PM45-CNC OWNERS

[ajg308]

I don't know what went pop but, I'd start by looking at all the connecting wires under the cap. It's possible the oil pump got tugged on during shipping because it was tacked with plywood to the shipping crate. Unplug the unit before checking the wires, of course...

It sounds like it's working if you've got oil leaking all over... That's what you can expect. The oil gets pumped into the table way areas and it drips down all over the place. It also gets slathered onto the leadscrews etc... Under normal circumstances you'll just wipe the excess off.

Mobile Vactra #2 way oil is the appropriate lubricant.

Ray

Thanks Ray,

so what is the appropriate process for lube? When do I turn on the pump and for how long? If done correctly will excess lube return to the tank? I assume it is as mine turned colors.

Thanks,

- - - Updated - - -

this may be stating what you already know but the one-shot lube system as implemented on the PM45-CNC is not designed to be turned on and left on. I turn mine on for 10 seconds before I use the mill each day that I use it. I am not sure if this is long enough, I plan to experiment with longer and longer times until I see excess oil.

Also a note of caution. Twice, I have realized that I forgot to run the lube until the Mill was running a program so I reached up and did my 10 second routine while it was running. When I turned the lube switch off, the spindle turn off also. Mostly likely some electrical noise or voltage drop that caused a relay to trip or fall out. Regardless, you have to hit the stop switch quick or bust something. The only way I could get the spindle going again was to turn the Mill OFF and back ON.

Good info here, thanks.

 

[zr8cnc]

Has anyone had any experience with varying the spindle speed after if it already set. If I set the spindle speed I can only change it if I stop the spindle and restart it at another speed. If I try to change it while it is set for a given speed it will automatically go to the max at 3000 rpm.

 

[Ray C]

Has anyone had any experience with varying the spindle speed after if it already set. If I set the spindle speed I can only change it if I stop the spindle and restart it at another speed. If I try to change it while it is set for a given speed it will automatically go to the max at 3000 rpm.

Yes, I'm having similar weirdness and all the problems go away if you stop and restart Mach 3. If you've tried using the "Auto Calibrate" function, things will get really weird. Wish I had answers but this is the best I have.

BTW:, no matter how weird it behaves, if you enter a S command, it always goes to the right speed. I really think this is some kind of weirdness in Mach 3 that I just can't put my finger on.

Ray

 

[JimDawson]

I'm not going to badmouth Mach3, but I too have been through the weirdness experience with it. It seems to work ok on slower speed machines, like the plasma cutter I converted from it's dedicated Chinese computer. When I tried to apply Mach3 to a high speed CNC router, it was a complete disaster.

I wound up writing my own CNC control software, to get around the problem.

In this case, it also sounds like there are some electrical issues in the controls. One thing to check is that all of the wire terminations are tight, and that the system grounds are solid. Normally all of the machine grounds should come back to a single point in the control panel. This helps prevent ground loops, and helps with cross talk.

I have also seen some problems with the parallel interface boards, and even the computer parallel interface. I fixed one system by installing a PCI parallel board, and shut down the on-board parallel port in BIOS.

Good luck!

Edit:

If you are running a Windows computer, run MSconfig.exe and shut everything down that is not needed to run Mach3. A clean Windows install, only loading what is needed to run Windows works best.

 

[Ray C]

Thanks Ray,

so what is the appropriate process for lube? When do I turn on the pump and for how long? If done correctly will excess lube return to the tank? I assume it is as mine turned colors.

Thanks,

- - - Updated - - -



Good info here, thanks.

Sorry... Didn't see this till now... Lube: Eventually, I'd like to hook-up a timer for the permanent solution but for now, I've been hitting the switch for 5-10 seconds a few times a day while the ways are in motion. When the machine starts cutting metal, I'll give it a 5 second shot before starting a job and again every 30 minutes while it's running.

No, the oil does not circulate back into the pump. Mine changed colors because it seems to get aerated by the internal motion of the pump inside the plastic bowl.

Ray

 

[Ray C]

I'm not going to badmouth Mach3, but I too have been through the weirdness experience with it. It seems to work ok on slower speed machines, like the plasma cutter I converted from it's dedicated Chinese computer. When I tried to apply Mach3 to a high speed CNC router, it was a complete disaster.

I wound up writing my own CNC control software, to get around the problem.

In this case, it also sounds like there are some electrical issues in the controls. One thing to check is that all of the wire terminations are tight, and that the system grounds are solid. Normally all of the machine grounds should come back to a single point in the control panel. This helps prevent ground loops, and helps with cross talk.

I have also seen some problems with the parallel interface boards, and even the computer parallel interface. I fixed one system by installing a PCI parallel board, and shut down the on-board parallel port in BIOS.

