Mach4 Overview - trucutcnc.com · Mach4 is a robust and modern CNC control software package. Unlike...

Page | 1

TRUCUTCNC MACH4 MANUAL

Mach4 Overview__________________________________________

Mach4 is a robust and modern CNC control software package. Unlike Mach3, it

was developed on modern 64 bit computer architecture. This means Mach4

performs better and faster on new PC’s available today. Mach4 has no motion

controller built in, so the use of an external motion controller is required. All

Trucut machine running Mach4 use the Ethernet Smooth Stepper motion

controller.

One of the most asked questions when you first start Mach4 is…Why do I have

the Hobby version. At the top of the Mach4 screen it will say “Mach4 Hobby”.

There are two versions of Mach4. Hobby was the first to be introduced and got

the most attention from the Mach4 developers, therefore, it is more functional

than Mach4 Industrial.

What are the real differences?

At this point, the only real difference is the price and the fact that Mach4

Industrial lacks some of the things already built into Mach4 Hobby. Rumor is that

Mach4 industrial will eventually have built in height control and a few other nice

features. We have been using our own external height control for years now and

it works as well or better in Mach4 than it does in Mach3. Given that, Mach4

Industrial would not offer any advantage to us over Mach4 Hobby…Other than

the title at the top of the screen.

Page | 2


1 ‐ Mach 4 User Interface_____________________________________________

The Mach4

screen consists

of two primary

areas of

interest. All of

the primary

functions, like

Program Run,

Tool Path Ops,

Machine

Diagnostics,

Shape Wizard

and Trace

Wizard, are all accessible via the corresponding tab. Simply click a tab to move to

another screen.

All of the buttons related to running a program and also the program settings, are

located in the lower Run/Settings screens. These screens are always visible giving

you access to these functions from any of the above primary function screens.

1.1 – Primary Function Screens _______________________________________

This group of screens contains Program Run, Machine Diagnostics, Shape Wizard

and Trace Wizard. You will spend most of your time on the Program Run screen.

1.1.1 ‐ Primary Function Screens – Program Run ______________________

The first screen we’ll go

over is the Program Run

screen. This is where

you will spend most of

your time. There are

three main areas of

interest here.

Page | 3


The first screen we will go over is the DRO screen.

This screen consists of two tabs. The first displays the machine position DRO’s as

well as buttons to zero one or all axes and reference all axes. The red LED’s

indicate the homed status of the machine. Green LED’s mean the machine is

homed and referenced. The machine must be homed with these LED’s green in

order for Soft Limits to work. Homing is also a good way to return to a known

table position in the event of a program failure. When homing, you will be

prompted to confirm the action by typing “YES”. This is to prevent accidental

homing by hitting the reference button my mistake.

The Machine Coordinates button changes the DRO’s to reflect distance from

machine zero, or the point the machine was referenced to. When this is turned

off, the DRO’s reflect distance from work zero, or the point where Zero All was

pressed. When Distance To Go is active, the DRO’s display the distance to go to

the next coordinate.

Remember Position records the current position in memory and Return To

Position makes the machine return to that position. This differs from GoTo Work

Zero or GoTo Machine Zero in that the remembered position can be anywhere.

Page | 4


The Program Extents screen

displays the minimum and

maximum extents of the

program. This is a good way

to determine if the program

will fit on the material you

have on the table.

The GCode window displays

the text for the program

that is currently loaded. As

the program run, it will

cycle through the code in

the window.

The MDI tab allows the

operator to enter GCode

directly and run it. Pressing

Cycle Start will run any GCode entered in the MDI window.

The Tool Path window

graphically displays the

program currently loaded. As

the program runs, the display

will follow the part.

Pressing Regen Toolpath in

the Control button group will

refresh the tool Path display

window.

Page | 5


1.1.2 ‐ Primary Function Screens – Machine Diagnostics __________________

The Machine Diagnostics screen is not something used in day to day operation. It

is used more for diagnosis if an issue pops up. There are LED’s, DRO’s, a code

window and tool path display. We can run a job and watch this screen, noting

which LED’s are lit and how the DRO’s are behaving.

1.1.3 ‐ Primary Function Screens – Shape Wizard ________________________

The Shape Wizard

allows you to

make parts simply

by entering the

part parameters

and pressing Run

Part. There are

30 parts available.

To access the individual parts, click the tabs on top of the window or select the

Parts tab and click on the image of the part you want. The part parameters are

shown on the left with a graphic representation of the part on the right. The

image is static. It does not update to reflect your parameters.

Kerf Compensation, Process, kerf width, lead length and number of columns and

rows are selected on the far left. On parts with inside and outside contours, such

as the one shown above, kerf compensation is figured automatically. Parts with

Page | 6


only one contour have the option of selecting inside or outside contours. To

make more than one part, simply enter the number of rows and columns you

would like. For instance, 1 row and 1 column makes 1 part. 2 rows and 2 columns

makes 4 parts. Multiplying the number of rows by the number of columns gives

you the total number of parts.

After generating a new part, you can return to the Program Run screen or you can

select the File tab from the Run/Settings tab group.

The following shapes are available on the Shape Wizard…

Page | 7


1.1.4 ‐ Primary Function Screens – Trace Wizard __________________________

The Trace Wizard allows you to use the laser pointer or the optional camera to

locate and mark points around an existing part. The first step is to press the

button on the far left called Zero All Axes. As you progress, the instructions

displayed below the buttons will change to reflect where you are in the process.

The process goes like this…

(1) Move laser or camera to first point and press Zero All Axes.

(2) Press Start. Select a file location and enter a file name.

(3) Press Mark Point.

(4) Move to next point and press Mark Point.

(5) Continue marking points until all points are marked.

(6) Press End to complete the process.

See section 2.15 for further details.

Page | 8


1.2 ‐ Settings Screens

The lower panel in the Mach4 screen has all the controls and setting for running

and setting up jobs. This lower panel is always visible even while switching

between function panels above. We’ll discuss each panel in detail.

1.2.1 ‐ Control Button Group ________________________________________

This button groups contains the commonly used

buttons in Mach4. There are other less used features

available in the settings panel, which we will discuss

shortly.

Cycle Start GCode

The Cycle Start button is used to start a job after it is

loaded and the machine is zero’d. Cycle Start can also

be used to resume motion after a Feed Hold. The

torch should be positioned at the desired start point

and Zero All pressed prior to pressing Cycle Start.

