vistaCNC iMach III User manual

www.vistacnc.com - 1 -
www.vistacnc.com - 1 - iMach
III
P1A Pendant Manual v. 3.3
iMach
III
P1A CNC Control Pendant

www.vistacnc.com - 2 -
www.vistacnc.com - 2 - iMach
III
P1A Pendant Manual v. 3.3
PREFACE
Any machine tool, including computer controlled machine tool, is potentially dangerous. VistaCNC LLC accepts
no responsibility for any damage or injury caused by its use. It is your responsibility to insure that you
understand the machine you are using and the procedures for safety operations.
If you are in any doubt you must seek guidance from a professionally qualified e pert rather than risk injury to
yourself or to others.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. The manufacturer does not make any
representations or warranties (implied or otherwise) regarding the accuracy and completeness of this document
and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to
special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
WARNING
E-STOP switch button in iMach
III
P1A CNC Control Pendant only provides
Emer ency STOP si nal to Mach3 CNC application.
For further protection in CNC operation, other emer ency protection methods
may be needed.

www.vistacnc.com - 3 -
www.vistacnc.com - 3 - iMach
III
P1A Pendant Manual v. 3.3
FEATURES
Plug n’ Play USB connection and controls.
100 steps high precision MPG.
Step, Velocity and Continuous mode ogging through MPG.
Feed rate, Spindle speed, and Slow Jog rate change through MPG.
Quick step size selection.
5 Axis selections.
E-Stop with flash LEDs indicator.
PLUGIN
 Download the latest iMach3-P1A v3.x Plugin from www.vistacnc.com download page.
 Move the plugin file into Mach3 Plugins directory.
CONNECTION and START
Directly plug the USB cable into any USB port on the PC.
Start Mach3 application.
 Click Config from menu, select Config Plugins, and enable iMach3-P1A-Pendant.
 Close Mach3 application and restart Mach3 application.

www.vistacnc.com - 4 -
www.vistacnc.com - 4 - iMach
III
P1A Pendant Manual v. 3.3
FUNCTIONS and OPERATIONS
1. Axis selection
Turn axis selection knob to select an axis to og.
When axis selection knob is in OFF position, except E-stop signal, no other signals are sent to
Mach3 application.
When axis selection knob is in OFF position, turning MPG few steps opens or closes the TAB
window.
2. MPG (Manual Pulse Generator) mode
Turn mode selection knob to select MPG mode.
2.1 STEP / VELOCITY mode /
2.1.1 In STEP / VELOCITY mode, turning MPG wheel at higher speed automatically changes
MPG mode from STEP mode to VELOCITY mode.
Use MPG cap to turn the MPG wheel to get lower speed for STEP mode. Use MPG handle to
turn the MPG wheel to get higher speed for VELOC TY mode.
STEP to VELOC TY mode change sensitivity can be set up in Plugin Configuration Table.
2.1.2 When in STEP mode, the selected axis moves 1 step at each MPG click (detent) with the
step size currently in the system.
A fixed feed rate which is only used in Step mode can be setup in Plug n Configuration table.
t is recommended to use higher feed rate for smooth movement.
2.1.3 When in VELOCITY mode, axis moves at 0 to 100% of maximum axis speed based on how
fast the MPG wheel is turned.
Speed change sensitivity in V mode can be set up in Plug n Configuration table.

www.vistacnc.com - 5 -
www.vistacnc.com - 5 - iMach
III
P1A Pendant Manual v. 3.3
2.2 STEP SIZE selection mode
2.2.1 Turn MPG few steps to cyclically select the step size. Different step size can be set up in
PlugIn Configuration table.
When axis selection knob is in OFF position, turning MPG few steps opens or closes the TAB
window.
2.3 CONTIN O S mode
2.3.1 In C mode, axis moves at constant speed with Slow Jog Rate. The axis movement is
independent to the speed at which the MPG is turned.
To avoid accidentally moving MPG and axis, the number of steps to delay the start of axis
movement can be set in plugin configuration table.
2.4 CONTIN O S RATE mode
2.4.1 In C% mode, turning MPG changes the speed used in CONTINUOUS mode. The rate
displays in Slow Jog Rate DRO (Digital Read Outs) on Mach3 Screen.
2.5 FEED RATE mode
2.5.1 In F% mode, turning MPG changes feed rate overridden (FRO) rate from 1% to 250 %.
FRO rate can be changed when axes are moving.
2.6 SPINDLE SPEED mode
2.6.1 In S% mode, turning MPG changes spindle speed overridden rate from 1% to 250 %.
Spindle speed can be changed when the spindle is running.
3. E-Stop switch utton

www.vistacnc.com - 6 -
www.vistacnc.com - 6 - iMach
III
P1A Pendant Manual v. 3.3
Press E-STOP switch button to send out E-Stop signal to Mach3 application and activate
Emergency Mode in Mach3 application.
When the button is pressed, the switch is locked down. Twist the button to reset it on.
When the button is pressed and locked, the embedded LED flashes at ¼ second rate.
When the button is released and Mach3 application is in Reset mode, the LED flashes at ½
second rate.
PENDANT PLUGIN CONFIGURATION
In Mach3 menu, select Config, then Config PlugIns

www.vistacnc.com - 7 -
www.vistacnc.com - 7 - iMach
III
P1A Pendant Manual v. 3.3
In PlugIns menu, click CONFIG
•Step Size Selection sets predefined step size in each dropdown window. Select NONE to skip
that window in cyclic step selection. Step size in the first window is used as the default step
size.
•Number in Step Jogging FeedRate is the feed rate only used in MPG step ogging. When
MPG wheel stops, the feed rate and FeedRate Overridden rate (FRO) automatically changes
back to the number which was used before MPG moving. Set 0 to use current FeedRate and
FRO rate in the system.
•Numbers in Step /Vel Mode Switch Sen itivity is set to ad ust the sensitivity of mode change
from STEP to VELOCITY. The smaller the number, the less turns are needed to change to
VELOCITY mode.
•Numbers in Speed Change Sen itivity is set to ad ust the speed change sensitivity in V mode.
The smaller the number, the less turns are needed to reach maximum axis speed.
•Step to Delay Start is used to set the number of steps to delay to start axis movement. In C
mode, axis starts to move only after that many numbers of steps are turned from MPG wheel.
SPECIFICATIONS
 Work with Mach3 R2.63 and above.
 100 steps (clicks) per Rev MPG.
 MPG MTBF > 10000 hour.
 Shipped with10' High Speed USB cable. Extendable to 15’ with extension cable, and to 45’
with USB hub cables.
 Size (over all) 6.1"(L) x 3.1"(W) X 2.7"(H)