Messages

16

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / Re: PMDX-126 Rev B K1/K2 Relay issue

« on: January 24, 2016, 01:08:34 PM »

OK, Bob,

Step 4 on your original email, I jumpered (with a very short piece of wire!) EStop to gnd, still get the EStop on M7/M8.

Step 1 of the newer email, 5.00vdc on all J1 thru J6.

Step 2, disconnect all panel LEDs, still get EStop.

Step 3, ESS is about 4" from where it would be if connected directly to the 126, Port1 to ESS 6" ribbon cable, Port 2 to PMDX-108 6" ribbon cable, PMDX-108 to ESS 8" ribbon cable. That one could be 6" but I must not have had one and do not have one now. I did swap for a new 8" cable to no effect.

Now for the interesting part. I wired up a separate 110 into the K1/K2 relays. If plugged in to a different house circuit, it did NOT EStop. If plugged in to the same house circuit, it DID EStop!! All machine 110 is thru a conditioning UPS. This seems to point at a fault in my house wiring. I can easily run a new circuit to the machine and give it it's own dedicated 110 circuit, something I should probably do anyway. I can also easily run a separate 110 for just the relay's if necessary.

Interested to hear your thoughts.

Thanks to both you and Steve for trying to help me out. I'm pretty good at machinist stuff but when electronics go berserk, I'm less hopeful!

Tom

17

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / Re: PMDX-126 Rev B K1/K2 Relay issue

« on: January 23, 2016, 06:07:25 PM »

Bob,

I'm going to get to the rest of your recommendations/tests tomorrow, but if you see this before then, my board is a Rev. A board, A1 sn 27514 on the silkscreened blocks on the lower right as you mention. Does this mean I definitely do NOT have these MOV's of which Steve speaks across the relay's, and/or does NOT filter the EStop inputs as you mention? If that is indeed the case I might be inclined to buy a new one!! If that's not the case I'll keep plugging away at this.

Tom

18

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / Re: PMDX-126 Rev B K1/K2 Relay issue

« on: January 22, 2016, 05:10:02 PM »

I DO get the External Estop Requested in the Mach 3 status line, but no red EStop LED on the PMDX. I don't know why I'd get External Estop Requested in Mach and no EStop on the PMDX nor why it started up just now.

The K1/K2 relays switch solenoids for air, both are air, one is a Kool Mist unit and one is a cold air gun, same solenoid model on each relay.

I'm not sure I even have a Rev. B, my s/n is 27514. It doesn't say Rev. B or Rev. anything on it anywhere I can find.

I actually have two PMDX bobs, the other is a PMDX-125. s/n 27346. I think I bought the second one to get the probe inputs that can be linked or whatever it's called. I am not using the first one at this time. I guess I thought they were both 126's and that the second one would be Rev. B, but..........

Looking on your site, I really have a Rev. A as it seems Rev. B starts at s/n 28601. Does this mean the Estop is NOT filtered? Would a new Rev. C PMDX-126 fix this, do  you think?

I guess I could rig up a temporary setup with an external 110 feeding the K1/K2 relays, not taking the 110 from the same place the 126 is getting it's mains power, and see if that works. I could then route the 110 to the solenoids way away from anything.

Still mystifies me that this setup has worked for 5 years and now it doesn't!! I guess that's the way it is with "noise." And, sorry I don't "get" this to well, it's been a long time since I set it up and it's just been humming along all this time, so I have to refresh my memory every time I look in the box.

Thanks again,

Tom

19

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / Re: PMDX-126 Rev B K1/K2 Relay issue

« on: January 22, 2016, 11:39:52 AM »

Suddenly, I get an eStop when issuing M8 or M7 in MDI/Gcode, or via my Pokeys mapped physical switches.

(1) By "via my Pokeys mapped...." do you mean you have mechanical switches connected to your pokeys board and those switches are configured in Mach to manually turn the flood/mist relays on and off?  If not, what do the switches on the pokeys board do?