Dry Run/Normal Run

Pressing this button toggle between Dry run and Normal Run. When Dry Run is

turned on, the machine will run the part in X and Y axes with no Z motion or

torch. In Normal Run mode the button will ne Green. In Dry Run mode the

button will be Yellow.

Feed Hold

Pressing Feed Hold stops the machine in a controlled manner. After a Feed Hold,

the button text will change to Resume, indicating that pressing the button again

will resume motion.

Page | 9


Stop

Pressing Stop stops the machine instantly. Depending on the speed, machine

homing/reference may be lost. If position is lost, resuming will be difficult. For a

controlled stop, Feed Hold is a better option.

Zero All

Pressing Zero All sets work zero to the current position. Press Zero All before

pressing Cycle Start to run a job.

Load GCode

Loads a new GCode file into the system. Files must have a .tap extension.

Close GCode

Closes the currently loaded GCode file.

Regen Toolpath

Pressing this button regenerates the tool path. You may want to regen after

moving and zeroing the torch to refresh the screen display.

Reset

Reset turns off any outputs that may be on and rewinds the GCode program to

the beginning of the file.

Regen Tool Path

Regen Tool Path regenerates the tool path display window.

Enable/Disable

Enables or disables the machine. In an emergency, Disable can be used to Estop

the machine, but this usually results in lost position which requires re‐homing and

loss of the job that is currently running.

Page | 10


1.2.2 ‐ Settings Tab Group____________________________________________

The settings tab group provides access to every machine setting through the

various tabs.

1.2.2a ‐ Settings Tab Group – File Tab___________________________________

The file tab provides access to functions

related to dealing with GCode files. The

currently loaded file name is displayed

toward the top of the window and a small

tool path display window shows a graphic

representation of the loaded file.

The buttons are as follows…

Load GCode – Loads a GCode file into Mach4.

Edit GCode – Opens the currently loaded file in Windows Notepad.

Rewind GCode – Rewinds the Currently loaded file to the top.

Close GCode – Closes the currently loaded GCode file.

Regen Tool Path – Regenerated the tool path window.

1.2.2b ‐ Settings Tab Group – Run Tab__________________________________

The run tab provides access to

functions relating to Run

operations.

Set Next GCode Line

Sets the next line of code to be

executed. The results may be

unexpected. The machine will

make a relatively un controlled

move to the beginning of the selected line and begin running the part in X and Y

axes. You would have to light the torch by pressing the Torch button.

Page | 11


Run GCode From Here

This button allows you to select a line of code in the code window or enter a line

number. The best way to restart is at the beginning of a part. If you have 100

parts on a sheet, and #50 fails, restart at the beginning of #51.

If a part fails, make a note of the line number. If the machine has not lost

position, all you need to do is roll the GCode to the next M114 line, select that

line and press Run GCode From Here.

A dialog box will appear prompting movement to

the start point. Make sure X and Y are selected

and press Move Selected.

After the machine moves to the start point, press

OK making the dialog go away and press Cycle

Start. The job will run from the beginning of the

part selected.

If, for some reason, you lose position by moving the machine after the failure and

pressing Zero All, recovery of the job will not be possible.

As a precaution to this, you can home/reference the machine and position the

material on the table so machine zero and work zero are the same. In this case,

as long as the machine does not lose reference (red reference LED’s), pressing

GoTo Machine Zero will dive the machine to the reference point, which in this

case is also work zero. From there you can use Run GCode From Here to start at

the next part.

The LED beside the Run GCode From Here button indicates the status of the

function. The DRO beside the LED indicates the current line number.

Page | 12


GoTo Work Zero

Pressing GoTo Work Zero makes the machine move back to the point that work

zero was set, which is the point at which the Zero All button was pressed.

GoTo Machine Zero

Pressing GoTo Machine Zero makes the machine travel back to the position where

it was homed/referenced. This assumes that the machine is homed with the

Home LED’s beside the position DRO’s lit green.

Soft Limits On/Off

Turns Soft Limits on or off. Soft Limits must be enable in Mach4 configuration for

this function to work. The machine must also be homed with the Home LED’s

beside the position DRO’s lit green.

Single Block On/Off

Single Block is mostly used for troubleshooting a GCode file. When turned on, it

causes Mach4 to execute only one line of code. Pressing Cycle Start again

executes the next line…and so on.

Jog Follow ON/OFF

Jog Follow changes the way the screen looks when jogging and running a job. It’s

a personal preference thing. When Jog Follow is off, the part remains stationary

on the screen and the axis cross hair moves around the part. When Jog Follow is

on, the axis cross hair remains stationary in the center of the screen and the part

moves. One is not necessarily better than the other. Thy them both.

Require Machine Homing

This feature is on by default and will not allow a program to be run unless the

machine is homed. Homing is not required, but it should be done. If you prefer

to run without homing, press Require Machine Homing and turn this feature off.

Page | 13


Axes Limits Override Button

This function allows the machine to be jogged off a limit switch. If you hit a limit

switch and the machine stops, press Axes Limits Override which will allow you to

jog the machine off the limit.

Enable Prestop Button

The prestop function allows the torch to shut off before it reaches the end of the

cut, thereby eliminating a stop divot in the cut. Use this button to enable or

disable this feature. Prestop can also be controlled by using M codes M1115 and

M1116 in the GCode. Note that for Prestop to work, there must be a lead‐out or

overburn on the toolpath.

Plasma Fualt Mode

Plasma fault mode detects if the torch goes out while a cut is in progress. If this

happens, the machine will go into a Feedhold state and stop. To resume cutting,

fix the fault and press Cycle Start. The torch will re‐light and the job will continue.

Crash Sensing

This turns the crash sensing feature on and off. The machine must be fitted with

a crash sensing torch holder for this feature to work.

Page | 14


1.2.2c ‐ Settings Tab Group – Jog Tab___________________________________

The Jog tab provides access to jog

related functions.

Jog Buttons

The Jog buttons move the

respective axis in the + or –

direction.

Jog %

Jog speed can be adjusted by moving the slider on the bottom of the screen. The

DRO will change reflecting the jog speed percent (%).

Slow Jog %

Pressing the 5 key on the keyboard number pad will make the jog speed toggle

between Jog% and Slow Jog%.

Incremental Jog Step

Causes the Jog Step DRO to cycle through various step settings.

Jog Mode

Sets the jog mode to Continuous or incremental. When set to continuous, the

machine jogs as one would expect. Pressing the jog buttons or using the

keyboard keypad make the machine jog at the set jog speed while the button or

key is held down.

