When a loss of steps is indicated I recommend that you cut feedrates in half and repeat to see if that cured the problem
. Hello! I have an APE 200HD running WinCnc (could use help finding out the version) BTW: I'm a Mac person. Anyway, Running two different jobs yesterday, one rotary and one 3-axis. About 60% through the rotary job when machine loses position and ruins the job. On Rotary, cut almost to center of work-piece along the Y-axis (X=B, or rotary, on my machine). On the 3-axis job at about 60% the machine again lost position and cut into the work. Not as drastic, but ruined none the less. In both cases the Z-axis (once the job was aborted) would not respond to homing commands. When I shut the job down on the 3-axis job, I rebooted the controller and used the SEEK LIMITS command with no effect. When I tried the GO HOME command, the Z- axis did not retract and it snapped off the bit as it went home, instead of returning to its upper position as usually happens. With the rotary axis, I was able to shut everything down and manually move the machine head along the X-axis to clear the work. Fortunately the tool also cleared the table and I moved it close to Machine Zero and ran the SEEK LIMITS command and re-homed it. I am trying to narrow down machine vs operator error. BTW: using Vectric Aspire v. 9.510 if that matters.
Thanks for any help!!
Steve Weaver
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When a loss of steps is indicated I recommend that you cut feedrates in half and repeat to see if that cured the problem
Gary Campbell GCnC Control
Servo Control & ATC Retrofits
Thanks
I went through this exact problem recently. The machine was retrofitted to WinCNC by a bit of a hack. I had to trace all the grounds and make sure they were reconnected, make sure the cabinet was well cooled, remove old cables, deal with stepper motor over torque shutdown, verify that everything was hooked up to spec ect... The Mach3CNC manual is very good for helping the DIY'er hook stuff up. And be sure to check for mechanical rigidity. If you do all this stuff and it's still not working right, grab an oscilloscope and look at the pulses going to the steppers. And set the debounce correctly for your hard limits. Good luck and happy to answer any questions. Ian.