Hello Guest it is March 28, 2024, 11:07:27 AM

Author Topic: homemade cnc plasma not right  (Read 6901 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

homemade cnc plasma not right
« on: April 25, 2016, 09:19:17 PM »
First off this is my first build and things were going good until I tried to get the motors to turn.
Specs
Dell OptiPlex 755 computer
Longs motor kit and drivers
Mach3 downloaded
Only thing on the computer is windows7 and mach 3
I have triple checked my wiring and everything is hooked up like it should be but this is what happens when buttons are pushed.
Buttons pushed             What happens
Y+                              Y+ turns
Y-                               Y- turns
x+                             z+
X-                              z-
Z+ or-        Nothing happens
4+                      X+
4-                       X-

I have tried all kinds of pin settings and nothing changes, I have even set all pins to 0 and still get the same results.
I know it sounds crazy but that's what I have to deal with.
If anyone has had similar results PLEASE reply to this so I can get it figured out.
 Thank you very much.

Offline Hood

*
  •  25,835 25,835
  • Carnoustie, Scotland
    • View Profile
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2016, 04:49:29 PM »
Are you using the parallel port or an external motion controller?

If you are using the parallel port then it sounds like you may have MaxCL or  MaxNC mode enabled.

Hood
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #2 on: April 26, 2016, 07:14:03 PM »
Parallel port. Can you explain maxcl

Offline Hood

*
  •  25,835 25,835
  • Carnoustie, Scotland
    • View Profile
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2016, 02:48:00 AM »
If you go to Config menu then Ports and Pins, over to the right top of the page that opens you will see the MaxCL and NC mode options. If either of them is chosen then that will be your problem, deselect it and restart and hopefully you will be sorted.
If that is not the problem then attach your xml and I will see if I can find an issue.
Hood
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2016, 10:52:40 AM »
Maxcl was selected so I cleared the box and restarted the program and now nothing moves?
I can only get things to move in maxcl and the I only get the results listed previously.
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2016, 10:53:26 AM »
Please explain xml

Offline Hood

*
  •  25,835 25,835
  • Carnoustie, Scotland
    • View Profile
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2016, 01:56:09 PM »
The xml is the file that contains all of the settings you have.
There is one xml file for each profile you have, some people have multiple profiles.

To find the xml open Mach and look at the profile name, if you are just using the default plasma profile it will say Plasma lower right of the screen.
Next close Mach and go to the Mach3 folder on your hard drive and look for a file with the same name as the profile, it will have a .xml file extension, so if it is the default the file you are looking for is plasma.xml.
You will need to copy and paste that to your desktop and then rename it to something unique so that the forum will accept it, suggest you rename something like daveclegg.xml.

Once you have done that you can use the additional options button on the reply page to browse to your renamed file and attach to the forum.
Hood
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2016, 03:41:31 PM »
OK, I will try that when I get off work late tonight. Thanks
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2016, 11:24:58 AM »
Here is the xml file.

Offline Hood

*
  •  25,835 25,835
  • Carnoustie, Scotland
    • View Profile
Re: homemade cnc plasma not right
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2016, 02:31:31 PM »
Can you give me a link to the stepper drives you are using, also the breakout board if you use one.
Hood