(2) Can you look at the PMDX-126 while you issue an M7 or M8 command?  Does the red EStop LED on the PMDX-126 turn on when the relay(s) engage?

(3) Disconnect the 110VAC that is being switched by the relays, so the relays can close and open but won't actually switch power to the flood/mist pumps.  Then try M7 or M8.  Do you still get the EStop?

(4) Disconnect any EStop circuit you have connected to the PMDX-126's EStop and Fault inputs.  Then take a (very!) short piece of wire and connect the EStop input to the adjacent GND terminal.  Leave the Fault input unconnected.  Then try M7 or M8.  Do you still get the EStop?

(5) Are you powering anything from the "+12U" terminals on J11 or J12 of the PMDX-126?

(6) Are you powering anything from the "+V Raw" terminal on J7 (right next to the AC voltage selector switch)?

(7) A drastic test is to disconnect everything from the PMDX-126 except the 110VAC input power, the SS, and the EStop jumper to GND.  Then try M7 and M8 and see if you get an EStop.

There *may* be something loading down one of the PMDX-126 power supplies, or there is a faulty component in the power supply section.  Then when one of the relays tries to energize it loads down the supply  even further and causes the PMDX-126 to malfunction.  We'll see what your answers are to the above questions.

Bob

Answers by the numbers!

1. Yes, mechanical switches hooked to PoKeys and mapped with Pokeys software. All buttons working as always, only M7/M8 buttons tripping, just as MDI M7/M8 do.

2. No, the PMDX Estop red LED does NOT light when this happens. I have LED's connected to J7 and on my panel and that Estop doesn't light either, of course!

3. NO, it does NOT Estop with the coolant switches disconnected, PMDX K1 and K2 relays click and LEDs light up. M9 clicks and turns off LEDs, all as it should be. So the act of tripping the coolant switches is doing this, apparently.

4. Did NOT do this, yet. Thinking we're on to something else, but perhaps not.

5. Nothing powered by +12U on J11 or J12

6. Nothing powered by the +V Raw terminal on J7

7. Did not go here yet either.

Again, this all worked as it is for years. Only recently started with no wiring changes anywhere and no other symptoms, everything else runs and works as always!

Thanks

Tom

20

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / PMDX-126 Rev B K1/K2 Relay issue

« on: January 21, 2016, 11:16:33 AM »

I've had my PMDX-126, Rev. B (I think!) running on my BP clone for years, Mach3, ESS. I've used K1 and K2 for coolant/mist all along. Suddenly, I get an eStop when issuing M8 or M7 in MDI/Gcode, or via my Pokeys mapped physical switches. I'm using  port/pin 1-1 and 2-14 and as I said, been working all along.

Obviously noise somewhere, but to my knowledge nothing has changed in my setup. I don't know where to start to try and fix this. The coolant relays are 110v, so the power is coming from the Mains power on the PMDX-126 to K1 and K2, simply jumped up to the relays. I've checked all the wiring connections and everything seems OK. I've tried Smoothstepper Noise Filtering of Inputs settings, up to 250, but I'm unsure what field might effect this so I've put 250 in all to NO effect. I think Mach3's Debounce is ineffective with the SS, correct?

So, what to try? Capacitance across the K1/K2 and if so what capacitor? More SS Noise Filtering value?

I'm baffled and open to suggestions!

*****Edit********

The ESS is powered remotely, it's own stand alone 5v PS.

Thanks in advance!

Tom

21

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: Ethernet smart bob

« on: June 05, 2015, 10:23:17 AM »

Just came looking at the state of Mach 4, which I've avoided, and PMDX. I see this thread. We're a week and a half from the CNC Workshop, which I will NOT be attending, unfortunately. Are you still on track with the PMDX-426 for the CNC Workshop? Just curious as this WILL be the catalyst to get me to look into Mach4, a license for which I purchased months (or has it been years?) ago!!! I have to have Mach4 do all the things I currently do with Brains, macros, and an old Pokeys for buttons, before I can consider moving over. I figure PMDX will make most of that painless so I'm glad to wait.