Hi all,

I have just started connecting up my axis stepper motors and (pwm controlled) spindle motor to the PC. To make sure everthing worked ok I decided to do one at once.
Configuring pin1 to spindle the oscilloscope shows a nice square wave pattern which changes as I shift motor rpm and the spindle does vary in speed. If I reconfigure the same pin1 to Xstep nothing happens? Having left the oscilloscope probe still attached the trace is just dead.
Changing from pin1 to,say, pin4 has the same effect; spindle works, Xstep doesn't?
Besides that, when looking at the diagnostics screen the matrix of 'LEDs' that show the state of the pins always have the middle four illuminated no matter what I do. Considering I have no inputs or outputs connected, besides the one which I am testing, how can this be?
I have rebooted the computer at least twice but this didn't cure the drives problem. I even reloaded an older version of Mach which didn't solve it either, but the LEDs weren't lit.
I guess, therefore, that the board in the PC must be ok as I wouldn't get a spindle PWM if the board was damaged, so I suppose it must be a set-up or configuration issue.

Please help 

...Sweep

...Sweep

Hi Sweep,

Did you check that your X axis is enabled in ports and pins? Also worth checking what has it got in motor tuning.

Are you trying to jog using the keyboard arrows? Do you see the DRO moving?

Dan

Hi Dan,

Yes, ports and pins seem to be ok as that is where I swapped the assigned pin from spindle to X axis.
Using the MDI screen, say, S2000 will give a nice square wave as I have assigned max speed as 4000rpm in the 'pulleys' section. When I swap the assigned pin to Xstep nothing happens. I have jogged using the pull-out screen (tab button), using the arrow keys, and MDI with, say, X100 and/or G00 X100 but nothing. The coordinate display changes as if the motor is running but there is no output to the scope.

I am going downstairs to fire up the machine again so will get some pics posted.

thanks ...Sweep

Sweep,

I am not sure the spindle would work if in simulation mode, but just for the sake of it - you're not in simulation mode right?

Try to put same settings in motor tuning for both the spindle and X axis, then command in the MDI G0 X100 or something. May be the settings are way different between the spindle and X and you're failing to find the right frequency mode on your scope to show the signal.

Dan

Dan,

Machine in full operational mode. Spindle connected in PWM mode via 0-10v analogue converter and works fine.
Bigger problems since my last post in that my stepper drives are popping fuses. I think this is down to their age as they were built in 1988 as this has happedned before. Even so not getting any step pulses from PC.

Thanks for your comments Dan but I will have to concentrate in gettin the stepper drives back working first.

...Sweep

Can you attach your xml please.
Hood

Hi Hood,

My x axis has packed in so it is pointless messing with it until I get it sorted, plus i'm off to Amsterdam for the weekend :-)
As far as the xml is concerned, where do i find that?

...Sweep

Ok, so it has taken a while to get back to this issue but, as my last post mentioned, I was away for the weekend in Amsterdam ...phew!!
Tried the x axis last night assigned to port1, pin1 and couldn't get a scope trace and it wouldn't step the motors. Tried active, high active low, scoped at my driver trigger board, breakout block, 25pin cable, but nothing. I thought I would see a nice clean square wave.
If someone could tell me where to find the XML file Hood mentioned I will quite happily post it.

thanks ...Sweep

You will find it in C\Mach3 folder it will have the name of the profile you are using, eg if standard Mach3Mill profile it will be called Mach3Mill.xml. You will need to rename before you attach to the forum so copy it to your desktop and rename something like sweep.xml

Hood

Hope you can make some sense of this XML file and that the problem is obvious.
If possible I could also do with an idea of what the scope trace should look like, and what the voltage/division and time base should be set to as i'm getting nothing. i would have thought it should be, say 1v/div and a nice square wave.

thanks ...Sweep

p.s. whilst the title mentions that the spindle pwm works, it doesn't !