The most common cause that prevents the UCCNC installation from completing is due to the lack of Microsoft’s .NET Framework being installed. To do so, simply navigate to your Control Panel and select Programs. From there select the “Turn Windows Features on and off” option. Check the box for Microsoft .NET 3.5. Once your .NET framework is installed, continue with a fresh installation of UCCNC using the Stepcraft Multi-installer provided with your Stepcraft CNC system. The printers are going into standby and eventually shutting off because they are not receiving the correct signal from UCCNC that the machine is running. This is a very simple fix outlined below. 1.) Define pin outs in UCCNC –> CONFIGURATION –> I/O SETUP. On the left hand side you have “Current hi/low”. Those two pins should read “16” and “1”. The most common cause for UCCNC running sluggish or slow, to the point where it is almost unusable, is because Windows had recently automatically installed an update in the background. This is most common when using Windows 10. CNC Drive, the makers of UCCNC software are very good with addressing these issues, however sometimes they have to wait until they even know there is an issue, which is usually when users notice the problem and contact CNCDrive or post online. If this happens to you before a UCCCNC update is available, then the fix is to uninstall the most recent Windows update (or updates). The following video shows you how to do this. If this video still does not correct the problem, please email our support department at support@stepcraft.us In the live display window in UCCNC it shows you your project file as well as the location of the tool in real time. The tool is represented by a Yellow Dot on the screen. If you setup a job with the XY datum in the center of your job, then Yellow dot should be in the center of the screen in that window before you start running the job. If the dot is NOT in the where you set it in your CAD/CAM file, then it is most likely because you did not ZERO X AND Y once you positioned the end mill (Spindle) at the starting location. Please use the following steps when you setup a job to ensure that your yellow dot is always where you want it before you run a job: To ensure that your job is always setup properly, please follow these steps: When you are machining circles on a CNC and your circles are not coming out perfectly round, it is commonly caused because there is some backlash developing on the machine. Backlash is a tiny amount of play that appears over time and is noticed when a drive changes direction. When running in a positive direction, the gears/lead screw are engaged with the lead screw nut on the gantry, but when the stepper motor reverses direction there is a tiny space between the lead screw and the lead screw nut that has to be made up before there is positive engagement in that direction. After many, many hours of use or if your machine is not properly maintained and lubricated, then this backlash can develop. If this is happening to you, please download this document: Stepcraft UCCNC Backlash Compensation. This will show you how to setup backlash compensation in UCCNC so that you can “dial” out any backlash and go back to having perfect circles again. The M31 Macro for the Tool Length Sensor is automatically installed when you use the STEPCRAFT Multi-Installer. The best way to make sure you are up to date with our latest profiles and macros is to download the STEPCRAFT Multi-Installer here. This installer will automatically install the most up to date profiles and macros. If you find that after using the tool length sensor your end mill is slightly above or slightly digs into your material, you may need to preform a small adjustment to the M31 macro. To preform this adjustment, you can find the procedure here. UCCNC is the machine control software that moves your STEPCRAFT machine and interprets G-Code. In order to use your STEPCRAFT machine, you will need the UCCNC software as well as the STEPCRAFT machine specific profiles. You can download and install both from the STEPCRAFT Multi-Installer that comes on your orange USB flash drive, or download here. STEPCRAFT will always have the latest compatible version of UCCNC included in the Multi-Installer. If you are looking for the newest released version of UCCNC, you can download here (note: UCCNC may release versions newer than those included on the STEPCRAFT Multi-Installer. These versions may not have been fully tested and may cause some bugs/issues with your machine. It is reccomended to use the version of UCCNC included on the STEPCRAFT Multi-Installer). The multi-Installer can be found on the orange USB flash drive sent with every D. series CNC system, or can be downloaded from the Dropbox link below. Stepcraft D. Series Multi-Installer: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vytptg88ahqbc8g/Stepcraft_Multi_Installer.exe?dl=0 NOTE: These post processors will work for BOTH UCCNC and WIN-PC NC From the dropdown list in Vectric programs, you will look for the following If you have an Automatic Tool Changer: Stepcraft UCCNC ATC Arcs (mm) (*.txt) If you do not have an Automatic Tool Changer: Stepcraft UCCNC Arcs (mm) (*.txt) If you have an