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I have a fresh new hell. My mill is starting to not go where it is supposed to. This has happened numerous times now. Some of the symptoms I am having is that the PDB display sometimes gets dim. I also have had the smoothstepper complain that it was overloaded. I am thinking maybe power supply? Any ideas?
-Keith
Which VFD do you have? When I first got my mill I had the C300 vfd. I had issues with the smooth stepper. I don't remember the exact message but something like out of data. I also had trouble with the power draw bar. The display would show random gibberish characters and lock up. Novakon determined that the problem was probably electrical noise from the VFD. They sent me a GS2 VFD. The two issues I mentioned went away and did not return. If you already have a GS2 maybe check the connections? Make sure the wiring is tight as it can be a source of errors.
I have since switched to an Acorn control and I'm currently testing it.
Thanks man. I will check it out but it worked fine for 5 years (well 2 with the smoothstepper). I did swap out my y axis motor with a new one. maybe I will switch back.
Any update on this? I think you were luckier than me. I had random issues with Mach 3 the entire time. At first because I was doing one offs I thought the problem was with me. When I started doing multiple part runs I found out that the issue was with Mach 3. Check for a loose coupling on the newly installed motor.
Do yourself a favor, go to either UNCNC or Mach4.Quote:
Originally Posted by upnorth
Don't forget PathPilot or LinuxCNC.Quote:
Originally Posted by wmgeorge
UCCNC is more modern and superior to mach3.
I already ditched Mach on the milling machine. I installed an Acorn. Its currently undergoing testing. I may try Mach 3 on a lathe I have. I have quite a bit of money invested in hardware that supports mach3. I would hate to toss out 2 perfectly good mother boards.Quote:
Originally Posted by wmgeorge
FWIW, if your hardware works with Mach3, it should work with Mach4. No need to toss them out. Warp9 has good setup instructions for Mach4 on their site.Quote:
Originally Posted by upnorth
If you using these controllers then they work with uccnc, mach3 and mach4, you can switch software any time you want. :)
CNCdrive - motion controls
OK so an update. Mill is dead in the water. Will start up but PDB is dark, can't communicate with the ESS. I have so much work to do and my mill won't stop breaking. Does the ESS and bob work off the computer power supply? What about the PDB?
Try messaging Ray. He designed the PDB. Any help from John?
OK so I talked to John and he gave me some stuff to test. As soon as I moved one of the wires out of the PS everything came back on. Wiggled it and things went haywire a bit. New power supply and I am back in business! 3 hours of cutting with no problems. Maybe it is me just hoping but the mill seems to be cutting better than ever.
Thanks everybody and especially John!
Have you checked for obvious loose connections? I would remove and reseat every connector on there. Maybe swap the power connector on the breakout board to another one on the power supply if one is available. They power drawbar does get power (5 VDC) from the motherboard. Likely the smoothstepper gets its power from the same source. You could easily temporarily wire in another computer power supply. To me that seems like the likely problem. Check the connections first. Maybe you have a bad break out board also. If it turns out the break out board is bad I removed one recently and replaced it with an acorn. I would sell it if its needed.
Well good news.You were posting while I was writing a reply. One of the great things about these small cnc machines is they are cheap and easy to fix. If it was a Haas or something you would probably be looking at a $5k repair bill to get it going again.