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Author Topic: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?  (Read 5925 times)

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Offline Rimmel

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UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« on: January 17, 2014, 02:26:43 PM »
Got a cnc lathe setup with a Uniport v3 - works well enough, but thought I'd try a UC100 motion controller.

The UC100 is great when it works (the steppers are like rockets and very smooth) - however when I turn the spindle on the UC100 just drops out. Interference I'm guessing but I've tried everything to sort it out with no success. Strange as the Printer port never misses a beat.

Has anyone got experience of Ethernet motion controllers? e.g. are they as susceptible to interference as USB?

thanks
Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2014, 07:20:13 PM »
My Yuelihing board is USB and I have no interference problems. However I have absolutely everything shielded, including the USB cable but most are not. Ethernet might be better, simply because it can be used up to 100 meters while USB is good for about 5 meters. Are you cables all shielded?

Offline Hood

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Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2014, 05:17:23 AM »
USB is definitely more prone to noise than Ethernet. Ethernet also does not have the same issues that USB can have with windows, for example windows can occasionally drop a USB connection. Ethernet also has the advantage that it is isolated from the computer by an isolation transformer in the port.
I have used 5 different Ethernet controllers, the Ethernet Smoothstepper, the Scorpion, the CSMIO/IP-M, CSMIO-IP-S and the CSMIO/IP-A and have never had a noise problem with them. However I tend to use 24v I/O and also any low voltage signal wires such as encoders or step/dir I have  differential and also shielded and properly grounded.
 I have also used the USB Smoothstepper on a few machines and only one did I suffer from occasional noise issues, this was only when I hit the E-Stop which dropped out contactors and even though my wiring was shielded and the contactors were snubbed I still had this issue, removing a cap and resistor on the Smoothstepper to isolate the ground cured that for me.

Hood
Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2014, 05:48:10 AM »
Have you tried plugging your spindle into a UPS?  I had to do this to get reliable operation from my USB SmoothStepper machine with a Ridgid trim router for a spindle, even with the SS mods Hood mentions..  I also have the SS powered by a 5v regulated power supply plugged into a separate UPS.  

This may not be your problem, but Windows also needs to be set so it will not turn off the USB power  (Device Manager - right click on the USB Hub connections - click Power Management Tab).

Regards,
John Champlain
« Last Edit: January 18, 2014, 05:50:04 AM by Picengraver »

Offline Rimmel

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Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2014, 06:26:27 AM »
Hi thanks for the replies -

All cables (every single one is shielded).
The power saving mode is turned off for USB.
ACPI is tuned off (set as standard PC)

Tried putting a printer port cable between the UC100 and physically moved it away from machine - same problem. Thing is everything works fine I can air cut with the coolant pump on etc for hours, but as soon as I switch the spindle on - bump the UC100 disconnects.

thanks again

I just don't understand why it's OK on printer port cable - I'm thinking my PC just doesn't like USB, personally I've always found USB flaky.

Offline Rimmel

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Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2014, 07:16:10 AM »
Btw the lpt port doesn't flake out at all with the spindle on. The inputs are also all opto isolated (uniport v3 board).

It seems to me that the lpt port is more robust than USB and was hoping that ethernet was the same.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2014, 07:19:09 AM by Rimmel »

Offline Rimmel

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Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2014, 07:20:36 AM »
" low voltage signal wires such as encoders or step/dir I have  differential and also shielded and properly grounded."

differential?

Offline Hood

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Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2014, 08:38:35 AM »
The PP is old technology that has been optimised over the long years it has been on the go, almost from the beginning of PC's I would think, and it is not known to suffer from noise issues too much. USB on the other hand can be problematic and it can vary from computer to computer.


Differential signals have an opposite for every signal, for example you would have a Step+ and a Step- and Dir+ and Dir-, this helps cancel out noise and makes things very noise immune, same with encoder signals, instead of having just A and B you would have A+ A- B+ B-.
To use differential signals either your hardware has to support it or you have to convert yourself with line drivers and receivers. Likely that would not solve your issues however as it iis USB problems you seem to be having, you could possibly try carefully cutting away the shield from one end of the USB cable to see if that helps, it did help some when using the USB SS.

Hood
« Last Edit: January 18, 2014, 08:40:26 AM by Hood »

Offline Rimmel

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Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2014, 09:11:00 AM »
When you say cut away the shield from one end off the usb -- do you mean to cut it away and leave it disconnected or to ground it in some way?

thanks

Offline Rimmel

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Re: UC100 interference - Ethernet better?
« Reply #9 on: January 18, 2014, 01:40:17 PM »
Well Hood, it seems you may have indirectly found the problem.

I found another USB cable with the intention of cutting the shielding from it on one end. The cable I found was from a PS3 and as such had a moulded ferrite type fitting on the appliance end (opposite end from the PC) - before I cut into it I thought I'd just try it and the UC100 hasn't missed a beat since!!! So either a defective cable OR a substandard cable compared to the PS3 cable. I will try a few others and see!

Glad in a way though as it proves my wiring and shielding were working great.

thanks for the help again.