KX1 CNC Mill Clearance Offer

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Well it wouldn't, all the detail on interfaces etc is hidden in the config menus. You need to have the correct USB plugin for your controller loaded in the Mach 3 folders (there may be a specific subfolder for plugins, can't remember), and then you select config/plugins from one of the top menu items and select the right one, then restart, IIRC.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

John my comment was to Ian who said it should say USB in the corner.

My understanding is that this is an OEM version of Mach3 not just a generic version that anyone will buy which comes with all the settings for the specific Sieg machines pre set up, it should just be a matter of selecting either KX1, KX3-3000 or KX-3 5000 from the list of three profiles that come up when Mach3 is first opened. Nothing for the user to set as that should all be done. A brief message from Ketan who is away on a jolly would seem to confirm this.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

OK, but still worth checking that the USB plugin is enabled. Next to the File menu on the ribbon at the top of the screen there is the Config menu. Click on that, select Config plugins, and a table pops up with a list of installed plugins and their status. One of them should be recognisable as a usb one, check its enabled. Then I think you have to close and restart Mach 3.

[Ian Johnson 1Participant @ianjohnson1]

That is the wrong screen Jason. It should say in the bottom right corner 'Sieg KX1 USB' or for your machine 'Sieg KX3 USB'. You need the 'Sieg_USB_setup_1.6.0.0.' file. which should be on the Mach3/Sieg set up installation disc, then go to the Mach3 loader menu and the KX3 USB should be there with all the other screens for plasma, lathes etc.

I'd post up a photo of my screen but haven't sussed out how to do it yet!

Ian

[Jim GuthrieParticipant @jimguthrie82658]

Posted by JasonB on 22/02/2019 10:37:20:

My understanding is that this is an OEM version of Mach3 not just a generic version that anyone will buy which comes with all the settings for the specific Sieg machines pre set up,

I would agree. I think that was the way John set up the original Mach versions, basically to avoid a new (to CNC) user getting embroiled in some of the finer points of Mach3 setup. I know that I found myself in deep doo-doo when I downloaded another version of Mach and I have always kept the original Seig DVD installion disk with the setup files handy. John's son Adam also did a set of screens for Mach 3 which were an improvement and I'm not sure if these are readily available today. IIRC you purchased the screens from Adam and he set them up to show your name in the profile box in the bottom right corner.

Jim.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Ian, I did send you a PM earlier.

However a big thanks must go to Ian as the machine is now moving and even in Z which was said to have a problem.

In my rush this morning I looked for the USB file in the Mach3 folder that had been installed, I should have looked on the actual disc as Ian said, click that and the two new profiles for the KX1usb and KX3 usb have been added. On startup just click your machine and no other setup to do.

As it is not in the manual, at least the one I have I'll take a couple of photos and post in detail as it may help Neil or any others buying the remaining KX1 machines.

Thanks again Ian, J

[Ian Johnson 1Participant @ianjohnson1]

Just got your PM Jason glad to help out. I am hoping this forum can be a good source for CNC knowledge especially as the small cnc support has gone.

I've sussed out photos too! This is my screen:

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Well I have cut part of the Sieg Logo, something flashes up when I load it and that may well be the 500 line limit as all I get is SI and part of the cog shape come up on the screen so will talk with ARC on Monday about licence.

Need to look at the Z closer as height was not quite right right.

[Ian Johnson 1Participant @ianjohnson1]

Wow! it's all coming together quickly Jason! You have got as far as I did until John Stevenson very kindly came to my house and helped me set it up, free of charge too! This was when the smallcncsupport site was working and my machine was still under warranty. He also gave me the new updated screens which I really liked, but they don't work now after my blue screen of death and other PC melt downs, don't know why.

You will need the 'Mach1Lic.dat' file to unlock the full program.

Ian

[Douglas JohnstonParticipant @douglasjohnston98463]

I think I will stick to my manual mill. Press one button and it's on, and another and it's off. Nice and simple, not a USB in sight, no computer to mess things up. However I do admire those who can embrace all this modern technology and get it all working without a nervous breakdown. Good luck Jason.

Doug

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Posted by Ian Johnson 1 on 22/02/2019 11:46:32:

….. I am hoping this forum can be a good source for CNC knowledge especially as the small cnc support has gone.

I've sussed out photos too! This is my screen:

Just to point out to people that if you are using Mach3 it has an excellent support forum where almost any problem you have will have been solved by someone. It's here.

