Messages

301

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: PDMX410 compatibility with aQuickCNC 3-axis unipolar controller

« on: May 29, 2015, 04:04:10 PM »

Yes.  The pin-out on that board's 26-pin ribbon connector looks to be compatible with the SmartBOB-USB family of products.  If you start from our sample Mach4 profile that can (optionally) be installed with our plug-in, you will have to make a couple of changes to the configuration:

(1) Our sample profile has the EStop input assigned to "Pin10" by default.  You should change this to "Pin15" to match the documentation for this motor driver board.  As an aside, the online documentation for this board says that pin 15 is the E-Stop input, but I'm not sure that board itself does anything with the EStop other than pass it on to the parallel port connector.  It says you can use normally open or normally closed switches on the EStop input.  But there is no jumper or DIP switch on the board (that I can see) to select the EStop polarity.  That is why I don't the board does anything with EStop.  If that is indeed the case, you could connect your actual EStop circuit to any of the input pins, with pin 10 being the standard default for our sample config and all of the PMDX product line.

(2) Our sample profile has the "Charge pump" output signal assigned to "Pin17".  Your board does not have a charge pump facility, so disable that output signal in Mach4 (it is not needed).

(3) Likewise, out sample profile has the "Spindle On" output signal assigned to "Pin1".  Pin 1 on this board goes to a solder point (not easily usable).  So you should probably disable that output signal as well.

Bob

302

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: Z-axis Goto Zero not responding

« on: May 28, 2015, 05:58:10 PM »

This is most likely due to the script that runs when the "Goto Zero" button is pressed.  Earlier versions of Mach4 only attempted to move the X & Y axis.

To fix this:

(1) open Mach and select the "Operator->Edit Screen" menu item.  This will bring up the screen editor.

(2) Click on the "Goto Zero" button

(3) In the "Properties" window in the lower left of the screen, click on the center icon that looks like a box with a lightning bolt on it.   You should see some text on the line for the "Left Down Script" item.  Click on the box with the 3 dots in it to edit this script.

(4) Make the script look like this:

local inst = mc.mcGetInstance();
mc.mcCntlMdiExecute(inst, 'G00 X0 Y0
G00 Z0');

That will move the X & Y axis to zero and then move the Z axis to zero.  Feel free to change the order of the commands to suite your machine.

(5) Click on the Screen->Save menu

(6) Click on Operator->Edit Screen to exit the screen editor.

WARNING: Since this was saved back to the original screen set, if you are using the default wxMach screen set it WILL BE OVERWRITTEN when you install a new version of Mach4.  To avoid this, you could "save as" to a different file, and then go to View->Load Screen to load the modified version.  The drawback to renaming it is you don't automatically get any updates to the screen set that come with new Mach4 versions.

Bob

303

Announcements / SmartBOB-USB plug-in updated to 0.25.111 - Mach4 Builds 2313 to 2336

« on: May 13, 2015, 02:15:18 PM »

The Mach4Hobby plugin for the SmartBOB-USB family of controllers has been updated to version 0.25.111, released 8 May 2015.  This plug-in works with Mach4 builds 2313 through 2336.  It DOES NOT work with build 2441.

Changes for this release include:

(1) Supports 20 microsecond step pulse widths (used mainly with Sherline stepper drivers)

(2) Fixed issue that caused the axis DROs to occasionally display incorrect data

(3) Fixed bug that did not always update step pulse width

(4) Fixed an issue that occasionally caused Mach4 to hang when exiting the SmartBOB plug-in configuration dialog

Full details HERE: http://www.pmdx.com/Downloads_/ReleaseNotes_Ver_0_25_111.html

This updated plug-in can be downloaded HERE:  http://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-SmartBOB-USB-Plug-In

304

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: PMDX-410 Pin Assignment Descriptions

« on: May 11, 2015, 03:59:16 PM »

Sorry about that.  It seems we left that section out of the PMDX-410 quick start.  I've updated the PMDX-410 Quick Start manual on our web site, and here is the text from the new section that describes the signals on J10:

J10 - This connector provides three additional general purpose input signals.  These are logic level signals with pull-up resistors to allow use with switches connecting to ground.  These inputs are protected from voltages of up to 7 volts DC.  These signals have less filtering because they are intended to be usable as high-speed encoder inputs at some time in the future.

* GND is the ground reference for the input signals
* E-Stop is a duplicate of ?Pin 10 equivalent? input signal on J2, which is normally used as the E-Stop input
* ?A? is a general purpose input (future encoder A channel input)
* ?B? is a general purpose input (future encoder B channel input)
* ?C? is a general purpose input (future encoder Index channel input)
* +5S is a switched +5 volt DC output derived from the USB jack.  This special power output is enabled after the PMDX-410 negotiates with the USB host device for additional power. This may allow the users of this power to exceed the baseline USB power limits.  If the host declines to offer sufficient power, or the PMDX-410 is being powered from a different source, there will be no power available on this terminal.

