Partworks second Z not working

[toddmaci]

I recently upgraded to Partworks. When I save my files as Shopbot Head2 inch it saves it for the for the Z router not the A. I have been going into the text and changing but this is a pain.The .sbp has the A offsets but not the SO,2,0 Any suggestions? It also is saying that my files was set up for metric. I think this has something to do with "UNIT_ERROR:
C#,91

[porscheman]

Todd,

I encountered this problem as well - my bot has a second Z axis and I was trying to utilize both machining heads from within the same SBP file. The problem stems from the fact that the Partworks postprocessor for the second Z axis (the A axis) has several errors in it:

1) As you mention, the postprocessor turns on/off the Z axis head (via the S0,1,1 and SO,1,0 commands) rather than using the SO,2,1 and SO,2,0 commands. You can easily make those changes at the top and bottom of the postprocessor file.

2) As with many of the postprocessors files that ship with the Partworks CD, the Unit_Error message is caused by a missing END statement at the very end of the postprocessor file. There is no metric/inch problem - it's simply executing that Unit_Error subroutine at the bottom of the file rather than terminating properly (via the End statement).

Other than these two flaws, I found the Head2 postprocessor did what it was supposed to do. It generates M4 commands (with the Z axis values left empty, as expected) and as you noted, it incorporates the A axis offset variables into the X and Y positions. Obviously, to work correctly, you need to have calibrated your machine and properly saved those values.

It may be that you can download an updated Head2 postprocessor file from Shopbot - I simply edited the one that came with my software using the description provided by David Buchsbaum in his "Sandbox" column on the Shopbot site.

If you are still having problems, let me know and I'll try and clarify.

Regards.

John

[toddmaci]

Thanks John. Do you know if Vectric is aware of this? I find it strange that the newer Partworks has the problem yet the older Partwizard worked just fine in regard to the A axis.

Thanks,
Todd

[porscheman]

Todd,

I'm not sure if Vectric is aware of this issue or not. I don't spend a lot of time on their forum, so maybe an update has been posted there already???

In any event, it becomes quite straightforward to review and modify the postprocessor files to tune them to your particular needs, so making the changes mentioned earlier was very simple. The only thing to be aware of is that future upgrades to the software could very likely overwrite the postprocessor files, so you'd need to save them to a separate location before updating (or reinstalling) the software.

As far as I know, the PartWizard software was "homegrown" by ShopBot rather than outsourced to Vectric (I could be totally wrong about that....). So even if the A axis stuff worked in PartWizard, it wouldn't automatically translate into similar functionality when the VCarve software from Vectric became PartWorks.

Finally, I've been mildly surprised about the limited degree to which 2nd Z axes are supported in the softare environment. For example, it's not possible to use any of the "higher level" ShopBot commands, such as cutting rectangles or circles, in conjunction with the A axis. I've mentioned this point to Ted Hall and I think ShopBot will be looking into that in the coming months. Maybe that change will be incorporated as a new parameter in the CR, CC, CP, etc commands in the future.

Regards.

John

[Brian Moran]

Just to clarify, Vectric do not supply the post-processors for PartWorks, these are handled by ShopBot themselves.

However, ShopBot have an updated set of post-processors available for download from their support pages at http://www.shopbottools.com/drivers.htm - see 'Post Processor Update'

I'm afraid I don't know if they cure the particular problens with the 2nd Z you are experiencing.

Brian

[beacon14]

Part Wizard was provided by Delcam, a completely different company (in many ways) than Vectric. Other than the similarities in the names and some functionality there is no correlation between PartWizard and PartWorks.

[toddmaci]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I do realize that PartWzard and Part works are not the same company. My intent was to point out that usually the newer software of most companies has equal or greater capacity of the last one.

Brian: Thanks, I will try the new post processors

[Gary Campbell]

Todd..
After your post last night, I downloaded the new postP's from SB website. The post for head 2 has the same flaws, but I am sure that Tech's can straighten it out for US!.
Gary

[toddmaci]

Gary,
I downloaded the new PostP's today as well. I got the same results.

[Gary Campbell]

Todd...
I looked at the "shopbot head 2 mm" post. it all looks good. If you are feeling adventurous, put them side by side in 2 editor windows and make the head 2 inch version work!

Save a copy of the OEM under a different name.. there is little or no risk. Simply replace a digit or 2 with the correct one.
Gary

[toddmaci]

Gary,
I can't get to it till Tuesday but I will give that a shot. Seems pretty straight forward. I plan on removing the error message at the end as well. Thanks,

Todd

[beacon14]

...usually the newer software of most companies has equal or greater capacity of the last one

Minor issues with the postprocessors aside there is no comparison between PartWorks and PartWizard. PartWorks is by far more feature-rich than PartWizard. Even with the postprocessor hassles (which once you get straightened out will no longer be an issue) we are way better off with PartWorks.

[toddmaci]

David,
You are correct. My issue is very minor in relation to the difference in software. I believe with Gary's suggestion my problems will be solved.

[Gary Campbell]

Guys..
To add to what David says about the value of the Vectric software, they built a modified post processor for my "off the wall" hybrid drills that works on both heads.

They have the time to help a single customer... unheard of in the large e commerce world. Kudos & thanks again!
Gary

[porscheman]

Todd,

In case it helps you make the changes in your postprocessor (or if you just want to try using this one), here's the modified file that I created. It has the two changes that I mentioned earlier, AND it also eliminates the jog home (J2) commands at the beginning and end of the file. I've inserted comments near the edited locations, except for the SO commands, which I simply changed to output channel 2 instead of 1.

Hope this helps.

John


Head 2 Postprocessor

8726 (4.9 k)

[toddmaci]

John,
Thanks, Just what I was going to do.

Todd

[gordon]

Todd,

We released a new set of posts today that have the issues that you've discussed fixed. You can find them in the tutorial install v1.1 at:

http://www.shopbottools.com/documentation.htm

It is the first item under "PartWorks Getting Started Tutorials".

Hope this helps,

Gordon

[toddmaci]

Gordon,
Thanks for the fix. I have not tested it but the file looks to be correct.

Todd

[toddmaci]

Gordon,
I finally got around to using my machine again and it looks like the problem was fixed,however I have a new one. It looks like my Z axis to A axis offset is wrong. I tried rerunning the S_Set2SpindleOffsets. I typed the new values in my variables file to no avail. The x values that the S_Set2SpindleOffsets generated was different than what it was when I first set it up. I found this rather odd. I still get weird results when I run both axis. It was better after the second S_Set2SpindleOffsets but still not perfect. I mic'ed the .25 bits I am using thinking maybe they were different sizes. Any suggestions.

Thanks,

Todd