Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

pontiac1978
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Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by pontiac1978 »

Hello Everyone. Its been a while since I've been on.

I have been racking my small brain on trying to get my "Auto Tool Zero" button in Mach3 to goto a "Fixed" position to zero the tool. I have a permanent "Zero plate" fixed to the machine. Right now I basically have to move the Spindle over to the fixed plate and then hit the button to zero. I would like to be able to hit the button and it goes from wherever the spindle is to the location (fixed plate) I set to Zero the tool. Here is the Generic code I have now:

Dim Zprobe, Zretract, ZfeedRate

'Note: TouchPlateHeight represents the actual height of the
' Auto Z Touch Plate from the work surface.
' Minor adjustments can be made for calibration purposes (use caution)
TouchPlateHeight = .089

Message( "Auto Tool Zeroing..." )

If IsSuchSignal (22) Then
isMetric = GetOEMLED(801)
Zprobe = -3
Zretract = 1.5
ZfeedRate = 10
If isMetric = 0 Then
Zprobe = Zprobe * 25.4
Zretract = Zretract * 25.4
ZfeedRate = ZfeedRate *25.4
TouchPlateHeight = TouchPlateHeight * 25.4
End If
Call SetDRO( 2, 0.00 )
code "G31 Z" & Zprobe & " F" & ZfeedRate
While IsMoving()
Wend
Call SetDRO( 2, TouchPlateHeight )
code "G1 Z" & Zretract
End If


I would appreciate it if you could add to this simple code to have the machine goto a specific X,Y,Z location to Zero the tool when the "Auto Zero Tool" button is pressed.

Thank You and have a SAFE & Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!!! :-)

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by Gundawg »

It looks like you just need to add the XY position in for a machine move to your selected position. I would also add a full retract of the Z axis before moving the X & Y.

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by Gundawg »

I thought I would add a little to my answer. My machine has a line for each move if I remember correctly it looks something like this.
M3
G53 Z0
G53 X (enter X position here no space or parenthesis) Y (enter Y position no space or parenthesis)
enter your zero procedure nest
When your done enter a G53 and new XY coordinates you would like the machine to move

I recently moved my tool height switch and had to edit this code if I can remember I will copy the whole macro and post it I am sure yours will be slightly different but at least you can see the code.

Mike

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IslaWW
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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by IslaWW »

You have a couple choices:
1) Learn to code macros (harder, takes longer, but free)
2) Get Ger's 2010 Screenset for Mach that has the macros included (easier, costs a few bucks, but better in the long run)
3) Install UCCNC control and use Ger's 2017 Screenset for UCCNC

Costs a few more dollars, but will give you a control system that is "not dead", in other words, ready for modern computers, has tech support from both a strong userbase and a brick and mortar operation. Branded compatible hardware and speeds much greater than could ever be delivered from Mach 3.
Gary Campbell
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martin54
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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by martin54 »

3) Install UCCNC control and use Ger's 2017 Screenset for UCCNC

Gary, I thought UCCNC was tied to their hardware rather than being stand alone. So as well as purchasing the control software you would need to change your motion control hardware as well.

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by ger21 »

martin54 wrote:3) Install UCCNC control and use Ger's 2017 Screenset for UCCNC

Gary, I thought UCCNC was tied to their hardware rather than being stand alone. So as well as purchasing the control software you would need to change your motion control hardware as well.
Yes, UCCNC requires a CNC Drive motion controller. Many people are already using these with Mach3, as they support both Mach3 and UCCNC (and Mach4 in some cases).

But I suspect the OP is using an ESS, which is common in CNCRP machines.
Gerry - http://www.thecncwoodworker.com

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by IslaWW »

martin54 wrote: Gary, I thought UCCNC was tied to their hardware rather than being stand alone. So as well as purchasing the control software you would need to change your motion control hardware as well.
Martin...
Yes, that is exactly what I meant. All of the successful CNC control providers of the last decade have provided control software and branded hardware and have been providing support for both OEM and DIY customers. Sure, you wont be able to purchase a $9.99 BOB off eBay, but the one you do get will work and has a manual. Throw in branded forums that have advanced users AND factory techs and you should now have a wining combo.

I upgrade 40+ users a year to WinCNC, UCCNC and Centroid Control. A little over half of them are coming from data over USB or currently unsupported controls. Virtually to a man theysay: "I can't believe I kept using that (xxx brand) of control for 6 years! I never knew my machine could run this well."

So, to those running unsupported controls, or those transmitting data over USB: The 90's called and they want their antiquated stuff back!
Gary Campbell
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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by martin54 »

Thanks for the update, the way I read your post Gary was that you only needed to buy the Control software :lol:

When I was looking to upgrade from parallel port a while ago I looked at quite a few different motion control cards, some I could see also had their own brand Control software on offer but I didn't realise that the software was actually tied to the motion control card & could only be used with their hardware.

