Need Help!- Mach3 questions

[ssutton]

OK, I have progressed to the point where I have movement. I can move all three axis via the keyboard inputs and the jog buttons, everything works normally. However, when I go to home the machine something very strange happens, the Z homes good, the Y homes good, and then the X begins to home but only 1 of my x motors operate during the home and the gantry tries to twist until the motor stalls? In all other modes the X operates like it should. I have set up A to slave to be a slave to X so that the motors run together. I have set up in "motor home/soft limits so that both the A and X home in the negative direction.

Any thoughts?

Also, when my machine faults for any reason; e-stop, travel limit etc. when I reset the condition and then click the reset button in Mach the machine may sit for several minutes before it will actually become active again. Sometimes it re-activates immediately. Re-starting Mach and then clicking the reset button always gets in going again.

Thanks,
Scott Sutton

[hemsworthlad]

Hi,

Have you set the "home slave with master axis" in the general config menu.?

Dont know about the delay.? Sounds to me like mach is looking for something or waiting for reply.? could be a plugin or macro do you have screenset or something that use's macro's etc.?

[ssutton]

That was it! Man I love this forum.

THANK YOU,

Scott

[ger21]

If you decide to use two home switches to square the gantry when homing, you'll need to uncheck that box.

[hemsworthlad]

Out of interest Ger how do you do it without then.? Do you have to untick this every time you want to square the gantry then retick.?

[ger21]

With slaved motors with their own home switches, the box needs to always be unchecked. Each axis homes to it's own switch. If the gantry is square, each switch will be triggered simultaneously. If it's not square, the first axis that hits the switch will stop and wait for the second axis, thus squaring it back up.

[hemsworthlad]

Ah gotcha so setting the switch is effectively telling mach not to use the home switch for the slaved Axis and drive both motors to just one switch.
Dont seem a good idea to me thou not to drive both motors when it knows they are slaved.?

[ger21]

Mach3 makes the assumption that you know what you're doing. It also assumes you're using two switches, unless you check the box, telling it you only have one.

[hemsworthlad]

Originally Posted by ger21 Mach3 makes the assumption that you know what you're doing.

You know what they say about assumtions being the mother of all F-up's. .

[ssutton]

OK, even though this did fix my original issue by setting them to home to one switch I now see the advantage to use 2 switches. I will install a second home sensor one my other X motor and square the gantry. I was going to make a mechanical jig to use at power up to square the gantry, much better to use a sensor.

I have contacted Gecko about my delayed re-enable issue. I have discovered since my last post that when I reset Mach after a travel limit and my G540 does not reset that I can toggle the charge pump switch off and then back on and the G540 is happy again. So I know that Mach is out putting the charge pump signal. If I do not toggle the charge pump switch, the G540 will eventually reset all on its own without doing anything else but waiting, sometimes for as much as 10 minutes before it will reset.

-Scott