Mach3 and THC Clarity?

Mach3 and Mach4 questions, tips and topics can be posted here
ForceDesigns
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Re: Mach3 and THC Clarity?

Post by ForceDesigns »

Wow, lots going here now. I'll address what I can.

I have Mach3 and the PC from another setup. Got a Taig CNC mill to play with a year ago or so and have a Gecko setup for that. It is parallel port. It's an old Dell like East German that I got when attending Purdue University. So to keep the mill hooked up and ready to roll, just got an Ethernet Smoothstepper to connect. Mostly just built this to learn and play with.

As for swapping the electronics and THC? I'm not too opposed to be honest, but probably not this year. Should have enough business expenses. Not that I generate much with the Plasma, random sign here and there. But the plasma has been vital to my Automation design projects. I design and build automated manufacturing solutions. Used it over the weekend to cut some fence panel gussets and an air/regulator mount even. I digress.

I've been fascinated by the LinuxCNC environment. But the electrical side of things has been a real challenge for me. Mechanically, I'm solid. Love my machine mechanically. To be honest, you guys went over my head quite a bit in the above comments. Have a lot to learn. But my research is starting now on the mesa and Linux setup. Is that the recommended setup?
Home Built 4x4 CNC Plasma Table
Ethernet Smoothstepper
C25 BOB
MiniTHC
Hypertherm Powermax 45XP
Software: Mach3 and Sheetcam, Solidworks 2019 for serious design work and Inkscape for signs
robertspark
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Re: Mach3 and THC Clarity?

Post by robertspark »

ForceDesigns wrote:... But my research is starting now on the mesa and Linux setup. Is that the recommended setup?
If you want to go linuxcnc then yes in my opinion.

7i76e & THCAD

There are two THCAD boards.... one is 10V and one is 300V input rated. You can convert the 10V board into any voltage you want by adding resistors to it (the manual tells you how).

7i76e http://store.mesanet.com/index.php?rout ... uct_id=290
THCAD-300 http://store.mesanet.com/index.php?rout ... uct_id=128
THCAD-10 http://store.mesanet.com/index.php?rout ... uct_id=127

Alternative supplier (sometimes better)
https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=prod ... duct_id=66
https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=prod ... duct_id=65
https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=prod ... duct_id=64

some 3d models if you want to space plan
https://grabcad.com/library/mesa-thcad-1
https://grabcad.com/library/mesa-7i76e-7i76e-1

Cost ~ $268 + shipping

Sorry I am biased with windows..... {I have no vested interest either way}
Windows >> UCCNC & UC Motion Controller.
UC400ETH http://cncdrive.com/UC400ETH.html
UC300ETH http://cncdrive.com/UC300.html
UCCNC http://cncdrive.com/UCCNC.html

It works out of the box and will be up and running I believe quicker than linuxcnc ..... unless of course you are a native linux user that is.

I know plasma users who use the UC100, but that has a USB interface and some people have noise issues with the USB side of things.
http://cncdrive.com/UC100.html

Alternative supplier:
https://cnc4pc.com/motion-control/motio ... ucx00.html

UCCNC Setup (1) {UC400ETH} $208.91 + shipping
UCCNC Setup (2) {UC300ETH} $209 + shipping
robertspark
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Re: Mach3 and THC Clarity?

Post by robertspark »

:shock:
Sorry you can save $69 on the linuxcnc setup by using / reusing the proma thc you already have

I am not a fan of the the proma, but it's a saving if you wish to compromise.
Rodw
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Re: Mach3 and THC Clarity?

Post by Rodw »

robertspark wrote::shock:
Sorry you can save $69 on the linuxcnc setup by using / reusing the proma thc you already have

I am not a fan of the the proma, but it's a saving if you wish to compromise.
My original advice for LinuxCNC was to use a parallel port and breakout board and your existing Proma. A very cheap possibly a no cost solution.

Sorry Robert and I got carried away
robertspark
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Re: Mach3 and THC Clarity?

Post by robertspark »

:roll:
Ok, I may as well give uccnc a plug.... That way you can at least consider it.
After I got fed up with Mach3 and could not find cost effective Mach4 options for plasma I went looking long and hard at all offerings and came to the conclusion that UCCNC was actively developed and seemed to have a good direction of where they wanted to go.

If you are a Windows user and are daunted by Linux and like plug and play (or near plug and play), it ay be an option to at least consider or be aware of in your consideration for Plasma CNC options.

No, I don't work for cncdrive or any supplier, manufacturers or resellers. I don't make or sell anything and receive no discounts or rebates (day job is not in CNC, metal fab or software). I'm a consulting engineer in an unrelated sector.

