# Need help wiring the "Clearpath killer" for Clough42 ELS - iSV57T-180



## Tomzo (Aug 3, 2021)

Greetings,
Inspired by James' testing of the integrated servo that cost only $100 I bought one but can't seem to figure out exactly how to wire that motor up. I realize that the enable pin will not be used, but I am not sure how to deal with the DIR + connection on the motor. I have read through the documentation to the extent of my ability and tried to zoom in and see how James wired it in the video, but don't want to let any more magic smoke out as I complete this project. He appears to have some of the pins jumped in the video but it is hard to tell.

The only possible matches I can find are:
STP -> PUL-
"+" -> PUL+
DIR- -> DIR-
ALM+ -> ALM+
ALM- -> ALM-

I may be way off here. Has anyone else wired this up (well, I know James did)? If you would be so kind, could you give me some information on the correct way to wire this? One image is from the manual showing the connections and the other is the Clough 42 board.

Thanks

Tom


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## xr650rRider (Aug 3, 2021)

On the motor end, you need to jump the alm+ to dir+ and stp+.  I used a JMC iHSV60-30-40-48 400 watt servo that wires basically the same but it has the enable lines and + is jumped to en+ as well.


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## Tomzo (Aug 3, 2021)

Thanks - much appreciated.  The stp pin on the booster board appears to me to connect to pul- , at least from my interpretation of the wiring schematic on the github page.  Looking a bit further in the motor documentation the attached diagram appears.   Which of these configurations do you think apply here?

I guess a better question would be whether making some trial and error connections could cause me to fry something along the way.   I could just connect it in a few ways and see what works.   After frying one of the TI boards already I want to keep all the magic smoke in this time around.


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## xr650rRider (Aug 3, 2021)

Yep, stp and pul would be same thing.  No need to get to far into the weeds.  Alm- to Alm-, Stp- to pul-, Dir- to dir-, then you can clip and strip 3 wires to go under pul+, and dir+, then wire nut or solder them all together with + from clough42 board.


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## Tomzo (Aug 3, 2021)

Perfect - thanks a bunch!   I will give that a go this evening after work!


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## paradox_pete (Aug 3, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> The only possible matches I can find are:
> STP -> PUL-
> "+" -> PUL+
> DIR- -> DIR-
> ...


I'm in the process of doing this install on my PM1030V, and I wired it up just like this but added a jumper between PUL+ and DIR+ at the servo.   I think James mentions the need for this in one of his videos.

I'm waiting on some belts and pulleys to finish the install, but I have it all wired up and tested so I know this works.


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## xr650rRider (Aug 3, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> Perfect - thanks a bunch!   I will give that a go this evening after work!


Disregard the ALM+ jumped, the ALM connects normally, it's the + from the Clough board that jumps to the other +'s.  I went back and looked at the board.


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## Tomzo (Aug 3, 2021)

Excellent - thanks to both of you for helping me out.   I ask my wife these questions and I just get the same blank stare....


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## GunsOfNavarone (Aug 3, 2021)

Funny, I put that in the comments of the Clearpath killer video...would he be doing a follow up video for all of us Clough ELS people that you KNOW are going to do this. This wasn't a walk in the park for me the 1st time. He something to the effect of, "it's a direct drop in/plug and play" Why did I feel like I'd be about 3 hours into it when I decided that wasn't the case.
So at the end of your install, what all did you have to do/change/alter? Did you have to get back into the driver to change anything? Did it come with it's own driver and does that use the same EDS software?


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## Tomzo (Aug 3, 2021)

Well I got everything wired up to test, and it seems that I must have blown another of those TI boards.   I had it working with the display the other day (without the encoder or motor connected) and was super careful about static control (anti static mat/wristband, etc).   I tested and retested every connection from the boards, through the connectors on my enclosure, to each device and all sounded out correctly.   Long story short, I can't offer any insights into configuring the motor as I never got it to turn.   It powered up fine, but the TI board seems dead - again.   I swear, I have programmed and installed over a dozen arduinos and a few raspberry pi devices and have worked on countless PCs and never had this problem.


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## GunsOfNavarone (Aug 3, 2021)

I hear ya, and that's why half of me is...."if it's not broke, don't fix it" but I would like some more torque...


