I am so sick of this PMDX not connecting. I have had it working fine in the past and now when I need it the same old BS can't connect, can not find SmartBOB.

I found a Ethernet to USB adapter that also supplies the power to the 416 board as a USB connection would. Anyone tried that yet or do I just give up and get the Warp9 board I should have purchased the first time? A GRBL board is also an option for using with Mach4.

Can you use grbl with Mach4?

Can you use grbl with Mach4?

Not sure but its just G code and I am looking into ways to get away from USB. I was so happy  with my large now sold machine with Warp9 but decided to go the bargain route with the PMDX. When you can finally get it to connect no issues but I am tired of not knowing. Mistake made going with USB.

Well the answer is no, since there isn't a Mach4 plugin that supports it, though "logically" GRBL is just another motion controller.  However there are things it doesn't support which I think Mach 4 would expect such as subroutines.

Though I'm still using Mach3 I went the USB route when I upgraded my shop computer to Win10 using UC100s from CNCDrive and it has been seamless and flawless.  Almost no reconfiguration needed after installing Mach3, the plugin, and the xml file from the old PP implementation.

Hi,

A GRBL board is also an option for using with Mach4.

No, GRBL is not in any way compatible with Mach4.

Craig

I suppose it Could be made to work but I am not going to be that guy who try's to do it! More than likely going this route AXBB-E ethernet Motion Controller and Breakout Board Combined Controller. I would rather Not spend any more money but I can't sell the machine as non-working.

Hi,

I suppose it Could be made to work but I am not going to be that guy who try's to do it!

I don't think so.

Mach4 is a Gcode interpreter and trajectory planner. It's output is a stream of numeric data, blocks of 32bit integer numbers, describing the position of the controlled
point in one millisecond time slices. The motion controller be it an ESS or AXBB-E or whatever converts those numeric coordinates into pulse stream for the axis motors.
The return data to Mach4 is blocks of 32 bit integers which represent the motion controllers machine position.

The format of the blocks of data sent to the motion controller and the format of the blocks of return data are specific to Mach4 and in no way compatible with GRBL.

Craig

It seems strange that the PMDX-416 works OK if it is found but Mach4 has problems finding the PMDX-416 when starting. This could be a software problem related to the configuration on your computer or Mach4.

With Mach4 not running, try unplugging and replugging the PMDX-416 several times. Give it a couple of seconds for Windows to react. You should get a sound or other notifications from Windows each time you plug or unplug the PMDX-416 just like those you get when plugging and unplugging a mouse. You can use this as a test case (not involving Mach4) for trying it on different ports, different cables, or even different computers.

Next, test the PMDX-416 with only the USB cable connected. You can easily disconnect the PMDX-416 from all other wiring by unplugging the terminal strips without unscrewing your wiring harness connections.

If the PMDX-416 fails to connect reliably in these isolated tests, please return it for warranty repair.

Sometimes with USB there can be problems with a "ground loop" between the computer ground and the machine ground. If you find that the PMDX-416 can be made to work if the only thing wired to it is the USB cable, and all other terminal blocks unplugged, then suspect a ground loop. If you do see this situation there are two things that you can try. First make sure that the computer's power and the safety ground at the machine are coming from the same power outlet. Second, you can add a heavy wire (like 18 gauge lamp cord) between the metal chassis of the computer case and the "GND" terminal of J7 on the PMDX-416. This will shunt the "ground loop" leakage current through the heavy wire instead of through the shield wire of the USB cable.

I do not have any experience with trying an Ethernet to USB adapter, but such configurations do involve extra layers of software that can make configuration more complicated.

Regards,
Steve Stallings
PMDX

Steve I have used this successfully for years and its going on 3 years old. Tried new and working USB cables off other machines, different ports, re-installed Mach4 and the driver has been done over and over again. Windows does the not recognize the 416. Interesting I just installed two other machines on the same NUC and zero issues on the USB connection. This 416 has always been a bugger to get recognized but its never been this way. So I am giving up and moving to an Ethernet board of some type. Thanks for the reply.

You are still welcome to send it to us for warranty repair/evaluation.

Steve Stallings
PMDX