We're still trying to set up a new machine and we've got the outputs working, but now the inputs, particularly getting estop to work, is giving us a headache. Not sure I have all this figured correctly, so let me explain how I'm thinking this needs to be wired with the C10 and a normally closed physical switch for an estop switch.
There are two possible ways to do this, with Mach3 set to look for active low or with active low "off", or active high.
My first thinking is I'll set it to active low, because the default for pin 10 anyway. So, I set estop Mach3 to port 1, pin 10, active low.
Now, I wire +5v through my estop switch AND I set the input pull-up/pull-down resistors to "pull-down" (note I'm not talking about the other set of pull-up/pull-down resistors, this is the set for the input pins and is over near those pins). The thinking here is that when the switch is closed, I am sending 5v to the pin and on through to the computer. But when it opens, I want to make sure my pull-down setting goes the right way and "open" in this case should make sure that pin 10 goes to zero. I'm assuming that the pull-down will flow through and I now should be sending zero to my parallel port and all should be good.
Alternatively, I could set the estop in mach3 to active high instead. But to do this, I wire ground through my switch first. Now, I have to change my input jiumpers topull UP instead, because I want to get 5v when the switch is pressed and we have an open circuit. Now, even if the circuit is somehow dead to from pin 10 out of the C10, the natural state of the pin on the port itself is to be high anyway, so this should make sure that, when the circuit opens, I end up with a positive signal on my pin and should trigger the estop.
Now - the first question - does all of that make sense? Am I following the circuit logic correctly or is there something I've got screwed up?
Second point - none of this seems to be working!!! It doesn't seem to matter what way we configure the board, mach3 just says external estop pressed and we can't do a darned thing. I even thought it was the parallel port on the computer, but I set mach3 at active low and grounded pin 10 on the port itself (simulating what I should be getting from the C10) and it worked like a champ.
Can anyone offer any sage advice on this? If I had any hair, it would all be pulled out by now!
Thanks,
Don