older version of Vectric software and the STEPCRAFT post processors are NOT in the dropdown list, please use the following: If you have an Automatic Tool Changer: Mach2/3 ATC Arcs (mm) (*.txt) If you do not have an Automatic Tool Changer: Mach2/3 Arcs (mm) (*.txt) Sometimes when you start UCCNC you will get the “Select the motion controller device from the list” message box that pops up. This is either happening because your UC100 interface or USB cable is unplugged or the device driver did not properly install. This video will show you how to fix this. If you are still have trouble after watching this video, please contact our support team at support@stepcraft.us. This error happens when your design is larger than the allowable work area on the CNC machine. Every machine has its own specific software profile that you install with UCCNC. This software profile tells UCCNC what the available work area size is on your machine. The main reason for this is to protect your machine from crashing into itself if you run a job that is larger than the machine’s capabilities. Think of the “software limits” as invisible limit switches. When you load a job into UCCNC, it looks at the G-Code automatically and compares the XYZ dimensions of your file against the software profile to make sure that the job can fit on your machine. If the settings in your file are larger than the work area, then you will get this error window. Sometimes, if your job is NOT larger than the work area size for your machine and you get this error, you can reposition your work piece so when you zero X and Y that you fall within the work area. For example. Say your machine has a work area limits that are set to 420 mm on Y and 300 mm on X and you are trying to run a job that is 380 mm long x 280 mm wide. This job should work with no problem, however if you have the work piece positioned more than 20mm from the left side of the machines work area limit or 40 mm away from the front of the machine, and you have zeroed UCCNC in that position, then you will get this error when you start the job because it adds the job size to the position where you have X and Y zeroed and if that number is greater than 420 on Y or 300 on X it triggers the error. It is important to take into account your “safe Z height” when encountering this error. If your safe Z height causes the Z-Axis to travel past the limits of the machine you will get this error. This is very common when working with thicker materials or long end mills. You can adjust your safe Z height in two places… 1.) In your CAD/CAM program. If you are using Vectric it will be under “Material Setup”. 2.) In UCCNC –> CONFIGURATION –> GENERAL SETTINGS. About half way down on the right side you have your “Safe Z height (Units). You can lower this number for more room. The two values do stack, so if you are still having trouble try lowering both. Another common cause for the error is to verify where your XY Datum is located in your design file. Many times a job might have been set with a XY datum of the lower left corner but the operator sets the machine up as if the XY Datum is in the center. This will, in most cases, cause the error because that zero position added to the jobs work size will exceed the software limits of the profile in UCCNC. On rare occasions when you click the UCCNC installer, it will seem like it is going to run but then nothing happens. In order for UCCNC to properly install, it requires the .Net 2.0 framework and some Windows 10 machines, it is turned off by default. You can turn this on easily by following this video. If after watching this video, you are still having problems, please email our support team at support@stepcraft.us Whenever you open UCCNC, the very first movement you should make with your machine is “Home All”. On a STEPCRAFT, the homing procedure begins with the Z-Axis, then the X-Axis and finally the Y-Axis. Each axis will run towards its limit switch until it engages the switch, then will run the opposite way until the switch disengages. Once all three axis have hit their limit switch, your machine is now ready to travel the full length of each axis! This is known as a reference movement for the machine. Without this reference movement, the machine has no idea where it is along its axis and may not travel the full length back and forth. If your machine is stopping short of the full length of travel and you aren’t noticing any binding, make sure to “Home All” and try running again. One important thing to note is that if any axis ever travels in the opposite direction of its limit switch when homing, check to make sure a limit switch is not engaged somewhere on the machine. All of the limit switches are on the same circuit, so if you tried to home your machine and the Y-Axis limit switch was pressed, the Z-Axis would travel in the OPPOSITE direction. This happens because the machine is going through the stage of homing when it backs away from the switch until it disengages. Because the Y-Axis switch was pressed, the Z-Axis will infinitely try to move away but it will never disengage. If your machine will not come out of reset mode, there are three things to check: The purpose of any CAM program is to take your design file