[Streetslab]

Hello everybody. I really need help before the 30 days from receiving period expires.
I bought this kit:
4x NEMA 34, 1600 oz in plus power units, drivers and breakout board.
I wanted to test everything today, so i started wiring, following their "scheme" that looks like it has been drawn by a 3 year old kid:
Attachment 211262
I've verified accurately every connection 3 times before plugging the power cable (not that there was that much to check for the power of the drivers that could go wrong or damage something (line and neutral)) but i cannot see any led "alive" on the drivers, and no "thump" happened to the motors when i powered up the kit.
I also have no signal from the parallel port. I've tried to check with a tester while using the arrow keys in mach 3, and i see the axis moving on the program but i read no +5v on the tester at the pins.
I also attach here a pic of my test wiring, a pic of the whole kit (just for the sake of it), a pic of the detailed driver wiring, and a pic where you can see power on the breakout board and power units, but not on the drivers.
Attachment 211264Attachment 211266Attachment 211268Attachment 211270Attachment 211272
Thanks in advance and sorry for the loads of info at once, but i really need some help

[doorknob]

That breakout board is not a good match for your drivers. The breakout board has optoisolators for all of the signals, however the inputs to your drivers are also optoisolated, which means that for each signal you will have two optoisolators in series, which can lead to signal degradation.

Are you sure that the outputs of the optoisolators on the breakout board are being powered by +5 volts? It is hard to tell from your photos, but do you have (or need) jumpers between the two sets of +5 volt terminals on the breakout board? Do you have any documentation for the breakout board?

[Streetslab]

Thanks Doorknob for your suggestion. This is actually my first build. I saw a lot of other people using this solution. Would you please explain to me in what measure the signal can be degradated and what the result of such degradation would be?

PS the problem is solved. They shipped the drivers with the fully closed connectors, so i couldnt turn the screw them clockwise. Not knowing the connector i've undone the screw putting the wire on the bottom, instead they needed to be undone then put the wire on the top and then and then fastened again. So, leds on, motors pop at a tpower up... all fine

[doorknob]

Glad to hear that things are working.

The step signals are usually short duration pulses (which typically have a duration on the order of 5 microseconds) that should have a "hard" transition between either 5 volts or 0 volts, but not lingering at some in-between level (at least, not for very long).

When you have two optoisolators in series, it is possible that the signal will be degraded such that the "rise time" or "fall time" of the pulses is extended. In other words, you can get a "soft" transition between 0 volts and 5 volts which can lead to timing instability. If you are lucky, the optoisolators used on your breakout board will be "fast" ones that do not cause significant degradation of the signal.

[Streetslab]

Well. That says a lot. I consider the breakout board purchased on the kit, the less expensive component of the kit himself.
So i already knew before buying that i may have to upgrade it. First i want to put the machine together and cut some wood to measure the results and the speed of execution.
If the drivers are optoisolated already, and i'm sure my pc is protected, then i will go for a different BB, more accurate and expensive.
For the records, i also tried Linux CNC yesterday, It does look very nice, with his wizard i was able to test the motors immediately (they all move and work), and i did all of this from a USB stick!!! No other windows installations required and worked on the spot. fantastic i would say.

[sideways]

This is pretty much the same as I've got, all worked ok until the breakout board stopped out of the blue, I replaced it and it's ok again. I can't see anyone selling this green breakout on the 'bay as they all have the new blue one with a USB socket to get 5v and a built in solanoid (the one I am now using).

I would suggest keeping a spare breakout in case of any breakdown, they are cheap and a swap is the fast way to check each part (all the other parts have duplicates to test with).

[Streetslab]

Hey guys. Sorry that i've suddenly "dead" like that.
I've been through a lot, including modifying my garden so i can build a shed to use as a lab, big enaugh to fit my machine.
Also solved the issue with the kit, which was that i was using the connectors the opposite way.... so stupid :withstupi
The machine is now built and here's my first test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTlv...TmO1MiYqp3VAvg

[serjio7863]

Hello StreetSlab
i was looking at your post and i think i purchased tha same kit. hope everything is still going well. I was wondering if you can do me a favor, can you post a sketch/diagram of how you connected the the full kit. this is my first build as well and im still having a little bit of trouble understanding how to do all the wiring.