pmdx107 and Anaheim brushless motor controller MDC300-120151

[Ironwright]

I'm trying to wire a PMDX-107 to a brushless motor from Anaheim automation. Im using an MDC300-120151 series brushless controller for the motor.  Any help would be appreciated.  I've attached the user's guide.  Wiring example is on page 10.  I need the PMDX-107 to control the speed and switch the motor from forward to reverse.

thanks

[Steve Stallings]

The MDC-300 driver has an interface that is different from a VFD and more like
the interface on a stepper motor driver. It needs a power source to feed into
the Run and Direction inputs, and unlike a VFD there is not a power source
provided by the MDC-300.

Since the inputs of the MDC-300 are opto-isolated, it is safe to use the +5V
and GND from J11 or J12 of the PMDX-126 as the source of this power.

Model your wiring on Figure 1 on page 10 of the manual.

Substitute the +5V and GND from the PMDX-126 for the battery shown in Figure 1.

Connect the +5V from J11 or J12 of the PMDX-126 to the COM terminal of the
PMDX-107.

Connect the Fwd/Run output of the PMDX-107 to the Run/Stop+ input of the
MDC-300 driver.

Connect the Rev/Dir output of the PMDX-107 to the Direction+ input of the
MDC-300 driver.

Connect GND from J11 or J12 of the PMDX-126 to the Run/Stop- and the
Direction- of the MDC-300 driver.

Leave the Freewheel inputs on the MDC-300 not connected.

Connect the Agnd of the PMDX-107 to the Analog Vin- of the MDC-300.

Connect the Aout of the PMDX-107 to the Analog Vin+ of the MDC-300.

Turn ON position 3 of the Dip Switch on the PMDX-107 to enable Run and
Direction mode for the outputs. (The factory default is Fwd/Rev outputs)

Turn ON position 6 of the Dip Switch on the PMDX-107 to set its analog
output voltage range to 0-5 volts.

You must set the MDC-300 to accept an external speed control voltage.

Do not enable Auto Direction on the MDC-300. If the motor is spinning
in the wrong direction, use the "Active Low" property in the Mach
configuration for the direction signal driving Pin 14.

Configure Mach to use PWM speed control on Pin 16.

Information on configuring Mach to use a PMDX-107 can be found here:

http://www.pmdx.com/Doc/AN001_Mach3Config_3Axis_ParallelPort_02.zip

I highly recommend using the TEST button on the PMDX-107 to verify the
wiring and settings on the PMDX-107 and MDC-300 before trying to get
the software configured.

[Ironwright]

Steve the cat had many a story to tell but it was a rare occasion such as this that he did.  What a story it is.  Your instructions worked like a charm. Thank you, you magnificent feline administrative avatar of electronics.  The machine is up and running everyone is happy.  Once everything is dialed in I'll post some picks on the show off thread.  Again thank you for your help.   

[Ironwright]

A new wrinkle

The spindle was working fine.  We ran five parts one day and three the next.  Then the estop started kicking out on the machine.  I try to start the spindle in MDI and the spindle jerks and then the estop message comes on in mach3.  If I run the spindle using the test mode switch the spindle starts and runs just fine.

What's so frustrating is it was working.

[Steve Stallings]

The E-Stop may be caused by electrical noise in the power that runs the spindle. Did the status line
at the bottom of the Mach3 screen mention External Estop Requested?

If so noise is coupling into the E-Stop signal. This could be through the PMDX-126, but more often
it is directly into the parallel port cable itself.

You can try using "Debounce" on the Config > General Config screen. Look near the top right corner.
Values entered here are in multiples of the time for one kernal cycle, e.g. 40 uS per cycle if you are
running a 25 KHz kernal. Using a value of 100 would result in a debounce interval of 4000 uS or four
milliseconds. This should be enough to hide most electrical noise without delaying system response
too much.