I Have a Star-Lab table and am trying to get it fine tuned. I got the gantry squared up and after I home the x axis and set the soft limits, when I jog the gantry too far, it goes off of the rails and I have to square it up. Is there a setting where I can keep it from jogging past the rail and homing switches.
Thanks
Gantry jogs off rails
- djreiswig
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Re: Gantry jogs off rails
What year is your table? On mine I'm using an Xbox controller to jog and it will go wherever you make it go. You can crash it on either end of any axis is you jog too far. The limits don't do anything when jogging. I don't use limits. You don't really need them if you have steppers.
I suppose you could wire up some switches and estop it if you jog too far, but stopping too quickly can sometimes mess up your zeros.
I just jog slowly and watch what I'm doing and don't really have an issue running off the rails.
I suppose you could wire up some switches and estop it if you jog too far, but stopping too quickly can sometimes mess up your zeros.
I just jog slowly and watch what I'm doing and don't really have an issue running off the rails.
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- djreiswig
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Re: Gantry jogs off rails
Do you have home switches on your x axis? If you adjust them correctly you can just rehome and it should square itself.
2014 Bulltear (StarLab) 4x8
C&CNC EtherCut
Mach3, SheetCam, Draftsight
Hypertherm PM65
Oxy/Acetylene Flame Torch
Pneumatic Plate Marker, Ohmic, 10 inch Rotary Chuck (in progress)
C&CNC EtherCut
Mach3, SheetCam, Draftsight
Hypertherm PM65
Oxy/Acetylene Flame Torch
Pneumatic Plate Marker, Ohmic, 10 inch Rotary Chuck (in progress)
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Re: Gantry jogs off rails
Limits, if setup correctly, will stop motion during a jog. You can also define Homes as dual purpose (home and limit) BUT if you are doing a Homing or touch off move it ignores limits.
You have several options for mechanical limits . Where you have limited inputs you can wire them in series using Normally Closed switches in a string and tie them all to one input so if ANY swithc is tripped it OPENS the string and causes the limit to trigger/
You did not state the age or model and if its the newer CommandCNC version. If it is, you have even more options . You can set "soft Limits" on each axis that will stop motion if you try to job (or even load a file that would move beyond the limits). It's based on the fact in CommandCNC the Homes define the "absolute" zero positions (Table Zeros) and any move that would put you past the absolute limits will trip the soft lmit.
The software keeps your current positions as an offset from table zeros (no matter what the readouts say) so that no matter what happens you can get back to you work positions simply by re-homing the axis.
Having dual homes on the gantry axis helps a lot because it sell squares every time you move to home at zeros.
Finally, the other thong you can od is use "hard" limits * (Stops) if its a stepper system. Steppers "Stall" and it sounds bad and you lose position on the readouts BUT it doe snot harm anything. Clamp a piece of hard rubber on the rails.
You have several options for mechanical limits . Where you have limited inputs you can wire them in series using Normally Closed switches in a string and tie them all to one input so if ANY swithc is tripped it OPENS the string and causes the limit to trigger/
You did not state the age or model and if its the newer CommandCNC version. If it is, you have even more options . You can set "soft Limits" on each axis that will stop motion if you try to job (or even load a file that would move beyond the limits). It's based on the fact in CommandCNC the Homes define the "absolute" zero positions (Table Zeros) and any move that would put you past the absolute limits will trip the soft lmit.
The software keeps your current positions as an offset from table zeros (no matter what the readouts say) so that no matter what happens you can get back to you work positions simply by re-homing the axis.
Having dual homes on the gantry axis helps a lot because it sell squares every time you move to home at zeros.
Finally, the other thong you can od is use "hard" limits * (Stops) if its a stepper system. Steppers "Stall" and it sounds bad and you lose position on the readouts BUT it doe snot harm anything. Clamp a piece of hard rubber on the rails.
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Re: Gantry jogs off rails
This will happen if you jog the machine to fast they made the linear gear rail to short on the x axis.
Thanks
AJ
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AJ
irondeuces@gmail.com
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- BTA Plasma
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Re: Gantry jogs off rails
This is not true. You must home the machine before trying to jog the machine into a limit. Did you know the gantry axis is impossible to crash or damage the drive system? Also it is impossible to drive a gantry off the machine. There is a hard stop on either side, a limit switch on the front and home switches on the back.
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Re: Gantry jogs off rails
Actually it is true . If you jog the machine at full speed it will run of the rack if your not aware of it.BTA Plasma wrote: ↑Mon Oct 07, 2024 10:31 am This is not true. You must home the machine before trying to jog the machine into a limit. Did you know the gantry axis is impossible to crash or damage the drive system? Also it is impossible to drive a gantry off the machine. There is a hard stop on either side, a limit switch on the front and home switches on the back.
Thanks
AJ
irondeuces@gmail.com
Pulmax
5x10 Star Lab plasma, scribe, pipe cutter
60 ton 53” press brake
JD2 tube bender
Hulk Tube bender
Slip roll 3/16th capacity
Ink Scape
Sheet Cam
Enroute6 user
AJ
irondeuces@gmail.com
Pulmax
5x10 Star Lab plasma, scribe, pipe cutter
60 ton 53” press brake
JD2 tube bender
Hulk Tube bender
Slip roll 3/16th capacity
Ink Scape
Sheet Cam
Enroute6 user
- BTA Plasma
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Re: Gantry jogs off rails
Yes if you do not home it will run off the rack but not off the rail. That is why homing is very important. Running off the rack keeps the operator from damaging the machine. It will glide into a hard stop rather than the operator running it hard into a hard stop under power. Once homed the machine can never over run the rack unless the factory travel limits were changed. It is a safety feature having a software limit and a soft mechanical limit.
-Matt
-Matt