[kbeard]

Worked on the machine again last night.

I figured something was up with that "charge pump" thing.

I switched the fields to "Spindle On" and the X-Axis magically started working again. I then went through all of the EMC2 drivers listed (with their varying "Step Time") variables and had pretty much the same results as before.

A few of the drivers would allow the motor to turn at VERY SLOW speeds but most all of them would just "Grunt, Growl, and Howl". I tried each driver at 8, 4, 2, 1, and .5 microsteps. The lower microsteps on a couple of drivers would allow the motors to turn at a velocity of .1 ips but nothing at the higher velocities.

I am frustrated that EMC2 doesn't have a pinout variable called "X Enable".
I'm left trying to guess which of the available variables might work.

I'll try the last post's suggestion tonight.
Wish me luck!

PS - To all you "Newbies" -
Quit trying to "be a man" and read all the directions! :drowning:

[johnmac]

kbeard, did you get a CD with your FET3 controller? If so, it will have some configuration information for EMC2. I think its in a folder called DOCS.

The field effect transistors used in the FET3 have rather slow switching rates. Don't expect fast motor rpms.

John

[kbeard]

Yes, I've read all of the files on the CD.

There is one file in the SP3 subdirectory called "EMC.ini"

I have looked at it but it's an "ini" file for the old version of EMC.

About half of the variables in the file are also found in EMC2.
The other half of the variables are missing.
Tonight, I'm trying to figure out how to fix this.

Evidently EMC2 is set up to use a file called "motmod.ko" whereas the older version of the ini file calls for "steppermod.o" which doesn't exist anywhere on the harddisk. I've tried switching the callout to "stepperdef.ko" (???) but it returns an error from the "my-mill.hal" file. Can't recall the actual name of the file since I'm not in the basement. Any help???

I'm gonna fire off an e-mail to StepperWorld about the outdated ini file.

Uff-Da!!!

[johnmac]

Russ seems like a good guy. He should be able to help you out.

John

[lumberjack_jeff]

I have looked at it but it's an "ini" file for the old version of EMC.

About half of the variables in the file are also found in EMC2.
The other half of the variables are missing.
Tonight, I'm trying to figure out how to fix this.

Be aware that the ini file which is created by stepconf (the EMC configuration program) does not include entries for the entire universe of possible parameters.

There are a lot of parameters (e.g. "backlash") which are not written to the ini file by stepconf.

Check out the integrator's document.

[chester88]

Worked on the machine again last night.

I figured something was up with that "charge pump" thing.

I switched the fields to "Spindle On" and the X-Axis magically started working again. I then went through all of the EMC2 drivers listed (with their varying "Step Time") variables and had pretty much the same results as before.

A few of the drivers would allow the motor to turn at VERY SLOW speeds but most all of them would just "Grunt, Growl, and Howl". I tried each driver at 8, 4, 2, 1, and .5 microsteps. The lower microsteps on a couple of drivers would allow the motors to turn at a velocity of .1 ips but nothing at the higher velocities.

I am frustrated that EMC2 doesn't have a pinout variable called "X Enable".
I'm left trying to guess which of the available variables might work.

I'll try the last post's suggestion tonight.
Wish me luck!

PS - To all you "Newbies" -
Quit trying to "be a man" and read all the directions! :drowning:

First thing is I am assuming you are using stepconf to make a configuration.

-the signal name you are looking for to enable the step drivers is 'ENABLE AMP'
which means enable amplifier (or driver)
you can have multiple enable amp signals if you want an enable per axis.
- microstep setting will not make the motors miss steps it will only make it move the wrong amount of steps. I think you said you could set the driver to half stepping, then the microstepping should be set to 2. quarter stepping would be 4 etc.
- driver timing, acceleration, max velocity and base period all effect miss stepping and top speed.
- make sure the wiring is right. That means to the step driver and to the motors. If the motor wires are wrong it will never step properly.
- try setting all the driver timings to 2000 and acceleration low then test.
when you figure out driver timing that works add it here so other people know:
http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emc...r_Drive_Timing

[kbeard]

Thanks for the responses.

Did some more work on the machine tonight and made a little progress. I'm convinced that these little steppers just don't have much "umph". No matter what I set the velocity, acceleration, step time, etc, the motors sound like they should be spinning but no rotation.

If I reduce the velocity to .1 ips the motors will spin (slowly) without missing a beat. Change them to .2 and forget it. Noise but no rotation.

Can somebody tell me how powerful the Stepperworld FET-3's are. I think they are rated 100 oz. When spinning, I can place my fingers on the pulley and stop the motor with a little squeeze. They don't seem to have much torque at all.

I did some realignment of the bearings / screw threads to get the lead screw to turn as easily as possible. Now I can run the X axis with the velocity set to .1 ips. Takes about a minute to travel an linear inch. SSSLLLOOWWW !!!

I was hoping for better. Part of the learning curve I guess.

I'm not sure what to do next. Do I have the Stepperworld FET-3's configured correctly and they're just whimpy. If that's the case, do I rework the machine for easiest (slow) travel. Or do I plunk down more money on stronger motors, higher voltage supply, different controller??
Can anyone make suggestions?

I was hoping that this would be a better experience...

Kevin

[johnmac]

The FET3 CD has a Windows based program that will you to run the motors without control software. Running it will tell you if the problem if hardware or software. If it is hardware, first double check that the motor winding are indeed wired correctly. While the FET3 board is slow, its not anywhere near that slow. I have one on my first machine.

John

[kbeard]

Wanted to update everyone on what's been going on.

I ended up switching from EMC2 to Mach3 since I had better documentation from Stepperworld on how to set up Mach3. Had to reformat and reinstall Windows on the computer. Downloaded Mach3, set up, and got it running.

The 24" x 24" X and Y axis are painfully slow. The highest motor speed that I can run at is around 4 inches per minute. It takes 6 minutes to travel the full 24 inches. Way slower than I had hoped.

I am thinking of purchasing 2 motors to replace the X and Y motors.
I currently have "Bulldog" motors (100 in. oz, 20,000 pulses per minute).
Want to purchase "Roadster" steppers (127 in. oz, 60,000 pulses per minute).

If I understand things correctly, the Roadsters will have 27% more torque and run at 3 times the rpm. (or something like that)

Am I right???

Kevin