Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lost Z axis

« on: February 16, 2008, 04:21:53 AM »

All went well and everything is now operating as it should. 

Boy am I glad I have this forum to call on when things go wrong.

Now it is full throttle in the workshop to get these orders out on time.

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lost Z axis

« on: February 15, 2008, 07:10:58 PM »

Hood

Once again I thank you for your assistance. I can now go and set the Vref voltages and run some tests before hopefully being able to get cutting again.
I will post and let you know how I got on.

Lawrie
Vistacarve

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lost Z axis

« on: February 15, 2008, 06:20:22 PM »

Thanks for the assistance Hood and yes it does appear to be the drive board that is the problem.

As to the new replacement board also being a dud, I went back and read all the info sheets that came with the board again and discovered the following.

Unlike the first board which was factory set to suit the stepper motors I purchased with it, this one comes with the Vref Voltages set to zero and the board will not operate until these are reset to the required 3.35v.

The instructions given areas follows:

Adjust your Vrefs at TPX, TPY, TPZ.....(Black lead to GND, Red to TPX) Turn Potentiometer counterclockwise for +.
Do not adjust Vref voltages with motors attached or to voltages higher than 3.60v.

Being for the most part a "plug and play man" I suddenly realised how little I really know about this stuff. I know what a potentiometer does but not a clue as to what it looks like, where to find it on this board, or how to go about testing and adjusting it or them to the correct voltages.

If you or anyone else could assist me with some detailed instructions on how to go about this task without creating lots of expensive smoke then I think I may be heading in the right direction.

Many thanks
Lawrie

4

General Mach Discussion / Lost Z axis

« on: February 14, 2008, 06:14:14 AM »

Hi all it's been a while since I have had to ask for help on this forum.
I have a home built router table with a Xylotex three axis kit that includes XS-3525/8S-3 stepper drive board, 3 x 269 oz in steppers and power supply.(Running Mach 3 as an operating system of course)

I have been running this set up for just on one year and now, just as I am  starting to get some good paying jobs it has let me down.
For some unknown reason the Z axis (although working perfectly on screen) has decided it will not move up or down. when attempting to jog the Z axis the stepper motor just makes a low buzz or hum but won't actually move.
I have checked all of what I think are the obvious things and by process of elimination have come to the following conclusions.

Z stepper motor works fine (tested by swapping Z and Y motors)

All wiring and connections appear to be correct

Stepper drive board replaced with new one (this just made matters worse, all three stepper motors would hum but not move) Put original drive board back.

All computer leads and connections checked.

I am finding this so strange as everything was running fine on the last job I cut and I have changed nothing since.

If anyone can offer a solution or suggestions I may try before I get buried under the work that is piling up I would be most grateful.

Many thanks

Lawrie
Vistacarve

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: Small hobby CNC routers

« on: January 02, 2007, 10:34:03 PM »

Looks like I have a lot of reading ahead of me, but I'm sure I will be back soon with a lot more questions you may be able to help me with
cheers
Lawrie

6

General Mach Discussion / Re: Small hobby CNC routers

« on: December 30, 2006, 09:09:07 PM »

Thanks for that Brett, I have now changed to Mach 3

7

General Mach Discussion / Re: Small hobby CNC routers

« on: December 30, 2006, 03:09:28 PM »

Thanks guys
Having downloaded and licenced Mach2 can I now download Mach3 and use it under the same licence? If so which version would you recommend?

Lawrie

8

General Mach Discussion / Small hobby CNC routers

« on: December 29, 2006, 06:00:33 PM »

Hi
I have recently finished the building stage of what I hope will be my home workshop CNC router table. The table has a cutting area of 37 x 25 inches and is built to the plans in David Steele's book "CNC Router Plans (plans for inexpensive cnc router tables)".
I have purchased a package from Xylotex which includes 269 oz in steppers, driver and power supply and have downloaded Mach 2 as an operating system.
I now find myself at somewhat of a loss as to what to do next.
Is there anyone that has built a table from these plans and is running similar motors etc. that can assist with the setting up and wiring required to get this thing actually cutting stuff???
I am a newcommer to the world of cnc, I know little about cnc machinery and even less about the Mach 2 software.

Many thanks

Lawrie