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## xr650rRider (Aug 3, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> Well I got everything wired up to test, and it seems that I must have blown another of those TI boards.   I had it working with the display the other day (without the encoder or motor connected) and was super careful about static control (anti static mat/wristband, etc).   I tested and retested every connection from the boards, through the connectors on my enclosure, to each device and all sounded out correctly.   Long story short, I can't offer any insights into configuring the motor as I never got it to turn.   It powered up fine, but the TI board seems dead - again.   I swear, I have programmed and installed over a dozen arduinos and a few raspberry pi devices and have worked on countless PCs and never had this problem.



Does it display the Clough42 and version number when you power it up on display?  Or nothing?  Those spring loaded connectors can be a pain to get a wire under them (better to use the crimp pins) but it won't fry the board.


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## xr650rRider (Aug 3, 2021)

GunsOfNavarone said:


> Funny, I put that in the comments of the Clearpath killer video...would he be doing a follow up video for all of us Clough ELS people that you KNOW are going to do this. This wasn't a walk in the park for me the 1st time. He something to the effect of, "it's a direct drop in/plug and play" Why did I feel like I'd be about 3 hours into it when I decided that wasn't the case.
> So at the end of your install, what all did you have to do/change/alter? Did you have to get back into the driver to change anything? Did it come with it's own driver and does that use the same EDS software?



The difference between the integrated servo and the stepper he was using is the driver.  In the first version you had a driver in your cabinet that had 2 cables that ran to servo.  In the new one the driver is on the servo but you still have 2 wires for power from your 48 volt power supply and then from the Clough42 daughter board you have basically the same wires as before.  If you buy the same version that Clough used, he shows what software to download but you have to make sure you have a good Prolific chipset cable and driver so that you can communicate to the driver (on the motor), he set the stepper resolution to 500 vs 1000 he had first time, since he was double the gear ratio from 3:1 to 6:1, that way he didn't even have to reflash the TI board.  I used a JMC 400 watt integrated Servo and it has double the torque of the one he tested.  I used JMC software and also changed resolution to 500.  I put this on a PM-1340GT and set my gearbox for a 6:1 reduction which is D-6 and my spindle to encoder is 1:1 and servo to gearbox is 1:1 using 40 teeth gears all around.  It has plenty of torque and I've made several .1" DOC at .8"/rev at 1100 rpm, it throws some serious chips.

I made some code changes
Code changes
#define LEADSCREW_TPI 8
#define STEPPER_MICROSTEPS 6
#define STEPPER_RESOLUTION 500
#define STEPPER_MICROSTEPS_FEED STEPPER_MICROSTEPS * 4.2405

Now the bottom line is kind of a waste as I'm pretty sure that gets placed in an Integer register and is rounded off BUT it only effects the feed rate and it's still many time more accurate on actual feed rate than the labels on the front of the gearbox.  They are totally incorrect on the PM-1236GT and PM-1340GT.


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## paradox_pete (Aug 3, 2021)

GunsOfNavarone said:


> Did you have to get back into the driver to change anything? Did it come with it's own driver and does that use the same EDS software?


I'm not sure I understand the question, but the "Clearpath killer" servo has an integrated driver, a separate stepper driver is not needed or usable with this setup. 

I did need to download the configuration utility from the stepper online web site, and I'm pretty sure the only that specific configuration utility will work with the servo.  Getting the servo configured was the biggest hassle for me, as I'm a linux guy and haven't run windows on a personal computer in ages (10+ years I'd guess), and the utility is windows only.  I ended up using a Virtualbox windows machine to get the steps per rev set to 500.

Personally I wouldn't change a working setup to the servo unless you actually have problems with missed steps or something.  It won't add any functionality.


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## GunsOfNavarone (Aug 3, 2021)

Agreed...it's just the Tim Allen syndrome..."more power!" At some point I want to make acme threads....in at least, steel. If I'm gonna have issues, probably then. I'll have to watch the video again. I saw it the day he posted and it's much worse than a bit fuzzy. Now that you mention it, he did have trouble getting the servo working (even found issues with the manufacturer instructions or something PIA like that) I'm just not up for that right now. I'll let you guys work the bugs out!
@xr650rRider  sounds like you have that buttoned up already. Subscribed hoping @paradox_pete  gets this checked off his list.


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## Tomzo (Aug 4, 2021)

xr650rRider said:


> Does it display the Clough42 and version number when you power it up on display? Or nothing? Those spring loaded connectors can be a pain to get a wire under them (better to use the crimp pins) but it won't fry the board.



