Solve issue and I will buy you a 6-Pack!!!

Arrrgggghhh. I am losing my mind. I have a simple setup which im sure hundreds of people have and I cant get it to work.

First some background-

I have a converted linley jig borer, being used as a cnc milling machine. doing mostly aluminum small parts for my hobby use.
I have 470oz(i think) steppers, an old toshiba pc (laptop) a xylotex 4 axis board, 24v power supply (from xylotex) I am using bobcad and mach2.

This machine functions well with the above listed components.

The problem I am having is I am trying to hook up a cnc4pc C11 bob revision 5.4

I cant get the motors to move with the C11 bob hooked up.

I have a 12v laptop supply powering the "external power" 12v and ground.
I have a usb 5v power cord (from cnc4pc) powering the "pc power" 5v and ground.
I have a printer port cable (from cnc4pc) running from the pc to the C11 bob "PC" printer port imput.
I have a cable (from cnc4pc) connecting the xylotex to the C11 "output" connector.
I have the safety charge pump on the C11 bob disabled (jumper on 1 and 2)
I have a small wire connecting the 5v to "enable outputs"

When hooked up as I just explained, my LED next to the "pc power" imput is lit.
My other "power" LED (on the opposite side of the board) is not lit.
My "output status" LED is not lit.

Nothing else is hooked up. no spindles, coolant pumps, limit switches, e-stop, etc... nothing.

I will paypal money for a 6-Pack to the person who is able to help me get this thing (the C11 bob) functional. I just dont get it. I think I have everything right. I have gone over this setup and read the wireing directions dozens of times!!! what am i missing?

one other thing- the CNC4PC wiring instructions mention needing 3 ower sources. AFAIK I only have 2. the usb and the laptop power supply. the wiring instructions are uber vague in describing what the 3 sources are hooked to. see this link for the instructions-
http://www.cnc4pc.com/Tech_Docs/C11_Wiring_Guide.pdf

I hope you can help...

Nate.

Hey,

I was asking ?'s over at the cnc4pc yahoo group. Here's the ?'s:

*****
I've been helping someone with their control box set-up and have a few
questions about the c11 that didn't come up when I was hooking up my c11g.

The c11 has a usb cable for getting the 5v for board and also has
connections for a 5v & 12v wall wart.

1) If your using the usb do you need the other 5v & 12v wall wart?

2) if your using the 5v & 12v wall wart do you need the usb 5v?

The person I'm trying to help has both.

1) Does he need both?

2) What would happen if he used both?
*****

And here's the reply:

*****
The C11 is a fully optoisolated board. That means that it has two completely independent circuits. The currents of these circuits needs to be isolated from each other. That is way you need two power sources. One power is for the side of the circuit that interacts with the PC and the other power connections are for the other side of the circuit.



Yes, you could use one power supply to power both circuits, but you will loose optoisolation on the grounds.

Arturo
*******

It sounds like you also need to power the other power connections (5v & 12v).
cnc4pc sells a wall wart power supply (5v & 12v)

If you're not going to use the 12v circuits you may be able to use a 5v (1.5amp+) wall wart to power the other circuit.

Just a couple of ideas. This electronic talk above is above my head but, thats what I got from the the above response from the cnc4pc group.

Well sir, you have solved the riddle. after pulling out another usb power cable, hooking it up to my other laptop and putting it into the 5v and ground next to the un-lit "power" LED, I now have functionality!!!

my "output status" "pc power" and power led's all are light and i am able to move my motors.

I guess that the cnc4pc wiring guide was correct. I did need all 3 power sources to run. While this was stated, and may seem obvious, I stand by my statement that the cnc4pc instructions are "uber vauge"

arturo has been helpful, and his products seem like good quality, but the instructions definately need improvement.

I digress... back to the matter of our agreement. Please email your email adress to destinationroom101 AT comcast DOT net so I can paypal you some cash for a 6-pack!

I appriciate your help!!! :banana:

Nate

Thanks,

I'm just glad I helped. You may be able to return the favor to me (or someone else) sometime.

Cheers,
Jack