[Phil_Par]

Thanks!, moving along with the build...

[spumco]

I'm using a noise filter because I had it laying around, and plasma are reportedly noisy (electrically). I also have one on my mill, mostly to stop the VFD from causing noise back in to the mains.

In the UB1 manual example, the servo drive are line-powered and may be sensitive to noise in the mains. Your stepper drives are powered through an AC/DC power supply and (I think) the power supply reduces line noise.

The drive enable/fault scheme can be used to signal UCCNC and the other drives that one drive has quit working. I elected to use this feature in my plasma build as I didn't want one gantry motor faulting and the other end of the gantry trying to keep going. My mill does not have this feature and if a motor faults or a stepper loses steps, UCCNC and the other drives keep going.

Your needs/design may, of course, be different.

[ger21]

Enable and Fault are often two different things, depending on the drive. His don't appear to have a fault signal.

[spumco]

Gerry - you're right - no fault function on that drive.

[Phil_Par]

I plan on using shielded cable that I already have laying around to connect the UB1 to my stepper drivers. Where would I plug those ground leads? To the metal enclosure ground star? Are all ground leads from any shielded cable connected there as well?
Should I be using insolated stands for my enclosure mounting plate which is alum?

[spumco]

I cut up a stranded 24awg ethernet cable and harvested the twisted pair conductors to connect the UB1 to the drives.

The UB1 manual has good diagrams of how to connect drives with differential cables and single-ended ones. I believe it also indicates where to tie shielding (drive side)

.

[Phil_Par]

I though that "Grounding at the driver" side means having the ground lead on that end of the wire and then run the ground somewhere else, like the enclosure start ground or the AC ground. I can figure which of those to use

[ger21]

In the case of a servo drive, there would be a ground terminal on the drive. Stepper drives don't usually have ground connections. I wouldn't even bother with shielded wire to the drives. Just wire it like the first pic, with twisted pair wire and no shields.

[Phil_Par]

What is your opinion on homing prox sensors wiring for slave motors?
a. one prox sensor on master motor
b. two prox sensors on (master and slave side)

This topic seems to be a big debate and I am hoping to make a decision based on practical experience
Thanks

[ger21]

I don't think there's any debate.It just comes down to how rigid your gantry is.
If it's so rigid that the slave side can't move independently of the master side, then you only need one (on either side, but assigned to the master.). This requires the gantry to be perfectly square.

If the gantry is not that rigid, and the sides can move independently, then you should use two switches.

[CitizenOfDreams]

What is your opinion on homing prox sensors wiring for slave motors?
a. one prox sensor on master motor
b. two prox sensors on (master and slave side)

Seems pretty simple to me.
One sensor if your motors are mechanically coupled and CANNOT go out of sync.
Two sensors if your motors are mechanically independent and CAN go out of sync.

[Phil_Par]

Thanks for the feedback. How would I wire 2 sensors
Would they be independent, 2 signal wires from each switch or wired in series/parallel to only send one signal?

[ger21]

No, they need to be separate, to separate input pins.

[Phil_Par]

What would you guys recommend for an estop? There seems to be multiple options with pros and cons.Here is my understanding and what I remember from what I read so far:

Software Estop: Used by the majority of DIYers. Proven to be reliable and prolong the life of the components compared to the second option which is to remove power. It also helps stop things faster.

Mechanical Estop: The safer option that requires a relay to remove AC power to the power supplies to the drivers, or remove DC power to the drivers. Seems to be what is called by the code and used in some industrial machines. There are concerns over frequent stop events affecting driver and/or stepper motors. This option also tends to let motors spin for a little more time than the first option.

Again this is what I read on the web and I am not sure if I am missing something or if some of what I mentioned is not truth.

[spumco]

NOTE - if your drive has a Safe Torque Off (STO) function then that may be preferable to 'killing' the power like my scheme below does.

I use both for my Estop circuits. Latching mushroom switch with two sets of NC contacts.

Contact #1 - signals BOB (UB1) an Estop event has taken place. Connects X103 to 0V on UB1 as part of safety circuit so UB1 cuts all outputs (even if UCCNC is hung). UCCNC - if it isn't frozen - also drops out ENA signal to servo drives when external Estop signal is received.