When set to Incremental, the machine will jog the distance shown each time the

jog button is pressed.

Keyboard Inputs Enable/Disable

This button enables or disables the keyboard keypad for jogging. While Keyboard

Inputs are enabled and Mach4 is open, the keyboard keypad will be dedicated to

jogging Mach4. If you open another program and try to use the keyboard keypad,

Page | 15


you will notice that the keys will appear broken. This is because Mach4 has them

captive.

Page | 16


1.2.2d ‐ Settings Tab Group – Settings Tab______________________________

This is where you set most of the

program settings.

Switch Offset

Switch offset is the distance between

where the torch touches the material

and where the contact switch makes.

This is adjusted by setting Pierce

Height to 0.25” and pressing Reference Torch. Gauge the distance of the torch

above the material. If it is 0.25”, then the Switch Offset if correct. If it is not, then

adjust the Switch Offset a little and check it again. This is a trial and error process.

Once it is set, you won’t have to worry about it again.

TOM Speed

This is top of material sensing speed. This is the speed at which the torch will

travel down while looking for the material.

TOM Max Travel

This is the max distance that the torch will travel while searching for the material.

If it reaches max travel before finding the material, it will continue as if it found

the material and attempt to cut the part.

Safe Z

Safe Z is the height that the Z will raise to while moving from part to part.

Program End Z

Program End Z is the height at which the torch will raise at the end of the job prior

to traveling back to work zero.

Marker Delay

Marker Delay is the delay in seconds that the machine will pause after lighting the

marker torch. This is similar to Pierce Delay, but works with the marker torch

rather than the cutting torch. This is only applicable to machines using the

plasma marking system.

Page | 17


Marker Height

This is the height at which the Z will retract before lighting the marker torch.

With marking, there is no pierce height. The torch retracts to marking height and

the torch lights. This only applies to machines with the plasma marking option.

Drill Delay

Drill Delay is used to apply a pierce delay to the drill function. When you set up a

job in SheetCAM to pierce the center of a hole, the torch will drop down, touch

off, retract to pierce height and light the torch. Drill Delay controls how long the

torch stays on. A delay of 0 (Zero) would be a very shorth burst.

Pre‐Stop Delay

This setting delays turning off the torch when Pre‐Stop is activated. If you find

that the torch is shutting off too early, increase this number a little. For more

information on Pre‐Stop, see that section in this manual.

Reference Torch Button

Pressing Reference Torch will make the torch drive down to the material, stop,

and retract to the pierce height set in the THC control group. It is a good idea to

check the pierce height calibration from time to time by setting the pierce height

to 0.25” and pressing Reference Torch. If the height above the plate is not 0.25”,

Switch Offset on the Setting tab should be adjusted. See the section on

Calibration for more information on pierce height calibration.

Update DRO’s Button

This button reads all configuration data from the M4 configuration file and

populates the screen with it. This process is also automatic so pressing this

button is not necessary. It is here for troubleshooting only.

Page | 18


1.2.2e ‐ Settings Tab Group – Outputs Tab_______________________________

The outputs tab provides access to

control and view the status of

common machine outputs. These

outputs are activated and de‐

activated automatically by the

program depending on the process

you are using. You can view their

status or override them here.

Marker Up/Down

Activates the output connected to the marker air cylinder solenoid.

Marker On/Off

Activates the output that lights the marker torch.

Cut Oxygen

Activates the output that opens the cut oxygen solenoid.

Optional Stop

When active, the machine will pause at every instance of M01 it encounters in a

GCode file. Programs have an M01 at the end of every cut. When Optional Stop

is active, the machine will pause at the end of every cut. To continue after an

M01 pause, press Cycle Start. Optional Stop is a good way to make a non‐

emergency controlled pause. Optional Stop is also used when running an Oxy Fuel

job.

THC Enable

THC Enable controls the output that tells the THC to activate.

Page | 19


1.2.2f ‐ Settings Tab Group – Offsets Tab_______________________________

The Offsets tab allows access to the

setting related to torch and marker

offsets. Using torch offset is

optional. When torch offset is set

at zero, you would position the

torch at your zero point, then Zero

All, Cycle Start.

If you set the torch offset, you

would use the laser to position the machine, then the machine apples the offset

so the mart cuts in the correct location

Setting An offset

Both marker and torch offsets are set the same way….

(1) Find a clean piece of metal on the table.

(2) Lower the torch close to the metal.

(3) Pierce a hole by pressing the Torch button. (4) Slowly jog the machine so the laser fall into the hole you just pierced.

(5) Press Set Torch Offset (Or Set Marker Offset)

NOTE: Since the laser dot can be easily knocked out of alignment, we

recommend not using it as means of setting the torch zero position.

Page | 20


1.2.2g ‐ Settings Tab Group – Process Tab_______________________________

This tab shows the loaded

process and recommended

THC Set Volts. Process

parameters are embedded

into the gcode job file from

SheetCAM and extracted

here. You select the process

in SheetCAM.

Feed Rate Reduction is a way to automatically reduce the feed rate by a set

amount. The published cut speed numbers are almost always too fast. Setting

Feed Rate Reduction to 70% would reduce the published feed rate by 30%. For

instance, a published feed rate of 190IPM would set on the machine at 133IPM.

Selected Process LED’s

These LED’s indicate the process that was selecting in SheetCAM. Some of the

macros (M Codes) that you see in your gcode look at these. When you load a

gcode file, these LED’s will set automatically. The buttons beside the LED’s allow

you to manually select a process if need be.

Current Process LED’s

The Current Process LED’s indicate which process the machine is currently

running. These are used by the system behind the scenes to determine the state

of the machine at any given time. The Fault light indicates that the plasma arc

was lost during a cut.

Page | 21


1.2.2h ‐ Settings Tab Group – Calibrate Tab______________________________

This screen gives you the tools to

quickly calibrate the machine. For

instance, if you noticed that the

machine was cutting 1/8” too long,

you can correct it by using this

screen.

When you press one of the Calibrate buttons, a

dialog will appear. Enter a distance for the

machine to travel and make sure there is nothing

in it’s way.

When motion stops, measure the distance the

machine traveled and enter it here.

Follow the instruction on the next dialog

that opens.

Page | 22


From the Mach4 menu, go to Configue ‐>

Mach and select the Motors tab. Select

the correct motor. This was displayed in

the instructions dialog. Make a note of the

Velocity and Acceleration numbers, these

will change and you will need to set them

back.

