Messages

8261

General Mach Discussion / Re: I truely believe it's a bug with many versions:

« on: December 22, 2009, 01:26:54 PM »

Hi Omri

Don't know if this is any help but I just ran your code without issue other than it scared the pants off me because I don't usually use feedrates that high.
I only cut air, with the spindle motor switched off, but there were no unusual stepper noises and as far as I could tell no missed steps.

My PC is running Pentium4 at 2.4 Gig with WinXP Sp1(I had mega problems with Sp2 onwards) and Mach R3.042.032.

Just out of curiosity - Can you set your motors (vel. and accel.) to a high rate which works OK in the motor tuning page but then they stall when jogging in the main Mach window ?.

Tweakie.

8262

General Mach Discussion / Re: New system set-up help

« on: December 22, 2009, 12:35:54 PM »

Jchal,

Just for a reference point what are the planned dimensions for your new build machine ?.

Tweakie.

8263

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Dixie Duke - A machine in the making.

« on: December 22, 2009, 12:05:50 PM »

That's a good start Sam - looking forward to seeing further pics of your progress.

Tweakie.

btw. My wife sends her regards - she still remembers the Cheese Board incident. 

8264

General Mach Discussion / Re: New system set-up help

« on: December 22, 2009, 11:47:28 AM »

As has already been said - This board is no good for 7.9 Amp motors.

Incidentally they sound a bit mighty for a router - they would drive Hood's Beaver. 

Tweakie.

8265

General Mach Discussion / Re: New system set-up help

« on: December 22, 2009, 09:26:25 AM »

 The PC parallel port is not capable (without additional circuitry) of providing a -5 Volt signal it is just +5 Volts or 0 Volts (within a certain tolerance).
 The board you have shown in the picture will replace your drivers and will be easy to hook up. Additionally it has the spindle relay and I think, would be ideal for a router.

Hope this helps,

Tweakie.

8266

General Mach Discussion / Re: Need Help with Stepper Motor Driver - New User

« on: December 22, 2009, 04:24:08 AM »

You could do a forum search to find out what others are using for their BOB’s - the C10 seems to be popular and this can be found here http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/index.php?cPath=33&osCsid=2d1fd3d8ffdeb2cc6078c4da7037fc55

This is the basics of what I would do ( I don’t offer any warranty on this !!).

Q3HB220M Driver:-  Pin 6 switches alternate steps per revolution which is not required. Pin 10 is an index output which is not required at this stage. Pin 12 is a driver ready output which is not required. (This assumes that you will not be using encoders with the motors).
Set the steps per (SK1) to a realistic setting, perhaps position 9 (2000). Set motor run current (runIM) and motor hold current (stopIM) to match your motors.


LPT output pins / BOB pins and Mach setup:-

PIN      DESIGNATION   MACH ports & pins
                    Input / Output signals.

1      C0/output
2      D0/output      x step   step low active
3      D1/output      x dir   active high / low will determine motor direction.
4      D2/output      y step   step low active
5      D3/output      y dir   active high / low will determine motor direction.
6      D4/output      z step   step low active
7      D5/output      z dir   active high / low will determine motor direction.
8      D6/output      a step
9      D7/output      a dir
10      S6/input      e-stop
11      S7/input      x home/limit
12      S5/input      y home/limit
13      S4/input      z home/limit
14      C1/output
15      S3/input
16      C2/output   
17      C3/output
18      gnd      )
19      gnd      )
20      gnd      )   
21      gnd      )   GND
22      gnd      )
23      gnd      )
24      gnd      )
25      gnd      )

Under motor tuning set the steps per to 2000, acceleration and velocity low (to start with) and the step and direction pulse widths to 2 uS.

Initial test:- Connect up one drive first (X axis) as diagram. At switch on the motor should lock – If the motor rotates, switch off and change DP4 to ON. Switch on again – if the motor does not lock, switch off and connect pin 8 (motor free signal) to GND  and pin7 to +5V and try again.
Always switch off before changing any settings or connecting / disconnecting wires. Observe caution and safety when dealing with the 220 Vac and motor connections.


Tweakie.

8267

Third party software and hardware support forums. / Re: Converting Units of Measurement.

« on: December 22, 2009, 03:00:10 AM »

 

Tweakie.

8268

Third party software and hardware support forums. / Re: Converting Units of Measurement.

« on: December 21, 2009, 06:37:34 PM »

Hey Sam, why didn't you tell me about this years ago ?. I've really been struggling. 

Tweakie.

8269

General Mach Discussion / Re: Need Help with Stepper Motor Driver - New User

« on: December 21, 2009, 05:42:53 PM »

Hi Harsh,

It is always a wise move to use an active breakout board which opto isolates your input and output signals from the PC parallel port, just in case anything goes wrong - It can save the life of your PC.

I took a look at the manual but on one page it says DP4 should be ON for step and direction pulse input and on another page it says it should be OFF for step and direction pulse input. The whole document is quite confusing so I understand your problem.

However, I think this controller will work OK with Mach and as soon as I get time I will draw a connection diagram of how I would connect this up.

Tweakie.

8270

General Mach Discussion / Re: This might be useful to anyone chasing an intermitent fault and stop grey ha

« on: December 21, 2009, 01:05:02 PM »

I was only trying to help!

You helped me Bruce - thank you.

Tweakie.