Problem with Mach3

[lenp49]

New to the forum and PVC. Have cut several photos and had several dismal failures primarily due to my own mistakes. The last one was a 8x10 of a waterfall that took nearly 20 hours to cut. About 2/3rd of the way through the Mach3 user interface locked up but the program continued to run and finished the cut. Not really a huge deal but I wondered if anyone else had seen this happen. Using an up to date Windows 10 64 bit system if that makes any difference.

I know I need to experiment with different bits and line spacing to try to get the cut time down to a reasonable time. This one was done with a .04" V bit and 15% line spacing. Going to try a small ball nose with larger spacing next.

Here are a few of the first ones I have done.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

Len

[dhellew2]

Have you registered you copy of Mach 3?
The unregistered version has a code line limit.
Dale

[Mobius]

Have you registered you copy of Mach 3?
The unregistered version has a code line limit.
Dale

Ha, probably not that. I doubt you could cut for 13 hours on that limit.

Mach 3 can be a finicky beast. Some versions/sub versions are better than others, but all have bugs. I can't remember which version I'm using, but mine has a bug where if you try to run from a specific line of code instead of the beginning it will sometimes drive the into the material/spoil-board. I haven't found the trigger for this, but it has brought a tear to my eye and a lightening of my wallet on occasion.

Add to that the odd glitch with my ethernet smooth stepper, Windows locking up, or random hardware failure, and there is hardly a day that goes by that something doesn't go wrong. Just having typed that, it is no wonder I'm balding.....

[IslaWW]

Why deal with the known issues of Mach when you can install a new professional controller for a few hundred dollars that has all the help you need to get it right?

http://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_diy ... oller.html

[lenp49]

it is a registered version and Artsoft has been informed of the issue. They do not have a solution and have not seen this issue. Oh well.
Thanks for the suggestion about centroid. I will check it out.
Len

[angelkarla]

Hi its a possibility you ran out of computer ram memory check the size you have
had this happen on old machine and computer
Art

[kilrabit]

Are you running a smooth stepper or something similar?
If running a USB the problem like that is with windows, it is a way that windows refreshes the USB.
The ethernet version runs much smoother and no refresh of memory issues.

You might also turn off all windows update, and power saving that windows automatically runs so that there is as little
background programs running as possible. Also antivirus and other programs. I right click and disconnect from network and
internet also. I do not have issues with MACH 3 anymore.

[Leo]

Mach3 has a MAXIMIM limitation. If the file size is too large it will faulter at the max end without warning. I really don't know a lot about it, but the max number of lines of code is really high but is reachable.

Happened to me and that was the info I learned about it.

Do it in smaller sections or somehow make smaller file sizes.

[ger21]

I believe that it's 10,000,000 lines of code.

If you are running big 3D files, over 500,000 lines of code, it's a good idea to turn off the toolpath display.

[lenp49]

Currently running the same cut with an even smaller bit and the same thing has happened. machine continues to run just fine and I expect it will finish the job. Just the Mach3 window has stopped displaying progress (i.e., the Gcode is not scrolling and the small window showing the position of the machine is not changing).

It is a VERY long program taking 24+hours to cut so there are MANY lines of code.

My laptop is: ASUS VivoBook Pro 17 17.3” Thin and Portable FHD Laptop, 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U Processor , NVIDIA GeForce MX150 Graphics, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, USB-C, Backlit Keyboard, N705UN-ES76

I don't think the laptop is the problem. I would think if it were a laptop issue I would see other issues but everything else (other programs) still works fine.

Artsoft has asked for a copy of the Gcode and the xml file. Will see what they have to say.

Thanks for all the replies!

Len

[ger21]

As I said, try turning off the toolpath display. It's very inefficient with large files, and is known to cause problems.

Regardless of what Artsoft finds, they aren't going to fix it. Mach3 development (and fixes) stopped over 5 years ago.