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wickedinhere
11-20-2012, 01:36 PM
My THC seems like its not reacting fast enough i normally cut 16 gauge and its pretty wavy. By the time the thc reacts and moves up it needs to move back down but takes too long and the torch is too high to cut. I know there is a way to make it react faster but cant fine any good info on it.

jeepsr4ever
11-20-2012, 02:13 PM
Span gap and THC rate. Span gap is located in your cut profile and THC rate on the settings tab.

wickedinhere
11-20-2012, 09:20 PM
My THC rate is at -30 that was the setting it was at i did change it. Should it be a negative number? I would think it be 30 or +30 not -30.

jeepsr4ever
11-21-2012, 12:49 AM
-30 Is fast and can work change your span gap 2-5/4

jeepsr4ever
11-21-2012, 12:50 AM
My THC rate is at -30 that was the setting it was at i did change it. Should it be a negative number? I would think it be 30 or +30 not -30.

Yes negative number is just how it shows up

wickedinhere
11-21-2012, 05:01 AM
Ok got it i changed it to 20 and it was alot better I will try changing the span gap.

wickedinhere
11-21-2012, 07:27 AM
Here is a pic of the settings, i completely forget about the cut profile settings i will adjust them next. What about the 60% setting above is that correct or should i change that?
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b235/wickedinhere/photo560.jpg

jeepsr4ever
11-21-2012, 09:23 AM
Antidive is a corner lockout meaning if your motors decel 60% lower than your programmed feedrate (think corners) THC locks up until it reaches 61% of the feedrate then THC unlocks.

wickedinhere
11-21-2012, 09:28 AM
Ok got it.

jeepsr4ever
11-21-2012, 09:31 AM
Alot of things in motion you have used for along time working together to give you good cuts. When you start to cut exotic material and corrugated you want to learn where and when to tweak these options. The best part is your table is part of the 1% of machines out there that allow you to actually change any of these values.

wickedinhere
11-22-2012, 07:47 AM
Well still not working right for some reason. I put in all the info in the cut profile but it hates me .LOL I set the preset volts to 117 like the book says, start cutting and the tip volts will go up and down +or-20 volts and the torch will not move then sometimes it will go up but not back down when it should. Its crazy because the first time i tried it on 16 gauge it worked pretty good but now it doens't matter what metal thickness its like it works when it feels like it.

jeepsr4ever
11-22-2012, 02:15 PM
Sounds like your serial port has a conflict.

wickedinhere
11-22-2012, 05:57 PM
How do i trouble shoot that?

jeepsr4ever
11-23-2012, 05:28 AM
First I would restart the PC then try just running mach 3 and nothing else and see if THC works properly.

BigYellowIron
11-26-2012, 04:02 AM
Can you provide us dummies some baseline settings for the THC. I Havent cut much with mine yet. Every time i cut the TCh will work fine for several cuts then will just start slowly getting closer to the plate then knock the torch off or blow out the consumables.

jeepsr4ever
11-26-2012, 06:56 AM
Ok here are the big 5

1. THC delay (This is the time from the start of the plasma *pierce to the time Torch Height Control starts...you want this value long enough to get into the cut at your cut height)
2. THC rate (This is the value of the the THC will move the Z axis...ie the acceleration and decelleration..superceeds your accel rates in motor tuning)
3. Antidive (If you set this at 50% and your speed is 100IPM and when the machine starts to slow down to corner when it gets below 50ipm it will lock the Z axis so THC doesnt plunge the tip into the material then at 51ipm will unlock THC...typicall set at 19% for most speeds under 200ipm)
4. Span gap (this reading in quarter volts tells the THC when it should react so if you set it to 4 that would be 1 volt then if the actual reading goes out of 1 volt it will move the Z up or down)
5. Tip Saver (This value determines the lowest the DTHC will let the torch head go before it locks movement. It’s a percentage of the Preset Tip Volts. It constantly measures the actual tip volts and if the value is too high it keeps the Torch from moving down any lower. Like a spike in volts from passing through a cut you already made)

BigYellowIron
11-27-2012, 02:09 AM
Any ideas on what could cause my issue i described in the previous post? Thanks for the definitions

jeepsr4ever
11-27-2012, 02:15 AM
Put in a bigger number for your tip volts first. Also post up your THC delay number and tip volts, amperage and cut speed.

BigYellowIron
11-27-2012, 04:16 AM
ill be doing some more cutting this weekend. Ill try it again.

wickedinhere
12-08-2012, 06:36 AM
Banging head. LOL ok I set the limits so that it wouldn't raise up too far when i first started using the thc well the limit went back to 1 inch and it wont let me change it.
I dont have anything else running on the computer i only use sheetcam and mach 3 and never have anything open when running mach 3. It seems to work sometimes and then nothing at all. Its crazy because it had worked for a little while.

jeepsr4ever
12-08-2012, 08:02 AM
Did you press enter after you put in the change? Did you apply and save your changes? Sometimes changes require a mach 3 restart.

wickedinhere
12-08-2012, 10:58 AM
Yes i pressed enter, it had saved before but for some reason it went back to 1 inch. The reason i checked it was because it raised the torch .20 and i had the max set on .12 i was just trying to stop it from raising too far till i get the thc figured out. I was looking around and i found this driver problem maybe it could be the problem but i am not sure.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b235/wickedinhere/photo571.jpg

jeepsr4ever
12-08-2012, 01:33 PM
Not quite understanding your problem with Mach. Your trying to raise it from your program in mach and not in sheetcam?

wickedinhere
12-08-2012, 04:57 PM
I am talking about the limits in mach 3 under settings its raising the torch to high during cutting when using the THC when it decides to move. THe problem with mach 3 is the THC doensn' t work for me.LOL

jeepsr4ever
12-09-2012, 12:19 AM
Are you saying for the initial touch off then raise to pierce? Those settings are in your tool settings in sheetcam. If your problem is the Z moves too high that is almost always a tip volt too small or the reading is wrong. I canmost likely help you iron this out 100% I just need to know when the problem occurs.

wickedinhere
12-09-2012, 05:30 AM
Oh no that works just great no problem with sheetcam that is all working fine. I am talking about when its cutting the THC will raise .20 and never go down and that will cause it not to cut all the way through the metal. Its not moving the torch up or down like it should. Its reading the voltage on the screen but doesnt move the torch hardly at all. IT should be cutting at 116 according to the book but the actual volts will go up and down +or - 20 volts but the THC doesn't react to correct the cut height. Sometimes it will move the torch up but thats it, it seems like mach isnt sending the signals to move up or down according to the voltage its reading.

jeepsr4ever
12-11-2012, 11:19 PM
What number is your antidive set at?

wickedinhere
12-13-2012, 05:07 AM
60

jeepsr4ever
12-13-2012, 05:18 AM
Hmm it could be that plug in. Contact Tom and CandCNC and see what he says about it. My guess is that the conflict will cause the issue.

wickedinhere
12-15-2012, 09:09 AM
I sent an email to tom. I did the test feature on the electronics box and i am getting the test voltage of 100 then 150 and the up and down lights light up as the voltage changes. I am not sure if this could be a problem but when i do the test for the THc the up and down leds blink 3 times instead of 5 times.

jeepsr4ever
12-16-2012, 01:30 AM
Defiantely something to do with either the PC or THC. A problem where THC is not responding like you mentioned usually has everything to do with the PC. You have two Bulltear gantry kits there are you using one PC? If not try the other one.

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