It displayed the Clough42 and version and functioned properly without the encoder or motor attached - and while outside the enclosure. I did use crimp pins all the way around except for the 8 pin "aviation" connectors for the connections through the enclosure. I had checked everything pretty carefully to ensure the connections were right - but I guess not carefully enough. 

I had to step away for the evening as I was pretty steamed so I will get on it tomorrow and see if I can figure it out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jeffkash (Aug 4, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> It displayed the Clough42 and version and functioned properly without the encoder or motor attached - and while outside the enclosure. I did use crimp pins all the way around except for the 8 pin "aviation" connectors for the connections through the enclosure. I had checked everything pretty carefully to ensure the connections were right - but I guess not carefully enough.
> 
> I had to step away for the evening as I was pretty steamed so I will get on it tomorrow and see if I can figure it out.
> 
> ...


I'm sitting here staring at a dead TI board. They seem to be fragile. I programmed one with the Clough software, no problem. The second board was dead. A third board works well. 

TI does not stand behind the product. After a week of going round and round with them, they agreed that the board was dead. Then said tough sh*t.

I hope that the working ones stay working.


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## Tomzo (Aug 4, 2021)

jeffkash said:


> I'm sitting here staring at a dead TI board. They seem to be fragile. I programmed one with the Clough software, no problem. The second board was dead. A third board works well.
> 
> TI does not stand behind the product. After a week of going round and round with them, they agreed that the board was dead. Then said tough sh*t.
> 
> I hope that the working ones stay working.


I don't feel so bad now.  I have been buying them direct from TI - they have a rather odd ordering system that asks a LOT of odd questions but they do ship pretty quickly.   My problem is that what should have cost about $35 is now going to be over $100 - and a bunch of lost time.  They seem focused on whether I will use it in a military application or not - I sure hope the DOD is not buying these things because they seem pretty unreliable to me.   I love James' system but if this keeps up I may look into one of the Arduino based control systems - those things are bullet proof ( at least comparatively).


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## xr650rRider (Aug 4, 2021)

I'm not convinced that they are that fragile.  James seemed to have his hanging off the side of his machine for quite a while and I'm sure a lot of overs have as well.  I had mine laying on bench and not exactly treating it with kid gloves.  Yes it is easy to make a wiring mistake.  If you put 5 volts to that TI board, then yes you'll fry it.  If you forget to remove the jumpers before powering it with the daughter card, then yes, you'll fry it.  By the time you mount in panel and keeping all the pins correct from male to female, there exists a strong possibility that you'll have a wiring problem.  KISS approach, is do one thing at a time.  Get boards properly soldered,  go thru all the continuity tests that James took the time to put together.  When you add his board to the TI board, it could be easily feasible to get a bent pin, connector only contacting half the pins.  You have to make sure it is oriented the correct way.  When that is good, with nothing connected, you should be able to power the TI board via James board using a 5V DC power source but you have to have the jumpers on the USB port removed.  If you see your 5V and 3V lights and any lights on TI board, you should be able to flash the TI board.  The next part assumes you've properly built the display and have a good cable connected to the daughter card.  If your successful flashing TI board with the release software and click the green arrow to start the code, you'll see the "Clough42" and version number on the display.  When that's all good, you can connect encoder, power up and you should see same as before and now you should see RPM indicated on display when you spin encoder.  When all that works, then move on to connecting servo.

If that TI board had Honeywell or Allen-Bradley silk screened on it, it would cost $2000 with that capability.


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## Tomzo (Aug 4, 2021)

You are probably right and I followed all of those steps - I had it working without the motor or encoder connected.   I connected both when I installed it in my cabinet so something must have gone wrong there.   I am going to get my multimeter out and sound out every connection again in the cabinet to see where I went wrong.

I am not complaining  - just a bit frustrated.  I realize that this is a hobby project of James' and this sort of thing requires an amount of diligence and skill on my part that I clearly did not apply correctly.  As with many projects of this type, the journey to getting it working is almost the best part as I learn new skills along the way.


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## xr650rRider (Aug 4, 2021)

I'm actually shocked that James would even share this kind of thing.  It's amazing for what it does.  He even went to the trouble of having the boards manufactured and he's nearly giving them away.  Not to mention the time he has to have invested in the code.  It's a nice hobby project but you can't expect support after the sale, there was no sale.  He shared and there has to be well over 1,000 machines using it.  Just hope problems don't make him yank it at some point. 

These TI boards are powerful enough to make a pretty good guidance system, so them asking some export questions should NOT offend you.  It's a miracle they would even allow you to purchase.