I run UCCNC myself, with Gerry's 2017 screenset :lol: :lol: When I upgraded I went with a UC400 ETH which I originally set up to run with mach3 but bought their control software after reading some of your posts about it.
My only concern now is that should I purchase or build another machine I will need to buy their hardware for it or find another Control software to use :lol: :lol:
it would just have been nice if I could have been able to use UCCNC with any brand motion control

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by jam1962 »

Martin did you see improvment with your machine when you swithed from mach to UCCNC software?
Jay Morris...

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by martin54 »

jam1962 wrote:Martin did you see improvment with your machine when you swithed from mach to UCCNC software?
That is difficult for me to answer because it isn't something I have really looked for, I used mach3 for a couple of years & everything was working OK, I had a couple of issues that I thought might be related to using the parallel port but wasn't 100% sure & knowing that parallel port was the worst of the possible communications methods when I had a little extra cash I looked at changing it.

Having upgraded the motion control it seemed like a good idea to learn a bit more about the control software I was using so was going to spend some time learning more about mach3 & how to use it more effectively. At that time I read some posts & watched some videos comparing UCCNC with mach3 so decided that as mach3 would never be developed further & was likely to fall further behind other control software now was the time to change.

Still haven't got round to learning much about it to be honest but I am sure once I do I will see some improvements, if you speak to any of the experts then I am sure they will tell you what improvements if any you will see :lol: :lol:

Sure Gary & Gerry will comment further on this :lol: :lol:

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by ger21 »

martin54 wrote: My only concern now is that should I purchase or build another machine I will need to buy their hardware for it or find another Control software to use :lol: :lol:
Your options for free controls are pretty limited... :lol: But you can always use your Mach3 license or LinuxCNC with the parallel port. But other than those two, UCCNC gives you more bang for the buck than anything else.

it would just have been nice if I could have been able to use UCCNC with any brand motion control
Then you have the same issues that you have with Mach3/Mach4. One company writing software, and another writing firmware to control the hardware that interfaces with the software. So you don't know which features are supported, which work correctly, and how long it will take to get them working? It took years to get a fully functional Smoothstepper plugin for Mach3, and it's going on 3 years with their Mach4 plugin.
With UCCNC, every function works with every new software release, as the same company is developing the entire package.
Gerry - http://www.thecncwoodworker.com

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by ger21 »

jam1962 wrote:Martin did you see improvement with your machine when you switched from mach to UCCNC software?
That depends on a lot of things.

If you don't have any issues at all with Mach3, then you may not see much difference at all.

UCCNC is potentially faster, and more accurate.

It's also mostly bug free, and if you find a bug, it will usually be fixed within a week or two, often much faster. Mach3 probably has hundreds of bugs, many of which tend to occur randomly.

Fwiw, my 10 year old machine still runs Mach3, but it's time has passed...
Gerry - http://www.thecncwoodworker.com

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by martin54 »

Where has free control come from ?? I didn't say I was looking for free control software. If I were to build/buy another router & I wanted to use UCCNC as the control software so I wasn't messing about with 2 different programs then I would have to buy another licence regardless of what motion control device I was using. Same thing would be true of mach3. As far as I am aware the licence for either program only allows it to be used with one machine.

Just think it would be nice to not be tied to any specific brand of hardware just because of my choice of control software :lol: :lol: I'm not a computer programmer & have no desire to start now at my stage of life so if that is how things are now I don't have a lot of choice :lol: :lol:

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by IslaWW »

martin54 wrote: Just think it would be nice to not be tied to any specific brand of hardware just because of my choice of control software :lol: :lol:
Martin...
We are virtually not limited. Lets say for example we are talking about step and direction machines. Steppers or servos. Virtually ANY control that outputs step and direction can be installed on ANY machine that has drives that accept step and direction signels. There are a few old vs. new in voltage matching, but these are usually minor. You can pick your control software and pick (or build) your frame design and with a little knowledge, marry them up.

I do a good number of these every year, some of the larger machines onsite. Machines with blown or aging control can be replaced with any new modern control software, PC based or proprietary. The others are for DIY guys that want to save the weeks or months of trying to figure out what is compatible with what and how do they connect. And I am usually cheaper than "magic smoke" :oops:

Over the last half dozen years I have used, built and tested systems for LinuxCNC, Mach, UCCNC, ShopBot, Osai, WInCNC and Centroid. Due to price, feature, stability, ease of use and quality of supported hardware (and factory support) I now currently only build systems with UCCNC, Centroid and WinCNC control. They are the best bang for the buck.
Gary Campbell
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GCnC411 (at) gmail.com

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Re: Auto Tool Zero button fixed position???

Post by ger21 »

martin54 wrote:Where has free control come from ?? I didn't say I was looking for free control software.
I just meant that regardless of what software you choose, you'll still be paying for another motion controller. :D
Gerry - http://www.thecncwoodworker.com

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