Pause after rapid move?

Problems and questions
1

I am wondering if there is a way to have my machine pause “before the next cut”. I understand that I can use the “pause at the end of cut” but that doesn’t give me access to the most recent cut piece. I would really like to pause after the torch raises and moves to next location. This would allow me to remove cut pieces and allow compressor to catch up.

I am also using Mach3, Thoughts? Sincere thanks.

2

well, if you did that, you’re going to “race against time” to get that part out before motion resumes. I suspect there some cases in which you loose :frowning:
Is it possible instead to install Pause and Resume pushbuttons on your control panel so that you control the motion stop and start ?
I do just that on my table, for exactly the same use cases, but not on every shape/part that I cut, only when necessary to avoid a collision or just let the air supply catch up.

3

Cross posted.
https://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=36168

4

Thanks I’ll give this a go. Appreciated!

5

You can put M0 or M1 in the program after each part. M0 will always stop the machine, M1 will stop it if you have optional stop turned on. Either way, the machine stops movement and you have to push cycle start to resume.

6

@brian - thanks, I stumbled into a similar solution this morning discovering M0.

re. M1 though, which does not work in my grbl1.1i controller, what is “optional stop turned on” ? How does it get turned “ON” ?

7

I recently implemented a machine Pause (grbl M0) for the two fold purpose of:

  1. pausing after a calculated continuous runtime of cutting to allow the air supply pressure to ‘catch up’ when the system is undersized for SCFM use. and
  2. pausing to allow a shape cut to be removed from the table.

I liked the ideas discussed in this thread and the cross linked thread, thanks all for contributing.

The grbl M0 pause requires operator invention to resume, either click the software program Cycle Start button or a physical Resume motion pushbutton on the CNC controller panel. The .scpost code is implemented in OnPenDown() so the pause takes place at the pierce point of the next cut, and includes a test for having just finished cutting a part; the next pierce position is nice because its over the sheetmetal in theory, as torch cooling air continues to flow :wink: The torch is also retracted to safeZ during the pause.

See the scpost here: https://sheetcam.discoursehosting.net/t/grbl-plasma-w-thc-torch-touchoff-and-rotary/7342/15