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## Tomzo (Aug 4, 2021)

I agree - my hat is off to James for contributing so much of his time and effort when he really did not need to - he ain't making much $$ on this for sure.   The world needs more folks like him!

And of course, when I went to the TI site to buy another board, while they show it in stock the website said that they can't fill the order.   Perhaps a third board in as many weeks raised some red flags?   Oh well - I got one from Mouser on the way - for an extra cost.  Third time's the charm!


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## jeffkash (Aug 4, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> You are probably right and I followed all of those steps - I had it working without the motor or encoder connected.   I connected both when I installed it in my cabinet so something must have gone wrong there.   I am going to get my multimeter out and sound out every connection again in the cabinet to see where I went wrong.
> 
> I am not complaining  - just a bit frustrated.  I realize that this is a hobby project of James' and this sort of thing requires an amount of diligence and skill on my part that I clearly did not apply correctly.  As with many projects of this type, the journey to getting it working is almost the best part as I learn new skills along the way.


I have been working with electronics for over 60 years, and computers for over 50. This was the first board that died or was dead when it arrived. I take reasonable precautions when I work with electronics. The bad board powers up and is recognized by CCS but won't program. I've checked the voltages and all is good. The encoder and stepper driver were never hooked up, only the Clough interface and Display. Both worked on the first board I programmed for a friend.


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## GunsOfNavarone (Aug 4, 2021)

A couple things...FWIW. I am horrible with these sort of things. I think its a right brain/left brain issue. One side type of people don't understand the road blocks of the other hemisphere people. All that being said, I'm the knuckle dragger side. I have not blown out a board BUT...I had it where I fired it up one of the many times during building an the LED board didn't show "Clough42"...or anything. Come to find out I had 2 wires crossed. It was a looking at it from the other side when it occurred to me everything is flipped. That other side brained person would look for markings...not patterns. So maybe that?
Next, one time I had to reflash the board for some changes I made...COULD NOT GET IT TO RFLASH. I did everything (6 different patch cords, prayed, stood on one foot holding laptop in the air...anyway, the 6th patch cord worked, the other 5 were bogus. You'll say what I said, "this cord worked before"....yes, it did...BEFORE. From personal f'ups, I'm gonna say it hard to fry these, even for a knuckle dragger.
Check solder points, recheck your wiring with the strong possibility you missed something or messed up something. Unhook everything from it other than the LED screen, then reflash. Stand on one foot while chanting "you got this Peloton!", try multiple cables.
*Do any of the little diode lights light up when plugged in (on the TI board)?*


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## Tomzo (Aug 4, 2021)

Here is how I see if the board is toast: I take off the Clough board and replace the jumpers to deliver 5V from USB and then plug it into the PC.   The PC then either does not see it at all, or tells me that the hardware is damaged.   Essentially, the PC should "see" the TI board on its own with nothing else connected.   When it can't I put it in the toast category.   One board has more lights that come on than the other, but neither can connect to the PC.


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## Tomzo (Aug 7, 2021)

My new board gets here today so I was doing some tests to make sure all my wiring from my enclosure through the aviation connectors to the servo, display, encoder were correct.   They all were and nothing was crossed up.  Through the process I had removed and replaced the Clough board a couple of times.  As I was removing the TI board I noticed that in one of these iterations of removing and replacing the Clough board I had inadvertently set it incorrectly on the pins on the TI board.   Only one of the rows of pins was set with the other outside of the spots on the Clough board.   Since these rows of pins have 3.3 and 5V on them this could certainly been how I rain 5V in a 3.3V circuit and fried the board.  When the TI board is set and screwed down on the din rail in the enclosure I can't quite see the pins, so I am guessing that I screwed that up when I did my last installation before the magic smoke got out.

Long story short, the most likely cause of my problems, as usual, is me.   Hopefully I will be a bit more careful this time.


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## Tomzo (Aug 7, 2021)

Well, the new board arrived today.  I rechecked all the continuity tests and tested the cables through the enclosure all the way to each device. All were in the right places. However, I still have something wrong going on.

I carefully removed the jumpers and set the switches in full anti static mode (anti static mat, wristband, etc). I then made sure the boost board was set properly this time and went to load the firmware. I used the TI supplied USB cable and just a light in the area right next to the USB connection lit up which is what was expected. I then plugged in 5V power to the boost board and nothing. The TI board was not recognized by the PC. I then took off the boost board, reset the 5V jumpers so I had just a bare TI board and connected via USB and presto - the board comes alive and can be flashed. This is odd because it is the same boost board used in the image above.

