Mark,

Got your e-mail, tried to respond, but it got bounced by your mail server...

Regards,
Ray L.

Ray,

Thanks for the ping. I had some issue with my profile...

I recently purchased mach3 and want to know your experience setting up the kflop with mach3. Do I need all that much 'c' writing? or is it just some cut and paste of auto generated code? I'm going to upgrade to servos with A-M-C analog drivers.

How did Mach3 work with the kflop when you were using it?

Mark

--- In DynoMotion@yahoogroups.com, "himykabibble" <jagboy@...> wrote:
>
> Mark,
>
> Got your e-mail, tried to respond, but it got bounced by your mail server...
>
> Regards,
> Ray L.
>

Mark,

With either Mach3 or KMotionCNC, getting the most basic stuff working is pretty easy, but getting fully setup can take considerable time and effort. In my case, I setup to use both Mach3 and KMotionCNC, but actually don't use either now - I wrote my own controller app. I did use KMotionCNC for a couple of days, but never actually cut metal with Mach3 and the KFlop, as my whole reason for getting the KFlop was to get away from Mach3, due to the large number of bugs I encountered using it over the last 3-4 years.

Most of the custom C code can be shared between Mach3 and KMotionCNC, with just minor modifications. Mach3 is, arguably, more "user-friendly" and full-featured than KMotionCNC, but I think KMotionCNC will give more consistent and repeatable performance.

Here's a list of the programs/functions I wrote to get my system working as I wanted:

Init.c - to initialize I/Os, and configure axis parameters
Spindle.c - to control spindle relays and PWM
Home.c - to perform homing
Probe.c - to do, effectively, G31, used for setting fixture offsets
Pendant.c - to handle my multi-function pendant
Limit.c - to handle axis limits

For Mach3, you'll also probably need an M-code handler.

Most of these are quite simple - a page of code or so. Only the pendant handler is particularly complex, because there's a lot of functionality there. Depending on how your system is setup, some of these may not even be needed. For example, if your spindle only requires relay controls, you shouldn't need any code at all to control it.

The great thing about the KFlop is, even though it will take more work to setup, once you get it working, it will work exactly the same, day in and day out. It is a very stable, reliable system.

Regards,
Ray L.

--- In DynoMotion@yahoogroups.com, "ionsignal" <mhager@...> wrote:
>
> Ray,
>
> Thanks for the ping. I had some issue with my profile...
>
> I recently purchased mach3 and want to know your experience setting up the kflop with mach3. Do I need all that much 'c' writing? or is it just some cut and paste of auto generated code? I'm going to upgrade to servos with A-M-C analog drivers.
>
> How did Mach3 work with the kflop when you were using it?
>
> Mark
>
> --- In DynoMotion@yahoogroups.com, "himykabibble" <jagboy@> wrote:
> >
> > Mark,
> >
> > Got your e-mail, tried to respond, but it got bounced by your mail server...
> >
> > Regards,
> > Ray L.
> >
>

Ray,

Thank you for the detailed reply.

At this time, due to some medical issues on my end, I think it may be too involved for me to upgrade to the kflop. I hope you have continued luck with it and your application.

Thanks again,

Mark

--- In DynoMotion@yahoogroups.com, "himykabibble" <jagboy@...> wrote:
>
> Mark,
>
> With either Mach3 or KMotionCNC, getting the most basic stuff working is pretty easy, but getting fully setup can take considerable time and effort. In my case, I setup to use both Mach3 and KMotionCNC, but actually don't use either now - I wrote my own controller app. I did use KMotionCNC for a couple of days, but never actually cut metal with Mach3 and the KFlop, as my whole reason for getting the KFlop was to get away from Mach3, due to the large number of bugs I encountered using it over the last 3-4 years.
>
> Most of the custom C code can be shared between Mach3 and KMotionCNC, with just minor modifications. Mach3 is, arguably, more "user-friendly" and full-featured than KMotionCNC, but I think KMotionCNC will give more consistent and repeatable performance.
>
> Here's a list of the programs/functions I wrote to get my system working as I wanted:
>
> Init.c - to initialize I/Os, and configure axis parameters
> Spindle.c - to control spindle relays and PWM
> Home.c - to perform homing
> Probe.c - to do, effectively, G31, used for setting fixture offsets
> Pendant.c - to handle my multi-function pendant
> Limit.c - to handle axis limits
>
> For Mach3, you'll also probably need an M-code handler.
>
> Most of these are quite simple - a page of code or so. Only the pendant handler is particularly complex, because there's a lot of functionality there. Depending on how your system is setup, some of these may not even be needed. For example, if your spindle only requires relay controls, you shouldn't need any code at all to control it.
>
> The great thing about the KFlop is, even though it will take more work to setup, once you get it working, it will work exactly the same, day in and day out. It is a very stable, reliable system.
>
> Regards,
> Ray L.
>
> --- In DynoMotion@yahoogroups.com, "ionsignal" <mhager@> wrote:
> >
> > Ray,
> >
> > Thanks for the ping. I had some issue with my profile...
> >
> > I recently purchased mach3 and want to know your experience setting up the kflop with mach3. Do I need all that much 'c' writing? or is it just some cut and paste of auto generated code? I'm going to upgrade to servos with A-M-C analog drivers.
> >
> > How did Mach3 work with the kflop when you were using it?
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > --- In DynoMotion@yahoogroups.com, "himykabibble" <jagboy@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Mark,
> > >
> > > Got your e-mail, tried to respond, but it got bounced by your mail server...
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Ray L.
> > >
> >
>