Another plasma component...

With the air scribe Phill,

Your latest post works fine for me.

I am having a problem with it moving to the next item to scribe before it retracts up and it looks like running writing. I want it to pause at the end of the scribe, retract then move to the next part to scribe.

Can I use the sheetcam setting pause at end of cut to do this?

Also I think there is something wrong with my scribe, not bad for $550. It wont turn on every time air is applied to it, It needs a tap to engage it sometimes. Fine for a hand held tool but when its mounted on a CNC machine its not good enough.

Before I buy a new one I want to try something. How can I set up that I want it turned on at the start of the scribe program and turned off only when the scribe function is finished. Could it be linked to the tool change, When scribe tool is selected it turns on and when it is changed to a plasma tool it is turned off?

phillc54 wrote:

How it works now:
When at Pierce Height it received an Arc OK it moved down to Cut Height. After reaching Cut Height motion begins.

I hope it pauses for pierce delay before moving to cut height. I thought the flow should be:
pierce height - start arc - arcOK - pierce delay - cut height - start motion

Stefan, JTK, To determine Auto sample delay, I would recommend that you learn how to use Halscope and plot torch voltage through the pierce for the first few seconds of a cut on different material you use. When an arc is established, the volts peaks say 30% higher than cutting volts and tapers back down to cut height even with no THC activity. If your THC delay is too short, you will sample above the natural cut volts for the cutting height so the THC will lift the torch to retain this voltage.

In my testing, I settled on 1.5 seconds for my Everlast and when I got my TD, I did a similar test. Depending on thickness, I thought a good delay varied from 0.5 to 1.5 seconds. So I still used 1.5 seconds. I think I included a torch plot in the plasma primer for reference.

thefabricator03 wrote:

With the air scribe Phill,

Your latest post works fine for me.

I am having a problem with it moving to the next item to scribe before it retracts up and it looks like running writing. I want it to pause at the end of the scribe, retract then move to the next part to scribe.

Can I use the sheetcam setting pause at end of cut to do this?

Also I think there is something wrong with my scribe, not bad for $550. It wont turn on every time air is applied to it, It needs a tap to engage it sometimes. Fine for a hand held tool but when its mounted on a CNC machine its not good enough.

Before I buy a new one I want to try something. How can I set up that I want it turned on at the start of the scribe program and turned off only when the scribe function is finished. Could it be linked to the tool change, When scribe tool is selected it turns on and when it is changed to a plasma tool it is turned off?

If your scribe is sticking, I would look at disassmebling and check there are no burrs on any moving surfaces. Give it a good clean and lube and see how it goes. I vaguely remember reports about burrs,.

Or, it draws more current than you 7i76e's output can supply so slip a relay in so it is not starved for current. I think the solenoids use a fair bit of current.

rodw wrote:

If your scribe is sticking, I would look at disassmebling and check there are no burrs on any moving surfaces. Give it a good clean and lube and see how it goes. I vaguely remember reports about burrs,.

Or, it draws more current than you 7i76e's output can supply so slip a relay in so it is not starved for current. I think the solenoids use a fair bit of current.

I have pulled it apart and checked and lubed it will no luck.

I have not had a problem with the solenoid, it turns on and off when it is suppose to.

I am hoping that I can turn it on, give it a tap if needed and it will scribe the whole job while still running.
If I were using it manually I would have it turned on the whole time using it so I hope we can work out how I can do that with the machine.

Also if someone was to use a electric scribe I am sure they would not want to turn it on and off 50 times for a single job. I have seen on plasma spider that guys running Mach3 have used cheap electric scribes with success, They reckon they buy them for around $17 USD each and just replace them when worn out.

I have not done anything with it yet but this is the one I bought www.gettoolsdirect.com.au/m7-engraving-pen-m7-qa511.html

rodw wrote:

I have not done anything with it yet but this is the one I bought www.gettoolsdirect.com.au/m7-engraving-pen-m7-qa511.html

Thats the next thing I need to change on the scribe, The stylus is very pointed and its digging into the steel sheet. I have read on plasma spider that they recommend a round end stylus like the one you have brought to get the best results.

What do you think about getting it to turn on the scribe when the tool is selected in PlasmaC from the G-code and turn off when a plasma tool is selected?