Progress continues.... The machine is in its new home and I have stated to install the motors and to tighten things down. Yesterday, I started to finish wiring the control box and today I hope to cut holes in the box and maybe paint.

and you call it a tight fit Nils? enjoy cutting nils :)

Woaoww Nils… This is GREAT !
So happy for you, getting close to “ take off ” ! ;)

Very nice Nils.

A tight fit, but my mid section MAY block a little more sun than yours. :)

Now, let see some cutting action. :D

Greg,
Dont worry, I think I am in the same boat with you. :) Im going to leave a little more room than Nils did for my midsection to get around. :eek:

Nils,
Cant wait to see your first cuts. :)

Nils has cleverly positioned his MM so that he does not have to get around it. If he needs to work on the x-motor he will do that extramurally . . . . through the window! :D

Gerald,

Good idea. It is tight but I can move around with a motor attached. But the design is so good, I don't expect any problems.

I have all but one hole cut in the controller box and have started to paint it. I had to repaint. The paint dept had a quality control problem. We have one last coat to add. Then I will add all the switches and finish the last of the wiring.

Things are close.

Nils,
How did the sensing on the Aluminum work out for you?

Heath,

If you are talking proximity switches, it appears that the sensors are finding the aluminium they are just closer. I don't think it will be a problem.

Nils,
Do you have the standard proxies or the extended distance ones that Gerald was mentioning before? Great to hear it will work for you with the Aluminum. :)

Heath,

I have the standard and I am thinking that I need the extended ones. Because of the aluminum, the sensor is very close to the surface of the material. I am calling FactoryMation today to talk with them about my sensors.

Help
 

Help!

I have been quietly working away to get my machine up and running. I am at the point of getting things running. I did not do a kitchen top test which may be a big mistake though we did test my motors.

Earlier I found that I had the switch components for the ON/OFF switch reversed but I have fixed that problem.

What is working.....

I am getting power to every thing.

If I push an E-Stop button things shut down.
My proximity switches register.

I can not get my motors to turn. I may have a problem with my X on the PMDX-122 I am using. The indicator light on the board is not lite for pin 2. All other motor lights are on. The power to the Geckos are on.

I think I may not have the right resistor for my Gecko 203V drives. With power on and I put a multimeter on the two connectors I am reading 4.5. No power 15.

I have the motors configured in Mach 3 as :
.......Step Pin # Dir Pin # Step Port....Dir Port
X..........3 .............2 ............1 ...........1
Y..........5 .............4 ............1 ...........1
Z..........7 .............6 ............1 ...........1

I have checked the continuity of the cables as I wired them so I believe the problem is not there.

When I jog x, y or z nothing happens. Motors do not turn on.

What do I need to check or do to fix my problem?

Thanks

When you attempt to jog "forwards" and then "backwards" (ie. change direction) do you have some LED's on the PMDX that light up?

Hi Nils

Have you checked your motor config in Mach, is it set for the correct step per unit, if too low the motors may well be turning but too slowly to see.

Do the motors give an audible "clunk" when power is applied to the Geckos? this would indicate that power is getting through to the motors.

The motor config on mine is (based on Bob Campbell Board, dont know which one you are using)

Signal, Enabled, Step Pin, Dir Pin, Dir low active, Step low active, Step port, Dir Port

X enabled 2 6 no yes 1 1

Y enabled 3 7 yes yes 1 1

Z enabled 4 8 yes yes 1 1

A enabled 5 9 yes yes 1 1

My system has a slaved axis thats why I am using A, if you dont slave then omit the last row

Motors won't turn after the setting up - PMDX-122 jumpers incorrect

Cannot get motor to turn - Mach Ports & Pins setup

Getting comms between PC and PMDX-122 - Finding the correct port address

Motors do not move after initial setting up - Mach setups

Gerald,

When I power the machine, now all the rights are lite on the PMDX for the motors. When I jog the step light goes out and then comes back on.

I will look at the link you have listed.

I am suppose to be using A because I have two X motors. I thought that X would drive both motors.

Thanks

Fixed
 

Thanks to everyone responding so quickly.

I thought I understood about the JP1 Jumper but I had changed it from the first time I looked at it but once I moved to the lower position the motors started to work.

I also had to reverse one set of the AA wires so that both of my X motors ran in the right direction.

I am a happy MM.

I am using my Shuttle Pro and I like it a lot. Need a longer USB wire.

I will be posting pictures soon.

Thanks again to Gerald and others.
Nils

Update,

My machine is cutting since Sunday but my personal computer is in the shop - I think it is about to die.

I picked up another MDF board for my spoilboard and will glue it down hopefully Tuesday. I have to grease the racks, add logos and configure the pause and resume buttons on the machine. I have my zero laser macro working and I have been working on touch plate - I have a couple issues - it wants to drive the router deeper but I will fix that soon.

I had a little trouble configuring the router to turn on but that is also working.

I will take some pictures for evidence and request my serial number soon.

Thanks to Sean for all his help.

I had to bring in the machine computer so I can get the oem codes I need to configure the buttons.

Every thing seems to be working well.

Pictures soon.

Found the "Setting up a remote push button...." thread so I will fix that easy.

Thanks Gerald

Congratulations Nils, Will eagerly await your next posts. :)

I've seen the beast in action. Nice, really smooth. I'm jealous that he already has configured the touch plate, laser offset and shuttle pro. It's still too clean - but I am sure I can help fix that problem :)

Gerald, I gave Nils a set of decals and logo's for the machine, so you can issue the serial number as soon as he post's the proof!

Congratulation Nils, it's been a long fun road.

Thanks for letting me help.

Sean,

Once again, I could not have built my machine with out your help and direction. My machine works so well because of your input. I want to thank you for putting up with my phone calls and questions. I was lucky that you helped me.

Well done! Looking forward to seeing photos of your completed machine.

Sounds like Nils is having fun. :)

Well done Nils. I hope the blue paint is off your face by now

Nils, if you still have paint on your face, you could put the decal on your forehead :D

Way to go Nils !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure, we're all happy for ya bud.

Pictures Please. :D

Virus
 

Mech Mate Builders,

About the time I was finishing my build and wanting to show pictures, I have had to deal with a personal computer problem. There is a very nasty virus out there.

On Friday AM after doing a complete scan of my computer with a well know virus protection software, my computer would not boot. I have a comptuer background and after trying everything that I knew, I decided to take my machine to a palce to see if they could recover my data and fix my machine.

After 5 days of them working on it, they recovered a very small percentage of the data that was on my hard drive. When I went to look at the data at their facility, they started experiencing the same problem with their computer that I had.

They have now isolated the hard drive that they down loaded the small data they recovered.

I know better but I had not made a backup for some time. I do check my computer regularly for viruses.

Be Warned! Make backups and scan your machine and becareful what you allow on you computer.

I hope today to glue the new spoil board to my machine and to add the logos. I will take some pictures in the next day or two.

I consider my personal computer has been trashed. I was planning to buy a new one with a faster processor but I wasn't planning to do it so soon. Looks like I am getting an early present.

Which virus was it?

Nils,

Sorry to hear about your computer.

On a better note....congratulations on your machine.:)