On the lower left corner of the Motors dialog, locate Counts Per Unit. Highlight

the existing number, right click and select Paste. This will insert the calibrated

number. Reset the Velocity and Acceleration back to their original values. From

the factory, these are set to Velocity = 600 and Acceleration = 15.

When finished, restart Mach4. Repeat to calibrate more axes.

Page | 23


1.2.3 ‐ Torch Control Group __________________________________________

The torch control group provides access to the

common torch controls, settings and LED

indicators.

Torch On/Off

Turns the cutting torch on or off

Pierce Height

This is the height at which the Z will retract off

the material for initial piercing.

Cut Height

Cut height is only used if the THC is disabled.

Under normal circumstances, cut height is controlled by the THC. When the THC

is disabled, Mach4 will lower the Z to the cut height enters after piercing.

Pierce Delay

Delays motion for the time entered to allow time for the arc to pierce the

material.

Feedrate Antidive LED

This LED will light when the actual feed rate drops below the commanded feed

rate. This is used to lock out the height control when the feed rate drops to

prevent torch dive.

THC LED

This LED will light when the THC is enabled by the software. It can be overridden

from the Outputs tab.

ArcOK LED

This LED will light when the plasma establishes arc transfer. This is a means of

telling the controller that the arc is established and it is OK to move.

Page | 24


Contact

This LED will light when the torch contacts the material. To test this LED, you can

lift up on the torch by hand until the torch mount makes contact with the plunger

switch above it. The Contact LED should come on.

1.2.4 ‐ Feed Rate Control Group_______________________________________

The feed rate control group provides

control over the machine cut speeds.

To adjust speeds on the fly, use the FRO

(Feed Rate Override) slider. The machine

speed will change instantly in response

to moving the slider.

The editable fields are Plasma Feedrate,

Oxy Fuel Feedrate and Marker Feedrate.

This how you set the program feedrate

for the job. Any feedrate entered in

SheetCAM will be ignored.

Page | 25


2 ‐ Basic Operation ________________________________________________

2.1 ‐ Loading a Job

Select the File tab and press Load GCode. Select the file to load. File type must a

TAP file with a .TAP extension. Make sure you’re not trying to load .DXF or .JOB

files

2.2 ‐ Editing a Job

Select the File tab and press Edit GCode. This opens the file in Windows Notepad.

Don’t do this unless you are comfortable hand writing GCode.

2.3 ‐ Jogging the Machine

Jogging can be done one of two ways…

(1) Open the Jog tab and use the on‐screen buttons to jog the machine.

(2) Use the keyboard keypad. Hold the CTRL key while pressing the following keys. CTRL + 4 and CTRL + 6 jog the X axis, CTRL + 8 and CTRL + 2 jog the Y

axis and CTRL + 9 and CTRL + 3 jog the Z axis.

2.4 ‐ Running a Job

Jog the machine to the zero point on the material, press Zero All then Cycle Start.

Hot keys for Zero All ae CNTL + 1 and Cycle Start is CNTL + 7.

2.5 ‐ Homing the Machine

While it is not necessary, the machine should always be in a homed or referenced

state. When homed, soft limits work, the software knows where the torch is and

top of material sensing is faster. As long as the machine is referenced, you can

always press GoTo Machine Zero to take the torch back to the reference point.

This is handy for crash recovery.

By default, the machine will not allow you to run a program until it is homed. This

can be changed on the Run tab for the current session, but if you restart Mach4, it

will default back to requiring reference.

Referencing is done when you first start up the machine or any time the reference

LED’s beside the position DRO’s go red. Follow these steps to reference….

Page | 26


(1) Jog the torch close to the lower left (controller) corner of the machine

without hitting the limit switches.

(2) Press Ref All Axes. (3) A dialog will appear asking you to confirm. Type “YES” and hit OK.

(4) The Z will go up and home to the upper limit, then the X will home to it’s

negative limit and the Y will home to it’s negative limit.

(5) When homing is done, Soft Limits will enable automatically.

If you would like to run without homing the machine, go the the Run tab and turn

off Require Machine Homing.

2.6 ‐ Homing Exercise

This exercise will give you an understanding of how the homing works with

machine and work coordinates.

(1) Home the machine using the method above.

(2) The machine should now be parked and homed. Machine zero will

always remain at this point. When you press Zero All, you are setting

Work Zero.

(3) Jog the machine out into the middle of the table and press Zero All. This

sets Work Zero to the current location. Machine Zero is still where the

machined homed.

(4) Jog the machine again.

(5) From the Run tab, press GoTo Work Zero. The machine will to back to

the point where you pressed Zero All in step 3. Repeat this as many

time as you like. When GoTo Work Zero is pressed, the machine will go

back the last point that Zero All was pressed.

(6) When you’ve seen enough of that, press GoTo Machine Zero.

(7) The machine will go back to the point that it was referenced.

2.7 ‐ Pausing a Job

The best way to pause a job is to turn on Optional Stop, which is on the Outputs

tab. When optional stop is turned on, the machine will pause when it finishes the

cut it is currently on. To resume, just turn off Optional Stop and press Cycle Start.

Page | 27


Another method if to press Feed Hold. Pressing Feed Hold makes a controlled

stop near where the button was pressed. Any position moves queued in the

motion controller when the Feed Hold button is pressed will be completed. For

that reason, Feed Hold may not stop on a dime. When Feed Hold is pressed, the

torch will shut off. To resume from Feed Hold, press Cycle Start. When resuming

from Feed Hold, the torch will re‐light.

2.8 ‐ Stopping a Job (Emergency)

To stop in an emergency, press the Disable button on the Mach4 screen or press

one of the red button on the gantry. Estopping in this manner usually results in

lost position which means you may not be able to recover the job. If it’s not an

emergency, Use Optional Stop or Feed Hold instead.

2.9 ‐ Plasma Fault Mode

The machine will go into plasma fault mode if the torch fails to light at the

beginning of a cut. When this happens the machine will go into a Feedhold state.

To recover, fix the issue and press Cycle Start. If the issue is fixed, the torch will

light and the job will continue. If it fails to light again, the machine will go back to

a Feedhold state. This will continue until the torch lights or until you cancel the

job. The fault code on the Hypertherm will tell you what the problem is.

2.10 ‐ Pre‐Stop

Pre‐stop is a feature that turns off the height control and the torch before motion

stops at the end of a cut. This prevents a blow‐out or divot when the torch stops

at the end of the cut. Pre‐stop works by looking ahead in the GCode to the next

line of code. If the next line of code is that last line (the lead‐out) the height

control will disable and the torch will shut off. If you find that the torch is

shutting off too early, you can increase Pre‐Stop Delay on the Settings tab. This

will delay turning the torch off.

