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Testing With Emulated THC Signals
Because the Torch Height Controller simply provides the up, down, and ArcOK signals to the motion
controller, it is possible to emulate these signals for testing purposes.
1.
Make sure all wiring and configuration are properly setup (wiring is done properly, digital I/O
are mapped to Mach4 signals, and THC settings are configured according to the specifications of
the system).
2.
Make sure the [ARCOK] and [DIGITIZE] signals are turned OFF.
3.
Click on the “Enable” button at the lower left of the ArcPro screen to arm the system.
4.
Click THC Mode button on the screen (if the LED is not ON, then THC mode is turned off).
5.
Move the Z axis to a reasonable height above the “Probe Limit” value (by jogging or through
GCode).
6.
Run your GCode that has an M3 command, or click the “Torch ON” button. This should activate
the Plasma Cut Sequence that will setup the Torch Height Control operation.
7.
At Step1 of the plasma cut sequence, the torch should start descending and will wait for the
[DIGITIZE] input signal. If the [DIGITIZE] signal is not triggered when the Z axis position reaches
the indicated value in the probe limit, then the system will disarm.
8.
Trigger the [DIGITIZE] signal to register the material’s surface height. The Z axis should now start
moving up to the ignition height.
9.
When the torch rises to the ignition height after successfully detecting the material’s height, it
will turn on the [SpindleON] output (to turn on the plasma torch). In this case, it will wait for the
[ArcOK] before resuming.
10.
Trigger the [ArcOK] signal and keep it activated for the duration of the test.
11.
After moving to the Pierce height, and waiting for the Pierce delay and THC delay, the torch should
now be setup and will respond accordingly to the up and down signals.
NOTE: The “Anti-Dive” feature will lock the Z motion if no motion is present on any X & Y axes. Setting
the Anti-Dive value to zero will prevent the Anti-Dive from engaging (will not prevent diving).
