Hi Rich!
OK, I think I have all of my ducks in a row here....
My motors and control board came from Hobby CNC:
http://hobbycnc.com/product/hobbycnc-pro-combo-kits/Here's more info on the motors:
http://hobbycnc.com/product/305-stepper-motor/My kit, which includes a power supply, is no longer offered.
Here's info on the unit I have:
3 Axis Unipolar Chopper Control.
Accepts 5, 6, or 8 wire stepper motors.
42 VDC maximum input voltage, 12 VDC minimum input voltage
3.0 Amps Max per phase, 500 ma minimum.
Idle Current Reduction to 50% when idle for 10 seconds.
On board voltage regulation for 5-volt logic with 24 VDC cooling far from motor power supply.
My version of Mach 3 is: Mach3 2.0, ver R3.042.029
My code generator is Acme Profiler - Coyote Edition
www.gunstar1.com/scispec/scispec.htm(The Acme program generates a G92 code which has to be erased before using! You solved the problem this causes for me years ago!)
The motors have felt pretty darn warm, but after a 1/2 hour test this morning I got the following:
X motor: 120 F, Y motor: 106 F, Z motor: 100 F (perhaps a bit cooler than usual)
Table uses 3/8-12 Acme with switches in series
Code is run at 20 ipm for over 5 hours
A shop vac also runs with a router while running the program
The xml files are correct as of now: X 9600s/38v/12a - Y 9600s/38v/11a - 9600s/38v/8a
You can see my unit running if you go to
www.ancrsundials.com and click the video box in the lower left corner of the home page
I tried to insert my program, but it was rejected as too long.
I'll see if I can send it in several pieces....
Thank your perseverance in helping me resolve this issue.
The problem is intermittent - the 4th attempt on the above cut came out perfect!
Chet