Anyway, after I flashed the TI board I took it back out and installed it into my enclosure with the boost board. When I powered everything up the display flickered a bit followed by a POP and the familiar smell. I immediately powered down and upon inspection the TM1638 chip on the display had fried.  I stripped the TI board down, reset the 5V jumpers and it still connects to the PC, so it does not look like I fried that board (again).

I have another of the LED&KEY boards on order but was wondering if any of you have any thoughts on (a) why the TI board won't connect to the PC when using power from the boost board and (b) what error on my part would cause me to fry the display?

Thanks

Tom


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## xr650rRider (Aug 7, 2021)

Have you checked the output of whatever your using to power to daughter board?  Is it 5 volts DC?  If it is, you don't want to hear it but you still have a connection error somewhere.  The display board gets it's 5 volts from there as well and if voltage out of range, could have fried it.  But for the display connector, you have to insure you have the 5 volt on the correct side.


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## Tomzo (Aug 7, 2021)

Yeah - I have gone wrong somewhere in there.   Time to step back and re-re-recheck everything!


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## jeffkash (Aug 8, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> Well, the new board arrived today.  I rechecked all the continuity tests and tested the cables through the enclosure all the way to each device. All were in the right places. However, I still have something wrong going on.
> 
> I carefully removed the jumpers and set the switches in full anti static mode (anti static mat, wristband, etc). I then made sure the boost board was set properly this time and went to load the firmware. I used the TI supplied USB cable and just a light in the area right next to the USB connection lit up which is what was expected. I then plugged in 5V power to the boost board and nothing. The TI board was not recognized by the PC. I then took off the boost board, reset the 5V jumpers so I had just a bare TI board and connected via USB and presto - the board comes alive and can be flashed. This is odd because it is the same boost board used in the image above.
> 
> ...


The LED & Key boards are low quality. I got one that initially flickered and then was dead. It turned out that there was no 5VDC to the TM1638, Added a jumper wire and the board came alive. 

Just because the TI board connects to the PC doesn't mean that it is good. Connection to the PC just indicates that the USB interface is alive. There are two processors on the board. One is for the debugger, the other is the main CPU. In my case, the debugger seemed to work but the main CPU didn't.

I hope all is well on your TI board.


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## Tomzo (Aug 8, 2021)

Yeah - I definitely wired something incorrectly.   I powered up the boost board on its own and the 3.3v light was not on.  A quick test of the voltage regulator shows that it blew as part of the process.   Good thing those things are cheap and readily available - a 10 pack is on its way for ~$8.  I did test the TI board by making a small change to the config.h file and reflashing the board - no errors.   

I keep reminding myself that the journey is a big percentage of the fun....


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## Tomzo (Aug 14, 2021)

OK - I got the new LED&Key board and the one I received this time was clearly made better than the last two - even though I got them from the same source. Odd. I also replaced the voltage regulator successfully. I have everything in the enclosure and it powers up fine to the Clough boot screen but I am getting nothing from my encoder as RPM on the display. Consequently, the servo does not spin of course. I tested the encoder with an ohmmeter (black/blue, blue/white) and they read the same so I am pretty sure the encoder is OK. I flipped the switches back and forth a few times to make sure they were set correctly on the TI board.

I also tried both of the encoder connections EQEP 1 and 2 (and reflashed the code accordingly) same result. I do not have an oscilloscope to do more detailed tests on the board, but in reading a closed post here on github from another user it may be the TI board (again). Are there any good tests that can be done without a scope? If there is a bad resistor can I just get one and solder it onto the board rather than buying a whole new board?

Also, on a side note, I used a laser thermometer to look at the temps on the boost board just to see what was going on there. The only thing that stood out to me were resistors R7 and R8 which seemed warmer than the rest heating up to ~125F pretty quickly. Not sure if this means anything but it is a data point.

Thanks

Tom


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## xr650rRider (Aug 14, 2021)

You sure you have the dipswitch set correctly?  I see where you said you flipped them back and forth, so I assume they are.


