Feed speeds and getting them to the bot

[mountie1808]

I use enroute 3 with my bot. It does very well with the exception that it's not conveying the feed rate to the router software. I'm able to set the move speeds from the shopbot control software and have it run at that speed, but it doesn't take the commands from the file that I save. I've talked with the guys at shopbot and they've concluded that it's an enroute problem. We went through and looked at the actual file that is output from enroute and it does not contain the move speed information. Has anyone else run into this problem?

The obvious workaround is to set the rates from the shopbot software with each job. A pain, but very doable. When doing some testing in signfoam of a good woodgrain, I was able to set the rates at 6 and 3 inches per second for the XY and Z, respectively. I found that to be the hard limit of the software and/or router. Being signfoam, I would think that it could handle more speed. Is that a setting somewhere in the bot software that can be changed to go faster or is it a physical limitation of the router itself?

Any help, ideas, comments, or suggestions would be most welcomed at this point.

Mike

[srwtlc]

Mike,

If you have a PRT (non Alpha), that may be the speed limit.

If there is no special post processor for Enroute, you can manually edit the file by placing a MS,6,3 or VS,6,3 (place whatever values you want within the limits for each) at the beginning of the file.

You can use the ShopBot editor (FE), Notepad, or any other text editor.

[mountie1808]

Personally, I'm hoping that there's a way within Enroute to have that information in the file it outputs.

[paco]

Aren't the post processor editable?

[richards]

Michael,
There is a file that defines the maximum speed. However, because I don't know what problems might be caused if you set the value too high, I would suggest that you contact Shopbot directly to find out if there is a safe setting that is higher than the one that you're using. I'll defer to Ted or someone on his staff to tell you which file and which setting to change.

Assuming that you can safely change that setting without hitting some kind of limitation on pluse rate or cause problems with ramping or any other inter-related command, you'll be able to make the change in a matter of seconds using any text editor.

When I first got my Alpha in 2004, if I remember correctly the top move speed was 8-ips. I searched until I found the file and the parameter that contained that hard limit and changed it to 10-ips. The current versions of SB3 seem to have the hard limit set to 12-ips for the Alpha. I just temporarily changed mine to 15-ips, re-started SB3 and had no difficulty entering 15-ips as the move speed for the X/Y axes. Then, after verifying that the maximum speed could be changed, I changed the parameter back to 12-ips.

[kirkkelsey]

We use the scripting language AutoHotKey to modify the output from the CAM program when we can not get (or have yet to get) the changes incorporated into the Post. AutoHotKey is a scripting language that is a bit easier to code than normal programming languages, and can read the ShopBot code, make changes and output to a new file.

What I have put together will break the code apart to separate files for each tool, add a header and footer to each code file to do error checking, set the speeds, and even check if the code is milling beyond a set value (as in thru the spoilboard). I have also defined tool names that are meant to be in the second head, and it will convert the Z values into A head commands.

One of the reasons I chose MasterCAM was the user editable Post files, but even with that, it can not always deal with all circumstances.

I use AutoHotKey to customize my work environment (reverse direction of mouse scroll wheel in some programs), define Hot Keys to start programs, define keystroke shortcuts for common test phrases, and automate key and mouse presses within programs to do repetative tasks. It is a great macro writer that will work with many programs, so the effort to learn how to code is not wasted on just one application. Best of all it is FREE!

Send me an email via the forum and I will be glad to provide a copy of the source code of our script to post process the CAM post output. I call it my ShopBot Post Post.

[john_l]

Michael, I am just now starting to learn about Enroute. I actually haven't even cut my first part with it yet. But I think I discovered that the move speeds are apparently set in the Material Library.

From the En3 manual...

"Selecting the Material Library button will allow you to create a new material type, and the routing speeds associated with that material."

Maybe you don't have a speed selected there? Just a thought. Good luck.

John