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  #1  
Old Thu 31 May 2018, 12:12
ottograham36
Just call me: 2639 Freewood
 
Dallas
United States of America
OMG Help Me please

Guys,
We have an 8yo machine running Mach 3...The guy running it quit. Hired a guy he ran it a little. sat 4 months. We fired it up and it said windows was illiegal so our IT contractor brought in a New Machine copied over Mach 3. Didn't run.

Put a new PMDX Parrallel card in. copied the xml file over. Turned it on and the software runs......I can load a file and the computer thinks its running the Mechmate but NOTHING! So I tried the Job Buttons, NOTHING.

Im watching videos reading forums. I'm pulling my hair out and I really really cant afford to do that.

Any suggestions? Anyone? or if your in the DFW area I'll hire you to come in and fix it.
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  #2  
Old Thu 31 May 2018, 18:12
pblackburn
Just call me: Pete #98
 
South-Central Pennsylvania
United States of America
Welcome to the forum, some questions to follow
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  #3  
Old Thu 31 May 2018, 18:26
pblackburn
Just call me: Pete #98
 
South-Central Pennsylvania
United States of America
You seem stressed, I work in industrial maintenance and understand this is frustrating however a clear sequence of events is helpful. CNC knowledge on a this level is probably more then you have seen if you purchase the machine from someone. There is a lot that makes a machine work besides Mach3 and gcode as you are well aware of. When you are done diagnosing this you will have a better grasp on how a CNC works. The last thing we ever want to do is hurry but the hurry is what will get someone hurt or killed. What I always ask an operator for is what has happened? We know it doesn't work but there are clues up to the event that the machine went down.

If I understand you correctly the machine was working and then there was a problem with the licensing of Windows. Is that correct?

It sounds as if you replaced the computer with a new one (client station, desktop, laptop, etc.) Is that correct? Or did you do a new install of windows (this is important to know how to proceed)?

You say copied over, Did they copy over or did they to an install, Mach3 requires certain drivers to be installed? Did you copy over your old profile to the new computer?

Computers handle the parallel port differently. There is a setting that needs to be made. Refer to the Mach3 installation manual for that information. Some have had to use a Rosewell parallel port card to get this going.

Have you verified your ports and pins?
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  #4  
Old Fri 01 June 2018, 05:07
jhiggins7
Just call me: John #26
 
Hebron, Ohio
United States of America
Nice follow-up, Pete. You might consider asking Otto to provide screen shots of his MACH3 setup screens. Also he didn't tell us which PMDX he's using.
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  #5  
Old Sun 03 June 2018, 08:15
ottograham36
Just call me: 2639 Freewood
 
Dallas
United States of America
Thank you for your reply!

Yes, Frustration is high. Boss is breathing down my neck to get it running. They did install a new computer and copied the Mach software over. I copied the config file ".xml" to transfer the old settings. I had to change the address of the card and voila! However my new issue is I cant seem to get the tool path to land on the table. Im watching videos of Mach 3 now and see a strange flashing error of "Abnormal condition" "Axis are not Refed to Normal Condition"

In attached pics you can see the error and the fact that my tool path is not landing on my table. "Pic one shows mach coords"

Any advise?[ATTACH][ATTACH]error.jpg[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]
Attached Images
File Type: jpg tool path1.jpg (36.2 KB, 81 views)
File Type: jpg tool path 2.jpg (39.9 KB, 81 views)
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  #6  
Old Sun 03 June 2018, 10:29
pblackburn
Just call me: Pete #98
 
South-Central Pennsylvania
United States of America
check here https://www.machsupport.com/forum/in...p?topic=6957.0
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  #7  
Old Sun 03 June 2018, 10:40
pblackburn
Just call me: Pete #98
 
South-Central Pennsylvania
United States of America
if you can still open the old mach3 on the computer you use to use, verify every screen. Sounds like something did not transfer. Also be sure to write down or screenshot all setup data when you are finished so you do not run into this again.

For future reference, a image reference will be easier for us to read since we can see the full size image, image size is restricted here. You can use whichever service you like, Photobucket, Flickr, Dropbox, etc.

Each have their own way of being able to show just the image so a quick google search about how to show just the image in a forum will tell you how to do it.
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  #8  
Old Sun 03 June 2018, 10:42
ottograham36
Just call me: 2639 Freewood
 
Dallas
United States of America
Will do. Thanks so much for working with me.
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  #9  
Old Sun 03 June 2018, 10:49
pblackburn
Just call me: Pete #98
 
South-Central Pennsylvania
United States of America
No worries, we all have troubles at time, my suggestion is to learn more about your machine and setup. It makes life much easier. Most of us have built the machines so we learned as we went. You are trying to learn everything after the fact. That will make your head hurt for sure. Also like John said, a complete list of your machine components will help us more better help you.
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