GearHeads Forum

Hi:

I'm new to this group and just licensed Gearotic. So forgive me if this issue has been noted before.
I was playing around with the Tool bit wizard and generated some Gcode to see what it was all about. I understand this is a new feature in the program.
I got some odd looking Gcode. Part of it is below.

  G0A0
  ( Clearing at depth : -0.20 )

  G0 Z0.5000
  G0 X-0.1250 Y1.#QNB 
  G1 Z-0.2000  F10.0000
            F60.00 
  G1 X-0.1250 Y1.#QNB 
  G1 X-0.0968 Y1.#QNB 
  G1 X-0.0968 Y1.#QNB 
  ( Clearing at depth : -0.04 )


Mach 3 hangs on the #QNB in the Y positioning commands.
Am I missing something. Perhaps in the initial setting before I generated the code?

Looks like this program will be a lot of fun.

Thanks

Sage

Hi Sage:

  Hmm, yes, that looks like a bug. The #qnb means something divided by zero. If it came from the
toolbit wizard its likely something is wrong with the data for that bit for some reason. The toolbit wizard will
be redeveloped for GT in the new year , but if you send me the project file for the one your trying to
create I will see whats up with it and why the error. Usually an error like that one is due to material thickness being zero
or some other parameter being zero, it shouldnt happen, but the toolbit wizard is something of an experiment in GM so
the code is not perfected.

Thx
Art

Hi Art:

Attached is the project file.

Certainly the project was nothing complex and my first attempt at the program so I might have missed something in the setup. None the less I guess the program should complain that something is out of whack with the settings before generating G-code.
  I right clicked on the large gear in the project database and selected the "run tool wizard" option. I didn't change any settings and clicked the "generate Gcode button.

No rush on a fix. I'm just playing around.

Thanks

Sage

Hi Dave:

  Fixed for next version, it was a sqrt trying to do the sqrt of a negative number since the depth was too high as a default.
It can no longer do this. Wiont matter much I suspect, I dont think tool wizard in GM is used much, it will be replaced in GT with a
visual toolpath so we can check exactly what its doing. ToolWiz was a good idea, but a bit before its time, it should work properly in
GT when I code it up in the new year..
Thx
Art

Thanks Art.

If I may, as a complete newby to this, ask a stupid question. Why two programs GT and GM? I'm perplexed as to which one I should be using. They both seems similar. What is a typical use for each and would it be easier (for you to support) to just have one "do it all" program? They both seem very capable.

Also I presume the programs have been around in some form or other for quite a while as the text on the build screens seems sort of late 80's-ish like my old DOS/BASIC computer used to output on a low res screen. Sort of difficult to read actually. Any plans to update that look?

Sage

>> I may, as a complete newby to this, ask a stupid question. Why two programs GT and GM?

Hi Dave:
 
    Sorry, it really should be explained. GM ( Gearotic Motion ) was a program I designed to do general
    gearing calculations and output as a project to keep me busy in a fun area when I retired from developing
    Mach3. I planned its architecture as complex as I figured it needed to be, but it was more popular than I
    originally figured as well and people seemed to want more mechanisms. It came to a point where the structure
    of GM's internals was too limiting to add much more. GT, is the ( perhaps temporary) name of GM's replacement.
   
    GT is being developed one module at a time to replace GM entirely, and with each module it is rewritten to much
    tighter tolerances to any available specification for the gear, pulley or device it creates. In addition, GT's
    internal architecture is designed to be expandable to much larger levels with no real limit on capabilities.
   
    So, Eventually GT will be the only progam available. It may be called "GizmoCad" or "GadgetzCam" or some other
    strange title ( who knows ), but at that point GM will be removed from distribution. The plans for GT
    are basically the same plans I had for Mach1..keep growing as long as people are interested. Of course, as in Mach3,
    all updates, changes or whatever are always free upgrades. That , as always, is a double edged sword, it means the
    user may or may not see bugs from time to time, but all users may request things they want as well. It will take time
    but GT has the capability to grow into a vastly more usefull program that just gears. We'll see together where it goes.

      As the the look, it too will morph over time, as a single developer I switch around from developing the calculators, to
  graphics to the GUI , so they all change from time to time, in all that I really am just seeking a balance that works for the
  majority. I use 3 - 27" monitors here, so its hard sometimes to match everyone's graphics output with such things as fonts
  and such and thats complicated by the fact the fonts are OpenGL fonts that vary a great deal from user to user and graphics
  card to graphics card.

    In the end, any comments , complaints, suggestions, ruminations, thoughts, examples or anything else one would like to
kick in on are always welcome.
   
    Thx
    Art
   

Great!

Thanks Art.

Happy to be along for the ride.

Sage

Gearsngadgets
GearGadgetCAM
Gearstuff-R-Us
Amazing Mechanism CAD-CAM
MotionCAM  (ties into gearotic motion)

Kirk

Kirk:

  Most of those are taken in one form or another. ( Like Mach3 was a razor when I wrote Mach1..).
Names are more difficult than one would think. I may just stick with Gearotic and be damned the
porno filters that cannot spell properly.

Art

ArtF wrote: Kirk:

..... and be damned the
porno filters that cannot spell properly.

Art

LOL!