and turn it into G-Code by assigning tool paths to your project and outputting it in a format that a CNC machine can understand. That being said, you still need a method of controlling the CNC machine, which is where programs like Mach 3 and UCCNC come in. They are designed to connect to the CNC machine and the G-Code files that you create in your CAM program are loaded into Mach 3 or UCCNC to run the machine. With any CNC router, you have three main steps to creating a project: If you are having trouble saving or finding your digitized file after scanning with the 3D touch probe, you may have to force Windows to save the file as a .txt file. To do this, either initially after the scan or after opening the file, save as and type your file name, followed by .txt and enclosed in quotes. For example… “car.txt” “model.txt” This will force windows to save the file as a .txt, which can be easily recognized and opened. If you have misplaced or lost your UCCNC license key file, the process of recovering it is fast and easy. The serial number located on one side of your UC100 corresponds to your hard-coded license key, as shown below. Simply contact our support team and provide them with this serial number, and you will receive your recovered license file as an email attachment. Can’t seem to solve a strange bug or error? Can’t find a fix here? Mismatched or changed profile settings are a very common cause, but what if you cannot locate the setting that is giving you these issues? A fresh installation will take care of making sure your profile settings match the default ones and make sure that you are not going in circles when troubleshooting UCCNC. This short video will walk you through each step required to not only remove any trace elements of your old installation, but also covers how to re-install your profiles to reduce downtime and get your machine back up and running. Some virus protection software companies have flagged the UCCNC installer as possibly containing a “trojan virus”. Rest assured, there is absolutly ZERO threat of a virus contained within the UCCNC installer. We are working diligently with the creators of UCCNC and companies such as Norton to have this flag removed so our customers can have a smooth installation process. For now, you may need to turn your virus protection off to install the UCCNC.exe file. You can immediately turn the software back on as soon as the program has been installed. We apologize for the inconvenience! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give us a call directly at (203)556-1856. Yes, you can use Fusion 360 with STEPCRAFT. There is a post-processor that you can download for the CAM portion of Fusion 360 by going to https://cam.autodesk.com/hsmposts? Fusion 360 is a very powerful program that can greatly expand the capabilities of what you can do with a STEPCRAFT (or any CNC for that matter). Yes! While the UCCNC and Vectric Software both run on Windows platforms, you can use a MAC as long as you run Parallels software which allows you to install Windows on your Mac. You can not run UCCNC or Vectric natively on a Mac (without Parallels). If you use Fusion 360 for CAD/CAM, then you can install that natively as they have a Mac version of that software. However, UCCNC will still need Parallels with Windows. NOTE: Since a Mac computer is typically much more expensive than a Windows system, and the fact that UCCNC does not need a powerful computer, we recommend using your Mac for the design work and then getting an inexpensive or refurbished computer (desktop or laptop) to use to run the CNC, since the area around the CNC can potentially have dust and chips that might get on or near the computer.Software Troubleshooting
Why won’t the UCCNC installer complete when running the Stepcraft Multi-installer?
Why my 3D printer head (PH40) goes into Stand-By mode while working
2.) Define pin outs in UCCNC –> AXIS SETUP –> SPINDLE. Bottom Left you have “M3 relay pin”. Change those values to “0” and “0” and uncheck the “spindle relay output enabled” if it is checked. Why is the Yellow dot not in the location I set on my work piece in UCCNC?
How come my circles are not perfectly round?
Where can I find the M31 Macro for the Tool Length Sensor?
Where can I download UCCNC?
Where Can I Download the Stepcraft Multi-Installer?
What post processor do I use for Vectric programs (Aspire, VCarve, Cut 2d, Cut 3D, PhotoVCarve)?
What does “The current job workspace is out of the set software limits” error window mean?
Understanding the Homing Procedure
My machine is in reset mode and I can not get it to reset, how can I fix this?
If I use Solidworks CAM or Fusion 360 CAM, do I still need to use UCCNC or Mach 3?
How do I save/find my digitized 3D Touch Probe file?
How do I Recover My UCCNC License File?
How can I reset my Stepcraft UCCNC installation?
Does the UCCNC installer contain a virus?!?
Can I use Fusion 360 from Autodesk with my STEPCRAFT CNC?
Can I use a Mac with a STEPCRAFT CNC?
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Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, Touch Probe
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Software Troubleshooting, UCCNC
Categories: Fusion 360, Software Troubleshooting