Messages

3741

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill works great, Lathe bombs

« on: August 27, 2018, 08:49:21 PM »

Hi,

"is old school / dated"

Lets remember that also produced the Pyramids

Craig

3742

General Mach Discussion / Re: Noob here

« on: August 27, 2018, 08:45:30 PM »

Hi,
with a yet closer look at the pictures it shows a parallel plug on the controller and one on the machine which
suggests that it is being used for the motors/switches.

That being the case then Gerry is likely correct ie the controller is a genuine USB device.

I also agree with Gerry that the Chinese made electronics are commonly poor and would recommend replacement
with something like a SmoothStepper. Even with the addition of a new motion control board the price is still
very favourable.

Craig

3743

General Mach Discussion / Re: Noob here

« on: August 27, 2018, 07:43:46 PM »

Hi,
having a closer look at your control box and it has both a parallel port AND a USB.

I suspect that it is a parallel port controller but uses a USB cable for the power supply to the Breakout
Board (BoB). That is quite a common arrangement with Cheap Chinese gear.

If thats the case then I think Windows 10 will not run the port. You say that your version of Window 10
is 32 bit, I've never seen one, nor have I heard of anyone who has run a parallel port with it.

You may be up for an external motion controller like a SmoothStepper or a UC100 or UC300 to get your
machine running with your Windows 10 PC. You could alternately install Window 7 32 bit which is known to be
good with Mach's parallel port.

Craig

3744

General Mach Discussion / Re: Coordinates don’t change

« on: August 27, 2018, 07:24:48 PM »

Hi,
I've run out of ideas......I didn't have that many to start with

Mach3 does run on laptops but maybe just not your one?

Craig

3745

General Mach Discussion / Re: x, y and z keyboard commands

« on: August 27, 2018, 05:43:00 PM »

Hi,
you could start by telling us about your machine and PC.

Are you using a parallel port for instance?

Craig

3746

General Mach Discussion / Re: Noob here

« on: August 27, 2018, 05:30:54 PM »

Hi,
you can edit your post for only a few minutes after you've posted it. Thereafter you can't.

Craig

3747

General Mach Discussion / Re: Noob here

« on: August 27, 2018, 05:29:42 PM »

Hi,
Mach's parallel port will only work on 32 bit Windows 7 or earlier.

If you have an external motion controller (USB or Ethernet) it will work on just about any Windows PC.

Start with telling us exactly what PC you have and what OS you have installed.
Then tell us the make and model of the control PCB you have.

Craig

3748

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: August 27, 2018, 04:52:20 PM »

Hi,
Ridiculous speed is good! As is UNTOLD acceleration!!!

In truth fastest maximum speed is less telling than acceleration. May I suggest an experiment where yo keep upping
the acceleration in Mach until you get an overcurrent fault. That will be the true measure of what these servos can do.

Craig

3749

General Mach Discussion / Re: Coordinates don’t change

« on: August 27, 2018, 03:09:00 PM »

Hi,
laptops are notorious for not running parallel ports well. Although I would still expect the DRO's to work.

Could it be the laptop is just plain faulty. Do you have any other software you could run on it as a comparison?

Craig

3750

General Mach Discussion / Re: CS Labs CSMIO/P-A

« on: August 27, 2018, 03:00:31 PM »

Hi,
as I say the manufacturer has thought of everything. The current limit resistor is built in and there is an antiparallel diode over the photodiode
to prevent excess reverse bias destroying the photodiode.

Photodiodes and LEDs are like regular diodes, they conduct current in one direction but block current in the reverse direction. The problem is they
can usually block on 5V or less in the reverse direction. If you exceed 5V reverse bias the photodiode will go into reverse breakdown. Assuming adequate
current limiting it wont destroy it but it will get hot....always a bad look for any silicon device.

To counter that shortcoming the manufacturer has put a regular diode across the photodiode so that the worst reverse bias it will experience is the
forward voltage drop of the regular diode. These two simple things have made the input circuit reasonably safe from misapplication.

Craig