Topics

1

SmoothStepper USB / Ess and cnc4pc npn prox wiring.

« on: November 20, 2013, 06:30:36 PM »

Hello. I have an ess and a c25 bob. I have some npn prox switches. These switches run off 12v. I understand that im supposed to put a 10k resistor from +12v to signal pin to pull it high according to the c25 docs. My concern is that this puts +12v to the pin. Am i missing something? I thought you could only put 5v to an input pin. I though the 10k resistor was supposed to cut 12v to 5v but when i test from the resistor to ground i still get 12.31v. Can you shed any light on this?

2

General Mach Discussion / Help with Homming

« on: February 04, 2013, 06:11:06 AM »

Well today I decided to buy Ger's 2010 screen set for the auto zero and probing functions. But in order to take advantage of it I needed to add two (2) home switches one each to X and Z. I already have X and A ganged and switched and working flawlessly. Before I go into my Issue let me give you a run down of the equip. I'm running some Chineese drivers, a 48v antek PS and a Smoothstepper with a CNC4PC c25 smoothstepper teminal BOB. I have provided an autocad file of the complete box and wiring layout as well as terminal attachments. I also Have provided the xml file for the profile i'm running.

I mounted and wired the 2 home switches that needed to be added for the X and Z. I attached X to port 2 pin 10 and Z to port 2 pin 13. Went into mach and setup the ports and pins making sure to have them as active low since they are NC switches.I started by testing Z and it crashed into the switch faster than I could get to the E-stop, but no damage was done. I then manually tripped each switch to make sure smoothstepper diagnostic screen and mach diagnostic screen led's picked up the activity, and it did as expected.

I then moved the X axis to the mid-point of the carriage and proceeded to ref x. I manually tripped the switch, the LED's on the diag pages showed the activity but the home cycle didnt stop and zero the machine coords as it does with the Y and A. Thinking I had a software issue I upgraded from 3.043.022 to 3.043.066 and nothing changed. Then figured maybe something happened when I installed Ger's screen set. I started a brand new profile and entered only what I had to in order to get motion and homes leaving all else at default. Still no joy, the issue persisted. Ok maybe it's noise so I set the Debounce on mach's general setup screen to 2500 with no change.

I then thought well maybe it's the wiring. I pulled the wires and checked for continuity on X and Z. My meter beeped at me on both until the switch was activated breaking the circuit as one would expect. Ok so maybe it's the pin, so I moved X to port 2 pin 9 and set the smoothstepper to see port 2 pins 2-9 as inputs. No love! I then thought let's set it as the X++ limit. When I did that I could not get the reset button to let go of a limit switch tripped error. I though ok dumby you forgot to set the limit to active low and proceeded to check it, nope it was indeed active low. So I changed it to active high and the outcome was the same. The error still would not reset. I then proceeded to wire it all back to normal (as shown in the cad file), and though maybe the switch was bad. So I proceeded to solder on a new switch with the same results. The Y and A axis perform normally and have been for three weeks and continue to even after Ger's screen set install so I dont think that's the issue. It's just X and Z that are not playing nice. Any help or light that anyone can shed on this issue is greatly welcomed.

Thanks in advance
Chuck

3

General Mach Discussion / Mach3 vs Mach4

« on: August 21, 2012, 08:29:22 AM »

I have a few questions I'm hoping to get answered. This Friday I plan on buy a Mach3 lic. My first question is, when will mach4 be released and if recently purchased lic. will work with mach4 or be offered a reduced upgrade price? When mach4 drops will Mach3 support and development stop forcing me into mach4? If these questions have been answered already I apologize search didn't return them or i didn't go far enough down to see it.


Chuck

4

General Mach Discussion / CNC4PC??

« on: May 03, 2011, 05:09:34 PM »

I saw a thread about buying Mach and having it not be a legit copy. Has anyone purchased Mach from CNC4PC? If so what was your experience. I dont mind paying Artsoft 175.00 if the 145.00 deal is not worth it. I do realize the value of Mach, but I am also on an extreme hobbiest budget due to unemployment.

thanks in advance

5

General Mach Discussion / Mach's Future?

« on: February 22, 2011, 06:25:45 PM »

Since Quantum is dead, just what is the future for Mach? I'm looking into purchasing Mach3, but if in a short time (6 months or less) there is to be a new version or and upgrade such as Quantum was supposed to be, I will continue to wait on operating software for my homebrew CNC. I have done the demo of Mach and absolutely love it. I will not spend my money on anything else!

Thanks for any direction and in-site.

Chuck