Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => Mach4 General Discussion => Topic started by: Len-Tikular on August 05, 2019, 04:02:48 PM
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I'm sorry to be a bore here but I want to get it correct.
I have ripped my control box out and now will replace it with the following bits.
Warp9 ESS Smoothstepper
My existing C11 Multifunction BOB (I want to retain this because it has 2 built in electromechanical relays and PWM Support)
A new C10S BOB (I want to add this because of the increased i/o capacity)
Question is, how to hook them all up together. A wee schematic would be very helpful.
Thanks
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Hi,
to start with just plug the C11 with a ribbon cable to port one of the ESS. You can use pin 26 of the ESS IEC header
to power the C11 if you wish.
That will be enough for you to get thw motors hooked up, the spindle drive, an Estop and a probe maybe. Thereafter you
will need the second BoB. Start with just the C11.
Craig
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Hi Craig, I'm now attempting to configure my ESS,
I'm at the Ports and pins stage.
Previously I had Ports 10 , 11 & 13 on my C11 configured as my signal lines to drive my my x, y, & z motors
Now with the ESS plugged in to my C11 and I enable mapping then select ESS as my device I find that my port numbers do not appear in the drop down list ?
Am I getting it all wrong!! do I no longer use the ports on my C11 board ??
I thought I would have seen the C11 in the drop down menu (Output name)
Cheers
George.
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Hi,
the Pins Config in the ESS plugin tab designates the ESS pins....not the C11 pins.
The ESS pins follow the traditional parallel port numbering, at least port 1.
Thus:
Port 1 Pin 1 =output
Port 1 Pin 2=output etc.
See the attached pic, it tells you whether an ESS pin is an input or an output.
You can see in my example I assigned port1pin2 as Xstep and port1pin3 as Xdir. Note the ESS plugin allows aliases
like Xstep to help demystify the process.
Pins 10,11 and 13 are all inputs, they are not, nor I expect could ever have been, 'signal lines to drive your motors'....
I suspect they were in fact Home inputs.
Either way you not get away with that rubbish now. Your motor signals are ALL ESS outputs, thus are restricted
(in port 1 at least) to 1-9,14,16 and 17.
This I took from the C11 manual:
• Output pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 16 and 17.
• Input pins 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15.
• Input and output pins close to ground or +5vdc connections
So the C11 follows exactly the same pin numbering and signal direction (in or out) as the ESS. If you hook a ribbon to
db25 cable from the ESS port 1 to the db25 input of the C11 then pin2 of the C11 will be Xstep and pin3 will be Xdir.
Craig
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Thanks Craig,
I see now that Configure Control and Cofigure Plugin is different.
Using configure Plugin I see that quite a few settings such as step dir etc have already been made.
I take it then that I don't use the drop down menu 'Configure Control' ?
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Hi,
I take it then that I don't use the drop down menu 'Configure Control' ?
That is correct, 90% of the settings you make will be in the ESS plugin and that will automatically update the
Control plugin so they are consistent.
Motor tuning is one thing which is done exclusively in the Control plugin.
Craig
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Sorry Craig, no movement on my test setup, see pic.
I have 48Vdc to my Stepper driver. X Axis
Step and Dir are connected to Port1, pins 1&2
The parallell port marked 'PC' is connected to Port1 of the ESS
I have the ESS supplying 5Vdc to the C11
I have a second(Seperate) 5Vdc to the C11
So all voltages look good.
OK, when I do a manual jog using the left and right arrows, the DRO's follow but there's no movement on the stepper ??
I have set up the motor tuning and this looks OK. I used the same parameters that I had with MACH3
Looks like my my motor outputs (Port1, 1&2)are not enabled somehow. ??
So where's this numpy going wrong ??
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Hi,
couple of issues.
In the original IEEE spec for the db25 parallel port pin 1 was ALWAYS an output. Pins 2-9 could be all outputs
or optionally all inputs.
In the early days of Mach when everyone had one parallel port it was standard to use pins 2-9 as motor outputs.
