[Digital Design]

I have these items:

Syil Super X3 CNC
Bobcad cam
mach 3

The issue I am having is when I use the Mach 3 with the Mill. It does not respond to any inputs. No G-code makes any movements on any axis. The mill is on, and is on CNC mode. I have an IBM thinkpad that I use for both programs, this shouldnt be the issue. Has anyone run into this problem?

I really need to get this thing milling stuff asap!

Note: mill has never milled anything out, its still brand new. When the mill came, there was the circuit board laying on the milling surface. I took the back plate off and installed the circuit board onto the back of the mill. Maybe there are items there that are not connected?

[wombat]

It very well could be the laptop. Check the voltages on the parallel port and see if they are high enough.

[Digital Design]

It very well could be the laptop. Check the voltages on the parallel port and see if they are high enough.

I had a feeling about the voltage not being enough, I have no idea what they are supposed to be though. Maybe its time for me to call the help line... :drowning:

I will have to transfer the Bobcad-cam program to a desktop computer but need that stinking key again, I dont want to pay again for it. Your opinion is appreciated :cheers:

[Gregory B]

I had the same Problem. It turned out to be the power supply.
Check to see if the fan is spinning on your power supply.
The step moters should also get hot when the power is on, if this is not happening then there is no power going to your drivers.
Good luck

[syil canada]

this is super simple thing to try, on the front of the x3 mill there is a white toggle switch, make sure that the switch is in the downward position. This switch is the link to the controller. (eg) manual or cnc operation.

[Digital Design]

this is super simple thing to try, on the front of the x3 mill there is a white toggle switch, make sure that the switch is in the downward position. This switch is the link to the controller. (eg) manual or cnc operation.

Yeah, i was not sure on the direction but I tried both ways and nothing worked. I will be checking the Power Supply, and the voltages that come out of this laptop a a few days. Those seem like two very large possibilities. I will keep everyone posted. Thank you!

[syil canada]

one more thing to try is the mach3 kernel speed, the x3 mills that we sell in Canada will only work on a kernel speed of 45000. this is found in the ports and pins menu. each time you change the kernel speed you will need to close and reopen mach3.

[thackman]

Does the LCD display on the head light up for you?

[metalworkz]

If the circuit board was not in the back panel did you check all the connections when you installed it? My SX3 had everything installed but several wires were not connected and it was basically dead. I got to looking around inside the back panel and found several wires unattached. Take a look to see if there are wires disconnected inside the panel. Contact Richard at SyilAmerica if you need assistance.
Regards,

[Digital Design]

Does the LCD display on the head light up for you?

Yes it lights up nicely, I will also try the Kernel Speed as well. The mill spins (no axis movement), when you increase speed manually, but nothing in CNC mode.

[Digital Design]

If the circuit board was not in the back panel did you check all the connections when you installed it? My SX3 had everything installed but several wires were not connected and it was basically dead. I got to looking around inside the back panel and found several wires unattached. Take a look to see if there are wires disconnected inside the panel. Contact Richard at SyilAmerica if you need assistance.
Regards,

Will do! thank you sir

[Digital Design]

finally had some time this morning to examine the mill and its issues.

I took off the panel in the back to find that the power wire was not connected properly. I double checked all connections, and turned the switch on. There were led's that didnt light up before so I was happy.

I proceeded to put everything back together and hooked my laptop up to the parallel port on the mill. I loaded some g-code and nothing happened again. So I then remembered the voltages coming out of the laptop may not be enough so I grabbed an old (working) desktop and installed mach3 and the mill still didnt respond, I tried several g-code files just to make sure it wasnt because of faulty code. The Mach3 program is still not sending inputs into the mill.

I can hear the fan in the power supply unit humming away like never before. Im soooo close I can feel it. Any other suggestions? Maybe another g-code driver program?

[Southbend Sam]

The parallel port cable can also be a problem. When I first hooked up my SX3, I used something called a file transfer cable which caused the same symptoms. When I changed to a straight through cable, everything worked fine. Both cables looked the same with dual DB 25 male connectors.

[metalworkz]

Hi,
Try running the Mach3 Driver test utility to see if Mach3 is controlling the mill. It is in the Mach3 folder and the file is called 'Driver Test'. I had problems with mine in the beginning and just got in a habit of running the test ustility each time before I start Mach3. Sometimes it will fail the test and I just run it again until it passes and it indicates that Mach3 has taken control. Then use the Mach3 loader to load the SyilAmerica profile and start Mach3. You should be able to hit the 'TAB' key and it will bring up the MPG window that will let you jog the axis etc. and if they are working you will have movement. If you go to the 'Diagnostics' tab of the main toolbar you will find information about the different axis and there are some LED's that will be lit and some that should not be lighted. First off see if you have movement on the axis, as if not something may still be disconnected or simply be configured incorrectly in the software.
One of my axis was reversed(I think the Y) and it is simple to change the software settings for the axis affected and I had to check home opposite also for that axis. Let use know if you can get some movemnet and see where it goes from there. The mach support site has some great videos for mach3 and you might want to check them out too.
Regards,

[metalworkz]

About the Thinkpad, I am using a Thinkpad for mine and it seems to work fine. Not sure if yours is the same; mine is a G40 with P4 processor.
Regards,