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Post by jmarkc on Mar 26, 2020 20:05:21 GMT
I've had my carve king since July 2018. I've used it sparingly and mostly to carve names in boards. I'm now working on cutting out some parts to assemble. I homed the machine and jogged it to the front left of the bed. While jogging it to zero it out (move right, toward the back and z-down) using 1-5 millimeters I got "Machine has reached its limit". I re-homed it and it worked fine. Today it happened again, re-homed it and cut out a part. On my 2nd part, it got to about center left and right and about 8 inches from the back and I got the message. Why would this happen? Thanks for any answers.
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Post by Bruce on Mar 26, 2020 23:03:37 GMT
You probably have soft limits set on, it should be: $20=0 Soft limits, boolean
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Post by Derek the Admin on Mar 26, 2020 23:32:27 GMT
I agree with Bruce.
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Post by jmarkc on Jul 4, 2020 16:33:13 GMT
On Thursday I went out and cut a part with no problems. Had to re-design one part, went back out yesterday, tried to home my machine. The Z went up and got stuck. I tried several times and kept getting an error. I changed the soft limit to 0 and same thing. Why did it work on Thursday and not yesterday--Friday? Thanks for the help!
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Post by Bruce on Jul 5, 2020 0:52:00 GMT
Are you getting any alarms? Is the Z axis binding on something? Does it jog up and down OK?
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Post by jmarkc on Jul 5, 2020 18:23:30 GMT
Thank you for replying! When I homed it, it would raise to the switch but not stop, then I would get an error (can't remember what it said). So I would "disconnect" UGS. I could jog all around the machine until I pressed the home button again. Sounds like the z home switch isn't working?? I tried to manually home the machine and went past the switch (moved it an inch when I only had 1/2 an inch available to move before it hit the switch) and got the same error. I manually moved the machine to "home" (without hitting the switches) and was able to run the job.
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Post by Bruce on Jul 11, 2020 16:51:23 GMT
Sounds like an issue with your Z limit switch. I would check the connections at the limit switch. Make sure the wire is good with an ohm meter.
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Post by jmarkc on Oct 18, 2020 20:17:59 GMT
So, I was in the middle of a carve and got an error. "Hard limit has been triggered, machine position is likely lost due to sudden halt. Re-homing is highly recommended"
It was right in the middle of the piece I was carving (stars on a flag and it was about to carve the 30th star (in the middle).
I have disconnected it a few times and when I reconnect it to UGS, I keep getting the error. I have pictures of the position of the router and screen shots of the error from UGS.
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Post by Bruce on Oct 18, 2020 22:49:11 GMT
Sounds like you have hard limits set on, try setting: $21=0 Hard limits, boolean
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hans
Full Member
Posts: 151
Machine: Other
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Post by hans on Oct 18, 2020 23:08:50 GMT
This may be the wrong place for a rant -- but I'm going to give it a try.
This thread, like so many others on the forum, seems to boil down to problems with limit switches, homing, or soft/hard limits.
Why?
Except for those in volume production, I question the value of limit switches, homing, or soft/hard limits. And the multitude of issues that folks are having due to such, suggests that they are, for most users, MUCH more trouble than value.
I'll confess that I had trouble with the limit switches on my Carve King when first built, so I didn't use them and didn't use "homing." Rather, I set $20, $21, and $22 to "0" and max-travel items ($130, $131, and $132) to values greater than the capabilities of the machine. I never found a reason to change, so when I built my Mega V, I never installed limit switches or homing switches.
And I've NEVER had a problem of the machine stopping in mid-carve or refusing to move. I did write a few VERY simple macros for UGS to move X by 5 inches either way or to move Y by 6 inches either way, but no homing. It all works flawlessly.
I can understand the need for limits if the machine is powerful enough to damage itself if it runs into mechanical stops. Neither the Carve King nor the Mega V has that problem.
I can understand the value of homing for high volume, repetitive manufacturers, but that's not me and, I believe, that's not the folks who ask for help on the forum.
IMHO, the best help that can be given would be, "disconnect the limit/homing switches, set soft and hard limit enables to "0", set homing cycle enable to "0", and start making stuff."
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Post by jmarkc on Oct 18, 2020 23:57:00 GMT
Why/how would it happen in the middle of running a project?
I think I will take hans' recommendation. However, I have misplaced my instructions. Are the instructions on this site somewhere?
Also, I have a Zprobe that I haven't set up yet because I can't find instructions.
Thanks for the feedback.
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Post by Bruce on Oct 19, 2020 0:16:45 GMT
I didn't use limit switches at first either. But if you are doing long relief carvings of multiple hours and you only have limited time to work on a piece of work... by homing the machine before setting up the workpiece, you can shut the machine down for the day. Next day start the machine up again, re-home it and you're good to go again. I think electrical noise is a major issue with standard SPST limit switches. Use of shielded wire helps with this.
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hans
Full Member
Posts: 151
Machine: Other
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Post by hans on Oct 19, 2020 1:04:09 GMT
I don't find that limit switches are necessary in order to shut down a job and then start it up again later without losing position. I've done the following:
-- Start a job -- At some point during the job, hit "pause" on GCS -- Turn off power to CNC router -- Put the PC to sleep (do not terminate GCS; do not turn off the PC) -- Wait until it's convenient to resume -- Turn on power to the CNC router -- Wake the PC, log in, and return to GCS -- Hit "go" on GCS (even though GCS gives no indication that it's connected to the CNC router)
And work on the job continues where it left off. No switches; no RFI; no problems.
As a separate item, when I was trying to get the switches to work on my Carve King, I installed shielded wire with low-inductance capacitors at both ends. No joy. YMMV.
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Post by jmarkc on Oct 19, 2020 2:44:08 GMT
I appreciate the help! But why would I get the error in the middle of running a project? Will changing the setting to $21=0 Hard limits unlock my machine? Why is it returning to $21=1 without me changing it?
Thanks again!
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Post by jmarkc on Oct 19, 2020 16:25:11 GMT
So, I'm trying to set $21 to 0 but it won't save.
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