Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
I need to wake up, before I start typing.
Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
Hi Jeff
yes the 100 ohm resistors are in parallel
one end of each resistor connected to the break out boards ground
and the other ends connected to the 3 Gecko drives signal common terminals (12)
they are in turn connected to the negative supply terminal (1)
as for reading resistor colour codes
my crash course in reading resistor colour codes was buying 10 of each resistor value from 1ohm to 10 meg ohms
they arrived all jumbled together in one bag ! (850 resistors I think it was )
first lesson , don't try it under Fluorescent lighting !
variation in paint colours used by the resistor manufactures and errors in the colour balance of the camera and your monitor
makes reading the values from photos more difficult !
MAG45
your first picture in post 37 makes it a lot easier to follow the printed circuit
and see all the track to the D-type pin 10 has disappeared !
does the limit switch or what ever connect +5V to the BOB's input terminal ?
John
No, the limit switches are just microswiches from the bob, through the switch and back to the bob. The only power to the bob is from a red wire on the atx pws as far as i can tell.
Just to add, this setup was running for about a year and a half before I started having consistent problems. Just had random false e-stop errors at first, then my Z axis stopped repeating while running a program, but would repeat if i jogged it with an indicator on it.
Hi MAG45
just trying to work out how the track was damaged
while most micro switches only ground the BOB's input when the contacts close as shown in the PMinMO manual
on odd occasions I've come across switches switching between ground and a current limited positive supply
John
PS
is the 25 way D-type connector connected to a PC printer port or some other controller ?
It did fall free in that case, and with that wire mess who knows what it ran into ! lol
Is there anything I need to do a this point ? Or just waiting for things to be figured out ? No answer from Gecko as of yet.
Hi MAG45
did you have a batch number or serial numbers for Gecko Drive to identify your drives and find out if they are a special version ?
I assume the boards LS1-1 switch input fell onto a positive motor supply connection
that would explain the damage to the PCB track and the resistor
the problem is the damage done to the motion controller or PC printer port connected to the breakout boards 25 way D-type connector
on the Gecko web site there is the circuit of a step / direction tester you can use to test the gecko drive
I'm not sure of any ready made version for sale any where
I'll have to do a quick web search and see what's available
John
Hey John, Did the last Gecko info I posted explain the resistor for you?
I found a resistor in my dads old electronics bin and replaced it on the BOB. Is there any harm in putting it back in and seeing if it works?
Hi Mag45
I've had a few distractions but , Yes I've had a look at both the picture of your spare driver and page from the manual you posted
should be OK as a spare drive
I have found 3 ready made pulse generators here :-
Servo/Stepper Testing : Get Hubbed, The Art of CNC
the lack of information makes it difficult to decide which one I'd use instead of building the Geckodrive version
John
Do I need a pulse generator? If so this project will be put on hold for a while.
Hi MAG45
if you can't get your control system to work after replacing or repairing the damaged BOB
a pulse generator is just a handy tool to prove the stepperdrives are OK
John
Hi MAG45
I expect you will need to change 1K resistor R5 and the red light emitting diode LED 5
- note the position of the flat in the red resin case
Attachment 267592
the cathode (k) is connected to the terminal block and your wire link that replaces the burnt out track
John
Okay, thanks, will check to see if I have LED's
No LED's that size, just some bigger ones. Will it run without the LED or is that part of the connection ?
Hi MAG45
yes , once the burnt 1K resistor has been replaced
you can apply the 5V supply and test the board on your workbench
using a 25 pin plug will make it easier to test the continuity between the limit switches and the boards 25 way D type socket
if you short the limit switch input LS1-1 to ground terminal LS3-2
LED 5 will light if its working - its possible its open circuit or no longer emits light
if the LED is open circuit just short it out so R5 acts as a pull up resistor for LS3-2 and the D-type pin 10
with no connection between LS1-1 and ground
you should have around +3.5V to + 5V between the D-type pin 10 and ground ( pins 18 to 25)
the voltage measured depends on the meter you use
repeat the test for the other four limit switch inputs LS1-2 to LS3-1
John
Okay, put the BOB back in wired as it used to be (still a mess) but didnt want to change anything yet. With linux CNC i had to "override limits" to allow it to make the control live. I was then able to to jog all 3 axis. But at the end of the jog the software/controller would darken and give me a limit error at port 0, 1, or 2. I could revive the controller and jog back, as soon as i stop, error again.