[Ron LadenParticipant @ronladen17547]

Jason, have you had a chance to investigate the Z function yet, wondered if you had found anything.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I borrowed a pallet truck so I could move the machine to a better position for fiddling. It certainly looks like the head has been run up past the stops and hit teh top of teh outer casing.

The main issue seems to be that Z does not like to move fast. I this first video I entered -20 into teh Z DRO and you can see me jogging it up 10mm at about 25% speed, I then go to teh screen and click "goto zero" which I assume should take it quickly up teh remaining 10mm or so but I just get a small rotation of teh motor and a sound like it has stalled, DRO read Zero but should have been at about -8.

Second video, I start by jogging at 80% which seems to stall, then change to 25% and it moves OK then back to 75% and it stalls again.

[Ian Johnson 1Participant @ianjohnson1]

At least it's alive! I haven't looked at my Z axis limit switches but my X and Y axis are installed differently (KX1), mine are in line, those in the video look like they are off set by 90 degrees for some reason.

So it could be worth checking the position and clearance of the switches. Especially if it overshot the Z axis stops.

A friend of mine who installs robots explained how the Hall Effect switches work, It went woooosh right over my mechanically brained head!

[Andrew EvansParticipant @andrewevans67134]

Jason, not sure if this is related to your Z axis issue. When mach 3 detects a limit switch is hit it reduces the feedrate as you move back away from the switch. So you hit the limit switch and it stops, you have to hit ''reset" and then move away from the switch, but the initial move is very slow even at Max feed.

You can set soft limits in mach 3 so that even before a limit switch is hit mach3 knows to stop.

[Jim GuthrieParticipant @jimguthrie82658]

Jason,

If this was the problem machine which might have been messed around with to some extent, then one thing to check would be the taper gib in the head. If the gib has got end play then it can lock the head up when travelling fast in the up direction with the wide end of the taper to the top of the column. That's the way it is in the KX1. That gib is the one thing I curse in the KX1 and it gave me a lot of trouble getting it right when I decided to try and adjust it some years ago. You're fighting the weight of the head, the nod of the head and the gas strut to get it right and I found it very easy to get it wrong, causing the head to be either too loose or too tight. I often wondered why I couldn't have a nice parallel gib strip with multiple adjusting screws. It might also be worth checking if the gas strut is working since that will put an additional load on the head drive if it is not.

Jim.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Thanks all, some more things to look at.

X&Y limit switches are micro switches and in line and it also seems possible to jog straight past those too!

The upper Gib adjusting screw was certainly loose so will look closer there. This one just has a coil spring to take the weight not a strut – down the right hand side in the second video.

My other thought was to see if I could set the max feed rate slower for now.

One thing I did notice that I was going to read up on was that the "overide limits" was flashing red and clocking the text box to the left did not change that.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

If they're ordinary microswitches you want to be able to jog past them – if for some reason the axis didn't stop they'd get crushed! Assuming the KX3 uses steppers then there is no great issue if an axis drives slowly against an end stop, though you will lose any referencing – the motors just stall, making an alarming noise. Limit switches stop the axis without losing machine datum.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

The way the micro switches are positioned there is no way they can be crushed if things overrun, will take a photo later

Unlike the machine that does get damaged when the Z is driven past the stops, see how the case has bent where the oil union has got squashed

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Are the limit switches properly set up and enabled in Mach3?

Martin.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

That's what I need to read up on.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I have slowed the Z axis motor down which seems to allow it to move without complaint. Ian @ ARC sent through my licence file earlier today so I could run a longer set of code to see what came out.

Not the ideal cutter and the work was a bit thicker towards the bottom hence the scuff mark on the circle but for a first go I'm quite chuffed.

Thanks again to Ketan and the guys at ARC.

[Ian Johnson 1Participant @ianjohnson1]

Yay! making progress now Jason. I think every Sieg CNC owner has one of those!

[mike TParticipant @miket56243]

Hello Jason

There is this strange desire, especially from newcomers, for all rapid moves to travel at the speed of light.

After 20 or more years using CNC for model engineering, I find that setting the maximum traverse speed to about 20 inches per minute ( 500 mm per minute) is more than adequate. The moves are well within my reaction time and they do not beat up the hardware needlessly.

Moderate traverse speeds and reduced axis accelerations are the best way to avoid lost steps and erratic stepper motor behaviour. The Sieg headstock looks to be a massive lump of iron to try to accelerate rapidly. So slowing down the Z axis rapid moves is a very logical solution.

Mike

Edited By mike T on 27/02/2019 17:26:00

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