Nice!
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Just wanted to share my experience building my CNCrouterparts pro machine with mach4. Plenty of help with a ready to go mach3 xml but it's been a little difficult to find those who've taken the plunge with Mach4 on this machine. I have to say that is a bit surprising as it’s been out a while now. I've used that program for about 2 years on my mini mill and have had no issues so why spend the extra $$. It was a slow start as I had to do a bit of detective work to translate some items over but now it’s all falling into place. Once I get all systems working I plan to share for others who are interested in a step by step. There’s got to be some folks taking or have taken the same journey.
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Nice!
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Most longtime Mach3 users have decided to move in a different direction, rather than upgrade to Mach4.
Gerry
UCCNC 2017 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]
Mach3 2010 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]
JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
[URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
What other directions?
UCCNC, LinuxCNC, Centroid Acorn, ....
Gerry
UCCNC 2017 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]
Mach3 2010 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]
JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
[URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
Me too! Running Windows 10 now, hopefully it doesn't force connections at some point to update. So afraid of the Windows roadmap. Would love several different options, especially with preconfigured settings to import for each program.
Would rather use Linux if I could get it going easily. Windows has too many processes and you could use minimal processes if using Linux.
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I'm pretty sure that with windows 10 they made it so you could not turn off automatic updates. That just means the dreaded forced shutdown is a real problem and could happen when you least expect. Forgot all about that and it dd happen to me once. Fortunately at the start of a build. Suggestion might be to check for updates before a build and make sure you home the machine.
Given that my machine uses ESS smartstepper, I think I'm limited to mach3 or 4 unless there's a plug-in for the others.
I have the crp4896. Same controller too. Everything is offline and on version 1607 of win 10. Just hoping it's going to work 5 years from now without updating at all. Never connects to the internet. Made a copy of the drive just in case.
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Progress so far on making my machine work with mach4...
- got the stepper motors xyz working
- got the proximity sensors recognized
- got everything to work with my motion controller
What remains a mystery....
- Can't figure out what pins are used for Spindle Fwd and PWM control. Warp 9 says you can use any available output pins but that doesn't make sense as I thought that was hard-wired between ESS and board+motor controllers (I have the plug and play electronics kit). I configured Spindle control in mach4 for PWM and did as they suggest but it's not controlling the spindle. Actually it sometimes just turns on when I switch on the power and cannot turn it off through mach4 control.
- I setup Z axis + just like the others (X&Y) but it does behave like the others in triggering a disable to keep the motors from stalling at the bumper. I can see it triggered in the ESS but mach 4 doesn't take the action to stop and I don' t know how to configure that.
Any help would be much appreciated as I have reached out to CRP a few days ago and have yet to hear back.
Last edited by Fabrik8r_K; 05-24-2018 at 11:13 AM. Reason: clarification
Just wanted to backup a bit and share my progress on the build from the start. I decided to work from an existing workbench and add supports to accommodate my 4x4 pro machine...time will tell if that was the right decision. The unfortunate part is that the legs are not at the far corners of the table which is best for stability. The advantage was to minimize tear-up on what I had and to provide some room for my kick-down casters if I want to move the table. It also opens up floor space so it's easier to navigate around the table. I am very limited in space and had to do many things to prepare the shop. It will double as a table saw out-feed and work table. I will keep updates as the build progresses and I start making chips as to weather this was the right decision.
more to come...
For my table surface I decided to go with horizontal segments with T-track in between. Been working with this for the past few weeks and really like so far. This was partially so I could replace segments as needed and to make use of the scrap pieces I had. I started with 1/2" plywood as a base to screw in the T-track and MDF segments. So far only wood screws holding those in place and may opt for inserts and machine screws if I have to start replacing more often. Still debating if I want to raise the T-track a bit or keep low. The advantage is less likely to get destroyed by a rogue cutter...the drawback is the extra length for fastening the work-piece or sacrificial board.
Electronic box mounting, E-stop location and zero plate storage. Wire management was a little tricky to minimize spaghetti especially because custom length is not possible. The slack you see is for zero plate.