Tormach PCNC 1100 running Mach3 loses Z-axis zero at the start of an operation
Hi all. I'm relatively new to CNC and the Tormach, but have been (mostly) successfully running g-code for a few months now. My mill has started losing the Z-axis zero after I insert and zero the tool for the first operation of my g-code. I run the code, the machine moves to the tool change position, I put in the tool, name the tool in the Mach3 interface, and set the zero as outlined in section 3 of the Tormach manual. When I start the cycle again, the operation starts about two inches above where I set the zero, but shows zero in the readout.
Before upgrading to PathPilot, I wanted to make sure there wasn't crucial maintenance that has been missed that may cause this problem. The machine is not mine, so I'm not sure what maintenance has been done in the past (if any). I would like to check all of the maintenance that I should be doing, then go through the troubleshooting steps, and then move on to updating the controller if necessary. What maintenance should I perform/check, and is my thinking correct regarding the steps I should take to solve this problem?
Re: Tormach PCNC 1100 running Mach3 loses Z-axis zero at the start of an operation
This is not maintenance based, but it may be tool table offset based. If you set the zero manually after each tool change, then you should make sure the tool table contains "0" for "tool length" for all tool numbers.
Also: I used to use Mach 3 with a Tormach 1100 before, and I think the PathPilot update is better. It only took a day to get used to the new interface. Not everyone agrees, but there you have it for what it's worth.
Tormach PCNC 1100 running Mach3 loses Z-axis zero at the start of an operation
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