I've just built a new stepper controller, about my tenth stepper or servo controller.

I was getting worried about the age of the computer running my mill, a computer that still has a couple of parallel ports in it.

Time to build something that uses a USB port, so if (when) the old Dell gives up the ghost, I'll be ready.

I used an STB5100 5 axis USB controller, the "blue" one. 

(I actually bought a POKeys 56U as well, but the configuration looks daunting and the physical implementation is .. troublesome.  So I thought I'd take the easy way out.)

The steppers work fine with the STB5100, so I know the basic communication is working.

But I'm unable to get the spindle control pins to do anything at all.  Neither the Enable, AVI nor PWM show anything except zero volts.

Configuration seems easy enough, which is to say, not many settings and most set to the default.

I see two options.  Maybe the board is just plain defective; not too hard to believe with something cheap from China.  Or maybe the default settings are not what's called for.

But randomly .. or sequentially .. trying combinations of ports and pins would drive me crazy.

Does anyone have any suggested settings for this board?

Thanks!

Hi.
I'm working on it these days.
I haven't tried it yet.
I'm building an MPG to move the axes with the handwheel.
I measured the signals on the 15-pin socket because the ones shown in their schematic aren't accurate.
As soon as I'm done with this work, I'll connect it, then I'll see how to make the 0/10V output work for FWD.
Hi

I gave up on the STB board.  Most things work, but a critical piece (critical to me) was the 0-10v spindle control, and I just could not make that work.

I went with the POKEYS 57u board.  It's significantly more expensive, much more troublesome to config and WAY more work to interface. 

The STB includes optoisolated inputs and "powered" drivers.  The 57u has  none of these, and so I had to build a PCB to add them.

Even so, I'm extremely happy I did.  The driver functionality is an order of magnitude more sophisticated than the RNR style boards.

I'm curious to see how this STB 5100 works.
For now, I've finished with the MPG, and it works very well.
The next step will be to see how the 0/10V works to control the spindle speed.
When I'm done, I'll post the results (if it works ).
Here's the video of the MPG in action.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AMEs0vYPa0o

Hi everyone.
I finished configuring the 0-10V analog output to control the inverter.
Now it seems to be working properly.
I noticed that the components heat up with 24V power, so I'll try powering it with 12V.
Here you can see how it works and the settings for configuring the analog output for the spindle.

https://youtube.com/shorts/BiWNQDFT6hQ?si=G6uzi8tPhexiMVYK

I've just built a new stepper controller, about my tenth stepper or servo controller.

I was getting worried about the age of the computer running my mill, a computer that still has a couple of parallel ports in it.

Time to build something that uses a USB port, so if (when) the old Dell gives up the ghost, I'll be ready.

I used an STB5100 5 axis USB controller, the "blue" one. 

(I actually bought a POKeys 56U as well, but the configuration looks daunting and the physical implementation is .. troublesome.  So I thought I'd take the easy way out.)

The steppers work fine with the STB5100, so I know the basic communication is working.

But I'm unable to get the spindle control pins to do anything at all.  Neither the Enable, AVI nor PWM show anything except zero volts.

Configuration seems easy enough, which is to say, not many settings and most set to the default.

I see two options.  Maybe the board is just plain defective; not too hard to believe with something cheap from China.  Or maybe the default settings are not what's called for.

But randomly .. or sequentially .. trying combinations of ports and pins would drive me crazy.

Does anyone have any suggested settings for this board?

Thanks!

I understand your frustration with the STB.
I had the same problem. After doing a lot of oscilloscope testing, I realized something important was missing...
It's built with separate GNDs, and I connected the 5V GND to the 24V GND.
That's the only way it works.