Good luck!

Edit:

If you are running a Windows computer, run MSconfig.exe and shut everything down that is not needed to run Mach3. A clean Windows install, only loading what is needed to run Windows works best.

Hi Jim... The machine is stripped down to the bare software minimums and it runs blazingly fast -outfitted with 4G Ram, solid state drive (really fast access) dual core Atom @ 1.9 GHz. I'm also running over USB with a JAMEN soft stepper. CPU utilization has never gone beyond 5-7%.

My instincts are telling me it's a peculiarity in Mach 3 or, the way I'm using it. The spindle can be operated from a variety of screens and the issue surfaces after switching among them. The good news is that the mill always properly responds to M3, Snnnn, and M5 commands when entered manually so, this is a minor annoyance now as, properly written G-code won't show the problem. I also think the PWM settings for the spindle speed control need to be tweaked but, that's low on the priority list now.

Prior to running the machine, I checked all the wiring and connector screws for proper torque. It's a properly designed cabinet and properly grounded. I found a couple terminal screws that were a tiny bit loose but nothing alarming.


Ray

 

[Boswell]

I'm not going to badmouth Mach3, but I too have been through the weirdness experience with it. It seems to work ok on slower speed machines, like the plasma cutter I converted from it's dedicated Chinese computer. When I tried to apply Mach3 to a high speed CNC router, it was a complete disaster.

I wound up writing my own CNC control software, to get around the problem.

In this case, it also sounds like there are some electrical issues in the controls. One thing to check is that all of the wire terminations are tight, and that the system grounds are solid. Normally all of the machine grounds should come back to a single point in the control panel. This helps prevent ground loops, and helps with cross talk.

I have also seen some problems with the parallel interface boards, and even the computer parallel interface. I fixed one system by installing a PCI parallel board, and shut down the on-board parallel port in BIOS.

Good luck!

Edit:

If you are running a Windows computer, run MSconfig.exe and shut everything down that is not needed to run Mach3. A clean Windows install, only loading what is needed to run Windows works best.

I am running Mach3 on a 5 or 6 year old laptop that is anything but speedy. I did go through and un-install almost all other software though. Because the PM45-CNC has a motor control board (JNC-40M) there is no reliance on a parallel port.

When troubleshooting spindle (and feed ) speeds. Be aware that the actual spindle speed is the result of two values multiplied together. There is the actual called for spindle speed and the Spindle Overide %. If the spindle overide % is set to a very low number such as 1%, then any changes in the called for speed via Sxxxx commands will be very small and hard to notice. On the "Program Run" screen of Mach3 you can see and set these values. In the bottom right is the Spindle control section.
If you press the "Reset" button it should set the Spindle Overide % to 100% (SRO %). Then click on the Spindle Speed value at the very bottom and enter a speed such a 1000. Now press the Spindle CW F5 button and the spindle should spin clockwise at 1000 rpm. Using the up and down arrows will adjust the SRO%. If you adjust the SRO% to 90 then you should see the actual RPM go to 900. In the display you can see this because the spindle speed reading stayed at 1000, the SRO% is 90% and the S-ov shows 900. The S-ov is the result of applying the Spindle Overide % to the Spindle Speed.

At least his is how it is working on my system. Also the Feed rate has the same algorithm. However I don't see how any of this will cause or fix an issue where you can't change the speed after it is initially set.

 

[zr8cnc]

has anyone got to the point where they have trammed the head to the table? just curious how close it came from the factory.

 

[Ray C]

has anyone got to the point where they have trammed the head to the table? just curious how close it came from the factory.

I did some tram checking yesterday. When just running the table in full X and Y with a fixed test indicator on the spindle, it was dead on and did not move. This simply tells you that the table is flat. I also did circular testing with a 6" circle at the center of the table. Both directions were within 1/2 thou (total 1 thou deflection). I did not do circular testing at the extremes of the table (I rarely ever bother with that anyhow).

These were all quick tests and I need to look more closely.

I have not tested Z tram yet since I can't find my cylindrical square. It's here somewhere but I cleaned my shop and can't find a darn thing...


Ray

 

[Boswell]

has anyone got to the point where they have trammed the head to the table? just curious how close it came from the factory.

I noticed that mine seem to be out of TRAM last week. I had just purchased a DTI and was able to quickly TRAM it. There is a scale mounted to the head on the right side that shows the head angle. Even that showed to be non-zero. I don't see this as a criticism of the PM45. I had no expectations that the Mill could be shipped half-way around the world and maintain TRAM. From what I have read hear and other places, TRAMing the Mill is a standard part of setup and regular maintenance for all Mill's. Over on the Practical Machinist forum there are threads where people say they check the TRAM every day as part of their morning routine before starting to work.