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Author Topic: mach3 and hobbycnc board  (Read 2474 times)

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mach3 and hobbycnc board
« on: April 20, 2009, 08:39:44 PM »
 hello all, i need help setting up mach3 and hobbycnc board. i can not get the motors to move.  the motors lockdown when i turn on the box. is it mach3 are is hobbycnc?

Offline jimpinder

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Re: mach3 and hobbycnc board
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2009, 12:43:53 PM »
You are less that clear in you explanation. I will assume that your hobbycnc board is a driver board for stepper motors. I do not understand what you mean when you say "turn on the box"

Stepper motors are such that they are live (i.e. drawing current) even when they are still. The coils are wired so that current through them pulls the armature into line and holds it there. Movement is obtained electronically by then switching a different set of coils so that the armature is pulled to the next "step".

When you turn on your driver card, therefore, the motors are locked, by the drivers, to a certain position, and cannot be moved without effort. Is this what you mean.

If it is, then this a a normal situation.

If you have wired the outputs from Mach correctly - i.e. step and direction wires to each driver (plus a signal return wire) then pulses are translated by the driver to move the armature the specified number of steps.

IF you have wired everything correctly, then you will probably find that the board contains some "enable" line, or "axis disable" line which stops the Mach 3 communicating with the relevant driver.

The simple way of "unlocking" this is to put a jumper wire to the relevant terminal (usually 0v or 5v) to enable it. Do not bother trying to wire it through Mach at this time, until you get everything working.


Not me driving the engine - I'm better looking.