[robwiacek]

Hi everyone.
I have an old CNC Router that needs parts to make it run.
It has 3 Stepper motors that have wires to some missing board and has 9 pin jacks to plug into something!
So I guess I need a controller, BOB, other things to connect to my computer that has the Mach3.
Ive looked on eBay and there appears to be a lot of stuff that looks like it’ll work. Problem is, I’m not sure if anything.
Please help.
Rob




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[jalessi]

Rob,

There are many ways to skin a cat, at the least you will need a computer with a parallel port, three or possibly four stepper drives a breakout board several power supplies and a weekend's worth of coffee.

Where are you located?

Jeff...

[robwiacek]

The machine is at St. Gabriels Hall, Audubon, Pa USA
SChool for Boys in Jail pretty much


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[robwiacek]

The machine is at St. Gabriels Hall, Audubon, Pa USA
SChool for Boys in Jail pretty much


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I’ve been looking at packages on eBay and it appears there are kits that cover all the aspects.
I just don’t know which one to choose.
Computer with parallel port is not a problem.
I’ll get that


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[jalessi]

Rob,

Check your P.M. mailbox.

Jeff...

[wizard]

I’ve been looking at packages on eBay and it appears there are kits that cover all the aspects.

There are all sorts of kits out there but you will need to determine how much has to be replaced. Also ideally you will have the technical specs for the steppers you currently have. You need to know the current rating and inductance values at the very least to properly size the drivers and power supplies.

This brings up an issue not all kits are properly matched components so be careful with kits.

The problem with break out boards and GCode interpreter boards is that there are many to choose from. Dont expect an instant solution here also you will get conflicting opinions.

I just don’t know which one to choose.

Yeah that is tuff. Also in my opinion Mach 3 is a bit dated. Have you looked at a few vendors or open source projects to get a feel for what is out there. You have PMDX, Pokeys and a whole bunch of others to choose from.

Computer with parallel port is not a problem.
I’ll get that

Dont assume that a computer with a parallel port will actually work with the selected software and parallel port. LinucCNC for example is known to be very choosy when it comes to hardware. Ive even heard of people having issues with Mach.

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If i was doing this and wanted to manage costs id probably go the GRBL route either on an Arduino board or one of the new ARM implementations. You GCode sender app can the run on just about any PC you can come up with. Before doing this though you will want to verify that you will have the required working area covered.

Drivers are another issue all together. They need to be matched to the motors and have a proper power supply matched to them and the steppers. . As noted above you need the specs on the steppers to size this equipment.

[ger21]

Not sure what those 9 pin cables are? Limit switches maybe? You're going to need to cut the ends off to connect them to the boards you buy.
The steppers you have are 6 wire motors. Due to their high current rating, you need to get higher powered drives to get the most power from them. The cheapest option imo are Leadshine AM882, if you want individual drives.
As I mentioned in your other thread, a Leadshine MX4660 is an all on one board that will do everything you need, but it's a little under powered for those motors. It'll work, though.

You're going to have to learn and understand what you are doing, or pay someone to do it for you.

[reg.miller]

Agreed , you are going to be able to DESIGN as solution. That implies quite a bit of learning and knowledge , stepper motors are quite subtle and difficult to drive. It's not just a case of asking a couple of questions and plugging it in.

I would agree that GRBL is probably a good route to take rather than controlling the motors directly from a PC using a parallel port. A humble Arduino Uno is ( just ) enough to the job and there are much more powerful boards available at very modest prices.