Note: The three inputs on J10 will show up on the "Input Signals" tab in Mach4 as "PinA", "PinB" and "PinC".

305

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / Re: PMDX-110 Machine Shuts Down At Random

« on: May 05, 2015, 01:19:03 AM »

Wow, its been quite a while since we've dealt with that board.  My first thought is that one of the power supplies is marginal.  Can you remove the connector on J1 and still run the machine?  This is located near the center top edge of the board, with a silkscreen label "Pot and Fwd/Rev Swt".  If not, will your voltage meter probes make contact if you slide them down into the connector along side the wires (that would work on either J1 or J2, which is right next to J1)?

If so, power on the board (and machine).  Put your meter on DC Volts and set the scale to the something close to, and above, 10 volts.  Put the negative meter lead on J1 (or J2) pin 6 (just above the silkscreen word "Pot"), and the positive meter lead on J1 (or J2) pin 4.  You should read something close to 10 volts (perhaps 10.1 or 10.2V).

Now try to turn on the spindle and see if the voltage reading changes.

Bob

306

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / Re: Legacy PMDX132 Breakout;PMDX135 Power Prep & G202

« on: May 05, 2015, 12:48:59 AM »

The PMDX-132, 135 and Geckodrive G202 should still work fine for you.  While no longer state of the art, these boards are solid performers.  We stopped producing the 132 due to parts availability issues and waning interest, not because there were any problems with the board.  Likewise the PMDX-135 was replaced with the PMDX-137 for the same reason (parts availability).  We still provide support for these older generation boards, and in case you need them, the manuals are still available on our web site (http://www.pmdx.com/Archive).

As long as you have a PC with a parallel port, or some motion control board like the SmoothStepper or (for Mach4) our PMDX SmartBOB series (http://www.pmdx.com/MotionControllers), everything should work.

Bob

307

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / Re: PMDX-126 Air Solenoid Relay

« on: April 16, 2015, 03:09:59 PM »

Generally, we advise connecting the hot (or live) wire to the N/O (normally open) terminal, then connect the COM terminal to the solenoid.  That way, when the relay is open, the hot wire is not connected to any other terminal.  If you were using K2 on the PMDX-126 and wired the hot wire to the COM terminal, it would be connected to the N/C terminal whenever the relay was de-energized.

The N (neutral) wire should go directly from the A/C outlet to the air solenoid.  If the solenoid has a connection for the ground/earth wire, then run that also directly from the A/C outlet to the solenoid.

Bob

308

Parallel Port breakout boards, motherboards, and dedicated accessories / Re: [PMDX-126] Slaved Axis question

« on: April 16, 2015, 03:04:30 PM »

I apologize for taking so long to reply, I've been out sick for a few days.

You can use "jumbo" mode on the PMDX-126 even if you want both X axis motors to turn in the same direction.  All you need to change the wiring between the motor driver and the motor.  For the motor that is on the "cloned" outputs from the PMDX-126 (connected to PMDx-126 J5 pins 4 and 5), take the two wires for one phase of the motor and swap terminals on the motor driver.  This will cause the motor to run the opposite direction.

First, make sure that the two X axis motors turn the same direction when fed the same "DIR" signal.  Then, swap the wires for phase B (or phase A, either one, but not both).  Take the motor wire from the "B+" terminal on the am882 and connect it to the "B-" terminal.  And take the wire that was connected to the "B-" terminal and connect it to the "B+" terminal.

Another method is to connect both motor drivers to the same pair of step/dir pins on the PMDX-126.  However, you cannot do this with the Leadshine am882 drivers.  The PMDX-126's outputs do not have enough current capacity to drive two of the am882 inputs.  The PMDX-126 outputs can handle up to 16mA on each output.  The am882 requires a maximum of 16mA per input.

Bob

309

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: pmdx 422 step pulse width

« on: April 10, 2015, 05:45:57 PM »

I have verified that there is an issue with setting the step signal pulse width with the latest plug-in releases (0.19.100 through 0.23.107).  It may also be present in earlier releases, I haven't tested them yet.  5us pulse widths always work.  10us pulse widths sometimes do and sometimes don't.  Stay tuned for a plug-in update.

310

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: MDI movement using G-Code different to jogging

« on: April 10, 2015, 05:24:18 PM »

Doesn't seem to matter whether we check the 5us or 10us option, we are getting a 5 uSec pulse all the time.

This is being addressed in another thread here:
http://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-Forums/index.php?topic=102

Bob

311

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: MDI movement using G-Code different to jogging

« on: April 09, 2015, 06:02:52 PM »

I did email Steve my ID today.. He did send the request immediately, but I had to be sure I was using a good machine etc so we wanted to run in demo mode for a short time.  Please nudge him for me :)

We are in throws of packing for the Cabin Fever show (http://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-Forums/index.php?topic=84.0).  I'll see if we can get this later tonight.

