[Cbjc1002]

I finally have my machine wired up, but cant get any movement in Mach3. When I turn on the power supply, I am getting good holding torque and the motors are not warming up.

I am using a 5-axis BOB from Ebay (5 Axis CNC Breakout Board Interface Adapter F Stepper Motor Driver DB25 Cable | eBay)

I set the motor outputs in Mach3 according to the instructions that came with it:

X-Axis: Enabled (checkbox), Step pin 2, Dir pin 14

Y-Axis: Enabled (checkbox), Step pin 16, Dir pin 3

Z-Axis: Enabled (checkbox), Step pin 7, Dir pin 8

And the Output signals:

Enable 1: Port 1, Pin 1
Enable 2: Port 1, Pin 1
Enable 2: Port 1, Pin 1
Enable 2: Port 1, Pin 1

I have Wantai DQ860MA drivers (Stepper Motor Driver DQ860MA:Stepper Motor Driver DQ860MA wholesaler) wired in the Yin configuration with the +Step, +Dir and +Enab wired to the Step, Dir, and Enab pins on the BOB. I have the BOB ground for each axis wired to the -Step, -Dir, Gnd and -Enab terminals on the driver.

The driver has wiring for 2 motor poles (A and B). I am using this Nema 34 motor (High-Torque Stepper Motor, Stepper Motor, Driver, Stepper Motor kit, DC Servo Motor, DC Servo Motor kit, Stepper Motor Power Supply, CNC Router, Spindle, and other Components. Automation Technology Inc).

Please Help!!!

Thanks in advance.

[doorknob]

First question: Do you have a USB cable connected to the breakout board, or do you have a 5 volt power supply connected to the breakout board? The breakout board needs to have 5 volts applied to it in order to function.

Also, some of the Chinese stepper drivers seem to want no connection to the Enable terminals in order to function properly.

And, it is not clear from the breakout board documentation whether or not the board is capable of "sourcing" current to drive the optoisolators in the stepper driver when hooked up in the 'yin' configuration - if not, then the 'yang' configuration may be a better choice.

[Cbjc1002]

Thanks for the reply. I have 5V wired to the board. I found a youtube video with the same driver and the same board (what are the odds ?!). This person has the board and driver wired the same as mine and its working:

CNC Stepper Motor Driver Test DQ860MA 80V 7,8A - YouTube

I did another experiment in which I ran the roadrunner in mach3 and then checked the parallel port output directly on the computer with a voltmeter (checked the pins that I had input into mach3 versus ground pins 18-25) and there was no voltage on any of the pins.....

I checked that the port address was correct and that the check box for "enabled" was selected on port 1.

I'm really not sure what else to check.

[109jb]

I use the same bob with similar drivers connected as follows:

XS on BOB to PUL+ on x-axis driver
XD on BOB to DIR+ on x-axis driver
XE on BOB to ENBL+ on x-axis driver
XN on BOB to PUL-, DIR-, and ENBL- on x-axis driver

YS on BOB to PUL+ on Y-axis driver
YD on BOB to DIR+ on y-axis driver
YE on BOB to ENBL+ on y-axis driver
YN on BOB to PUL-, DIR-, and ENBL- on y-axis driver

ZS on BOB to PUL+ on z-axis driver
ZD on BOB to DIR+ on z-axis driver
ZE on BOB to ENBL+ on z-axis driver
ZN on BOB to PUL-, DIR-, and ENBL- on z-axis driver

Don't hook the BOB gnd to the driver gnd. the only thing on that should be the negative terminal from the power supply for the steppers.

Your pin definitions for Mach3 seem correct. You can try clicking "active low" for the enable pin in Mach3. Or as a test, just unhook the enable wires from the driver and see if it works without them hooked up.

[Cbjc1002]

I think the issue may be the parallel port. The BOB has a led on each axis. When the computer sends a signal to an axis on the BOB, the LED corresponding to that axis lights up (see youtube video posted previously). I measured the voltage on the parallel port on the computer while running gcode in Mach3 and there was no voltage on any of the pins. I may pick up a PCI parallel port to see if that works. I found a PCI parallel port in stock locally:

Manhattan 1-port Parallel PCI Card 158220 - Micro Center