One Direction?

[it_guy]

So I have updated Mach 4 to build 2230 and have PMDX Smart BOB software/driver version 17.86. with that out of the way, I am running Windows 7 Ultimate and everything is up to date. at this moment, whenever I jog in the + or - direction, the machine will continue to run in the + direction even when running code. the DRO's in Mach 4 will show that it is moving in the + or - direction but alas, the machine does not want to obey that command.... Any help is greatly appreciated.

V/R
Mike
California

[it_guy]

Oh, and I am running firmware version 32.104. trying to reload firmware again seeing that it started to do this after the update from 31. whatever it was last

[it_guy]

Disregard my last issue. I figured it out. I had the direction wire in the "COM" location for the axis output. totally incorrect spot.
Now that it is fixed, when machine soft coords are on the machine will duplicate the above problem. again tried switching the wires and believe this one ot be a legitimate issue.

Thanks in Advance,
V/R
Mike

[Bob at PMDX]

Disregard my last issue. I figured it out. I had the direction wire in the "COM" location for the axis output. totally incorrect spot.
Now that it is fixed, when machine soft coords are on the machine will duplicate the above problem. again tried switching the wires and believe this one ot be a legitimate issue.

Let me see if I understand, and ask a few questions:

- Originally you had the direction wire in the "COM" terminal. Questions:

(1) Where was your step/dir common wire connected? Was it connected where the DIR *should* have been?

(2) How do you have jumper JP3 set - to "GND" or "+5V" (this jumper selects to common reference for the step/dir signals)?

(3) What stepper/servo driver are you connected to (i.e. Gecko G203V, etc.)?

(4) Please list your current motor driver connections (ex. step to J3 "2", direction to J3 "3" and common to "com").

- Now you have the step and dir wires to the proper terminals (say, for the X axis that would be J3 terminals labeled "2" and "3"), and your step/dir common wire to the "com" terminal. Question:

(5) You say that when "machine soft coordinates" are on...  Do you mean the "Machine Coordinates" button, or the "Soft Limits" button on the main Mach4 screen?  Or something else?

- You say the machine runs in the + direction even when you are jogging in the - direction, with the DRO showing the expected changes (i.e. position changing + or - matching the jog direction).  Questions:

(6) Do *all* of your axis behave the same way or only this one axis?

(7) If jogging motion shows this behavior, what about G-Code motion?  If you click on the MDI tab and enter something like:
    G0X1
    G0X0
(substitute your actual axis for the "X" above), does this work correctly or does it exhibit the same "only motion in + direction" issue?

(8) Try swapping the step/dir connectors for this axis with one other axis and see if the problem stays with the motor driver or with the connector on the PMDX-422.  For example, say the "X" axis (J3) is not working and the "Y" axis (J4) is working.  Unplug both connectors and plug the "Y" axis motor driver into the "X" axis connector (J3).  Likewise, plug the "X" axis motor driver into the "Y" axis connector (J4).  Do not change your Mach4 configuration.  Try to jog the "X" axis (the one that didn't work before).  Does the motor move both directions?  Jog the "Y" axis.  Does it move both directions?

Neither "Machine Coordinates" or "Soft Limits" enabled *should* have that kind of effect on the system.  And I cannot yet replicate your problem here.  We'll see where to go from here after I see your response.

Bob

[it_guy]

Wow, Bob! Lots of info!
1.  I do not have a COM wire from the 422 to the drivers. does the COM go to the driver Ground?
2. The drivers are the DM860A's from Longs motor - I know, I know, I went cheap. I eventually plan on going to servo motors but needed to                  get the basics worked out first.
3. J3 is set to +5v
4. I meant the soft limits button on the home screen of Mach4. I looked at the ports and pins earlier today and found that softlimits was selected to be ON, I turned on the "Active Low" setting and everything returned to normal with the machine softlimits working.
5. Before switching this on, all axis's behaved the same, i.e. moving only in the + direction.

As of NOW, everything is working fine....
One new question, should the Ground from my DM860A's be plugged into the COM on the 422?

I have attached a photo of the specific drivers that I have.

Thank you for the fast response!
V/R
Mike

[Bob at PMDX]

3. J3 is set to +5v
4. I meant the soft limits button on the home screen of Mach4. I looked at the ports and pins earlier today and found that softlimits was selected to be ON, I turned on the "Active Low" setting and everything returned to normal with the machine softlimits working.
5. Before switching this on, all axis's behaved the same, i.e. moving only in the + direction.

As of NOW, everything is working fine....
One new question, should the Ground from my DM860A's be plugged into the COM on the 422?

First the connections.  I would suggest changing JP3 to the "GND" position.  You *can* configure the system to work when set to +5V, but I prefer to use the GND setting if at all possible as it reduces the chances of shorting the PMDX-422's +5V to ground somewhere.  Then, based on the manual that I was able to download (not from longs-motor.com, there were unreachable when I tried), you should connect the step/dir signals as shown in figure 2 on page 4, like this:
      PMDX-422 Step --> PLS+
      PMDX-422 Dir   --> DIR+
      PMDX-422 COM --> PLS- and DIR-
You need to have the COM reference connected to both of the optocoupler inputs on the motor driver, not to any "ground" terminal (which would be the motor power ground which you want to keep isolated from the PMDX-422).

Without the COM reference connected to your drivers I'm not sure how you got ANY motion, unless you had the PLS- and DIR- connected to a GND pin on the PMDX-422 somewhere.

And second - you mention:

found that softlimits were selected to be ON, I turned on the "Active Low" setting...

There is no "Active Low" setting related to soft limits.  Was it some input signal like "Motor0 --" (neg limit switch)?  If so, that could explain why you only got motion in one direction.

Bob

[it_guy]

Bob,
for the J3 setting I actually have it set to GND. I do not have any ground to the 422 and motor drivers, I do however, have the low level +5v connected for the enable feature on the drivers.
I hope that helps, I am currently going home to sleep, I have been non-stop with other hardware issues today. Don't worry nothing electrical or PMDX related, all bonehead mechanical nonsense.

Also, here is a screenshot for the softlimits and active low setting.
Thanks again,
V/R
Mike

[Bob at PMDX]

Also, here is a screenshot for the softlimits and active low setting.

Ahhhh, THAT soft limits signal :-)  That is an output from Mach4, and is set "active" whenever you have soft limits enabled (via the "Soft Limits" button on the main screen).  That output signal does not control anything in Mach, it only indicates what Mach thinks it is doing.

FYI - I also notice that you have several output signals enabled but not assigned to any device's output signals (the "Device" and "Output Signal" columns are blank).  It is OK to configure Mach4 like that, it just won't do anything**.  I think your earlier test where  you checked the "Low Active" setting for the "Softlimits On" output and then noticed the motors working was a coincidence. 

Bob

** Well, not exactly true.  Warning: Technical details follow - Mach4 *will* send messages to all of the plug-ins that, for example, "Softlimits" are "on" or "off" (or "Jog Continuous" mode is enabled/selected, etc.).  And these messages are sent whether or not the "Softlimits On" output signal is enabled.  It is up to the plug-in to decide what, if anything, to do with these messages.