Random Crash During Cut

[ForceDesigns]

So I've been cutting pretty steadily for the past 3 weeks and my table seems to be developing a small glitch. Wanted to ask for advice.

I was cutting a massive 45" saw blade welcome sign the other day and the torch went to probe the height using my floating head. When it went down it went a little nuts. The whole gantry went in the positive y direction and I lost position and have no idea what caused it. The torch was NOT on. It has happened a total of maybe 5 times in 3 months. But 3 of those have been in the past week. Happened again tonight in the middle of a fire pit cut, which is thicker more expensive material. I recovered and didnt lose the piece thankfully, but I'm getting nervous.

My initial thought was that since my machine communicates via ethernet, maybe I am getting interference. But that doesnt make a lot of sense with the torch not on. It is a 50' ethernet cable, so that doesnt help. My computer is ancient as well. So it might be time to upgrade. I am using mach3. Really any advice is appreciated.

[acourtjester]

Are you using cat 5 or cat 6e , Cat 6e is shielded and the pair twisting is tighter to help with noise.

[robertspark]

...Ethernet smooth stepper ....
....Software: Mach3....

First question: do you have a valid, genuine licence? { a lot of fakes about and have been sold to unknowing persons }
I understand that if mach3 sees a fake licence it can send a spurious code every now and again..

Second question: As you have the ESS.... what version of Mach3 are you using?
062 is the recommended version for the ESS not 066 which is the default downloaded version or CandCNC's 067 version.

066 did some crazy stuff with the ESS when I had it (especially when I left the machine to do some probing.....)

[ForceDesigns]

I am pretty sure it is a valid license. I certainly paid valid license prices. Lol. It says licensed too. If I run the same Gcode, it doesnt do it again so if you mean embedded in the code that doesnt appear to be it.

I believe it may be cat5. I will find a cat 6e and see if that helps. Will also check the version. Thanks for the opinions. No one thinks my old computer might be the cause?

[robertspark]

What is your lookahead setting?

300 lines is I think the recommended (check warp9 site)

Sorry don't use M3/ess any more.

What are you running M3 on?

Windows version?

Bit? (32/64)

What graphics card? (I've had problems with this in the past.... Because of the graphics updates to the toolpath

How much ram?
Is the machine networked?
Please don't tell me you have the ess running via a router on your home network....

Does the pc have WiFi? (Sometimes WiFi can be a problem and the recommended solution is to use a usb dongle and not the unbuilt WiFi because of the priority given to the WiFi and any polling).... Test via disabling WiFi in bios and see if problem goes away

Do you have other applications running in the background..... Try shutting them down and running the program again (antivirus use to be a problem.... That is why my machine is offline totally and just feed it USB sticks)

Is it a laptop or PC, I've heard that laptops can have problems because of inbuilt energy / power saving features

[ForceDesigns]

I will attempt to answer all of your questions. Up front I will tell you the computer is setup as it should be and the answer to your questions are positive.

It's an older computer dedicated for CNC. I run my Taig mill with it. No network access other than a usb dongle. Its running windows xp. I honestly cant remember if it is 32 or 64 bit. 2 or 4 gb of ram. It does not have good graphics though.

Last night I tried to run the machine using my laptop. It went nuts during the cut right at the start. It still ONLY has issues immediately after or during the probe sequence. It went down and touched the material and had the a axis motor kick on and twist the gantry last night. Not cool. I got it back but will have to realign it. I am going to try the laptop again but with a really short cable. If that helps I am moving the computer to the table. It is about 10 ft away with a 50ft ethernet cable snaking around on the wall.

[acourtjester]

You may want to try a desktop PC, laptops don't have the power to push signals.