IMPORTANT: Pre‐stop will not work unless there is a lead‐out and/or an over

burn set in the job in SheetCAM.

2.11 ‐ Setting Feedrate

The SeriesOne and XT machines do not use a hard coded feed rate in the G‐Code.

Instead, feed rates are set on the machine in Mach3. In the Feed Rate section

Page | 28


toward the lower right hand corner of the Program Run screen, you will find three

feed rates…Plasma, Oxy/Fuel and Marker. If running a plasma process, you would

set the plasma feed rate. Oxy/Fuel and Marker feed rates would set speeds for

those processes. The process is decided in SheetCAM.

2.12 ‐ Changing Feedrate During a Cut

To change a feed rate, you can type in a new one at any time, however, the new

speed will not update until the next cut. To change a feed rate on the fly, use the

red Feed Rate Override slider. The number above the slider represents the FRO

percentage. IE: 100 means the machine is running at 100% of the commanded

feed rate. To change the FRO value, drag the slider up or down. To reset it back

to 100%, press the Reset FRO button.

2.13 ‐ Setting Torch Offsets

This section will go over setting tool offsets for the cutting torch. If you have the

Plasma Marking System, see section 4 for more information.

Setting the laser offset means that you must use the laser dot to zero the machine

before every cut. If you would rather just use the torch head itself as the

reference point, skip this step and ensure that both Torch Offset and Marker

Offset are both set to zero on the Settings page.

To set up the torch offset, follow these steps…

Select the Offsets tab in the Setting tab group.

Find a clean spot on a piece of material, drop the torch to 1/8” off the

material and light the torch briefly piercing a small hole.

Press Zero All.

Jog the machine so the laser drops into the hole you just pierced.

Press the button labeled Set Torch Offset. Leave Marker offset set to zero.

If you have the Plasma Marker System, see Chapter 4, Section 4.2.

This process sets the cutting torch offset relative to the laser.

2.14 ‐ Emergency Stop

Emergency Stop can be achieved one of two ways…

Press the Reset button in Mach3 in the lower left corner of the screen.

Page | 29


Push one of the red Emergency Stop buttons on the gantry side covers.

Either method will stop the machine. Note that after an E‐Stop, the machine will

most likely lose its position. The faster it was moving when it was E‐Stopped, the

more likely it will be that position has been lost. If you just want to pause the

program and it is not an emergency, use Optional Stop instead.

2.15 ‐ Tracing a Part

The Trucut Tracing Wizard is a utility built into the controller that allows the

operator to place points around a part on the table. This is called a point cloud.

The operator would place points at key locations on the part, such as a corner, a

hole center, etc.

The Tracing Wizard is accessed by pressing the Trace Wizard tab at the top of the

Mach4 screen and brings up a screen like the one below.

From here, just follow the instructions on the screen. Move laser or camera to

the first point you wish to mark and press Zero All Axes.

The screen will change to one similar to the one shown below.

Page | 30


Press Start. This will make a file dialog appear. Select a location and file name for

the point cloud file. Do not use a file extension. The program will automatically

add that. The next screen will appear.

The file name and path will show below the buttons. Next, press Mark Point. This

will mark your first point. After marking the first point, jog to the next point and

press Mark Point again.

Continue this until all points have been marked.

After all points have been marked, press End. This will save the point cloud file.

Page | 31


You can now use the points as a guide to

complete the part in CAD. Connect the points

using lines and arcs.

You can also mark larger holes using three points,

then in CAD, crate a circle through 3 points. To

make a hole using a single point, place the point

at the center of the hole, then in CAD, create a

circle on that point.

You could end up with something like this.

Page | 32


Now you can add details such as corner radii, like this. After the part is drawn, the

points are no longer needed, so you can delete them.

Once the part is done to your satisfaction, save it as a

DXF file, import into SheetCAM and cut.

2.16 – System Hotkeys

Hot keys allow you to perform certain action by using keyboard keys instead on

using the on‐screen buttons. System Hotkeys are as follows…

CNTL + Keypad 1 Zero All

CNTL + Keypad 7 Cycle Start

CNTL + Keypad 2 Jog Y‐

CNTL + Keypad 8 Jog Y+

CNTL + Keypad 4 Jog X‐

CNTL + Keypad 6 Jog X+

CNTL + Keypad 3 Jog Z‐

CNTL + Keypad 9 Jog Z+

CNTL + Keypad 5 Toggle Slow Jog

CNTL + Keypad / Toggle Torch On/Off

2.17 – Running an Oxy/Fuel Job

To run an Oxy/Fuel job you first need to create the job in SheetCAM. The process

is the same as a plasma job, but you use the OXY tool instead of one of the plasma

tools. Follow the instructions below…

Create the gcode in SheetCAM

Hit Load Gcode in Mach4 and select the job you just created.

Turn the THC off on the THC remote by pressing the On/Off button until the

flag on the remote reads “THC Off”

Select the Oxy/Fuel torch lifter using the switch on top of the lifter carriage.

Jog the X and Y to a good zero starting point.

Page | 33


Light the torch and job it to a good pierce height.

From the Outputs tab in Mach4, turn on Optional Stop and THC Enable.

Press Zero All then Cycle Start.

The machine will rapid to the first start point and pause for a pre‐heat cycle.

When the material is hot enough to pierce, press the Cut Oxygen button. If it

pierces, press the Cycle Start button. If it does not pierce, wait a little longer and

repeat.

At the end of the first cut, the machine will travel to the second start point and

begin another pre‐heat cycle. Just repeat the above procedure for all cuts. Pre‐

heat will get shorter as you get into the job and the steel gets hotter.

Page | 34


3 THC Operation ________________________________________________

3.1 ‐ How it works

The Trucut automatic height control works by reading the tip voltage from the

plasma and raising/lowering the torch to make that voltage match a voltage set

by the operator on the THC remote control. The remote consists of 5 screens,

each containing different functions. Pressing the left and right arrow keys will

move to the next or previous screen. We will discuss each screen and what each

does.

3.2 ‐ Home Screen

The home screen is where you will leave the remote 99% of the time. Here you

can turn the THC on and off by pressing the ON/OFF button, increase the set

voltage (height) by pressing the up arrow and decrease the set voltage by pressing

the down arrow. The home screen also has an indicator tag in the upper right

corner to indicate whether the anti‐dive feature is active. Current tip volts are

displayed above set volts. Press the right arrow to move the next screen.

