I have run into so many issues I just wanted to put them in one place.
In move tab, using the jog options always move +
Go To doesn’t go to location entered, it goes to almost the machine limits
Save position doesn’t work at all other than is saves the locations, I just can’t go there
How does it now the spindle RPM when there is no place to enter the max speed of the spindle?
I spent some time entering my tools into a tool library and when I went to use it, there were only two of my tools listed and I had entered quite a few
There is no place in the tool library to enter the shank size of the tool
I went to cut a shape and told it to cut to the inside of that shape and it rounded off the inside corners and kept the outside corners sharp. Seems backwards of what it should be doing
$30 defines the max speed of the spindle. This is not set by millmage. Millmage knows the output as reported by the controller [which is either reported by the VFD, or guessed upstream]. It’s highly unlikely you have an encoder on the spindle itself providing closed loop feedback.
If you enter a value higher than the max speed of the spindle, it should in theory run at the maximum speed set by $30.
The shank diameter doesn’t really matter, unless micromachining with long bits or using fat shank german bits. If you don’t exceed the depth of the cutting edges, it rarely matters.
Endmills are round. A round endmill cannot produce 90 degree internal radii. You need to either overshoot, manually finish, or minimise with a tiny endmill.
$30 defines a percent vs an RPM. In the tool library, it is asking for an RPM, not a percent of spindle speed. Should this actually be set as a percent (X100 as I have $30 set to 1000) of max speed? In my case the spindle is 20,000 RPM at 100% so if I want to cut at 5,000 RPMs I should set my speed to 250 even though that isn’t the actual RPM?
Shank diameter doesn’t really matter other than it is nice to know when you have similar tools that have different shanks.
Other software I use to run my CNC router does it based on percent so I have $30 set to 1000. I will need to see if I can run that with 20,000 for a $30 setting as it would be nice to be able to approximate an RPM vs using a percent.
I put it in the note area of the tool and that should be good for what I do. I mainly use 3.175mm shank tools. I have a couple 6.35mm shank tools I use occasionally. They really are too big for my little router so I am very careful when I use them as I can easily over tax my spindle motor.
This is strange to me. I’ve never heard of cnc software expecting laser mode. You could write a couple of macros to switch between modes with $32=0 $30=20000 and $32=1 $30=1000 to make things easy?
Ahh I see, you are generally using router bits. Once the Iran conflict is over, there are some nice cheap tools on aliexpress which are solid carbide and the same size shank and cutting edge.
1 and 2 flute DLC cutters from the likes of Dreanique and BB will work wonders relative to the router bits
I only use that machine for routing and not lasering so I leave $32=0. The other software is free and whoever wrote it maybe didn’t understand how that should actually be used. I will see if I can set things to the faster/higher number. The other issue is saved g-code where the spindle speed will be wrong once I make that change. But I don’t think I am likely to run any of those programs again. If I do, it is a quick edit to update the speeds.
Not generally, occasionally. I have a surfacing bit that is a 1/4" shank and eats up 1" diameter of material to face my wast board. I don’t use it very often and am very careful on the depth as to not eat too much material at one time. I mainly use 1/8" shank bits.
To my knowledge, if $32 is set to 1, and $30 is set to 1000 (@1khz), the controller will apply a pwm value to M3. eg. if you set m3s500 with these settings, it will vary the duty cycle/power to 50% which will apply roughly half the speed in a dc motor, but isn’t granular.
There’s no reason to run a cnc with $32 set to 1, or am I missing something?
Yep I’d give it a try. Definitely better for spindle control. You could backup settings and save it back, or just double check on old programs. You could also find and replace spindle commands if its a lot of files.
Ahh I see, yea I use a 60mm bit in wood and 35mm in aluminium with 1/2" shanks, but I don’t think I even bother to set the shanks correctly in Heidenhein or Fusion as I only like to go 2 or 3mm deep per pass at absolute most, and they are only for facing the tops so the nut position doesn’t matter. And yep, they terrify me too. - They are great for making sure you have the nod trammed correctly though.
$32 is needed so the controller will shut the laser off when you are doing a move (G0) vs cutting/engraving (G1). With a router, you typically keep the spindle running when you do a move and retract it up out of the way of the material first. If you have $32 = 0 when running a laser, it will burn regardless of the change in location being a G0 or G1.
Typically, lasers use the $30=1000 kind of like a percent of power X 10 where 100 is 10%. It works the same with a router where 100 would be 10% power to the spindle.
I did look through one of the programs I use and it didn’t have any setting for spindle speed range so it likely just sends whey you key in and you have to keep track of what your value mens.
The jog issues seems to have corrected itself. After a couple reboots of the controller and other things I was working on, it is working as it should.
As for the “Go To”, that is a machine issue and not a MillMage issue. My 3018 Pro doesn’t behave as expected. I want the lower left corner to be zero and it wants to call it -300 X -180. If I leave the machine in the lower left corner and restart MillMage and reboot the controller, I can just tell it that it is in 0,0,0 and it believes me. If I $H (home) it, then it thinks it is in negative area again.
Sorry, I didn’t realise you had a laser on there too.
It can roughly work with a router, but its a very crude method of control. I’ve never heard of it being used intentionally. It can also cause unintended problems depending on setup.
The laser is not on the same machine. I have two machines, a CNC router and a CNC laser. They both use a GBRL controller. The laser has to be set to $32=1 or your moves are cut too as the laser will stay on. Now I am curious what would happen to my router if I set $32=1. Would it stop the spindle when I did a move vs keeping it running? If so, how and when would it start back up? Maybe on a G1 move down in the Z would do it? NOT an approved method for sure to run a CNC router.
When you start millmage, I am 99.9% sure it will inherit the settings from the controller. Millmage won’t randomly write controller settings.
That is to say, if you get $32=1 on the laser, and $32=0 on the router, they will behave correctly on startup. (unless both machines share a controller?)
M4 wouldn’t work. M3 would work kinda. G0/G1 wouldn’t turn off the spindle.
You guys seem to be figuring it out without my help. A little clarification:
If you slap a laser on a screw drive machine, you get slower but more precise control.
$32 is only to turn PWM off during G00 moves. You do not want the laser to be on. You do not want the spindle to not be on.
$30 (max) and $31 (min) set the range of the S command. On the laser, it is the 0 to 100% mean voltage range. On the spindle, it is the 0 to max RPM range. Want to guess how it knows the difference?
You need to do a Read in the Machine Settings window for MillMage to have accurate numbers. Once you do this, MillMage has a blueprint of the settings it can compare to when you make a boo-boo data entry. True, it only writes to the controller upon your command.
- They are great for making sure you have the nod trammed correctly though.