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41

General Mach Discussion / Re: Help For a Frozen Northerner...Mach3 Won't Talk

« on: November 15, 2006, 09:16:10 PM »

Hampden, Maine....about half way up. Getting somebody who knows what in gods name is going on with that stupid machine would be a sanity-saver for sure. I have a feeling that there is something with my port config or something like that...actually...I have no idea. 

Spence

42

General Mach Discussion / Help For a Frozen Northerner...Mach3 Won't Talk

« on: November 15, 2006, 08:34:44 PM »

 I'm just finishing up (so I thought...) a bridgeport 3 axis mill conversion. I just soldered up the last of the connectors this morning and figured I'd be well on my way to making computerized metal chips. Or not.

 I have both the PC Motherboard Parallel port as well as a second PCI parallel port installed in a 1GHz Dell desktop. The only program loaded onto the machine is Mach 3. My controller consists of a power supply, (68 vdc), 3 Gecko G201's, and a cnc4pc.com parallel port breakout board. The motors are 8 wire steppers wired parallel. I have all my limit switches OP'd together on one input, and each home switch has its own pin. All switches used the method described in the Mach 3 mill book (5v, 470 ohm resistor, yada yada yada). I've tested my inputs (outputs from my mill to the computer) and they all trigger high (a tripped switch is sending a 4.75v signal). When I power up the controller, the steppers lock under power.

When I'm in the congif menus, I have tried both the motherboard parallel port, as well as the PCI board. Neither of them relay any signal back and forth. Messing around this evening, I got the PCI board to trip the "LED's" on the diagnostics screen which are in the form of the end of the DB25 connector. These leds are tripping when I trigger a limit switch or home switch. The LED's for the appropriate functions below the DB-25 LED cluster don't light up. I have noticed that with the machine and program sitting idle, a number of the LED's on the DB-25 cluster are lit up...without any inputs or outputs being requested (at least on purpose). I am admittedly way deep over my head on this one. I'm a mechanical engineer...this electrical stuff just makes me cranky:) I think I'm close, but there is obviously something in some setup menu that I have overlooked. There has been some discussion about the type of parallel ports which work with this system...I didn't know if that would have an effect on anything... Needless to say...the motors are not responding to any manual keyboard emulator jog inputs. Any help would be most appriciated.

Spencer Garrett
www.gpe-machine.com