The circuitry driving pins 2-9 was fast, fast enough to drive stepper drivers whereas pin 1 although still an output
was often much slower. It may well be that the C11 follows that practice in which case your Xstep signal may be too
slow.
I recommend you use pins 2 and 3 for Xstep and Xdir respectively.
Second issue is that the 26 pin IDC ribbon cable can be configured (on the ESS board) for wire 26 to carry 5V from the ESS to
the breakout board. But you are using a 26 pin IDC to db25 cable and therefore there is NO wire 26 to carry that 5V into the C11.
Thus you need a separate supply for the C11. Note that the primary 5V supply for the C11 will have a common 0V connection to
the ESS....your power supplies better not fight. If your existing 5V ESS supply has adequate current capacity you could add two extra wires
to power the C11 as well, there would be no 0V conflict.
Last issue is....'do you have an enable signal to your stepper driver'. Most stepper drivers require an enable signal. Its common practice
to designate one output of the ESS (conventionally pin 1) and use that one output to enable all your drivers and maybe the spindle as well.
I notice that the C11 has a Safety Charge Pump circuit. I(ve never used one. Unless you feel there is a compelling reason to
have one then disable (by jumper selection) the SHC in the C11
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Correction Craig.
My motor was indeed connected to pins 2(step) &3(dir)
Still no motor move but I can confirm the following.
All outputs ere enabled, this is done by jumping pin Ena pin to 5V. The Output enable status LED is 'lit'
The C11 has 2 5Vdc supplies. First is taken from the PC USB port and the second is by a separate external supply.
The Ess is not used to power the C11. Pin 26 Jumpers are off.
The C11 On board charge pump is disabled.
In Control Config, Axis mapping for X Y & Z is enabled.
In Control Config (Input Signals) Jogging for all 3 Axis is set (Input selected to keyboard)
In Ess config Port 1 pins 2 to 9 are set for (X step X dir) (y step y dir) (z step z dir)
In Ess config Input Signals, nothing is set here
In Ess config Homing, nothing is set here
In jog mode the DRO's follow for all 3 axis. The output staus LED's allocated for each of the Step & Dir signals all illuminate during jogging.
Still no motor movement. The Motors 'Lock' and cannot be turned by hand!
Now I'm really scratching my head ???? What am I missing ??
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Hi,
you haven't mentioned the ESS plugin outputs.
Configure/Plugins/ESS Output Signals tab you should assign the pins you have previously set in Pins Config tab to the motor signals.
Can you confirm that?
Craig
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Pins and output signals are all set Craig,
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Hi,
how about this (from the C11 manual):
5.5 External Enable Pin
The card must be provided with a 5VDC signal to enable operation. This feature has
been added to externally control the status of the outputs. An external switch or a Safety
Charge Pump can be added to provide the enabling signal. When the enable signal is
not present, output signals sent high impedance state. If this function is not required, an
jumper can be placed between +5vdc and the EN terminal. It has an internal 4.7kOhm
pull-down resistor.
Do you have the ouput LEDs on the C11 operating, in particular when you MDI X axis movement in either direction
does the Xdir output pin LED turn on and off?
Craig
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The LEDS on the output go on and off with Left and right arrow keys (They follow)
I have 2 more pictures for you to look at.
Seems like I cant set the outputs for x y & Z
Maybe there's a clue here.
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Hi,
The LEDS on the output go on and off with Left and right arrow keys (They follow)
Are the step LEDs operating. At any reasonable speed the step signals are so fast that you cannot distinguish between on or off
but rather see a dimming of the LED. Do you observe this?
If the LEDs are turning on and off then:
Mach is signalling the ESS,
the ESS is signalling the C11,
the C11 should be signalling your stepper drivers. If the drivers are not running the fault is your drivers, or your enable signal to the drivers
or your steppers.
Craig
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Hi Craig,
The LED's are turning on and off, this can be seen clearly as I jog left and right.
I tried two different drives and two new steppers. Still no movement.
