Torch Touch off issue

All things related to the Centroid Acorn Plasma system.

Moderators: cnckeith, Joey

Aly-Tek
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2020 7:56 pm
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: Yes
CNC Control System Serial Number: A900869
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Contact:

Torch Touch off issue

Post by Aly-Tek »

Hi Brains trust

I have finally got my box all sorted and table moving about (just waiting for a new Z axis Limit switch)

My issue is the torch touch off. I have a Float switch connected to input 4 and a Prox switch for Breakaway connected to input 5 if I manually move the Z down to actuate the float switch I get a breakaway detected. Now after looking into that I seen cnckeith replied to someone saying it had to be performed with the touch off button (I tried this and it works perfectly)

Now my problem is when I start the 4" test file it starts by performing a (touchoff) first (?) and when it touches off I still get a breakaway issued :/ I am now stumped

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hATCKi5dz2aRcsBf8
Attachments
report_20D7787D3026-0831226503_2023-01-11_16-02-16.zip
(7.39 MiB) Downloaded 8 times
Many Thanks
Stephen @ Aly-Tek :D
Joey
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:51 am
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
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DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Joey »

Hi Stephen.
Clean looking cabinet 👍 If the float switch is triggered outside of the touch off cycle then the float switch is treated as a breakaway. Can you take a video of the touch off cycle? Does the breakaway trip during a touch off cycle? I'm trying to see how the breakaway and float switch are set up.

Hint. The touch off button raises the torch to the safe Height after the touch. At the beginning of a cut the touch off cycle will raise to the Pierce height. Could the breakaway be untripped when raised to the safe Height but is still tripped when the torch raises to the Pierce height?
Aly-Tek
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2020 7:56 pm
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: Yes
CNC Control System Serial Number: A900869
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Contact:

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Aly-Tek »

Hi Joey,
Thanks, surprisingly it's hard work to make sure it looks nice and clean :mrgreen:

The breakaway and float switch are seperate. This is the Z unit I used https://step-motion.com/collections/pla ... ystem-35mm

I've added some more pics to the album

I'm confused on the touch off sequence. In the macro it says to touch off and then goto pierce height but the DRO reads 1mm not 3.8mm like in the Profile manager says (Please refer to pic). Having said that no where in the profile manager says 1mm :|

I am having the odd comms error but after jiggling the ethernet cable it has gone so may not have been seated correctly. I did re-try the test file but it is still the same issue and over shooting and getting a breakaway fault.

The float switch is definitely disengaging after the manual touch off but when it calls it at the start of the program it drives straight past it till the torch breaks away of the magnets holding it :|
Many Thanks
Stephen @ Aly-Tek :D
Aly-Tek
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2020 7:56 pm
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: Yes
CNC Control System Serial Number: A900869
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Contact:

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Aly-Tek »

Ok one thing to add,
I've realized I hadn't done the torch calibration yet so while doing this I've realized it doesn't change everything from imperial to metric. I.E when doing the calibration it asks for a 2" test cut but registers as 50.8mm while cutting (perfect) but then says .6" safe height and only moves .6mm :roll:
Many Thanks
Stephen @ Aly-Tek :D
Joey
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:51 am
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
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Oak CNC controller: No
CNC Control System Serial Number: none
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Joey »

Good detective work. Definitely want to make sure you have a solid Ethernet connection. Looking at your cabinet, could the Ethernet connection going into the acorn be somewhat wedged or propped up by the wire track underneath? Carful not to damage the Ethernet port there.

Looks like the messages for the metric calibration macro are from the imperial calibration macro. Looks like the X/Y motion during the calibration was spot on which makes sense since the imperial messages are just that, messages. But Once the cut completes during the calibration macro the torch should stay at the profiles cut Height. The imperial message will ask if the cut Height is at .6inch. I would of expected your actual cut Height to match your profile cut Height. Does it not? The last calibration question/step will raise the torch to the safe Height and then ask if the cut quality is as expected. I would expect this to also move to the set profile safe Height. I'm thinking some Metric parameters were not switched over in this metric install. Thank you for sending the report. Should have a solution for you tomorrow.
Joey
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:51 am
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CNC Control System Serial Number: none
DC3IOB: No
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CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Joey »

Downloaded 4.82 as metric and loaded your report. All seems to work as expected. Try a fresh install. I see your on V4.8 . Can you update to at least V4.82. Not sure how your 4.8 install was mixed up but instead of just redownloading 4.8 might as well update to 4.82.

V4.82 can be found here https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... loads.html
Aly-Tek
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2020 7:56 pm
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: Yes
CNC Control System Serial Number: A900869
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Contact:

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Aly-Tek »

Thanks Joey,
That's got me on the right path, thank you ;)

I still have the Z ploughing into the table.

What I found so far was my Z pitch was out (fixed) then reset all measurements associated with Z and re-run the torch calibration. Everything when perfect 8-)
I then tried to cut the 4" line program and that's the video I've posted along with torch touch off to show the difference.

I've added a new report also :D
Attachments
report_20D7787D3026-0831226503_2023-01-13_09-46-04.zip
(6.12 MiB) Downloaded 1 time
Many Thanks
Stephen @ Aly-Tek :D
Joey
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:51 am
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: No
CNC Control System Serial Number: none
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Joey »

Good to here your making some progress.
I saw in the Pierce cycle video. The "Z limit reached message" was up. I'm thinking the Z limit is reached in the Pierce cycle. If The software ends the job during a touch off cycle it will see the torch float tripped and treat it like a break away.
In the Wizard travel menu set the Z limit for both positive and negative to 0.

Also noticing the faster touch off feedrate of the Peirce macro compared to the VCP touch off button. Could the Z just be over traveling a bit more with the faster probing rate and tripping the breakaway?

Can you take a video of CNC12 during the pierce macro.

Also curious if the torch is retracting to the Height your expecting during the VCP touch off button. The torch should retract to the safe Height.
Last edited by Joey on Thu Jan 12, 2023 9:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Joey
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:51 am
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: No
CNC Control System Serial Number: none
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Joey »

Also I think there may be a grounding issue in your cabinet. THC is picking up some weird voltage's outside of cutting. I'm not seeing the voltage's when you are cutting. Check out the PID Config menu to view the live plot that shows what the THC is reading.

I'm not at the PC right now but I think the path to PID Config menu is

The live THC plot can be viewed in PID Config Menu of CNC12. To navigate to the PID Config menu from the CNC12 page open (F1) Setup menu- (F3) Config- (F4) PID- (F1) PID Config.
You may have to type in a password. Default is 137. You can turn off the password in the Wizard.
Last edited by Joey on Fri Jan 13, 2023 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Aly-Tek
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2020 7:56 pm
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: Yes
CNC Control System Serial Number: A900869
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Contact:

Re: Torch Touch off issue

Post by Aly-Tek »

Thanks again for you help Joey. You beat me to replying again before you got on ;) I think it's sorted :D .

What I found,
I had a faulty Float switch. When I jiggled the cable near the switch it faulted so I just replaced it (could have been connection but who cares its replaced) and I've just cut 4 test plates. BUT, I can't use those test files, it just drops through and causes a breakaway. You would have noticed the speed between the two vids. I used a fusion 360 file with the PP that someone posted (sorry I forgot the name but thank you who ever it was) and it works a treat :) I even tested the profile with the plate on a 10deg slope and it worked perfect ;)

Perhaps the test files I believe are all posted with that Sheetcam PP and may not have provision for metric conversion?

Anyway, I'll get a couple of jobs cut on it and post back if she's sweet or any extras I've found
Many Thanks
Stephen @ Aly-Tek :D
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