Been using SmoothStepper for the past 10 months and have had numerous problems, most of which turned out to be a faulty unit.

Everything has been sorted out except for one final issue which happens randomly.

SmoothStepper loses communication with Mach3 when the spindle turns on and/or off, which is just before a toolchange or just after a toolchange.

The reason it's random is that it can happen with the first 3 or 4 toolchanges of the day, or during the middle of the day, or even right at the end of the day.

I probably do average 30 - 80 automatic toolchanges per day and like clockwork, smoothstepper will hang mach3 ONCE everyday.

Any advise/suggestion would be greatly appreciated as I LOVE MY SMOOTHSTEPPER

Tried a bit of filtering in the SS config?

I had a similar kind of issue if I whacked the E-Stop which drops out contactors, it was occasional but annoying as I disable the machines when not in use by pushing the E-Stop in as it disables all servos etc. Anyway the cure for this SS was to remove the cap and resistor at the side of the USB port on the SS.
Hood

Howdy Hood, glad to see you still around

I used your "fix" you posted some time ago as I had that annoying ESTOP problem when using SmoothStepper, changed the ESTOP filter setting to 1.43 and it worked like a charm!

Not sure if that's what you referring to?

I was referring to the filtering in the first part of my reply, the second part was referring to removing a capacitior and resistor that is on the SS itself. It seems to help some people and not others. Another method is to carefully cut the shield at one end of your USB cable so that the SS doesnt connect to the computer via the cables shield.
Hood

Motors generate a lot of electrical noise, especially when starting/stopping. If you are using a relay to control the motor then you'll get some arcing on the relay contacts which also generates a lot of electrical noise. I put a line filter on all the Taig/Sherline system I sell to take care of this problem and to keep the noise from finding its way back into the PC. Take a look at:

http://www.soigeneris.com/Line_Filter_and_Switch_Box-details.aspx is the complete filter box, and
http://www.soigeneris.com/Line_Filter_Kit-details.aspx is just the line filter itself.

I suggest mounting the filter as close to the motor as possible. If you have a simple induction motor (no speed control) then the filter should be placed inline with the AC line feeding the motor, on the Taig I mount them on the Z column where the factory switch box is. If you have a motor that uses some sort of speed control then the filter would be placed inline with the AC feeding the speed control.

Hope that helps...

Thank you for the informative replies guys, looks like I have some work ahead of me.

I know the problem is noise related, for this reason I already installed a "zero phase reactor" by my VFD, which was recommended by my VFD supplier, even though the VFD has a built-in EMI Filter. Needless to say the "zero phase reactor" hasn't sorted the problem.

I did some quick testing this morning by replacing my current usb shielded cable with a standard usb cable. Mach3 hung as soon as I switched on the spindle. I then replaced with another longer shielded usb cable I have lying around, also resulting with mach3 hanging instantly with spindle on.

It seems my shorter shielded usb cable works the best.

Wouldn't it be easier just to get a shielded usb cable with in-line filter?

Most USB cables have the shield connected at both ends. I am not sure if the "standard" one you used has that or not, if it is connected at both ends try carefully cutting the shield so it doesnt connect at the SS end.

Are you using a Laptop? If so then I seem to remember Daniel Yoseffi having to connect an earch wire as the laptops power supply was isolated and thus not earthed.

Hood

I already installed a "zero phase reactor" by my VFD

even though the VFD has a built-in EMI Filter

A line reactor is usually installed between the VFD and motor, the line filter is before the VFD, so you have a good start to solving the problem. Is your VFD in a metal case (that is earth grounded)? Also, are you using 'VFD cable' between the motor and VFD? Is the VFD powered by the same circuit as your PC/controller?

If you have an oscilloscope I would suggest looking at the AC line feeding the VFD. It might be that the built in EMI filter is not enough. You can also add ferrites to your USB cable: http://www.soigeneris.com/Ferrite_for_USB_cable-details.aspx, also take care to route the USB cable away from noisy sources like AC and stepper cables. Also, using an external power source for the SmoothStepper can help: http://www.soigeneris.com/MeanWell_PS_05_Power_Supplies-details.aspx.

 In testing I have done I found that power disturbances find their way right onto the 5V USB bus. I added a line filter before my PC/controller this combined with the external power supply helped to keep the USB SmoothStepper from being affected.

Hood, I'm using a pc, will try cutting the shielded cable as suggested tomorrow morning, thx!

Jeff, I'm picking up a shielded usb cable with ferrite bead tonight also for testing tomorrow morning.

I've also attached a pic of the Delta VFD, it's basically on a metal case with plastic surrounding, but it's definitely grounded. Not sure about the cabling though as I didn't do the install myself. The pc and controller run off separate circuits.

Reckon I'll first try the USB cable fixes before moving onto more elaborate ideas