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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    980

    Home Switch setup ESS G540 and Mach 3

    So I'm feeling so dumb right now as I have numerous machines with homing switches setup with no issues. Unfortunately they're all parallel port machines and the one I'm trying to setup is the new ESS-G540 and Mach 3 machine. Do I not setup the homing ports and pins the same way? I'm using 3 normally closed (mechanical) switches and wiring them all to port 1 and pin 10 (position one on the G540). Whenever the switch is activated, it sets off the E Stop and doesn't finish homing. It also lights up the 3 home leds in Mach 3 so I know the communication must be correct. Is this an issue where the ESS needs to have a setting changed to allow the Homing to continue after hitting the first switch? Or am I still forgetting to check or uncheck something in Mach 3?

    I also have a touch-plate input that works correctly (the digitize led lights up in Mach 3 when activated and uses port 1 pin 12 (position 2 on the G540).

    Thanks so much for your time-
    Dave->..

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    1740

    Re: Home Switch setup ESS G540 and Mach 3

    If your using Warp9 ESS there are complete instructions for it all online.
    Retired Master Electrician, HVAC/R Commercial. FLA Saturn 2 4x4 CNC Router Mach4 Kimber 1911 45ACP

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    980

    Re: Home Switch setup ESS G540 and Mach 3

    Not for the application I mentioned above, but thanks for trying to help-
    Dave->..

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    4281

    Re: Home Switch setup ESS G540 and Mach 3

    Hi,
    you need to post this question to Andy on the Warp9 forum.

    It sounds like Mach is not interpreting the switches as homes when you are in homing mode.
    During the vast majority of time Mach should interpret any signal event on that input as a limit event and should Estop.
    When homing however it should interpret that input as a home event. In your Machh/ESS setup the logical axis Home AND
    Limits must both be assigned to that onr input.

    The joy of trying to combing Homes and Limits!!.

    The ESS has three ports so you could in fact have all six limit switches each with their own input pin and still another three inputs
    for three independent home switches. A $23 C10 bi-directional breakout board configured for Inputs woul give you another 13 inputs
    over and above those availabe through the G540, enough for separate inputs for homes and limits.

    Craig

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    980

    Re: Home Switch setup ESS G540 and Mach 3

    Thank you for that reply, and I will do just that! I completely realize there are plenty of pins on the ESS but I've always set my wiring this way and never thought it would be an issue. That is why I (stupidly) made separate control enclosures for the G540 and the ESS, so rewiring would be quite the pain at this point.

    Thank you again for your help-
    Dave->..

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    980

    Re: Home Switch setup ESS G540 and Mach 3

    Ok, so just for anyone in the future looking for this same issue, turns out, I was supposed to be using the G540 XML file from the Warp 9 website. I already had that G540 XML and just never loaded it! Worked like a charm. Thanks to Andy over at Warp 9 and joeavaerage for getting me to ask over there!
    Dave->..

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    4281

    Re: Home Switch setup ESS G540 and Mach 3

    Hi,
    back in Mach's early days when everyone used one or sometimes two parallel ports it was necessary tocombine Limit and Home
    switches in creative ways to minimze the number of inputs required.

    Nowadays with controllers like the ESS with 51 IO's its not necessary....yet we persist in combining switches. Having Mach interpret
    switch events depending on operating circumstances is fraught. Having each switch with its own dedicated input relieves Mach
    and us of any confusion, at the expense of another BoB, switches and cabling.

    Craig

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    980

    Re: Home Switch setup ESS G540 and Mach 3

    Completely understood, Craig, and I guarantee my next machine will have a different setup. It's just a fact of through all the years I've been running Mach 3 on a few different machines, I never had any issues with simple things like this. I've always setup Mach this way, and when they say "don't fool with what works (ESPECIALLY with Mach 3), I adhere to that statement because I see so many around me having issues.

    Thanks again for ALL your input!
    Dave->..

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