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## Tomzo (Aug 14, 2021)

Thanks and I just went out and rechecked them, flipping them back and forth a few times in the process.   Both of the S3 switches are toward the encoder connector and the S4 switch is toward the other end of the board, just as it is in the wiki on github.  I have sounded out all of the connections so my continuity is good.   I read on a github thread that a resistor on the TI board can go bad but the only way to test is with an oscilloscope which I do not have.   I am three TI boards into this project (ugh) and I am not relishing a fourth.   If I knew which resistor perhaps I could just solder a new one in there....


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## xr650rRider (Aug 14, 2021)

It's either the board or the wiring for the encoder.  You flashed it with "release" version?  When it's powered up, you should see the Clough42, version number, then .005 feed rate and 0 on RPM.  That would indicate board should be ready for signal from encoder.  Do the buttons work?  You should be able to click the PWR button and it would turn off the servo (if you have an enable line) and only RPM would be displayed.  That would indicate the processor is running.


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## Tomzo (Aug 14, 2021)

It is the most recent - V1.4 and that is exactly what I see on the display.  The buttons work, so I agree - it is either the board or the encoder at this point.  I am going to put 12V to the encoder and measure the output in the morning.  Oddly, I hope it is the encoder....


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## jeffkash (Aug 15, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> It is the most recent - V1.4 and that is exactly what I see on the display.  The buttons work, so I agree - it is either the board or the encoder at this point.  I am going to put 12V to the encoder and measure the output in the morning.  Oddly, I hope it is the encoder....


The encoder runs with 5 volts. You should be able to see pulses with the voltmeter between the A or B outputs to ground if you turn the encoder slowly. What is the model number of the encoder?


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## Tomzo (Aug 15, 2021)

Good point - duh on my part!   It is the OMRON E6B2-CWZ6C 1024P/R.   This morning I measured the voltage between the A outputs to ground as I rotated the encoder slowly.   Voltages varied from about 0.27 to 0.97 V as it turned, so it is producing some sort of output.

One thing that was odd was as I was measuring the voltages I glanced over to the display and saw that it had reverted to saying just "CLOUGH42" and stayed there.  I have no idea why that happened but it leads me back to the TI board as my issue.  I guess I am going to need the fourth board...


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## jeffkash (Aug 15, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> Good point - duh on my part!   It is the OMRON E6B2-CWZ6C 1024P/R.   This morning I measured the voltage between the A outputs to ground as I rotated the encoder slowly.   Voltages varied from about 0.27 to 0.97 V as it turned, so it is producing some sort of output.
> 
> One thing that was odd was as I was measuring the voltages I glanced over to the display and saw that it had reverted to saying just "CLOUGH42" and stayed there.  I have no idea why that happened but it leads me back to the TI board as my issue.  I guess I am going to need the fourth board...


Voltage should swing from low (near ground) to high (above 3.3 volts). I haven't looked at the TI board schematic but there should be pull up resistors on the A & B encoder inputs as the encoder has a NPN open collector output.


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## Tomzo (Aug 15, 2021)

Yes - Here is the schematic.   I think R51, R52, and R53 are not working right (I am on EQEP2) but they show the approximate correct value with a multimeter.   Those resistors are TINY - I don't see me being able to replace them.   It is odd that the device reverts to "CLOUGH42" on the display after about 90 seconds and is then unresponsive.

I am going to step back, wipe all the code I have tinkered with, download a fresh set from Github and reflash the device.  Perhaps I screwed something up in the code....


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## Tomzo (Aug 15, 2021)

No love - I deleted the workspace folder so Code Composer would make a new one, loaded up a fresh download, made only one change to the code to use EQEP2, and the same result.   All buttons and functions including the power button operate normally, but again after about 90 seconds the boot screen flashes, shows the version number again, and then reverts to just saying "CLOUGH42" and becomes unresponsive.


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## jeffkash (Aug 15, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> No love - I deleted the workspace folder so Code Composer would make a new one, loaded up a fresh download, made only one change to the code to use EQEP2, and the same result.   All buttons and functions including the power button operate normally, but again after about 90 seconds the boot screen flashes, shows the version number again, and then reverts to just saying "CLOUGH42" and becomes unresponsive.


Three things:
1) If you have the stepper driver connected, remove it. Also remove the encoder connector. Reboot and see if that helps.
2) Check the crimps on the encoder connector. I have a friend that was getting false readings from the encoder because of bad pin connections.
3) With the encoder disconnected, measure the A & B pins. they should be near 3.3 Volts.


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## Tomzo (Aug 15, 2021)

Thanks - I will give that a go later today and let you know what I find.   I appreciate the guidance!


