Need Mach 3 help

Post Reply
User avatar
SIBUD
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:32 pm
Model of CNC Machine: ShopBot 18X24 Desktop
Location: Nashville, IL

Need Mach 3 help

Post by SIBUD »

So I've been using Mach 3 on my machine for years, NO PROBLEMS.

This morning I went to cut a carving board and even though in the design and previews the carving was in the center of the board, Mach 3 decided to move everything to the upper right corner. :evil:

I'm behind on my orders and hope that someone can help me.

Because I'm curious, I loaded files from previous jobs that ran just fine, no problems, now they have the same issue.

Grrrrrrrr............


Any ideas as to what might have changed in Mach 3 that causes this problem.

I can still set x y and z to zero on the lower left corner so it is starting at the correct places.

Any answers would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. :D
Bud Meade
Nashville, IL

I don't own too many BMW motorcycles, I just have too little time.

garylmast
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 1580
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 4:03 pm
Location: Sandy, Utah

Re: Need Mach 3 help

Post by garylmast »

Double check to see what post processor you saved it in.

Gary

User avatar
SIBUD
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:32 pm
Model of CNC Machine: ShopBot 18X24 Desktop
Location: Nashville, IL

Re: Need Mach 3 help

Post by SIBUD »

Gary,

Thanks for the quick reply. :D

All of the files have the same post processor MACH3 ARCS (inch)(*txt) :?

What should I look at next? Some setting in MACH3 itself.?
Bud Meade
Nashville, IL

I don't own too many BMW motorcycles, I just have too little time.

mark-s
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 216
Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2018 2:03 am
Model of CNC Machine: diy 4 X 4 CNC Router
Location: So. Cal.

Re: Need Mach 3 help

Post by mark-s »

When you first set it up to cut, did you zero X & Y to the center of the board before doing tool height?
mark-s

User avatar
SIBUD
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:32 pm
Model of CNC Machine: ShopBot 18X24 Desktop
Location: Nashville, IL

Re: Need Mach 3 help

Post by SIBUD »

Trying to not waste wood. I did a test cut at a very light depth.

Attached are screen shots of the preview window, the design window and the actual board.

Notice that on the computer the circle above the letters is concentric. But that's not the way it carved.
20191204_164535.jpg
20191204_164545.jpg
20191204_164756.jpg
Also the letters in the preview take up less of the curve than when they actually carved.

I'm stumped. Perhaps someone can point me in the right direction?
Bud Meade
Nashville, IL

I don't own too many BMW motorcycles, I just have too little time.

User avatar
SIBUD
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:32 pm
Model of CNC Machine: ShopBot 18X24 Desktop
Location: Nashville, IL

Re: Need Mach 3 help

Post by SIBUD »

mark-s wrote:When you first set it up to cut, did you zero X & Y to the center of the board before doing tool height?
mark-s
No, In the six years I've been using V carve pro, I've always set x and y at the lower left hand corner. Never centered it on any of the hundreds of jobs that I've run. They have run fine until now.
Bud Meade
Nashville, IL

I don't own too many BMW motorcycles, I just have too little time.

ezurick

Re: Need Mach 3 help

Post by ezurick »

Recheck your original vcarve file, under your Job Settings, make sure the XY Datum position is bottom left (as you intended) and make sure the Use Offset is unchecked and there are no numbers in there. I had a file I re-opened once that was older... somehow that offset got checked and huge numbers got put in there somehow. It took my spindle for a ride when I started the carve. I am not sure how on earth that got changed.. but I was very new back then. So I just scratched it up as lesson learned. I try to ensure that nothing in that setting somehow appears anymore... lol.

Your mach3 shouldn't be the problem because it is doing nothing but reading your gcode from vcarve. However, it may be possible that your setting in mach3 got corrupted. After I got my chinese 6040 machine, I wrote down the step-by-step procedure to setting up my mach3 for my machine. You might want to check those settings. Maybe even uninstall, and reinstall mach3 and reset the settings for your machine.

User avatar
Adrian
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 14544
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 2:19 pm
Model of CNC Machine: ShopBot PRS Alpha 96x48
Location: Surrey, UK

Re: Need Mach 3 help

Post by Adrian »

Is the circle the same diameter in the actual cut as designed? The lettering is weird. All I can think is that the unit scaling (or whatever it's called in Mach3) is off.

Post Reply