[rorym]

Hi Everyone,

We recently bought a Sherline cnc lathe and mill second hand and cheap. We are having a few issues getting them going and don't have any info from the previous owner to help. I've searched around and it's difficult to find any clear setup instructions for these machines so hoping someone here can help.

A bit of info on where we are at with them below;

- Both machines are running off Dell Optimax Windows 7 PC's which came with the lathe and mill and had been running them - We had issues with both PC's when starting them. We removed the ram and put them back in again which seemed to fix the issue and Windows booted up as normal.

- Both are using the Sherline 4-Axis cnc driver box - https://www.sherline.com/product/876...specifications

- Changed parallel port setting to EPP

- Downloaded and installed Sherline XML setup file for Mach3. It seemed like these were already installed however we removed them and installed fresh ones to see if it would make a difference.

- All stepper motors have power, Mach3 shows axis movement when jogging with keyboard however there is no actual machine movement.

Considering both machines are running off individual computers and are having the exact same issue we are guessing it is a software setting in Mach3 etc. rather than mechanical/electrical issue.

We are a bit stuck on where to go from here so any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[CS900]

your link doesn't work.

So do the motors lock when power is turned on? I'd double check your step and direction pin settings in mach3. I'm not familiar with the sherline controller but it may need an enable signal from the PC before movement will happen.

[rorym]

Thanks for your reply.

This link should work for the driver - https://www.sherline.com/product/876...is-driver-box/

The Sherline .xml file has entered in all of the ports and pins settings, it's hard to double check if all the inputs are correct as I'm not sure what they should be and have no reference.

The machines don't have an e-stop anywhere however I notice in the Mach3 inputs that the e-stop is always enabled and it doesn't seem to let me disable it. Could this potentially be an issue?

[awerby]

Yes, the program is looking for an e-stop wired into the breakout board. Since you don't have one, it's assuming the button has been pressed. The easiest fix is to change it to "emulated" and "active low" (so it doesn't look for a signal). See if that helps.

[rorym]

Thanks for the reply.

I tried changing estop to what you suggested and still no luck.

Looking at the diagnostics screen there is very little happening. I would have thought there should be more lights if there were signals either good or bad. Image attached, does this tell a story of what could be happening at all?

Thanks again!

[awerby]

That is a 32-bit version of Windows 7, right? It might want "active high" in the Estop settings. You'd also have to press the reset button after changing that bit. and get into Sherline half-step mode. If that fails, you might think about switching to Linux CNC, which is what Sherline uses - it's free, and the normal instructions and setup files Sherline provides will work with it.

[CS900]

i don't think it's an estop issue. You'd see the "emergency" light light up on the diagnostic screen and you'll never get a green ring around the rest button if the estop is active. I may have missed it, but do the stepper motors lock when you power up the mill?

They have all the configuration requirements listed on the web page. I'd double check everything.
https://www.sherline.com/product/876...specifications

and to confirm you're using the parallel port to communicate to the control box? No motion controller or anything?

[rorym]

Thanks for the replies.

The stepper motors lock power is on. Thanks for the configuration requirements link. I'll go over it all when I'm back in front of it.

The parallel port is direct to the control box with no motion controller.

Thanks again!

[CS900]

ok good. The steppers are likely wired correctly then. One more thing to check is to make sure your parallel cable is a straight thru cable; meaning pin 1 on one side goes to pin 1 on the other. Check all the other pins as well. They do make crossover cables where this is not the case.

[rorym]

Thanks for the response.

I have checked ports and pins in Mach3 against the Sherline specs link. All the axis step and directions inputs are correct. I'm unsure what 'NC' means for pin 10,13 and 17 and also 18-25 'Ground'

The parallel cable is straight through.

I might start looking into the Linux software. Although I'd prefer to stick with Mach3 as I have a bit of experience with it in the past.

Thanks!

[CS900]

and all your step and direction pins are on port #1?

and your windows 7 is the 32 bit version correct?

[Fastest1]

I have never seen a factory Sherline run Mach. Not that it couldnt be done. Werent they Linux or even FlashCut? I used different electronics.

[awerby]

"NC" stands for "Normally Closed". A switch that's normally closed will pass current through until it gets a signal to open. Switches can also be "NO" (normally open) and require a signal to close. Switches can also be "active high" or "active low". The former change state when they get power; the latter when power is removed.

[skrubol]

I noticed on your screenshot under pulse frequency it says simulate. I assume this to mean that something is not configured correctly to send step/dir pulses out the parallel port?