Cncdrive have spent a lot of time developing the plasma side of uccnc and now integrate a number of functions that operate in sync with motion (ie no divots or slowdowns). And no you do not have to create any macros or even copy and paste them or even download them from a forum or website. They are integrated into the software and installed and available from the time you install the software.
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The motion planner in my opinion is good, but will be better as they are working towards s-curve acceleration. Working towards = no it's not available now and no cncdrive will not commit to a time frame. They have reported that the motion planner has been developed about as far as it will go so a new motion planner is in the works (development versions of uccnc come out every few months, and any bug fixes can be much quicker if they occur, and stable releases are updated periodically too obviously trailing the development releases)

The THC functions are built into the motion controller so again there is no delays with the motion, slowdowns or hesitations as there are with other "normal" mcodes.
M205/M206 turns THC on and off
M207/M208 enables/disables the THC delay (i.e. the time after THC on/off that the THC begins to react)
M209/M210 enables/disables the anti-dive (i.e. if the feedrate % drops below the the setpoint then it will inhibit diving).
M211/M212 ebables / disables anti-down (i.e. it will lock the torch from lowering, such as before corner or for small circles, corner arcs etc).

The software is 55 Euro / USD $60
The software will ONLY work with uccnc motion controllers (UC100, UC300ETH and UC400ETH), this ensures 100% managed code and issues are resolved across all hardware when they are found / reported.
An added advantage is that the UC motion controllers will work with Mach3 and Mach4, and with Mach3 you get full comparability for things like THC and threading. With Mach4 unfortunately the plugin is a little behind (when I asked in the past I was told that they find Mach4 difficult for stability when they integrate things that work, and a new release comes out and now the things like lathe threading don't work, so they have sort of left Mach4 alone to become a bit more of a stable release before developing the plugin more (there are few that have THC available in Mach4 anyway).

Macros are easy to write with a text editor and a new plugin has been developed to assist with writing macros (be honest.... not used it yet).
The manuals are updated every time software is updated and is installed at the same time so that the documentation always aligns with the current installed release of functions and features.

Mach3 motion planner comes under a lot of stick for how its motion can do odd things and stuff like acceleration can be uncontrolled at times. One of the most important settings within UCCNC is Corner Error Max, which basically governs how close to the programmed junction of two lines that the motion planner will allow the machine to cut. This in turn sets the allowable slowdown in constant velocity mode of the feedrate for a junction of two entities. (centripetal acceleration).
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Another is the Linear Error Max which looks at the interpolation of lines and segments and allows for the motion to speed up if you have a load of short line segments or providing the motion planner remains within the "Linear Error Max" allowance.
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There is an active forum here: http://www.forum.cncdrive.com/
Development releases are listed in this forum thread: http://www.forum.cncdrive.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=240
The stable release (recommended for production use) is listed here: http://cncdrive.com/UCCNC.html
There is a toolbox thread to the forum which lists all working macros and plugins: http://www.forum.cncdrive.com/viewforum.php?f=15
There is also a plasma thread which deals with those of us asking odd ball questions and development requests: http://www.forum.cncdrive.com/viewforum.php?f=16
The software will run in demo mode if you have no licence for UCCNC so you can check it out.
The screensets are customisable via background images and button icons etc, but the default installed plasma screenset is clear and adequate in my opinion.
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Macros can be written in C# and Visual Basic language with any text editor (I prefer Notepad ++)
Plugins can be written in C# and Visual Basic using Microsoft Visual Studio (Free Community Edition)

Sheetcam post processors for Mach3 can be used and there are a few post processors about for uccnc.

THC options are essentially the 3 inputs of THCUP, THCDN and ARCOK, and uccnc will move the z-axis accordingly.
UCCNC uses the ARCOK to wait after the issue of an M3 (torch fire) before motion begins, and if ARCOK is lost the motion controller will decelerate and back up to the position that the ARCOK was lost to allow for a restart.
The means that there are many THC's that can be used (anything that outputs a UP, DN and ARCOK signal (or uses one from the plasma cutter indicating arc transfer).

There are also options to use stand alone THC's such as Neuron Simplicity and Neuron Lite and Neuron Pro (or if you really want Proma SD {again not a fan at all!}

Also if you use M10/M11 in Mach3 (or M62/M63 in LinuxCNC or Mach4) these macros are also available which run in sync with the motion (they require an M3 before M10) and are normally used for laser. However additional M10.1 to M10.10 (i.e. 10 additional Macros can also change any pin of your choosing in sync with motion (i.e no hesitation / slowdown in motion) should you require it, which the ESS I know cannot do as only 1 is available).
ForceDesigns
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Re: Mach3 and THC Clarity?

Post by ForceDesigns »

Wow. I looked into a bit and that does seem like a pretty nice package. Maybe I will try it. But again, it will likely be on the next build. I have a great controller setup for this machine. Industrial electrical panel with all of the quick connects that I could ever want. Still putting in the homing switches, so it's a work in progress. That being said, I know a lot more now about building a panel now and would do it differently in the future (no LED power supplies, will be switching to industrial din rail mounted units).

What is really appealing for me is the THC. Yes I can save a couple of bucks using the Proma, which works. Having the software read the voltage is a lot more appealing. The Proma works well, but is not a great solution for an incredibly reliable package. With the work I have been using it for lately, I need more reliable. Other than THC, I have been pleased with Mach3. With the THC brain that I wrote, there really haven't been any issues. It has been working well. There are no pauses in motion that have been causing divots.
Home Built 4x4 CNC Plasma Table
Ethernet Smoothstepper
C25 BOB
MiniTHC
Hypertherm Powermax 45XP
Software: Mach3 and Sheetcam, Solidworks 2019 for serious design work and Inkscape for signs
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