Mach3 Setup for
CNC Micro Mill & CNC Micro Lathe
Last updated on
Saturday, April 01, 2023 09:06:06 AM
Mountain US Time Zone
HOME
Mach3 Interface,
Mach3 Mill Menus,
Stepper Motor Tuning,
Mach3 Turn Menus
4-Axes Taig Micro Mill CNC Conversion
Taig Micro Lathe CNC Conversion
System Schematic
CNCzone
Mach Support Forum
Mach3 Configuration
Mach3 Manual
Mach3 Add-ons for Mill Manual
Mach3Turn Manual
Mach3 Threading Setup Manual
Archived Web Page
These settings are specific to my computer,
interfaces, CNC mill, CNC lathe,
& machining needs.
The settings shown here are not a substitute for
reading & understanding the
details of the manuals.
Periodically backup the Mach3 mill & lathe setup files
using the Config/Save
Settings menu. This places an xml
file into the Mach3 xmlbackups folder. Saving to another
off-computer
location is also advised. Placing a backup
Mach3Mill.xml and/or
Mach3Turn.xml profile into the
Mach3 folder restores the settings from that date.
Mach3 Interface
Original Mach3 Mill Screen.
Mach3 Mill main screen showing,
among other things, the DROs.
Mach3 setup tutorial.
Updated
Mach3 using the
PBJ ScreenSets.
Simple Run screen. Mirrored (DRO)
information not standard
ergonomic practice; may slow
reading speed & cause errors.
Program Run screen (Alt-1), showing
among many other things,
the
Digital Read-Outs or DROs.
Mach3 setup tutorial.
Manual Data Input or MDI (Alt-2) screen.
Tool Path (Alt-4) screen.
Offsets (Alt-5) screen.
Settings (Alt-6). Auto Limit Override is
set ON so when a limit switch is tripped,
the machine can be manually jogged
back
off to close the circuit, again.
Diagnostics screen (Alt-7).
When all of the limit/home switches are
closed, there are no
input signals.
When one of the limit/home switches
is opened (active low), all of the
input
signals light up as they are all
wired in series.
System Schematic
3D Probing (Alt-3) menu. The 3D Mach3 Probe
Plug-in module &
a
probe (switch) are
required.
Mach3 Mill Menus
Mill Config menu.
Note the Save Settings item.
Sets the native units of the lead screw.
Do not use this dialog box to
change between
Imperial & Metric
GCode.
Only used for
motor tuning.
Low-profile LPT2 PCI card.
MOBO LPT1 is the main I/O for the
stepper motors &
signals like spindle, mist, E-stop, & digitizing probe.
LPT2, shown here, is dedicated to only the MPG pendant
control.
Lava Parallel-PCI/LP Installation Manual
In the BIOS, I turned-off the two RS232 serial
ports & configured the two LPT
ports to EPP+ECP.
LPT1 is on the motherboard (0378 hex) &
LPT2 is a PCI card
(DF00 hex). The Port #1 address
is standard but the Port #2 address can vary
so examine the computer's
devices menu.
LPT1 PIN I/O | |
PIN NUMBER | FUNCTION |
1 - Output | - |
2 - Output | X Direction |
3 - Output | X Step |
4 - Output | Y Direction |
5 - Output | Y Step |
6 - Output | Z Direction |
7 - Output | Z Step |
8 - Output | A Direction |
9 - Output | A Step |
10 - Input | Limits |
11 - Input | Mill Tachometer |
12 - Input | 3D Digitizing Probe |
13 - Input | E-stops |
14 - Output | Safety Charge Pump |
15 - Input | Spindle Index |
16 - Output | Spindle Motor |
17 - Output | Air / Mist / Vacuum |
18 - 25 | Ground |
LPT1 OUTPUTS: 1-9, 14, 16, 17
LPT1 INPUTS: 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
LPT2 is for the MPG pendant interface.
Breakout Board, SCHP, Pendant, Tach & Relay
Box
C1 breakout board manual.
Motor Outputs step & direction signals.
The motors are set via PCB jumpers to 1/4-stepped &
the no idle mode.
Stepper Motors
& Controller
Input Signals tab. Mill & lathe
home/limit input
signals are on the same circuit,
all wired in series.
Input Signals tab defining the
digitizing probe,
spindle index,
&
E-stops.
