Working On A Drag Knife for Vinyl! #117 - Bassett, VA

[pblackburn]

Yes you can do that with the 126

[Tom Ayres]

I've read a large portion of the mach 3 manual but I Know I'll have a bit of a learning curve, needless to say. I'll post my progress starting tomorrow. Thanks guys.

[Tom Ayres]

As some of you know I chose to purchase my steppers from china at a good price (we'll see). However trying to communicate with them has a 12 hour delay. My question is how to wire these steppers bipolar-parallel. I'll try to attach the docs they sent me, see if you can make heads or tales of what I think is parallel.

Tell me if I'm on the right track. Red to Blue, Yellow to Black, White to Brown, Orange to Green- @ driver +a (red) -a (black), +b (white) -b (green). Is this correct or is there something I don't know about? Sorry but I can't figure how to show a pdf

[Tom Ayres]

I was correct but is expressed = Red-blue +A, Yellow-Black -A, White-Brown +B, Orange-Green -B. Finally, I can run this test. One other question, is there a preferred safe way to discharge the PS? (safety first) Anyone... anyone... Bueller... Bueller...

[domino11]

Tom,
A 20 watt ( or more) power resistor around 100 ohms or so makes a good bleeder for the power supply. You could also use an old incandescent bulb with some clip leads in a pinch. Use a volt meter to make sure you know what the capacitor bank is at and always remove your bleeder before you do any work. That way you will not power up the supply with the bleeder still hooked up.

[Gerald D]

Leave a drive connected to the power supply - that will act as a bleeder.

[Tom Ayres]

Are there any issues with an AMD dual core processor?

[danilom]

I prefer Intel , recently installed mach3 on a windows 7 starter preinstalled machine, no problems what so ever.

This is the configuration, you can see the list of components, if you need translation be free to contact me

http://www.winwin.rs/racunari-i-komp...dvd-win-8.html

[Tom Ayres]

Thanks Danilo, I found another PC with single core Intel which I think I'll be happier using.

[zumergido]

i have change mi pc to an intel d2500 atom itx motherboard. have a lpt port and no cooler on the cpu. works well on xp with mach3 1gb ram..
and the best part .. they are cheap.

[Tom Ayres]

Well, we have a success, the PMDX-126, DM860a drivers and Antek PS-10N70R5R12 turned the Longs Motors 34HS5850 stepper in test mode. Even though it does not do a lot in test mode doesn't make it insignificant. I'm uploading a video to flicker right now (large File) looks like it will be a while before its ready. I have to figure out how to create smaller video file sizes in my daughter's new ipod (more junk to learn). I'll post as soon as its ready.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomas_ayres_jr/9269994813

Let's see if that'll work

[Gerald D]

Tom, that is a significant and worthwhile start . . . well done. Motion without smoke must have given you more confidence, and a feeling of priorities.

[Tom Ayres]

Gerald you are right, I do feel more confident but there is much more to be learned. This step removed a lot of the questions. Next is getting the computer set up to make more than 1 motor working, this will be a breeze if I've done my homework right, then on to the actual control box set up. Thanks guys.

[Tom Ayres]

All-righty-then, can anyone tell me exactly the kind of printer cable I'm supposed to have? All male/male cables that I find are 'switchbox' cables not parallel. Will this work or do I need to keep looking?

[pblackburn]

A standard parallel cable will work just fine. With the 126 PMDX sells a cable assembly that works with a standard cable. Reference Here

[pblackburn]

Here are the cables I used

[Tom Ayres]

Thanks Pete, turns out that I had one in the closet that works, but had already ordered another.

I got the steppers to operate under Mach3 (demo)but I noticed when I was jogging at 100% that the steppers would run for a bit than sorta lock up and make sounds as if it were running (but different) is this something that has to do with tuning, interference or is that step loss?

[pblackburn]

That sounds like a stall but could not know for sure without seeing it. Double check your velocity and acceleration settings again. When you ran the driver test, what did it say? Is your pulse steady or fluctuating?

[danilom]

While jogging on let's say 50% feed , is the motor sound constant and does not change tone? Mach driver test is not something that can for sure say you got a computer problem.

Irregular pulse rate can stall steppers, because the smallest pause or interruption in pulse stream makes drive to decelerate the motor and then the next pulse comes too fast, stepper can't accelerate and stalls.

[Tom Ayres]

Pete the driver test shows that it fluctuates sometimes as much as 50. I noticed when I move the mouse a lot that the pulses start to drop and there are quite a few spikes, so it may be related to the usb port interupts or maybe the lpt port set-up (on-board). I have a dual port pci parallel port card in but haven't figure out how to get it operating yet. I'll start with shutting down some of the usb ports (8 of them). I'm not sure what my velocity and acceleration should be during testing or on the table for that matter.

Danilo, I think that's part of it. Well there certainly could be interruptions from emf's because everything is within a 3ft area, wires flying everywhere, one big mess, nothing pretty.

[pblackburn]

Tom,
As long as you do not have a VFD running and you do not have motors laying on wires you should be okay. Older cordless phones and wireless routers can be noisy plus newer DISH receivers create noise at certain states of power up. My scanner picks it up all the time. Check your port settings on you LPT. Mach's forum is the place to get great support on Mach problems. When Mach is open and on your diagnostics screen the pulse rate should be steady with minimal movement. It should lock in.

From your video, Install some stand-offs if you do not have them under the 126, stray currents may pass on the surface that it is laying on. Also your drain wires should be tied to ground to properly remove any noise that could be in your wires. Only attach the drain on one end only to allow it to work properly. It is not in the video

This is most likely a setup issue and should be expected when setting up any new piece of machinery. Although these items can be frustrating, work through them.

Remember Einstein said this...."We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

[Tom Ayres]

Thanks Pete, absolutely nothing is grounded at all at this point but I will pursue. I've got an Eagle Scout ceremony to assist with this afternoon so everything is put on the back burner for today (unless I can sneak in some time, he he). Einstein... he was a fairly smart fella wasn't he?

[Tom Ayres]

I have a choice of spur gear materials, High Carbon and Low Carbon. Which would be easier to ream to size?

[pblackburn]

If it is true high carbon then it can be as hard as spring steel. It would be very ornery to machine. Not that it could not be done but you would have to have inserts for cutting hard materials for the lathe you would have to use.

[Gerald D]

The high carbon gear would be intended for further heat treatment to harden/toughen it. (You cannot heat treat low carbon steel). However, the high carbon version will be sold to you before heat treatment, and it is therefore as easy to machine as the low carbon version.

[KenC]

Since spur gears are dirt cheap in-comparison to the rack. I would use soft pinion.
Unless I have a life time supply of free rack... than I'll harden my pinion.

[pblackburn]

I opted for the plain steel rack and pinion from McMaster Carr. I am with Ken

[Tom Ayres]

I got my rack from standard steel, so I'm not sure what the hardness would be. I'll get the low carbon spurs.

[Gerald D]

We used to wear out low carbon pinions within a year or two. Now running hardened gears and both the pinions and racks are doing fine after 4 plus years (with heavier duty use)

[pblackburn]

Tom, any progress?