g-codes won't load to mach3

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IvanR
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Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:12 am
Location: Salt lake city

g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by IvanR »

Hello everyone.
I've been using sheetcam to create my g-codes for the past 2 years, everything worked out perfectly until 2 weeks ago when sheetcam was in need of an update which I thought I did successfully, this was at the same moment when I was working on a new g-code which to my luck I was able to finish without any issues at all, few days past i tried to create a new g-code to my surprise sheetcam window started crashing on me, it would say stuff like sheetcam has encountered a problem and it needs to close after clicking "ok" it would give me another error window saying "Microsoft visual error" and this happened a couple times, after a couple more attempts I was able to create the new g-code which to my surprise would not load up on to mach3, it was empty there were no parts to be cut on the right screen but the screen on the left would list the part and duplicates but no cutting commands at all. I thought it was odd so i kept on trying, I thought maybe I did something wrong when creating the g-code so I went back and did it again this happened a couple more times without any success.
after all that i decided to look more deep into the update I did to sheetcam so i opened the debug screen on it and there was this specific line that pop up on there it would say " plugin not licensed" i don't not what exactly it meant, every time I would run the post processor it would say that it had been successfully post processed but it would never load to mach3.
looking on the internet for answers i came across some interesting posts of other people regarding updates, so i decided that I didn't really have the knowledge or confidence to try to fix it myself, so decided to do a restore on my computer to leave things the way they were before the update, to no success, ever since the debug screen has been on and now there are more errors popping up such as "plug in fail to load" i'm at a loss of what to do next :cry: .
Any help or suggestions of what to do will be greatly appreciated.
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Les Newell
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Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by Les Newell »

The 'plugin not licensed' messages are normal. It just means you don't have licenses for some of SheetCam's more specialized features such as wire cutting or 4 axis plasma cutting.

The crashing and g-code with no moves is odd. Try uninstalling SheetCam then installing the latest version from the website http://sheetcam.com/downloads.
IvanR
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:12 am
Location: Salt lake city

Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by IvanR »

I will try to uninstall the program and download the newest version..I only have one concern ... will uninstalling ShetCam erase all files related to the program such a license key? If so, will saving a copy of the license key on an usb drive do the trick?. You see when We first got the plasma table everything’s was given to us set up and ready to go so we don’t have an actual email with the license key and the people we bought it from have gone missing so there’s no way to get in touch with them to get that email, That’s why my concern.
Thank for the help :)
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Les Newell
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Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by Les Newell »

No it won't. Settings are kept. To be absolutely sure go to Help->about and make a note of your license serial number. I keep backups of all licenses here so I can send you a replacement if I know the serial number.
IvanR
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:12 am
Location: Salt lake city

Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by IvanR »

Hello again. Here I am once again, I downloaded the most recent stable version of sheetcam(6.0.24), installed the license key without any issues whatsoever, now whenever I try to open any of my g codes created prior to the update sheetcam is prompting two different error messages _ file is corrupted and the other one is _this version is no longer supported, it would say that my files were corrupt, now every time I try to create a new g-code, my post processed files keep coming up blank on mach 3,the post processor will not show any errors and mach3 doesn't seem to be acting up since all my old g codes are being cut normally.
I am really at a loss of what to do next,I am not an expert on this and I'm sure it is something quite simple but I have been reading different boards (sheetcam and mach3) looking for answers and I just can't figure it out. I will appreciate you giving me some additional advice or suggestions
I attached a copy of the dxf file I tried to do today as tryout but no luck there hopefully this will shine some light to my case.
I also copied the prompt from the post processor when it was done and pasted it on here:
Post processing...
Part:Ballerina
Inside Offset, inner, T2: Plasma, 0.0591 in kerf
No Offset, outer, T2: Plasma, 0.0591 in kerf
Post processing completed
thanks
Ivan
Attachments
Ballerina.dxf
(19.57 KiB) Downloaded 151 times
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Les Newell
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Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by Les Newell »

IvanR wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2018 8:24 am now whenever I try to open any of my g codes created prior to the update sheetcam is prompting two different error messages _ file is corrupted and the other one is _this version is no longer supported
Are you trying to open the g-code as a job file? That will give the errors you are seeing. Job files are not g-code. They contain your drawings plus all of your settings and operations. G-code just contains the cut paths.
now every time I try to create a new g-code, my post processed files keep coming up blank on mach 3,the post processor will not show any errors and mach3 doesn't seem to be acting up since all my old g codes are being cut normally.
Do you see the green tool paths in SheetCam? Does simulation work?
Turn on the code editor (View->Code editor) then run the post processor. Do you see any code in the editor?
IvanR
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:12 am
Location: Salt lake city

Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by IvanR »

Hello there. Thank you for the help, now the error messages I was getting make a lot of sense :mrgreen: , indeed I was trying to open my g-code files as jobs. my bad.
Tool path is working, yes there is a green line around the part that I'm working on, I tried to run the simulator but when I clicked the start button the post processor window appeared and I got this:

