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MachPro Lathe Setup Manual

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Introduction

Configure your motion controller including: axis calibration, homing, limits, and I/O

Lathe settings

These are the  settings for the most commonly used Lathe features.

  1. Pull down Configure -> Control -> Settings tab 
  2. Click the image.png button to flatten the full settings tree, then expand the Spindle section

image.png

Gear shifter

Before configuring the gear shifter, you need to configure your gear ranges. Use this portion of the Spindle Calibration document for gear range configuration. Set MaxRPM values for each gear

The default settings will work for a lathe with a manual gear shifter. 

You may use M-codes to run the gear change cycle during a job. M40 - M45 change ranges from 0 to 5. M40 P# can also be used where # is the gear range to use

Load

Connect your encoder to an analog input and map the Spindle Load Meter Register to that input

Orient

MachPro uses M19 to run the orient sequence. 

M19 – Spindle Orient

The two primary ways to use it are in Manual or Automatic mode

For Manual mode, the default configuration will work without any changes

image.png

For Automatic mode configure:

  • Spindle Orient Type Auto
  • Spindle Orient Style Macro
  • Spindle Orient Output
  • Spindle Orient Input

image.png

You may change the other parameters according to what your system needs. 

Sub Spindle

The minimum settings that need to be configured for the subspindle are:

  • Sub Spindle Enabled
  • Sub Spindle CW output
  • Sub Spindle CCW output
  • Sub Spindle Max RPM

image.png

Use M-codes to control the sub spindle

  • M013 CW start
  • M104 CCW start
  • M105 stop

A spindle warm up cycle is important for all CNC machines, and especially important for machines that are not in a temperature controlled building.

  • The cycle lubricates spindle bearings.
  • It stabilizes spindle and machine temperature.
  • It reduces thermal expansion changes during startup.
  • It helps maintain machining accuracy.
  • It reduces premature bearing wear.

To configure a warm up cycle go to Configure ->Control->Settings tab.

  • Collapse all of the settings with the image.png button
  • Expand the Spindle section and scroll down to the Warm Up portion

Below are the default settings for the Spindle Warm Up.

image.png

Parameter  Description
Spindle Warm Up Enabled Warm Up Cycle On or Off
Spindle Warm Up Inter-Lock with Cycle Start Yes or No
Spindle Warm UP Acknowledge Warm-Up Complete The operator will need to acknowledge that the warm up cycle completed
Spindle Warm Up MDI GCode Before Warm UP Provides an MDI field to enter GCode that will run before the Warm Up cycle begins
Spindle War Up Max RPM Max (finishing) speed for the warm up cycle. This should be the Max RPM of the spindle
Spindle Warm Up Min RPM Minimum (starting) speed for the warm up cycle (see note below). Set this to 1
Spindle Warm Up Steps How many steps will it take to get the spindle up to Warmed Up status - from Minimum to Maximum RPM
Spindle Warm Up Time Per Step How long it will stay in each Spindle Warm Up Step
Spindle Warm Up Off Time Trigger in minutes
 How long do want the spindle to be off before the spindle will need to run the Warm Up cycle
Spindle Warm Up Idle Speed Speed the spindle will idle at after the warm up is complete. Some spindles will not idle below 1500 RPM

Example:

  1. Locate the manufacturer's warm up instructions. If you do not have those instructions, then set 2 minutes at each step, 3 steps, ending 1 step below max spindle RPM.
  2. For the Spindle Warm Up Min RPM, enter 1. It will start at the correct RPM and run each step and time as you specified. 
  • High speed spindle example: max warm up RPM of 18000, 3 steps, 2 minutes at each step (18000/3 = 6000)
  • Standard Spindle example: Max warm up RPM of 2000, 3 steps, 2 minutes at each step (2000/3 = 667)
Setting High Speed Spindle Standard Spindle
Max RPM 18000 2000
Min RPM 1 1
Steps 3 3
Time per step
 2 2
system actions

2 min at 6000

2 min at 12000

2 min at 18000

run at the spindle warm-up idle speed

2 min at 667

2 min at 1333

2 min at 2000

run at the spindle warm-up idle speed

Lube System Setup

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