[bedheadben]

Yep, when those 6 wires are connected properly and Mach is set up, you should be able to get the stepper motors moving properly. Left/right arrow key should drive the lathe carriage left & right, up arrow should move the carriage away from you; down arrow moves it towards you. You can change the config in Mach until you get it going correctly.

I think you'll find that when you command a series of moves from Mach, you'll hear the stepper motors sort of skip or stutter momentarily when using a laptop no matter what you do. Hopefully I'm wrong but keep your eyes & ears open. The steppers should ramp up & down smoothly without any glitches. Also Mach comes with a driver test that will tell you if the computer you're using is acceptable.

That's great to know! I wonder what it is about the laptop that could cause it to not output a constant signal through the parallel port. I'll run it through the test in the program though!

[bedheadben]

I just ran Mach on the laptop and it says "Driver Successfully Initialized." Does that mean I'm good to go or is there some other test that I need to do?

I ran a config check and under the Output Signals Check it said "Port for an Output found as not port 1 or port 2. Unless using ModBus, this is wrong. Pin for an Output found as not pins 1 - 9, 14, 16, or 17. Unless using ModBus, this is wrong."

That appears to be more of an issue with where the port is located than the hardware of the computer.

Edit: After changing to the correct port address and running the config check no errors were found. I have the ACPI of my laptop setup for Standard PC which supposedly fixes the shuttering issue you mentioned. We will see.

[DICKEYBIRD]

There's a separate drivertest.exe you need to run. I think the "Driver Successfully Initialized" message comes up each time you launch Mach.

[bedheadben]

There's a separate drivertest.exe you need to run. I think the "Driver Successfully Initialized" message comes up each time you launch Mach.

What CAD program are you using?

[DICKEYBIRD]

I use an older version of TurboCAD Deluxe...v9 I think. I've used it for years and it does way more than I need. Got it online for $25.00 some years ago.

HOWEVER, I'm having trouble getting it to play nice with CAD2Lathe, the inexpensive lathe CAM program I have. I'm still in the lower part of the learning curve with it but Draftsight (free 2D ACAD clone by the makers of Solidworks) is said to work well with it should you choose to go that route. If you're familiar with AutoCAD, you'd be right at home with it.

My budget for this stuff is limited and so far am having trouble with lathe CAD/CAM on the cheap. All the jobs I've run so far have been hand written but some upcoming work I hope to get will need CAM and that's when I'll have to get serious about learning it.

[bedheadben]

I get the following error code when I try to run the drivertest.exe
"Could not locate missing vectors."

I've done some experimenting with DraftSight and I'm definitely having fun. I need to figure out how to set the origin and how to work LazyCam better so that the G-code actually comes out readable by Mach 3. Any tips on good books similar to Tabletop Machinist except on the CAD/CAM topic? I think I have the CAD part figured out (I used to do a lot of 3D modeling, so it's pretty similar), it's just the CAM and machine interface that I am struggling with.

Next step is finding a spindle encoder and figuring that out!

[DICKEYBIRD]

Did a quick search on the Mach Support forum and there are many references to "Could not locate missing vectors." Sounds like you had the Mach program running when you executed drivertest.exe. Close out Mach & try again; drivertest is a stand-alone PC analysis app.

I'm glad you're getting familiar with Draftsight...you can teach me when you get good with it.

I truly understand the CAM/machine struggle as that's a thorn in my side as well. The simple jobs I've run so far have all been coded using bits & pieces from Mach wizards or hand coded using coordinates laboriously transferred from a CAD drawing. Watch out using LazyTurn as it was never finished and is limited in what it will do. There's a sub forum on the Mach Support site that might help you. LazyTurn

I use a CNC4PC C3 spindle index pulse card. It works great and is pretty cheap. CNC4PC

[DICKEYBIRD]

By the way, the free .pdf downloads from the Mach site are great resources!

ArtSoft USA - Documentation

[bedheadben]

What is your photo transistor using as a pickup on your setup? I saw a guy on YouTube using a Homann with a piece of electrical tape on the spindle as the pickup.

[DICKEYBIRD]

I made a 4" dia steel disc with a single #20 (.161") hole drilled in the edge...like this:



It's not real critical as to disc size, I used what I had lying around.

