Hood I believe the Hycon is a Motion control board not just a breakout board. It is feed with eithernet.  SO most of all motion is done from the board not mach ??

Just a thought, (;-) TP

Ah OK Terry, I looked at Machmotions siye and downloaded the manual that it says is for the Teco kit and it said
"The Apollo I Breakout Board provides a flexible, plug-in-play interface for the Mach3 CNC software using
standard computer parallel ports. "
I see now, reading back, that Telco says it is the Apollo 3 he has. Looks like the site is a bit out of date or I am looking at the wrong product page.
Hood

Guys, I am very gracious for your time and insight. I am  pretty sure I have a 1:1 ratio on the encoder ..id bet a Franklin on it for what its worth. I don't want to waste your time asking questions I can answer by reading the manuals, but I've read it over time and time again..setting up this computer has been by far and above the most difficult part of this project for me no question.I believe you may be correct about the problem lying in the pulley settings..mach motion Tech help set up some of this stuff remotely, but I have been through almost all of it several times myself trying to get everything working properly.pulley settings are :  #1 50-300 rpm, #2 305-1800 .( I have a gearbox with high and low range). the place where you input the ratio is set at 1 for both. if you go into configure plugins and configuration for the hicon, there are some settings that I am unsure of.I'm about 2 minutes away from the shop and I am heading directly out there, will take some pictures of the screens showing the settings. will post picks up within 15 minutes or so.

You do realize that the Hicon config is NOT a part of the normal Mach3 setup. It is unique to the hicon motion controller. The people that sold you the Hicon setup are going to be your best shot at getting this straightened out.

Or the Manf of the hicon unit as THEY are the ones that wrote the HICON / Mach3 interface plugin.

Simple test for the 1:1 of the encoder. Watch the index LED as you slowly by hand turn the spindle. Make a mark to show when you have turned 360 deg on the spindle.

Rotate the spindle by hand until the led comes on. Mark the spindle as a reference. Slowly rotate the spindle and the LED should turn OFF keep rotating until the led comes back on . Do the marks line up again ?

(;-) TP

Hi BR, I think you have hit the nail on the head. I need to talk to the hicon guys..I have never seen the index light on...

The fact that the Apollo is a motion controller changes the whole scenario, it will depend how the encoder is handled in it.
For example if they are using the full encoder signals and the index only for thread start timing then you will also have to tell the plugin what the encoder counts are, if you have them wrong then the rpm could be wrong. If it is using the Index only for RPM and threading start timing then there should be no setup required. Not sure if I can download the Hicon plugin and have a look but will see if I can.
Hood

Hello guys, i figured id give you all an update on the machine...The key to my understanding the proper setup was looking at the vital systems website,where i found a manual for the hicon. The machine has exceeded my expectations, and is running great.  I am still running the original leadscrews, and at the moment cannot justify changing to ballscrews. It threads wonderfully as is, and rapids at 40 IPM without any sense of being pushed too hard. I have a sump underneath the pan and a coolant system setup where the reeves drives was. Ive found i do not use the low range gear at all, so  ill try removing the gearbox, turning the motor around and running a belt directly from the motor to the spindle..It already runs much quieter and smoother than it did stock, and i imagine it will only get better without having to run the gearbox and big belt and pulleys that run between the motor/gearbox. Other than that, i think a tool turret or some type of auto tool changer would be the next improvement. Id love to hear you guys input on weather you think a hydraulic or pneumatic toolchanger would be a worthwile investment of time/money. Ive done a few searches but haven't seen much.

Sounds good
Regards a turret, it is definitely a good thing to have, makes a CNC lathe really useful as you can leave it to do its thing and only have to come back to change the parts rather than having to change tools.
I made a 12 position turret up for my big lathe to replace the two 6 position ones that were on it, you will see it here.
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,1234.msg142938.html#msg142938

Hood

Hi;
Could not help noticing the threading dial on your machine. Will you be using it with your conversion? I would truly like to purchase it from you if you do not need it. Will pay top dollar. I bought a fourteen for my 16 year old son and the threading dial was missing.
Thanks for your consideration;
Donm319

I think that is great donm319, perfect machine to learn on, wish I had one when I was 16. The threading dial is a must manually...I have no idea what they are worth, if you still need it im sure we can figure something out. I Have a gearbox, reeves drive and a bunch of other stuff ive pulled off as well. ill check back tomorrow.