Contact #2 - Connected to 'safety' relay which cuts drive contactor coils. Relay is wired with a holding circuit so unlocking the Estop does not re-energize the relay. NO momentary pushbutton is what energizes the relay coil, and the unlocked Estop acts as the holding function.

'Safety' relay is in quotes as my personal equipment just uses good quality normal mechanical relays. Stuff for other people has actual safety relays with driven contacts and signaling capabilities.

Drive ALM signals are connected to UB1 X104-X107 and will also trigger both a mechanical and software Estop. All drives will shut down if one faults.

Drive main bus power and drive logic/UB1/UC300ETH are powered separately so Estop does not shut the brains off - just the muscle.

I also use a main on/off circuit with two momentary pushbuttons and another holding circuit relay. This means everything at the operator station is 24VDC or less - no 120VAC even if it's allowed by NFPA 79. When the main disconnect switch is closed, the only thing that happens is the 24VDC power supply is energized and the main on/off circuit is capable of starting up the equipment.

The above adds some complexity & cost to a control system, but I want it safe, reliable, and recognizable to anyone familiar with industrial wiring practices.

Check drive documentation for minimum delay between on/off/on cycles. Based on my limited experience, if the delay times are followed then drives and other components are not likely to fail from the occasional Estop. If you are Estopping frequently I think it'd be wise to investigate the underlying cause(s) rather than using a software-only system to 'save' the components.

[Phil_Par]

Contact #1 - signals BOB (UB1) an Estop event has taken place. Connects X103 to 0V on UB1 as part of safety circuit so UB1 cuts all outputs (even if UCCNC is hung). UCCNC - if it isn't frozen - also drops out ENA signal to servo drives when external Estop signal is received.

so the UB1 has an onboard safety circuit acts as a relay in a sense that it will kill signal to the drivers when estop is engaged. This helps me understand the actual use of this circuit. I wired it like the diagrams provided in the UB1 manual but did not understand how it worked.

Drive ALM signals are connected to UB1 X104-X107 and will also trigger both a mechanical and software Estop. All drives will shut down if one faults.

Just to confirm, you did solder the bridges under the UB1 attached to the safety circuit? The first time I wired my UB1, I attached the estop, OVR and reset signal to the safety circuit and it worked fine with my mechanical relay and the UCCNC but now that I read the manual more carefully, I came to understand that I had to solder those.

Drive main bus power and drive logic/UB1/UC300ETH are powered separately so Estop does not shut the brains off - just the muscle.

I have a 24v PS just for the UB1 and signal voltage to relays so I will not pass it through the safety relay

Check drive documentation for minimum delay between on/off/on cycles. Based on my limited experience, if the delay times are followed then drives and other components are not likely to fail from the occasional Estop. If you are Estopping frequently I think it'd be wise to investigate the underlying cause(s) rather than using a software-only system to 'save' the components.

I am running two G203V and 2 DQ542MA. The estop is engaged under usual conditions: material getting loose, close to hit a clamp, change your mind on a strategy,and hopefully never but during real emergency events where the operator is endangered.

[CitizenOfDreams]

The estop is engaged under usual conditions: material getting loose, close to hit a clamp, change your mind on a strategy,and hopefully never but during real emergency events where the operator is endangered.

The "right" way to do it would be PROGRAM STOP or FEED HOLD buttons. But many home machine operators (myself included) use E-stop for that purpose.

[spumco]

Just to confirm, you did solder the bridges under the UB1 attached to the safety circuit?

Yep. You have to choose how many inputs you want to trigger the onboard safety circuit and then solder bridge them on the bottom. This is a minor annoyance with the UB1 - I'd prefer to see jumpers or dip switches for all the optional settings - even if it meant a slight additional cost. Changing one's mind after it's mounted and buried in an enclosure is a royal PITA.

To reinforce CitizenofDreams statement - feed hold or cycle stop is for non-dangerous stuff. E-stop is for stopping everything RTFN.

[Phil_Par]

The "right" way to do it would be PROGRAM STOP or FEED HOLD buttons. But many home machine operators (myself included) use E-stop for that purpose.

I might bring an additional external push bottom close to the machine to trigger the uccnc reset function for oops moments and leave the big heavy duty mushroom botton for real emergencies. In case of an emergency it will be clear without doubt which to press

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