Terry, I purchased a K2cnc machine. It came in modular form, all I had to do was put the X axis frame on. It also came complete with control box prewired with Gecko 201's, a power supply and wired motors and cables. I currently have the printer port connection and usb. A breakout board did not come as part of the original purchase. From schematics I've seen on CNCzone I have all the right stuff to wire and configure my limits and homes. I believe I've let fear take hold. There's  stuff I don't know a whole lot about, and I'm hesitant to go in and do it, if you know what I mean. Unfortunate for us nooby's a manual is not provided by K2cnc even as of yet, so I'm pretty much on my own here(thank God for cnczone and this forum or we noobs would be hard pressed to get any information at all). Now I need to know how to wire up an E-stop button, or would a charge pump be better?

String you need to workout a setup to do both . Each serves a different function. The ESTOP is for when all goes to heck and you need to shut down the entire unit dead cold. The Charge pump is a function to isolate the drives and assessories when Mach does NOT have control like when your computer is booting up or shutting down. Or when you are using your computer for things other than Mach. Terry

Terry, I have a cnc4pc breakout board as I've said well it has a simple straight forward diagram for the E-stop button wiring, just wire to screw terminals. I will follow that, but I have purchased a 22mm button and here's my problem, is it supposed to come apart every time I push it? Between the contact block and the screw in cylinder in which the buttom is held there is a keying lever that locks in the button cylinder. In the locked position it works fine, but if it's in the other position it comes apart when turned to the right. Does this sound like a real switch type thing to you?

That push/pull key tab is to hold the switch blocks in place. If you pull it out, the blocks will come loose. You put the switch blocks in position and then push the tab in to hold them in place. The Estop is designed to push in and lock in. To release the switch turn the switch button to the right 1/2 turn and it will unlock and return to the on/out position. One of the switch blocks should be NC and the other NO.    Terry

Well I wired and tested and rewired and it still doesn't work. The breakout board idea for me was a bust. I could have gotten a wiggy board or I I've blown it out. I don't know enough to know either way. So it's back to basics, no limits, no E-stop, just the software dimensions to guide my gantry. Maybe sometime in the future I will know enough to put all this stuff back on line in working order. Thanks Terry for all your advise and help. It was greatly appreciated.

String if you want to try again I will helpto sort it out. Let me know and I will work up a list and a drawing for you to follow. You will have to describe in detail exactly what you have to work with as far as your electronics package for the machine. We can whip it.  Terry

Terry, I paniced and cut the wires off to the box I mounted the breakout brd and power supply to. I then re wired the Geko's to the port out receptacle. I will try today to reconfigure them and run trials.

String, what do you mean when you say Port Out Receptical?  Is this something that your printer cable hooks to and you wire the drives to ?

StringKilla

I hope this does not seem too harsh but please do read to the end:

This group has many very experienced software and hardware people but, so far as I know, not one of them has psychic powers. We just do not know what hardware you are working with. The K2CNC site shows a very nice 14 x 25 router table but no indication of motors etc. You mention Gecko 201s and servo motors. This does not sound right.

Will you take 30 mins and write a list of the part numbers of every component you have in your kit or have bought for the project, where you got it from and (if at all possible) take snapshots of things that are difficult to name and how you have it all hooked up?

I am sure it will all fall into place when everyone is "looking" at the same stuff and able to talk the same language.

Best wishes

John Prentice

String, what do you mean when you say Port Out Receptical? Is this something that your printer cable hooks to and you wire the drives to ?

In my OEM box, it has a printer cable plug, where, in the box the Gecko's are wired. ( D something 25) The type of plug the printer cable uses. And I in my panic srewed up the hotkey area of Mach 3. What keys are 32 and 33 need to find them to correct hotkeys. Now my motors don't move as before I started this addon, all they do is screem and bang, but no movement. And I can't seem to change the motor tunig values. Boy have I screwed up.