Tomorrow I will hook up my Mach3 setup which does not use the ESS and I'll just make sure all is OK with the C11 and the drivers+steppers.
George
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Hi,
have you determined whether the step LEDs are operating?
If both the step and direction LEDs are operating then its your steppers or drivers, the ESS and C11 MUST BE OK otherwise
you would not get the LEDs switching.
Double check your enable to each driver.
Craig
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Please do not shoot the messenger
But have you set up the motors in Mach4 control config not the ESS,
Motor page
Motor check box clicked ?
Motor name clicked and turned blue ?
Required fields fill in ?
Apply
Ok
Exit Mach and restart
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Make sure you have the step going to step and the direction going to direction.
A simple mistake but the motor will not move.
Been there done that.
Bill
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Hi,
have you determined whether the step LEDs are operating?
If both the step and direction LEDs are operating then its your steppers or drivers, the ESS and C11 MUST BE OK otherwise
you would not get the LEDs switching.
Double check your enable to each driver.
Craig
Hi Craig, firstly, thanks for your patience with me. It's very frustrating I know.
I have attached a pic showing that Motors 1,2&3 are enable but I'm confused with the 'Pull down menu' as shown.
Also a pic of my MSS, Thre is a ENA+ and ENA- pin but they have never been used previously ?
I'm going to revert to Mach3 with no ESS just to checkout the C11 and MSS Driver with stepper. I'll let you know the result.
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Hi,
Thre is a ENA+ and ENA- pin but they have never been used previously ?
That's the enable circuit....and it needs current flowing through it to Enable the driver.....I find it hard to believe
that you did not have them populated previously.
I'm going to revert to Mach3 with no ESS just to checkout the C11 and MSS Driver with stepper
If you have both the step and direction LEDs light up as I have described then the ESS/C11 combination is working
therefore reverting to Mach3 is a waste of time.
Please confirm that both the step AND the direction LEDs are lighting correctly.
Craig
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Sadly, the so called Enable circuit on most stepper drivers is actually a disable input used to remove torque from a powered motor so that it can be turned by hand. Leaving ENA+ and ENA- not connected is common as they are not usually needed.
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Hi,
what is the make and model of the driver?
Craig
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Please do not shoot the messenger
But have you set up the motors in Mach4 control config not the ESS,
Motor page
Motor check box clicked ?
Motor name clicked and turned blue ?
Required fields fill in ?
Apply
Ok
Exit Mach and restart
Yep both step and dir LED's light correctly.
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Please do not shoot the messenger
But have you set up the motors in Mach4 control config not the ESS,
Motor page
Motor check box clicked ?
Motor name clicked and turned blue ?
Required fields fill in ?
Apply
Ok
Exit Mach and restart
Yep both step and dir LED's light correctly.
Hi,
what is the make and model of the driver?
Craig
Sadly, the so called Enable circuit on most stepper drivers is actually a disable input used to remove torque from a powered motor so that it can be turned by hand. Leaving ENA+ and ENA- not connected is common as they are not usually needed.
Thanks Steve,
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Drives are MSD542
Step and dir LED's light up correctly.
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Hi,
this is from the MSD542 manual:
ENA+
ENAEnable signal: This signal is used for enabling/disabling the drive. High level (NPN control signal,
PNP and Differential control signals are on the contrary, namely Low level for enabling.) for
enabling the drive and low level for disabling the drive. Usually left UNCONNECTED (ENABLED).
So as Steve suggests you can disconnect both terminal and the drive is enabled. Try it and see.
Craig
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Yep, done that. That's how my machine has been configured and operating for a number of years (Mach3 no ESS)
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I've been an idiot. I had one of my jumpers incorrectly set. How I missed it I'll never know.
Thanks for your help it has been very much appreciated.
ESS + C11 now have movement.
Craig, you've been very patient, but for now I will carry on with the new configuration.
I have purchased a C10+ Laser from Endurance Lasers so now to get it working.
I hope you'll forgive the bother I have given you and maybe I can still raise questions..
George