Electronics... Its always easy to get it right once you detect what is wrong... but trouble shooting is PITA... ;)

I should have caught the color codes from earlier pics.

That should be 420K ohms (or close to it) not 422 Ohm. You have cut off the current to your motor.

http://www.bpesolutions.com/atechnical/ResistorQV.pdf

From 203V Manual - Note the "K" Ohms noted in the formula. Also note the 6.3 will land between K and L on this chart from the 203V manual and that all of the resistors are "K" Ohms.


This input matches the G203V’s current output to the motor windings. The G203V will accommodate motor winding currents from
0 to 7A. Use the following equation to calculate the value, (in kilo-Ohms) of the current set resistor:
R (in kilo-ohms) = 47 * I / (7 – I) Use the nearest standard value 5% tolerance, 1/4W resistor for this setting.
Here are the current set resistor values for motor current in .5A increments. Round the appropriate answer to the nearest 5%
resistor value.
a. 1A – 7.8K
b. 1.5A – 12.8K
c. 2A – 18.8K
d. 2.5A – 26.1K
e. 3A – 35.25K
f. 3.5A – 47K
g. 4A – 62.67K
h. 4.5A – 84.6K
i. 5A – 117.5K
j. 5.5A – 172.33K
k. 6A – 282K
l. 6.5A – 611K
m. 7A – OPEN

Can you shoot us a good detailed pic of the top of your PMDX-126?

Jason

I made the same error. Reading Mike's input, I went over to check my resistors, no K, so I would have had the same problem and been wondering what was wrong. Thanks to all for such a great forum.

I have started shipping resistors with these same motors for both Half Coil and Parallel setups becuase of these issues.

Here you go Jason, still don't have mach 3 turning the motor yet, but will work on it today. the light for pin 9 i think it was, lights up when i apply steps under test mode and turns the motor, but when i try and control it through mach3 pin 9 does not light up, and no motor turning.

Attachment 12760

I think the thing to do now is go back to the standard setup now that the resistor issue has been identified. You should be able to run the motor in short tests without it overheating.

My JP4 is different, its in the on. and cant see JP3 but mine is off, which is strange because its to power the smoothsteper..lol

Ya, also what you have said happened to me. It would go out and I think I could here a relay trip. I was doing something else(which I cant remember) then all the lights would reset and come back on..then when I would try to move or jog it would trip and go out agian. But Im having a tuff time remembering what I did to fix it...it was something simple too...

Jason

Ok fired up my CNC computer. In motor outputs I have .
X Axis enabled Yes, Step Pin #3 Dir Pin #2. Dir Low No,Step low Yes, Step Port 1,Dir Port 1
Y axis enable yes, step Pin #5,Dir Pin #4, Dir Low no, step low yes,step port 1,dir port1
Z axis enable yes,step pin #7,Dir pin #6,dir low no,step low Yes,step port 1, dir port1
A Axis enable yes step pin #9,dir pin #8,dir low no, step low Yes,stepport 1 dir port 1

port set up and axis Kennel is 25000hz

this is to just get the motors turning for me

do you have anything in the outputs menu? none of those should be set if i read the manual correctly right?

On output Signal?. Output #1, enabled yes, port #1, pin number 16 active low yes. I have nothing else at this time for the rest.

Jason

Yes! today I got the motors turning under mach3. figured out i didn't have the charge pump enabled in the settings, turned that on a viola, within minutes i had all 4 motors jogging successfully. thanks everyone for your time and patience so far in helping me troubleshoot the problems.

Next I am going to break down and wire everything into the control box and complete the assembly on the electronic portions. after that, onto rail grinding ::groan::

Glad you got it going !!! Looking forward to the next stage. So do you think it was a combination of issues that was causing your problems? Or do you think it was the resistors that really were the source of the original issue?

Hey Mike,

Two part issue. First was the resistor, which wasn't the correct one, and then when a better one was fitted, the charge pump setting wasn't correct. I still have the charge pump disabled while I look into setting it in Mach3, but I'll put it back on eventually.

Thanks!

hey all, sorry I've been quiet lately, but here's a small update. I've got the control box mostly wired up, although i couldn't paint it because it's already been powdercoated. I still have to wire in the estops and extra buttons. I've got the rails cut and beveled and I mounted the gantry to make me feel like I've made more progress. next I'm going to start on the y-car and moving this machine into its permanent home in the garage! I only have a couple of pictures, I'll try and take more in the daylight. pictured in the grinding is my brother, who is helping me complete the machine.
Attachment 12809

Attachment 12810

Attachment 12811

Attachment 12812

At least you have a fire truck to put out the fire from that grinder...:D Did that translate across cultures ??;)

you guys are always so astute when you look at pictures, nothing escapes anybody here haha. and that translated... perfectly ;)

You can paint over poweder coat. You just have to rough sand and use an etching primer first. Godd work so far !!!

update! so we finally got a new roof on the garage, and I could move the machine and electronics down there. I mounted the rails, and mounted the rack... but funny story about that... I mount the rack on the y axis, but I thought I had mounted it on the wrong side, so I took it off and flipped it to the other side, no big deal right? except, my gantry was backwards :mad: so I had to flip it around, and take the rack back off, and mount it to the other side, and after a night of it sitting there, it was no easy task. I've got cable carriers painted and mounted as well, when i get time to not be lazy, I'll post some pictures of them.

I'm currently working on the bushings for the spider. the cheapest I could find online was 11 dollars for 8mm inside diameter bushings, So I'm trying to make my own. I bought a a footlong piece of mild steel, 20 mm in diameter, and since I don't own a lathe, I have to use my angle grinder to cut out 6 half inch long pieces, and then use a bench sander to flatten and bevel the edges. its a tedious process but I'm making progress.

