Pausing/stopping the router

Discussion/questions about software used with your CNC Shark and programming issues

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thepuchman
Posts: 47
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:01 am
Location: Bridgeport, IL

Re: Pausing/stopping the router

Post by thepuchman »

Option 1
Not sure if the shark supports this particular code but on industrial CNC mills we use a G04 (G Zero 4) to call out a pause follwed by a "P" value in whole seconds with a decimal.
Example: G04 P10. would pause for 10 seconds at whatever the current location is. The spindle will not stop. The machine just holds the position.
You could program a safe position for the pause followed by the G4 line to give you time to interrupt the program. Common uses for this command is to wait for coolant to pressurize or dwell at the bottom of a hole to allow the cutter to make several rotations to fully machine the bottom and not leave burrs.

Option 2
Another option would be using a M00 (M Zero Zero) which is a program stop. Again not sure if the shark suppports this code. But it would stop the program and then hitting cycle start would resume the program from the current line of code not the very beginning of the program. CAUTION using this code requires re-entering the M03 spindle on clockwise command otherwise when you begin running again the spindle will not be running.

Option 3
Use the M02 command which is the program end without reset command. Basically ending the program and not resetting the pointer back to the beginning of the program allows you to string together multiple programs or operations without having to scroll or search long programs from the beginning to find the section you want to run. CAUTION as you have ended the previous section with this code you must call out the M03 spindle command as you would in any new program for the next section. Most programs end with M30 which resets the pointer back to the beginning so you do not have to manualy do so. Again, not sure if shark supports this command either.

For all of these options you could use the following commands to safely move to a stop position and keep your current XYZ zeros if the machine is powered down and the controler is turned off. This assumes no drifting in the Z axis when the power is turned off.

G00 Z2.00 (Rapid move 2.000" above part) (change to suit as needed)
M05 (turns off spindle)
X0.0 Y0.0 (moves to X and Y zero in a rapid move) (rapid is still active from first line of code) (do not include "Z" on this line)
G1 Z0.0 F5. (lowers to Z zero at 5 inches per minute) (slow rate helps ensure less chance of over travel and damaging the bit and work piece)
G04 P60. or M00 or M02 or M30 (Pick any option to end or pause program that the shark supports and you are comfortable with)

No promises with these options as I have not tried them on a shark yet but they work on industrial machines. Try out the options to see if they work and practice with them before using them in a program. Also, Add a Z move to position the cutter at a safe height before sending it to the resume point to prevent a crash.

Shipfitter
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:24 pm

Re: Pausing/stopping the router

Post by Shipfitter »

I normally run the code till I can't do it anymore, and just keep track of the line number I pause it on and write er down. Then do the E-STOP keypad click. I go into notepad the next day and find the line number I am looking for by clicking VIEW and then make sure STATUS BAR is selected. That way there you can see your line number towards the bottom right of the screen (SOFTWARE). Just study it a bit, and check er out where you may want to scroll up to while holding the SHIFT and arrow or page up/down. I will then copy/paste my line that I was looking for to start my code going. I normally start after where the G01 is, and don't forget to leave the Feedrate in there Example ( F20 ) I then set the Z at my SAFE Z in that G-CODE sentence (or whatever it is called). IF you need more assistance feel free to ask...
_________________________
Shark Pro+HD w/Portercable Router
Digitized Probe
Aspire 4.0

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