[bedheadben]

I made a 4" dia steel disc with a single #20 (.161") hole drilled in the edge...like this:



It's not real critical as to disc size, I used what I had lying around.

That looks great, I think I'll go with that kit. All of this is so exciting! I learn something new about machining every day.

I really enjoy the variety of parts and relatively low cost compared to bigger machines. Any tips on some websites to get cutting tools?

[bedheadben]

OK, here’s a little info on getting your controller to hook up to Mach3 via parallel port.

Does this look familiar? I'm going to attempt to get this machine moving today. Which wires other than the 6 for direction of the axis need to be hooked up for later speed control?

[bedheadben]

Okay, my only question now is where do I hook up the grounds? Should I wire them to pins 18 and 19 or the ground terminal which grounds to the metal on the cable. I'm thinking the ground terminal but I'm not sure which/if any/if all of ports 18-25 need to be grounded.

[bedheadben]

Okay I have everything hooked up. Originally when I went into Mach 3 to try to jog the motors they would make noise but not move. While attempting to move the Z motor after changing the settings I got BSOD and my computer crashed. Now when I go back into Mach the X motor will make noise but there is no longer any response from the Z motor. Is it possible that I shorted something and killed it? I did a quick visual inspection and nothing found, I guess I'll have to do more testing with the DMM.

These are my settings for x and z:
Steps per: 16000
Velocity: 20
Acceleration: 1
Step Pulse: 2
Dir Pulse: 0

I also have the "Sherline 1/2 Pulse mode" box checked.

[DICKEYBIRD]

Sorry 'bout the late reply Ben, been at the E.R. with wifey since 5:00 AM and am a little wacked out. She's resting finally now and I came home to get some sleep before going back in a few hrs. Hopefully things'll be better tomorrow.

AFAIK you definitely don't need Sherline mode as there are no Sherline electronics in your machine whatsoever. The lathe mechanical unit itself is all that's made by Sherline. You will have to restart the PC after changing modes I think.

Hope that helps 'cuz that's about all the brain power I have right now; sorry.

You're making progress; good luck!

[bedheadben]

Sorry 'bout the late reply Ben, been at the E.R. with wifey since 5:00 AM and am a little wacked out. She's resting finally now and I came home to get some sleep before going back in a few hrs. Hopefully things'll be better tomorrow.

AFAIK you definitely don't need Sherline mode as there are no Sherline electronics in your machine whatsoever. The lathe mechanical unit itself is all that's made by Sherline. You will have to restart the PC after changing modes I think.

Hope that helps 'cuz that's about all the brain power I have right now; sorry.

You're making progress; good luck!

Sorry to hear! I hope all goes well!

I turned off Sherline mode and it's experiencing the same symptoms. I can manually spin the motors pretty easily by hand, so I don't think the lathe itself is locked up, but it could be.

[Fastest1]

That is me!

What is your photo transistor using as a pickup on your setup? I saw a guy on YouTube using a Homann with a piece of electrical tape on the spindle as the pickup.

[Fastest1]

If you can spin the steppers by hand there is something incorrect. Most likely not damaged just misconnected or misconfigured. I have never needed to use Sherline mode on any of my Sherlines (2 an A2ZCNC) but I am not running their electronics. I have a few G540's and a Hobby CNC Pro but they all are similar in set up.

Sorry to hear! I hope all goes well!

I turned off Sherline mode and it's experiencing the same symptoms. I can manually spin the motors pretty easily by hand, so I don't think the lathe itself is locked up, but it could be.

[bedheadben]

That is me!

Thanks for the helpful upload! How's that setup working for you?

[Al_The_Man]

Okay, my only question now is where do I hook up the grounds? Should I wire them to pins 18 and 19 or the ground terminal which grounds to the metal on the cable. I'm thinking the ground terminal but I'm not sure which/if any/if all of ports 18-25 need to be grounded.

The P.P. common terminals are usually at earth ground due to the usual way of bonding the M.B. ground plane to the grounded P.C. chassis screws which is in turn grounded by the supply plug or wherever the power supply is fed from.
It doesn't hurt to take it to a ground star point as an option.
Al.