PM-45M-CNC Setup and Configuration with Mach3

I completed the Bracket and mounted the power supply and PMDX-126 with the smoothstepper on it. I used Locktite on the screws holding the standoffs onto the base plate and lock-washers on the screws holding the angle brackets. Tomorrow Morning (when it is much cooler) I'll disconnect the old chinese board . I will have to drill 4 holes to mount the base plate to the equipment box and then start wiring it up. Hopefully by this time tomorrow I will have it all done and tested.
Bracket with Boards.jpg
 
Well, as I posted the picture of the backplate with the PMDX-126 mounted I realized I needed some way to get wires under the backplate. So I cut a large relief to allow wires to come in from below as well as above. I just cut it on the bandsaw by hand so it is a little rough looking (rounded the edges with a file so wires will not nicked.)
Bracket v2-a.jpg Bracket v2-b.jpg
 
It looks like you are ready. On another point, once you get the Smoothstepper configured properly you should shut down mach before removing power from the Smoothstepper and you should apply power to the Smoothstepper prior to launching Mach. If I don't do this on my setup I have to reconfigure it again.
 
I got the Smoothstepper and the PMDC-126 mounted and wired in. I can see that they are getting power and Mach3 is talking to them OK but no motion. I ran out of time this weekend to work on it but I think it has to do with the E-Stop. I don't think it will be a big deal to resolve once I can spend a little time to troubleshoot. I'll probably get to it one evening this week.
 
Well, I found 20 min that I could work on finishing up and got it working. Apparently Gary's E-Stop and mine are not the same. I was able to wire my Estop into the connector the way it was intended meaning that my estop button is Normally Closed as it common for E-STOP and Limit Switches. I also found that I had wired the Step and Dir wires backwards, not sure how I did that but it was easy to fix and it is all up and running and I am ready to make swarf.
A Huge thank you to Gary for doing this first and for taking the time to document what you did. This made the job significantly easier and much less scary.
 
I went out at lunch today and hooked up the probe I had bought awhile back. It worked perfectly! It just keeps getting better and better.
 
Just wanted to say again how happy I am with the PMDX and ETHERNET SMOOTHSTEPPER combination. With one exception it has worked perfectly and in fact two important features are now working, Backlash compensation and the Probe. The one thing that I have had a minor issue with is that occasionally the Smoothstepper looses connection (buffer runs empty) causing it to (quite smartly) shutdown. Only once has this happened while actually making a part and the other few times have been when manually jogging during setup. I did not install an isolated ethernet connection between the MACH3 system and the smoothstepper that is recommended in the Smoothstepper documentation so I have ordered a second Ethernet adapter (NIC) to install in the MACH3 system.
 
Hello Boswell, I am glad that it is working out well for you. I have not seen the issue of the Smoothstepper loosing connection, but the Smoothstepper is the only device that connects to the Ethernet port on my computer.
Also it is good to hear that the backlash works.
Have you tried using it with Mach4?
 
I loaded Mach4 but did not do much because I did not like the default UI have not seen hardly any alternative UI's. It short, I did not see any advantage at this point over my Mach3 with the MachMotion screen set. I'll check back in a few months but it is nice to know the system is now "Future Proof" to the extent possible.
 
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