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## Tomzo (Aug 15, 2021)

With the motor and encoder disconnected I measured the voltage between the A pin and ground on the TI board - 0.97V.  The display did the same thing - functioned for a bit and then went back to just saying "CLOUGH42" and became unresponsive.   I think my TI board must be toast - again.


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## jeffkash (Aug 16, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> With the motor and encoder disconnected I measured the voltage between the A pin and ground on the TI board - 0.97V.  The display did the same thing - functioned for a bit and then went back to just saying "CLOUGH42" and became unresponsive.   I think my TI board must be toast - again.


What is the voltage on pin 4 of the encoder connector. It should be 5 volts. Maybe you have a power supply problem.


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## xr650rRider (Aug 16, 2021)

The TI board has to be rebooting, in order for it to display "Clough42", only executes that section on startup.


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## Tomzo (Aug 16, 2021)

I just measured that voltage on the pin marked 5V and got 11.9V - something is definitely mixed up because there is no 12V in this project (other than the case fan which is completely separate).


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## jeffkash (Aug 16, 2021)

xr650rRider said:


> The TI board has to be rebooting, in order for it to display "Clough42", only executes that section on startup.


Exactly, that is why I suspect a power problem. Also this is his 3rd or 4th board. It point to bad power.


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## Tomzo (Aug 16, 2021)

I have another board on the way - I had some shorts in previous displays that caused some problems but the one I have now is much higher quality.  To get 12V on the board when there is no 12V source tells me that something is wrong with the board.  The 5V comes from a standard 5V wall wart power adapter.


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## Tomzo (Aug 16, 2021)

Well I found part of the problem and, as usual, it is me.   I was perplexed by the voltage reading I took this morning being so close to 12V.  When I built my enclosure I had a 12V wart and a 5V wart, but it seems I must have had an extra 12V wart on my workbench because I slapped a 5V label on it (I was trying to make sure I did not screw up - unsuccessfully) and installed it as if it was 5V.   I was sending 12V to the board the whole time which likely caused some problems in there.   I installed the 5V wart and the display boots up and does not go into reboot mode.   Unfortunately, pin A still shows 0.8V and there is still no RPM.   My guess is that I blew the pull up resistor.  The new board is on the way so fingers crossed!


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## paradox_pete (Aug 16, 2021)

I think you've found the root cause of your problems.  

I'm surprised the regulator on the Clough42 board was not damaged by the 12v applied, but if it boots up it is probably OK.  It would seem James designed a reasonably robust board, but it might be worth verifying that there is approximately 3.3v on the appropriate pins just to be sure.

Hopefully the project goes more smoothly now....


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## xr650rRider (Aug 16, 2021)

Mute point now but reading post 28 would have saved some additional grief.  Can never ASSuME.


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## kb58 (Aug 16, 2021)

Tomzo said:


> ... Unfortunately, pin A still shows 0.8V and there is still no RPM.   My guess is that I blew the pull up resistor.  The new board is on the way so fingers crossed!


While the new board will no doubt work, it is highly unlikely that the problem is/was a "blown" pull up resistor. They have so little current running through them that whether it's 5V or 12V would make no difference. More likely is that the chip itself is blown up, if in fact 12V was being applied to 5V parts.


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## Tomzo (Aug 16, 2021)

Yeah - hat's off to him.  It also explains why the regulator had to be replaced previously.   It also means that I feel like an idiot, but the way I look at it nothing ventured nothing gained.


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## Tomzo (Aug 16, 2021)

kb58 said:


> While the new board will no doubt work, it is highly unlikely that the problem is/was a "blown" pull up resistor. They have so little current running through them that whether it's 5V or 12V would make no difference. More likely is that the chip itself is blown up, if in fact 12V was being applied to 5V parts.


The odd part is that the display still works and the buttons function.  Putting 12V should not have damaged the encoder as it is rated to 24V.  Perhaps it was some component between the encoder and the main chip.   Either way, once I get the new one from TI I will figure out whether it was the board or not.   Baby steps!


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## Tomzo (Aug 19, 2021)

First off - thanks to all of you who helped me out.  I got it working and as always I was the problem!   The fourth TI board did the trick - a steep but not overly expensive learning experience for me!   Now all I need to do is get a lathe...

Here's a video of it booting and working:


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## GunsOfNavarone (Aug 23, 2021)

Oh man! That's good news...I mean it's bad, but you have it figured out. It will all be downhill from here...


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