Bob

312

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: MDI movement using G-Code different to jogging

« on: April 09, 2015, 05:22:01 PM »

You bought the PMDX-422-Bundle from us (thank you!  and you saved $10), which means you need to get the Mach4 license through us, not directly from Newfangled Solutions.  You should have received an email from Steve (my boss) asking for your PCID from Mach4.  Once in a while we miss sending them out (yeah, it is not fully automated yet :-).

To get your PCID, go to the Mach4 Help->About box, select your network adapter (if you have more than one), then copy the PCID to the clipboard.  Send us the PDIC and we will send you a license file.

Bob

313

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / How to report a problem, what to tell us

« on: April 09, 2015, 05:11:39 PM »

*******************************************************************************
This page is obsolete and maintained here for historical purposes.
Please visit the page on the new PMDX FAQ site here:

http://faq.pmdx.com/content/2/4/en/how-to-report-a-problem-what-to-tell-us.html

or

http://faq.pmdx.com/index.php?solution_id=1003

*******************************************************************************

There are several pieces of information that we almost always need to know in order to help figure out what might be happening (or not happening) with your machine.  It helps to have that information when you first report an issue.  That saves us the time of replying and asking you a bunch of questions, and then you having to reply again.

So here is a list of things you should include with any problem report:

(1) What version of Windows are you running, including whether it is a 32-bit or 64-bit variation.  For example, XP 32-bit, Win7 64-bit, etc.

(2) What version of Mach4 (see http://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-Forums/index.php?topic=73.0)?  And please don't tell us "the latest version".  By getting the version number from Mach4 as it is running, you help us verify that you are indeed running the version that you think you are running.

(3) What version of our plug-in (see http://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-Forums/index.php?topic=73.0).  And again, please don't tell us "the latest version".  We need to verify that you are indeed running the version that you think you are running.

(4) If there is any message in the Mach4 message box (in the lower left corner of that mach4 screen), then click on the "History" button and save the contents to a file (alas, you cannot copy it directly to the Windows clipboard), then copy the contents of that file into your post.  Or attach the file to your post if it is a large file.

(5) Did you see any pop-up error messages?  If so, try to tell us what they said

(6) When describing your issue, try to describe the exact behavior that you are seeing.  If the motion is not what you expect, describe HOW it is not.  Did it move more or less than you expected.  Did the actual motion match what the DRO shows?

(7) Is the issue reproducible?  Every time?  Or once in a while?

314

SmartBOB controllers and dedicated accessories / Re: MDI movement using G-Code different to jogging

« on: April 09, 2015, 04:58:44 PM »

I've sent you a private email asking you to call me.  Based solely on the screen shot you gave us I have these questions and comments:

(1) I notice that that Mach4 message bar (bottom left of the screen) shows "Vertex Buffer Objects requested...".  This warning is harmless.  It is telling you that Mach4 is not using a display accelerator feature because your PC hardware doesn't support it.  To get rid of this warning, go to the "Configure" menu and select "Mach...".  On the "General" tab, check the box in the "Misc" section at the right edge that says "Disable VBO Tool Path".

(2) To see if there are any other errors "hidden" by the "Vertex Buffer" message, click on the "History" button next to the message bar.

Does the machine move the expected distance but the DRO shows the incorrect values?  Are the DRO values like those shown in the image only show up while the machine is moving, and they return to possibly normal values once the machine stops?  Do the DROs increment/decrement when they show the incorrect values or are the numbers static (un-changing)?

Which version of Mach4 and our plug-in are you running?  And what version of Windows (32-bit or 64-bit)?  And it this a desk-top PC or a laptop?

Bob

315

Generic Spindle interfaces, I/O boards, Misc boards and panels / Re: Spindle Start Command Requires Dual Entry

« on: April 08, 2015, 11:59:07 PM »

Run this test:
- Enter the speed and M3 commands via MDI as you were doing (i.e. "S1000 M3")
- Look at the LED on the PMDX-126 for pin 16 (this is on connector J6, near the transformer)

Do you see the LED on or flashing/blinking?  It may be on but dim, depending on your maximum spindle speed (the speed used for this test should be at least 1/2 of full speed).  If the "Pin 16" LED is off, then enter another "M3" command.  Does the "Pin 16" LED turn on?

If the "Pin 16" LED does not turn on with the first command, but *does* turn on with the second, something is not working right in either Mach3 of the SmoothStepper.  Try setting the spindle "spin up" delay to zero and see if that works (in the Config, Ports & Pins, Spindle Setup tab).

If the ""Pin 16" LED does turn on with the first command, yet your spindle is still not turning, reply here and I'll give you some other things to test.

Have you read our app note about using the SmoothStepper with the PMDX-126 and PMDX-107?  See AN002 here:

http://www.pmdx.com/AppNotes

There are newer versions of the SmoothStepper plug-in since that app note was written.  But it will give you some settings to check that were not obvious to me when I first tried this board combination.

Bob