[sideways]

I've got a nice new ethernet smooth stepper and Mach3, and I know I need one of the plugins here: Software

...but I'm pretty confused by the way the page is laid out!

The "current version" seems to be V.10 (ish), but the development version seems to be at V.17(ish) and has been for several years. It's not clear if the features covered in the development version are in the "current" V.10 or is V.10 really old?

Maybe the dev/V.17 ones are "USB V.17", and the ethernet on has it's own newer version number (ie V.10)?

Can anyone help?!

(the features I really need are backlash comp for what it's worth, and soft limits too, soon)

[jimglass]

Not sure I understand your question but Mach3 takes care of backlash comp. I recently got an Ethernet smooth stepper working and like it so far
Jim

[sideways]

The text on the SmoothStepper talks about allowing backlash comp in plugin (dev) V.17, before that it didn't allow Mach3 to apply any compensation. My real question is, why is the "current" plugin V.10?

[neilw20]

I have found with some version of Mach3 and the smoothstepper, backlash com will work. I am talking of 4th an 5th axis here.
I have not found a version of Mach3, where backlash comp AND homing will work.
I have had backlash comp, OR homing, but not both!! Many versions tried, all the way to the latest 066. Grr!! And that was 2800K from home.
It was USB smoothstepper. And I wished the escape key would work like the reset button. Just stop, and not give data over-run message.

Tried different plugins. Documentation is LACKING in the area of trying to some serious work.
Speed is fine. MUCH faster than LPT port.

All the different versions, but which one to use. Recommended 050 was much worse than other. 062?? sucks 066. no better. wtf?? grr!!

[sideways]

Hmm, that would be annoying - I hope I get backlash comp and homing working on my ethernet version as I'll need them in the long term!

I just had a helpful email reply from Greg (the smoothstepper chap) and to clarifiy, ethernet and USB plugins have got separate versions with ethernet at about V10 and USB up to about V17 as it's been around longer.

[sideways]

How can I tell if the smoothstepper is talking to mach3? I've got:

- No movement! Pinouts copied from the old breakout setup, and the breakout plugged into the smoothstepper's output port #1.
- Mach3 allowed in the firewall
- Solid yellow LED on the ethernet sockets at both ends, with regular green (data?) LED flashes at both ends too.
- Double-flashing green LED on the smoothstepper which means it's in "wakeup mode"
- The laptop is set to fixed IP of 10.9.9.1, 255.255.255.255.0 subnet, blank gateway/DNS.
- Current plugin installed (don't need any extra drivers as far as I know?)

I keep entering the IP for the smoothstepper in the Mach3 popup (and in the IP setup menu under plugins) as 10.9.9.9, but (A) the popup just loops and reappears saying the card "can't be initialised" or similar, and (B) the IP setup is blank again every time I restart Mach3 (possibly every time I open the popup, not 100% sure).

Does the smoothstepper need to successfully connect for it's IP settings to be saved in Mach3?

I'll go through Greg's troubleshooting process tomorrow, but surely if I've entered an IP number in Mach3 it should stay there?

[sideways]

Well I got it working! Things that helped:

- Greg, great email support again!
- Finding that I need to add Mach3 to BOTH the windows and Norton firewalls (Norton has a screw loose on my machine)
- Finding that I can leave my "General" LAN/IP info on automatic, and adding the IP info that the ESS needs to see in the "Alternate Configuration" tab, this allows me to swap the laptop from the desk with LAN+internet to the workshop with the ESS+mill without changing any settings!
- Also note that the ESS plugin only saves the IP you enter in it for the ESS if it succeeds in connecting, if it fails to connect it leaves that part blank.
- Also when the ESS is talking to the machine, the green LEDs "go mad" and flicker/light up with a lot of activity, totally different from the steady double-blink of the wakeup (searching for connection?) mode.

Hope that helps someone!

[neilw20]

Great to see you got it working. Now...

Norton turns any computer into a box that has intermittent rattles.
Use of A/V software running realtime CNC stuff that can hurt people needs a lot of justification.
Make sure sticky keys is off so the system does not steal the keyboard from Mach3.
Very easy to get a runaway axis, holding the shift key down for more than 5 seconds, is is it hitting it 5 times quickly?