Tachometer/buffer
circuit
This
Manual Pulse Generator (MPG2) has
4 pulses/detent
with 100 detents/dial
revolution.
Handy Pulser specs.
Click on linked thumbnails
#ad
Encoder/MPG tab.
Pendant Manual Pulse Generator
(MPG) inputs to LPT2.
The
MPG2 has 4 pulses/detent.
There are 100 detents/dial
revolution.
Handy Pulser specs.
It is very important to perform the Mach3 jog control CAL.
Disable any Mach3
brains that are not in use.
The
MPG's white button has to be held down during use.
This setup is for the
LPT2 pendant C22
v2.4 interface board powered via USB.
A brain can be opened within Mach3 &
its operations viewed in real-time.
The
diagnostic tab (Alt-7) also shows
all the signal states & changes.
PENDANT BRAIN SETUP | |
BRAIN v4 | STATUS |
Axis_JogRes_SelectorLPT2.brn | Enabled |
EnableLPT2.brn | Enabled |
E-stop_W_AutoResetLPT2.brn | Enabled |
DisableLPT2.brn | Disabled |
E-stop_WO_AutoResetLPT2.brn | Disabled |
Output Signals tab. Control of the
110VAC relay box;
turns ON/Off the spindle motor (16) & mist/vacuum (17).
The 12.5 kHz Safety Charge Pump (SCHP)
is on
LPT1 output Pin #14.
C4 safety pump manual
MPG setup tab.
This shows the
MPG setup
using Brains.
The MPG can also be setup using the
MPG 4-6 Plug-in & its
Readme 1st file.
I found the Mach3 MPG 4-6v3 plug-in control
method to be a better implementation than
the Brains.
MPG Calibrate window.
Spindle Setup tab.
Mill Options tab.
Stepper Motor Tuning
Tuning for the mill's X, Y, Z-axes & the
lathe's X,
Z1-axes 3A stepper motors.
My motors are set via PCB jumpers to 1/4-step so
4 x 200 (native) steps/rev = 800
steps/rev, total.
Full or
1/2-stepping may cause mid-band resonance.
1/4-stepping gives me smooth low-speed (5 RPM or less)
performance.
It is essential to click Save Axis
Settings & OK after making changes & before testing.
(MOTOR STEPS / REVOLUTION) x (LEAD SCREW 20 THREADS / INCH) = STEPS / INCH
(800 STEPS / REV) x (20 REVS / INCH) = 16,000 STEPS / INCH [REV units cancel]
Tuning for the 4th A-axis rotary table stepper motor.
(MOTOR
STEPS / REVOLUTION) x (ROTARY TABLE GEAR RATIO 72 REVOLUTIONS / 360 DEGREES) =
STEPS / DEGREE
(800 STEPS / REV) x (72 REVS / 360 DEGREES) = 160 STEPS / DEGREE [REV units cancel]
System HotKey definitions.
Notepad++ using the imported
G-Code xml language file
is the default G-Code editor as assigned in
Gen Logic Config.
The Mach3 Driver Test is located in the Mach3 root folder.
Mach3 Turn Menus
The Mach3 Turn wizard was
used to setup cutting threads.
For threading, the spindle must have an indexing
sensor.
The Mach3 spindle switch must also be ON, even if it does not
directly control
it, so the program will read the indexing position.
Motor Outputs tab for Mach3 Turn
X & Z1-axes.
Mach3Turn Manual
Many Mach3 Turn menus are the same as in
Mach3 Mill so just
the main changes are shown.
Input Signals tab for Mach3 Turn X & Z1-axes.
Input tab for the spindle indexing pickup using
LPT1 pin 15.
The mill uses pin 11 for its tachometer.
Spindle Setup tab for Mach3 Turn. Some of these
settings are
for threading.
Mach3 Threading Setup Manual
Turn Options tab for Mach3 Turn.
The General Logic Configuration for Mach3
Turn showing the
Initialization String parameters
needed for threading.
See the
Mach3 Threading Setup Manual
Diagnostics page for Mach3 Turn.
Note a limit switch has been
tripped open, lighting-up
the X & Z-axes input LEDs.
System Schematic
Mach3 Interface,
Mach3 Mill Menus,
Stepper Motor Tuning,
Mach3 Turn Menus