3.3 ‐ Motion Sensitivity

Motion sensitivity adjusts the reaction time of the THC. A higher number here

makes the THC respond faster to a change in height, but also makes it more

unstable and “jittery”. A higher number is needed for cutting material like

corrugated. A lower number makes the motion more stable and smooth. A

setting of 2 or 3 works well in most cases. To change the sensitivity, press the up

and down arrows. You can set sensitivity between 1 and 6.

3.4 ‐ Antidive Sensitivity

This controls the point at which the internal anti‐dive activates. This is a

percentage. For instance, a setting of 8 would cause anti‐dive to activate at 8%

above the set voltage. If set voltage were 120V and Anti‐Dive Sensitivity were 8,

anti‐dive would engage and inhibit Z motion when it sensed 129.6V.

Why is this important? When the plasma crosses a gap or hole, the tip voltage

goes up and the response from the height control will be to lower the torch to

reduce the voltage. By recognizing that we crossed a gap, we can engage anti‐

Page | 35


dive and prevent the torch from diving into the gap or hole and crashing. There is

usually some movement before Anti‐Dive engages.

If you notice the torch diving into holes, lower this number. If you are cutting

material that tends to warp rapidly, like light gauge steel or aluminum, raise this

number to prevent anti‐dive from engaging accidentally. A setting of 10‐12 works

well in most cases. To change the number, press the up and down arrows. To

effectively disable anti‐dive, enter a high number here, such as 30.

When Anti‐Dive engages, a flag labeled ANTI‐DIVE will appear on the upper right

corner of the home page on the remote. When the ANTI‐DIVE flag is visible, there

will be no Z axis movement.

3.5 ‐ Puddle Jump

This number controls when the THC engages. You can use this delay to make the

torch clear slag on thicker metal. For instance, if you pierce ½” plate at .25” and

engage the height control instantly, the torch could dip into the slag puddle left

by the pierce. Increasing the delay would make the torch travel a short distance

at pierce height before dropping to cut height, clearing the slag puddle.

To change this number, press the up and down arrows.

3.6 ‐ Corner Antidive Delay

Corner Anti‐Dive monitors the machine speed and compares the actual speed to

the commanded speed. If the actual speed is less than the commanded speed,

Corner Anti‐Dive locks the THC to prevent the torch from diving into corners. If

we engaged this feature immediately, the THC would not enable until the

machine reached commanded speed. Corner Anti‐Dive Delay adds a delay so the

THC can enable and drop to cut height in a timely manner. 1‐2 seconds works

well and should be at least ½ second more than Puddle Jump.

3.7 ‐ Manual Height Control

This screen allows you to control the torch height manually while cutting. To use

this feature, the THC must be turned off on the Home screen. This feature is

particularly useful for those using an Oxy/Fuel torch where no voltage based

automatic height control is available.

Page | 36


Basic Operation

For the height control to operate properly, you must first set the target voltage,

or set voltage. This is done using the up and down arrow keys on the home page.

There are three ways to determine a starting point for the set voltage.

Open the Hypertherm manual that came with your plasma and look at the

cut chart for the amperage and consumable you are using. Look under Best

Quality Settings and enter the voltage from the chart on the THC remote.

Select the desired process from the Presets tab. This will load process

parameters and display the correct set voltage for the process.

Turn off the THC from the home screen and cut a small sample part. Pay

attention to the Tip Volts on the remote. Set the set volts to the same

number. This will get the height close. After you start cutting you can dial

it in.

Once you have a starting point for the set voltage, you can dial it in closer while

it’s cutting. As you change the set volts while cutting, the height will respond

instantly. If the height looks too high, lower the set volts. If it looks too low,

raise the set volts.

Once you have it dialed in, make a note of that number for the amperage and

material you are running. After a few jobs, you’ll remember the set volts, and if

you notice it is off a little, you can adjust it on the fly without ruining the job. In

many cases, the book settings are accurate and others they are not.

Pierce height has little effect on the cut height since cut height is controlled solely

by arc voltage. If the pierce height is off when the cut begins, the height will

move rapidly to the cut height determined by the set volts entered on the home

screen when the THC enables.

3.8 ‐ Saving THC Settings

Any parameters that you change on the THC remote control will be automatically

saved to non‐volatile memory when you cycle the THC from on to off. If you

power down without turning the THC off on the remote, the parameters that

were last saved will be loaded on start‐up.

Page | 37


NOTE: The DL05 PLC EEPROM memory has a maximum limit of 100,000 writes.

That means that after 100,000 save cycles, the PLC memory may become

unreliable. Under normal, or even heavy use, this limitation should not be an

issue.

While the PLC is saving data, the remote display will show a PLC COM Timeout

error. This is normal.

If you would like to limit the number of EEPROM writes to the PLC, just power

down the controller without cycling the THC to off. This works great if you cut the

same material most of the time.

Page | 38


4 ‐ Plasma Marking System _________________________________________

4.1 ‐ How it works

Plasma marking has been around for years but only available on expensive hi‐

definition plasma machines. All of that changed when Hypertherm came out with

their Powermax 45XP. The 45XP can operate at very low current setting (as low

as 10A) and still use a contact arc start method.

Our plasma marking system includes a new Powermax 45XP with a machine torch.

The marker torch is mounted beside the cutting torch on it’s own lifter. When the

system switches to marking, which is set up in SheetCAM, control switches from

the cutting torch lifter to the marker torch lifter.

The marker torch must be set up in Mach3 with an offset. This offset either….

1. Tells the software the X and Y offset of the marker torch from the laser, or…

2. Tells the software the X and Y offset of the marker torch from the cutting

torch.

If you set a marker torch offset relative to the laser, then you must also set a

cutting torch offset relative to the laser. You will then use the laser to set your

zero before running a job.

If you set a marker torch offset relative to the cutting torch, then you would leave

the cutting torch offsets at zero and use the actual cutting torch position to set

zero before running a job.

4.2 ‐ Setting the Torch Offsets

to set the marker tool offset, first figure out if you want to use the laser all the

time to reference zero on the machine. If you do, follow these instructions…

1. Find a clean location on a piece of material and jog the torch to that

location.

2. Lower the cutting torch to about 1/8” off the material, press Zero All and

press the Torch button briefly to pierce a small hole.

3. Make sure the position DRO’s are zero’d out. If they are not, press Zero All

now.

