Rotary axis

[rroie]

Just replaced my nema 23 stepper rotary axis with nema 34 stepper rotary axis.

The A axis works fine but no movement it the X axis. The spindle comes on and the Z axis lowers to zero and A axis spinning but the X axis does not move.

CNC works as it should.

Do not know where to look for solution.

Thank You

Roie

 

[masso-support]

do the X-axis numbers change on the screen when you try to move the X-axis?

 

[rroie]

No they do not. Just the A axis.When I run the program. If I manually jog X axis the DRO changes.

Thank You

Roie

 

[rroie]

Here is the .nc file. I tried uploading .txt but it would not work

 

[masso-support]

Hi rroie,

I looked at and tested your Gcode file and the X axis moves along the 1/8" after every rotation of the A axis as it should.

I looked at your A axis settings and I'm not sure that they are right. You have the axis set to run at 200 degrees per minute so it will take 1 minute 40 seconds to complete 1 revolution. It will take 3 hours just to complete this rounding of your material. It took 9 minutes to do the first 1/2 inch.

Could you share the actual settings for your rotary axis.

1. How many steps per revolution on your motor? (I see the spec sheet says 0.6 degrees per step but is that the motor or is it a 1.8 degree motor with a 3:1 gear ratio.)
   
2. What is the driver microstepping?
   
3. What is the gear ratio between the stepper motor and the rotary axis?
   

Cheers Peter

 

[rroie]

Hi Peter,

I am sure you are right about the settings. But I do not know what to do about it. I forgot about the driver settings and was just looking at the A axis settings. But they do not mean a whole lot to me either.

1. a 1.8 degree motor
   
2. driver microstepping 8, 1600 steps/rev
   
3. stepper motor turns 3 rev to get rotary axis to turn 1 rev
   
4. Thank You
   
5. Roie
   

 

[rroie]

DM542 Driver

 

[rroie]

Hi Peter,

I have it working. I got the rotary rounding path to work. Seems slow. Can it be made to go faster?

1.8 degree stepper motor

driver microstep 16, steps/rev 3200

stepper motor turns 3 rev to get rotary to turn 1 rev

I have no idea if any of this is correct and would appreciate your input.

The A axis DRO runs up to 360 then down to Zero. Can it be set to turn more turns before reversing?

Thank You

for all your help

Roie

 

[masso-support]

Hi Rroie

I suggest you use the following settings for you rotary axis for ease of understanding.

Motor Degrees per revolution 360
Drive: Pulses per revolution 9600

Your figures are correct but harder to understand at a glance.

Your maximum and minimum rotation is not enough to do a full rotation in either direction. At a minimum they must be a 360 degrees. If it helps I have set mine to 1000000 degrees & - 1000000 degrees so it is unrestricted. It isn't as if I'm going to hit the end of the rotary axis.

Vectric software does not round stock in the manner of a lathe. You would need to write your own Gcode for that or use a different software. I suggest you raster along the length for the rounding toolpath.

For an understanding of rotary axis speed watch the following video. You can download Rapid rotary here: https://www.ganotechnologies.com/cnc/rapidrotary/

Hope this helps

Cheers Peter

 

[rroie]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for all the help and links. You always come thru. I can not thank you enough. I tried Linux CNC a few years back when I was having so many computer problems. Not for this old dummy.

But thank you as now I can try some threading on the CNC.

Thank You

Roie

 

[john8np]

I suggest you use the following settings for you rotary axis for ease of understanding.

Motor Degrees per revolution 360
Drive: Pulses per revolution 9600

Your figures are correct but harder to understand at a glance.

Your maximum and minimum rotation is not enough to do a full rotation in either direction. At a minimum they must be a 360 degrees. If it helps I have set mine to 1000000 degrees & - 1000000 degrees so it is unrestricted. It isn't as if I'm going to hit the end of the rotary axis.

MASSO Support, great informative videos, thanks! I just wonder, how my new router bits, which I've got from here ( website: https://www.woodroutersreviews.com/best-router-bits/ ), will affect on speed and degrees I prefer to use. Don't want to ruin anything, you know. By the way, can say what exact router bits do you use?