[Capteod]

I am working on a new machine and choose to use a Dell C640 laptop computer and seem to have totally eratic responses. I cannot tune the drives to get steady motion.

Here are the specifics of my installation.

Computer Dell c640 2.0GHz 512MByte memory
System: XP Pro

Control box by campbell design
Interface card MACH3 Combo by Sound Logic
Power supply for servos: 65Vdc 10 Amp
Gecko Drivers : 320

Machine: Industrial Hobbies IH-10
Servos:
x & Y: 675 InOz
z : 1125 InOz

My first thought is that the system is noisey and I am getting it from the 12 ft of cable, even though I run the Power and Encoder in separate shielded cables. I have put 0.01 Ceramic Caps on the encoder lines to ground.

Is there any reports of problems with the combination of laptop computer, mach3, the Sound logic Combo Board and Gecko 320 drives?:drowning:

[Dennis Bohlke]

The 0.01 capacitors are counter productive. They can make the problems you are having worse.

I found it sometimes helpful to put a EMI Ferrite filter around the armature wires at the the motor.

I found for cables longer than 6 feet, 2 meters, I need to have differential encoder amplifiers at the motor and receivers before the G320.

The power and encoder cables need to be physically seperated.

There are lots of reported problems with Mach3 and laptops, some work some don't.

If you are having problems when the motors are stationary, it is not Mach3.

If you can feel a roughness when you try and over come a motors postion when it is not moving, you have cable problems.

Dennis
www.super-tech.com

[Capteod]

I have the wires separated the power goes to a separate plug and the encoders are run in shielded cables to an separate plug separated by a steel wall.

Mr. Cullin of Sound Logic says that the computer is okay with the interface board, and I know that mach3 is running as I have another machine running with stepper motors for ove 2 years using the same computer and interface board. I know about the 3.3 v dc on the parallel ports, but this board is designed for it.