4. Jog the machine so the laser dot falls into the hole you just pierced.

Page | 39


5. Go to the Offsets tab and press the button called Set Torch Offset. This will set the offset distance between the laser and cutting torch.

6. Repeat steps 1 – 5 but instead of firing the cutting torch, use the marking

torch. Note that when doing this with the marking torch, the torch may not

pierce all the way through. Just put the laser dot on the mark.

7. On the Offsets tab, press Set Marker Offset. This will set the offset distance

between the laser and the marker torch.

If you don’t want to use the laser at all, follow these steps…

1. Lower the marking torch by pressing Marker Up/Down, light the marking

torch by pressing Marker On/Off and make a visible mark.

2. Press Zero All. 3. Raise the marking torch by pressing Marker Up/Down again. Jog the

machine so the Cutting torch is centered on the mark you made with the

marking torch.

4. Go to the Settings screen and press the Set Marker Offset button. This will

set the marker torch offset relative to the cutting torch.

Page | 40


5 Calibration __________________________________________________

5.1 ‐ Calibrating the X and Y Axes

Calibrating the axis will be necessary if one or both axes are not cutting the length

that they are commanded. Follow these steps to calibrate the axis.

1. Jog the X axis so the gantry is exactly

10” from the end of the rail. You can

use any measurement, but 10” is a nice

round number. You’ll be doing a little

math in a minute.

2. Press Zero All to zero all axis DRO’s.

3. Press the tab labeled Calibrate in the setting tab group.

4. Enter a distance to move in the dialog that appears.

Page | 41


5. Enter how far the

machine actually moved in

the next dialog that

appears. When measuring,

don’t forget to subtract your

beginning measurement.

6. The calibrated steps per unit will display next to the button. This number will

also be copied to the Windows clipboard.

7. In the Mach4 menu, go to Configure ‐> Mach…

8. Select the Motors tab.

9. Delete the existing number for Steps Per Unit.

10. With the cursor in the blank data field, right click and select Paste. This will

paste the calibrated number into the Steps Per Unit field.

11. Restart Mach4 and repeat for the Y axis. It is not

necessary to calibrate the Z axis, but you can if you

want to.

Page | 42


5.2 ‐ Calibrating Pierce Height

In order for Pierce Height to work properly, the software needs to know the

distance that Z travels after it touches and makes contact with the floating head

switch. To do this, follow these steps….

1) Check that the floating head switch is connected and working

properly by lifting up on the torch so it makes contact with the

floating head switch mounted above the floating head. When this

switch makes contact, the yellow LED labeled Contact should

come on. If it doesn’t, do not continue. Automatic referencing

will not work.

2) Set Pierce Height to .25” and find a piece of ¼” material you can

use as a feeler gauge. We use a piece of ¼” cold rolled. A ¼” drill

bit works well also.

3) Jog the torch over some fairly heavy material that will not distort

when the torch touches off to it.

4) Jog the Z down to about ½” off the material and press Zero All.

5) Press “Reference Torch” on the Settings tab.

The torch should go down, touch off and come back up to .25”. Use your ¼”

feeler gauge to check the torch height. If it is too low increase Switch Offset (Just

to the left of the Reference Torch button).

For Instance, If the height is less than .25 and the current switch offset is ‐0.55,

enter ‐0.65 and repeat the above process. Note that there must always be a – in

front of the number. If it is still not right, re‐adjust the Switch Offset and repeat.

This a trial and error process, but the good news is that once it’s done you

shouldn’t have to do it again.

Page | 43


5.3 ‐ Squaring the Gantry – SeriesOne Machines

To square the machine, you first need to cut a square and determine if it is square

or skewed. If it is skewed, the machine is out of square. To square the machine,

you will loosen the belt tension on one side of the machine. With the tension

loose on the belt, you can skip teeth on the timing belt to move this side of the

gantry fore or aft depending on your test square.

Measure the cut square corner to corner or put a framing square on it to

determine which direction to move the gantry side. Again, for coarse adjustment

more than 1/16" ‐ 1/8", loosen the timing belt tension and skip a tooth. For fine

adjustment, loosen one side of the drive chain and tighten the other. For

instance, loosen the rear chain bolt 1/2 turn and tighten the front bold 1/2 turn.

See the graphic examples below. The skew in these images is exaggerated for

graphic purposes. You will not be able see the skew by eye.

5.4 ‐ Squaring the Gantry ‐ XT Machines

XT machines are driven independently on each side of the gantry. These

machines have squaring stops on the rear of the table. To square the gantry do

the following…

1) Ensure that the racks are engaged.

2) If the machine is on and Mach3 is running, Jog the machine to the rear

of the table close to the rear limit trigger pin. If the machine is not

running and Mach3 is shut down, you can disengage the racks, move the

gantry to the rear of the machine, then re‐engage the racks.

3) Exit Mach3 and turn the machine controller OFF. Ensure racks are

engaged.

Page | 44


4) Pull the gantry rearward until it rests against the squaring stops.

5) Turn the machine controller ON and start Mach3.

6) The machine will be resting on the rear limit. From the Run tab, enable

Axis Limit Override so you can jog off the limit.

Page | 45


6 ‐ G&M Codes __________________________________________________

G00 ‐ Rapid move at the speed defined in motor tuning. Speed can be altered by

setting a reduction percentage in Jog Speed.

G01 ‐ Feed rate move. G01 requires that a feed rate be set as well as destination

coordinates.

G03/G03 ‐ Circular interpolation at a given feedrate.

G02 Clockwise arc motion at feedrate.

G03 Counterclockwise arc motion at feedrate.

The clockwise direction is determined by viewing the arc from the positive side of

a vector normal to the arc plane.

Like the G01 command, G02 and G03 require a feedrate (F) as well as destination

(or distance) coordinates (X, Y, and/or Z). The feedrate will default to the current

feedrate if it has been commanded previously in the program.

G04 ‐ Makes the machine pause for a given number of seconds. For instance, to

pause for ¾ of a second, the code would look like….

G04 P0.75

G52 ‐ Temporarily shifts program zero to a new location. G52 is used to shift

program coordinates when tool offsets are used.

M14 ‐ Initiates the cutting sequence, including TOM sensing and torch ignition

M15 ‐ Initiates the cut end sequence.

M1000 ‐ Moves Z axis to Safe Z.

M1101 – Enables THC.

M1102 – Disables THC.

M1103 – Turns cut oxygen on.

M1104 – Turns cut oxygen off.

M1105 – Moves Z axis to End Z.

Page | 46


M1106 – Set Marker Offset.