Post processing...
Part:Ballerina
Inside Offset, Inner, T2: Plasma, 0.0591 in kerf
No Offset, Outer, T2: Plasma, 0.0591 in kerf
Warning: WARNING: Feed rate is zero
Post processing completed with 1 warnings

the simulator feed rate shows " -0.0394 ipm" I assume that's why it says it's zero but I wasn't able to change it from there, I tried to edit my tool set but the feed rate shows 78.7402ipm.... :?:

This is what I got from the code editor:

N0010 (Filename: Ballerina.tap)
N0020 (Post processor: Mach3 plasma.scpost)
N0030 (Date: 10/01/2018)
N0040 G20 (Units: Inches)
N0050 G53 G90 G91.1 G40
N0060 F1
N0070 S500
N0080 (Part: Ballerina)
N0090 M05 M30

That's about the same thing I've been loading on mach3 for the past month when I try to open any new g-codes I create .
I'm guessing you are into something here since we got an actual warning from the post processor but how do I fix it?. I might be just making a big deal out of something minimal but I really have no clue of what to do next :cry:.
Any suggestions and help will be greatly appreciated.
mancavedweller
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Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:53 am

Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by mancavedweller »

Ivan,

have you read the Sheetcam user manual and watched some Youtube video tutorials on Sheetcam.

Based on the fact you were trying to open gcode files with Sheetcam, that kind of says you are quite green with Sheetcam.

I tried your Ballerina file in Sheetcam and no problems at all, so it seems like you just need to get to know Sheetcam a bit better. Look for the Arclight Dynamics Sheetcam tutorials on Youtube (plus any others you find).

Also save your job file at the point just before you run the post processor, and attach that job file to a post here. Check the name of the post processor that is active at the time and write its name too.

It may be nothing more than settings in your tool and/or operation that need some correction.

Keith.
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Les Newell
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Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by Les Newell »

I am beginning to wonder if this is a licensing issue. Go to Help->about and make a note of your license serial number. If you send the serial to me in a PM I'll check it for you.
IvanR
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:12 am
Location: Salt lake city

Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by IvanR »

Hello Keith.
Yes i'm quite new to this program I was actually introduced to it about a year and a half ago, without any previous knowledge I throw myself into it and and quite enjoyed learning how to use the programs, I started watching the tutorials the plasma table came with, I also watched quite a few youtube videos in order to get more familiar with it, I joined another forum that involves mach3 and they have general knowledge about sheetcam as well so i've been getting some feed back from them in regards how to use or fix things here and there. When I started creating g-codes I really had no issues for the most part other than a wrong part on the wrong layer or stuff like that technically little things I would notice and fix before moving on to cutting, once I moved from sheetcam on to mach3 with any g-code I had never had a reason to go back and fix my g-codes on sheetcam, so I was doing ok up until I did the sheetcam update about a month ago, Now every time I create a new g-code, every time I to load them to mach3 there's no code on the one screen and a blank dot on the other, no parts or anything (if you are familiar with mach3 you'll know what I mean). so I figure I would compare my old g-codes' settings with the new ones, that's when I actually tried to open them as jobs on sheetcam and I would get the error messages :mrgreen:
No I did not read the manual completely, I actually started reading through it again in order to find out were things went wrong in order to get this plasma table running again again. i'm pretty sure it's something quite simple as well, but until now I haven't been able to put my finger on it. :oops:
thanks for the advice I will check the videos and will attache the files in a few minutes so you can have a look.
Ivan
IvanR
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:12 am
Location: Salt lake city

Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by IvanR »

Alright Keith here goes nothing, attached is the file I created just now.

the post processor I got active is: mach3 plasma
output file units: inches
output folder : remember last
z zero: top of work
output file extension : tap
encoding : default encoding

Machine: jet cutting

I really see no visible issues that can prevent my file from loading to mach3 :oops:
Your time and help are appreciated.
Ivan
Attachments
Rounded 3.tap
(218 Bytes) Downloaded 155 times
mancavedweller
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Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by mancavedweller »

Hi Ivan,

read my post again. It's the Sheetcam "job" file I asked for.

Anyway had a look at your .tap file and no gcode is being produced by the post processor. By looking at your job file I'll be able to see if there's anything obvious missing in the overall tooling, operation, etc setups.

Keith.
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Les Newell
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Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by Les Newell »

I'm sorry but the problem is your license. That license has been pirated hundreds of times and now does not work.
All I can do is offer you a discount on a replacement.
IvanR
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:12 am
Location: Salt lake city

Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by IvanR »

I see, that makes a lot sense I guess, Considering I'm following the exact same process I did before.
yeah I would like to get an actual license that I can make use of, how do we do this?
Thanks.
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Les Newell
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Re: g-codes won't load to mach3

Post by Les Newell »

I'll send you a PM with the details.
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