I haven't decided where the electronics panel is going to go on the wall so decisions still have to be made on that. Hopefully I can level the rails this week and mount some electronics soon!

John

I sell a set of machined parts for the spider and the idler arm bearing for $100 bucks. Saves a lot of time. I also have stop blocks. http://www.cvsupply.com/servlet/the-MechMate/Categories

Hey Mike, ended up ordering those parts from you the other week, they work great!

onto another problem now, I ordered my laser cut parts in '08, 4 years ago. I bought the motors for the machine 6 months ago, but for some reason, I forgot to check my motor mounting plates. I walked out to the garage today to start assembly, and found i had geared motor plates, but I needed the universal ones. :mad: I'm not sure how to fix this situation other then finding a local laser cutter to cut me new mounts. Anyone have any suggestions? I bought my kit from jbmclain, and I went through my messages and I didn't see anywhere that i specified geared plates over universal, and i know he sold quite a few kits, so I was wondering if anyone else found themselves in the same predicament?

I think MetalHead has some for sale.

Well for my laser cut parts, i ended up redrilling holes, and just mounting my motors in the center of the top holes. Seems to be working out so far, but I haven't mounted the z motor. I have a couple assumptions after reading threads that I hope someone could clear up.

1. The distance between rails is insignificant so long as they are parallel, and there is enough room between them for the rollers to roll on.

2. Having the rails vertically square is not hugely important because material will sag with the rails.

Am I right on these two assumptions? attached below is how I attached my motors to my geared motor mounts. Eventually I convert them to geared motors.

Attachment 13121

Attachment 13122

Are you doing direct drive? I have been busy at work and missed this post. I will trade you those plates for universal plates. Just pay shipping.

Hey Mike, for now i'm going to do direct drive, until i can figure out my budget for doing gears, (next big purchase is vectric, yikes). I figure for the moment since my motors work in the mounts, I can use them. The only one I'm worried about its the z motor, I don't plan on doing a gear on that one, but it's not going to fit by just drilling new holes, I have to change the hole of the shaft, and I''m not sure if I want to do that. Any chance I can just trade you the z-axis plate?

I sent you a PM

ok I'm back in business with a new plate, thanks Mike! getting close to the finish line build wise, I've got the spoilboard on, and motors wired up, last big piece of the puzzle is the router mount.

For those that have the milwaukee 5625, and the router mounter from K2, how did you guys get clearance over the v-wheels?

here are a couple posts of the progress. going to try and make dust tomorrow!


https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4W...XzdoX1BFUVJCQQ

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4W...TnFBc3pVRkZsdw

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4W...WTN5QklOV3MtQQ

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/attac...1&d=1222745939
http://www.mechmate.com/forums/attac...1&d=1222745939

We just cut it on our chop saw with a carbide blade.

Justin,
EXACTLY what I did. Chop saw in shop - and a little sandpaper to clean up the edges.
Works perfectly.

I have cuts! here are some pictures, although they are with my phone, I'll try and get better pictures soon.

A few years ago, I started on a quest to build a mechmate, and at 22, I finally have one! I'm pretty excited, with lots more to come. Some specs:

52X100 cutting area, with room for 4th axis on one end.
Keling motors, PMDX BOB, and Antek PS.
Milwaukee 5625 router

I don't have everything fully complete, I still need to wire up my estops, and I don't have stops on there yet, but as I have only cut small stuff on the middle of the table, I haven't been to worried yet, but they are coming shortly. Thanks so much for your guys continued support and advice!

Attachment 13202

Attachment 13203

Attachment 13204

Attachment 13205

Attachment 13206

Congrats! Another number!

Congrats You get #96 - Great build !! Now get to work :D !!!

Congrats John! Looks good! :)

Builder's Log Update
 

Hey John, great to see that you have completed your MechMate and earned Serial #96. Nice job. :)

Here is the Updated Builder's Log.

Please review your Builder's Log entry and let me know any changes you want to make.

For your start date, I used the September 2011 "restart" date since it looks like that's when you really got into the build. The idea of the start and end dates are just to give prospective builders an idea of how long it takes people to build one of these. Of course, feel free to modify your start date...just let me know and I'll make the change.

hey all, thanks for the encouragement! I've been a little slow lately on any kind of updates or projects due to school, but a little progress has been made and small things have been cut.

Question to the group. I have my spoilboard mounted to the machine, and its glued down using epoxy, and it seems alright in the middle, but the edges of my table, where i clamp big pieces, tend to flip up about 1/16 or 1/8 of an inch, so much so that I can't do detail work at the ends. Any ideas on how to correct this? insert wood shims along the edge an glue those in? not sure how to counteract this, and its holding back a full table surface, (as i don't want to use clamps when i surface the table) so any advice would be appreciated.

Did you surface your spoilboard?

When you say "big pieces", we must realise that some "pieces" will be stronger than the table. When clamped, the table will move to conform with the piece. The only thing we can do is to make sure our table is thick/strong and very firmly bolted to the steel cross supports. Are your bolts loose? (We had problems with the bolt heads starting to break through the support board).

Can you post some pictures?

yea, I probably should have explained myself a little better. here is a picture of the corner of the spoilboard on top of the support board. the edge is like that all the way around for the most part. I've already taken the spoilboard off, and reglued it down, using twice the amount of glue I used the first time, and I still got the same thing. any ideas?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwrog7kyjk...2020.20.07.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwrog7kyjk...2020.20.07.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwrog7kyjk...2020.20.07.jpg

ps.. hmm I can't link an image using the IMG tag, I have to use the URL tag, any reason why?