M1109 – Zero any work coordinate offset.

M1111 – Set cutting torch offset.

Page | 47


7 Trouble Shooting _________________________________________________

7.1 ‐ THC does not appear to be working.

Before getting into any troubleshooting, make sure the THC is not functional by

cutting a circle from the Shape Wizard. While it’s cutting, put your finger on the

silver motor coupler on the Z lifter. You should feel movement. Even if the

material is flat, you should feel slight movement. If you feel movement, the THC is

working correctly. If you feel no movement, follow these steps….

1) Make sure THC is turned on from the remote. From the home screen on the

remote, press the On/Off button.

2) Make sure Set Voltage is set correctly.

3) Open the controller box and look for the DL05 PLC. This will be on the left side

just below the large power supply. There should be two small LED lights lit on the

right side with two other LED’s flashing rapidly. The two on the top indicate

power is getting to the PLC. The two below indicate that the remote is

communicating with the PLC.

If you don’t see any LEDS on the PLC, check the two white circuit breakers toward

the top of the controller. One is labeled C2 and one is labeled C20. C2 feeds the

Rhino power supply for the PLC. Both breakers should be showing a red window.

If both breakers are ON, then the Rhino 24V power supply. It should have a

steady light. If the light on the Rhino is flashing, this indicates a short circuit. Call

for further assistance.

If the Rhino power supply is showing a steady light and the PLC is still not showing

power LEDs, the PLC may be faulty. Call for further assistance.

4) Check that the THC has not been disabled in SheetCAM. THC can be disabled

by setting specific operation variables.

5) If none of the above helps, call for further assistance.

Page | 48


7.2 ‐ Torch is dragging from the start of the cut.

If the torch fires while still touching the material and continues to drag, you have

two issues…

1) The pierce height is too low and probably needs calibrating. See the

section in this manual regarding pierce height calibration.

2) The cut height is too low. Using the THC remote, raise the set voltage

on the remote. If set voltage it too low, the torch will drag. You can find

set voltage in the manual for your plasma unit. It is usually called arc

voltage in the manual. You can also select the desired process from the

Process tab. You will be prompted with the correct arc voltage setting.

7.3 ‐ Torch pierces at the correct height, then crashes.

This is an indication that the set volts on the THC remote is set too low. Raise set

volts to raise the cut height.

7.4 ‐ Cut height appears to be too high.

Remember, set volts on the THC remote equals height. If the cut height is too

high, lower the set volts.

7.5 ‐ Torch dives at the end of a cut.

This can happen on inside contours where the metal drops away as the cut

contour is closed and the torch completes the lead out phase of the cut. During

this phase, there is no metal under the torch and the tip voltage goes up. The

response from the height control is to move the torch down to compensate for

the increase in arc voltage.

The easiest way to avoid this is to make sure Pre‐Stop is turned on. See section

1.2.2b for more information on Pre‐Stop.

If you are not using Pre‐Stop, decreasing the Antidive Sensitivity will help. IE:

Reduce the number from say, 10% to 6%. See section 3.4 for more information.

7.6 – THC will not track rapid changes in height.

If the THC is crashing into the material rather than tracking it up, either the THC is

not working (See section 7.1) or the height is changing faster than the THC can

respond. To increase the THC response time, go to the Motion Sensitivity screen

Page | 49


on the THC remote and increase the number. Do not increase more than one

number at a time. Increasing this too much may cause the THC to become

unstable.

7.7 – Torch touches off but does not light.

This if almost always caused by a fault on the plasma power supply. If the LED

beside the torch button lights as it is supposed to, Mach4 has sent the start signal

to the plasma. On PM65‐125 power supplies, look for a yellow fault light on the

plasma. If there is a yellow fault light, there will be also be a code number shown

in the window. Look up that code in the plasma manual for an explanation of

what is going on.

7.8 – Torch lights but does not move.

Mach4 will wait for a signal from the plasma power supply indicating that it has

established an arc before moving. If the torch lights but the machine does not

move, it is likely because the plasma has not sensed a good arc transfer. This can

be caused by a bad ground or pierce height being too high. Check and clean your

grounds and try lowing the pierce height. When a good arc transfer is sensed, the

Arc OK LED will light. The machine will not move until this LED is lit.

7.9 – The machine will not jog.

When you try to jog, are the DRO number moving?

If YES…

Mach4 is likely not connected to the motion controller. Mach4 is senting signals

to the motion controller, but because there is no connection, the motion

controller is not responding. Shut down the controller and close Mach4, then

turn on the controller and start Mach4. You should see the Warp9 splash screen

followed by the Mach4 screen. If Mach4 fails to connect to the motion controller,

an error will appear. If this persists, call for further assistance.

If NO…

From the Jog Tab, ensure that jog mode is set to Continuous and that Keyboard

Inputs are enabled (green button). Also ensure that slow jog is not active. If it is

Page | 50


and you have a small number entered in Slow Jog, the machine can jog so slowly

that it appears to be not moving.

7.10 ‐ Jog speed seems slow.

On the Jog Tab there is a setting for Slow Jog. If slow jog is active, the machine

will jog at the speed entered for Slow Jog. To toggle between fast jog and slow

jog, use the keypad and hit CNTL + 5.

7.11 – Pierce height does not match what is entered on the screen.

If the actual pierce height does not match what is enter on the screen, the pierce

height needs to be calibrated. See section 5.2 for more information.

7.12 – The machine is not cutting the correct length and/or width.

For instance, you cut a 10” square and it measures 10.125”. This is usually

because steps per unit are incorrect and the machine needs to be calibrated. See

section 5.1 for more information on calibrating the X and Y axes.

7.13 – Torch shuts off in the middle of a cut.

This is almost always a plasma fault. First determine if the LED beside the torch

button stays lit after the torch shuts off. If it does, the problem is with the plasma

power supply. When the plasma shuts off on it’s own, it will show a fault number

in the LCD window. Those faults codes are in the plasma manual. Common codes

for the Powermax65‐125 are….

0‐12…Low input gas pressure.

0‐20…Low gas pressure.

0‐21…Gas flow lost while cutting.

0‐22…No gas input.

0‐30…Torch consumable stuck (Replace swirl ring).

0‐50…Retaining cap off.

0‐51…Torch is on at power up.

Mach4 Overview - trucutcnc.com · Mach4 is a robust and modern CNC control software package. Unlike...

Documents

Transcript of Mach4 Overview - trucutcnc.com · Mach4 is a robust and modern CNC control software package. Unlike...