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Author Topic: zen toolworks 12x12 spindle help needed  (Read 1449 times)

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zen toolworks 12x12 spindle help needed
« on: March 17, 2015, 06:20:06 PM »
i have a zen toolworks 12x12 that i've just built and everything works with M3 except the spindle and i need some help configuring the software to control the spindle through the supplied breakout board. the spindle actually runs when it is disconnected from the breakout board, but when reconnected and the machine is powered on, the spindle isn't read by the software and i can not turn it on or off through mdi. i suspect some wrong settings are at fault here.

i have:
-win xp and the latest Mach 3 software purchased from Mach 3 two months ago. rosewill pci card with DB25 connection. card and com/lpt ports set up correctly.
-the spindle and power supply are wired correctly per zen toolworks schematic.

what works:
-jogging, homing, offsets, mdi axes movements, and pretty much everything on the machine except any m03 or m04 comand

what isn't working:
-the spindle isn't controllable through M3

what it's doing:
-with pc, machine, and all power connected and turned on, the spindle will run full out. then when M3 is booted, the spindle stops and can't be controlled through the software.
-there's a red light on the bo board. i suspect it's a status light but who knows.

what i've tried:
-gone over all the wiring. i'm a cnc programer not an electrician, but this stuff is pretty easy and all seems ok on this end.
-tried hacking into the settings on m3. pins and ports, general, spindle and i/o settings and various combinations thereof. no luck.

ztw has some tutorials on basic set up but they seem a bit outdated. the kit components they sent be don't exactly match the instructions. they have a forum but it's kinda dead. they have a phone number but no one returns a call. have not tried email on this yet because last time i emailed them (an ordering issue) it took over a week to get an answer and it was the wrong answer.

one tutorial shows one set of configs and another tutorial shows another set of configs. one tutorial shows "plug and play" with no spindle relay needed but another tutorial says that one needs a relay. the package deal kit that i bought did not come with a relay.

any ideas?

thanks