in "Work Instruction" format as I hate pedantic manuals with all kinds of headings, titles, lists of figure -and all that crap. Beef. I want beef -no fluff.


Ray...

View attachment 71807

View attachment 71808

Ray, thanks so much. I am really new to all of this and have been banging my head against the mill table trying to get this sorted out. I appreciate your efforts immensely. I will report back after reading the updates.

 

[Ray C]

Ray, thanks so much. I am really new to all of this and have been banging my head against the mill table trying to get this sorted out. I appreciate your efforts immensely. I will report back after reading the updates.

LOL: That makes two of us... The original manuals were a doozie. Do let me know if things make sense or not. On the second document, I added a tiny bit of background. Mainly though, I'm new to this and one way to challenge my understanding is to write it out in explanatory form.

BTW: I'm not planning to cover how to use Mach 3 or any particular CAM software as there are hours of videos on YouTube and endless manuals covering those topics.

Ray

 

[zr8cnc]

Ray,

Amazing job with the limits and home switch document. I will be using it this weekend to set up my parameters. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and we are luck to have a dedicated member like you on this board.

 

[ajg308]

I am having a heck of a time getting this thing tuned up. I have used Ray's documents and they are great.

I was all set to ref all home and when I did the LED lights for the home switches on the diagnostic page are no longer functional, and the home switches don't work. Somehow I turned them off, so now I am back to watching videos and double checking everything to see where I went wrong.

 

[Ray C]

I am having a heck of a time getting this thing tuned up. I have used Ray's documents and they are great.

I was all set to ref all home and when I did the LED lights for the home switches on the diagnostic page are no longer functional, and the home switches don't work. Somehow I turned them off, so now I am back to watching videos and double checking everything to see where I went wrong.

This happened to me too... When you enter values in Mach 3, you must press the "Apply" button. If you press "OK", the parameters you change are not saved -must press "Apply" first.

When you get to the Motor Tuning, there is a special "Save Parameters" button that you MUST press.

I fell for this trap a bunch of times! (BTW: The documents I provided mention these pitfalls but, there's so much to read, it's easy to pass over).


Hey ajg308, remind me again on what machine type you have (Variable or non-variable) and what options. I'm trying to collect info from folks so I can make the manual complete for all machine types.


Ray

 

[ajg308]

This happened to me too... When you enter values in Mach 3, you must press the "Apply" button. If you press "OK", the parameters you change are not saved -must press "Apply" first.

When you get to the Motor Tuning, there is a special "Save Parameters" button that you MUST press.

I fell for this trap a bunch of times! (BTW: The documents I provided mention these pitfalls but, there's so much to read, it's easy to pass over).


Hey ajg308, remind me again on what machine type you have (Variable or non-variable) and what options. I'm trying to collect info from folks so I can make the manual complete for all machine types.


Ray

Thanks Ray,

PM45-CNC 3 axis. nonvariable motor, coolant, one shot lube, pendant unit.

I've been though the documents and the mach3 videos like 5 times each and can't put my finger on the problem. If/when I figure it out, I will let you know.

Aaron