Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: Fusco96 on October 04, 2018, 11:52:44 AM
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I have a PCI port mach3. Whenever i run the code, first of all none of the motors run. Secondly I notice that the pulse pin and Dir pin on the motor driver appear to be shorted(continuous).
To verify i even tried to run the circuit with an arduino. When i upload the code now, still the pulse and dir pins appear continuous. However when i remove the connections and then try to test it, they are no longer continuous.
Pretty sure there is something really basic that i am missing out. Can you please help out.
P.S. attached figure shows connections followed
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Just a suggestion...
Remove the Enable wires completely. At this stage they are not necessary.
Check in your Mach3 Motor Outputs that you have the X axis Enabled and the correct Port and Pin numbers set. Also Step Low Active set.
Also check in Port Setup that you have the Port Enabled and the correct Port Address set ( the port address for your PCI card can be found in Win. Device Manager).
Hope this helps,
Tweakie.
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Have tried all that. I think there is probably an issue with the ports and pin nos that I am selecting. Do you know what the correct port and pin nos might be for this board.
Also regarding the dir and pul pins being continuous. Is that supposed to be, or is it just something going wrong inside the motor driver
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There will be no direct 'short' between the Pul- and Dir- connections on the driver.
However, the internal opt-isolators may incorporate pull-up/down resistors so the measured resistance may depend on your measuring device.
Tweakie.
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So what could be the possible reason for me getting a direct short between the Pul- and Dir- pins upon powering up the motor driver.
P.S.
as mentioned before, when the power is disconnected, the 'short' is no longer there.
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How exactly are you measuring this 'short' ?
Tweakie.
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Hi Fusco96,
I'm confused.....in another thread you had going here a few weeks ago you were trying to run a RnR USB controller....
what happened to it?
Now you have a parallel port board according to the picture.
What PC and what OS are you using?
What does DriverTest.exe tell you about the operating condition of Machs parallel port driver?
If these matters are not 100% then you might end up with pins 'shorted' as you claim.
Craig
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@Tweakie: Measuring it the old fashioned way using continuous mode on dmm.
@joe: yeah we had a PCI board. were trying to get our system running with the usb board. No output using USB->switch back to PCI. Using a really generic PC with xp installed on it. Have not checked DriverTest.exe. will do
But the question arises if it was a misconfiguration on the port and pin nos, why would i experience it on the arduino as well?
Thank You
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@Tweakie: Measuring it the old fashioned way using continuous mode on dmm.
That is what I expected. Unfortunately, you will not get meaningful readings when using a dmm set to continuity on circuits that are powered-up.
I suppose the bottom line is that if you suspect there is a problem with the driver then replace it with another.
Tweakie.
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Can you please tell me why do we not get meaningful readings when using continuous mode on a powered up circuit?
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Can you please tell me why do we not get meaningful readings when using continuous mode on a powered up circuit?
The fundamental principles of the electronics of a DMM are bit beyond the scope of this forum so you will have to do your own research on that subject.
Tweakie.
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Hi,
the ouputs of the board are TTL....that is to say active outputs.
If the output is high it will be somewhere between about 4.5V and 5V and be able to produce about 20mA of current. If you try to draw more current than
that you'll probably fry it.
If the output is low it will be between about 0.5V and 0V and able to sink about 20mA of current. If you cause it to sink more than that you'll blow the
IC.
There is a very useful little circuit that you can make which will indicate when the output is high and when it is low. Provided you use it on circuits
of 5V or 3.3V it works OK. You'll blow it at higher voltages One LED is on when the output is high and the other is on when it is low.
Craig
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Hi,
sorry should explain how to use it.
One end, doesn't really matter which, goes into the output you want to test. The other end you hold on a 5V terminal. If the output
is low one LED will light up. If the output is high then neither will light up. If that's the case hold the floating end on a 0V terminal.
If the output is high a LED (opposite color) will light up.
Craig