El400 (EL403-M-v5-3 axis) DRO from PM, built by Electronica - three questions please :)

Janderso said:
I have the same DRO but you guys are speaking in that funny techno-digital world that eludes me.
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I come to this forum as someone who has a pretty solid handle on digital circuits and zero knowledge whatsoever on machining, so here was an opportunity to actually contribute something (even if it's a negative result).

If it makes you feel better, I have the same reaction to nearly every other thread in this forum :D I'll get the hang of this metal stuff some day!
 
svideo said:
I come to this forum as someone who has a pretty solid handle on digital circuits and zero knowledge whatsoever on machining, so here was an opportunity to actually contribute something (even if it's a negative result).

If it makes you feel better, I have the same reaction to nearly every other thread in this forum :D I'll get the hang of this metal stuff some day!
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I used the DRO this afternoon. I was using the 1/2 feature to center the cutter over the part. I noticed when I zeroed out Y to move to the other side, the display did not show the movement.
I powered down for a few minute, now it’s fine.
A bit panicked over that experience.
 
svideo said:
I've been looking into this and I think the deal is that the serial communication capability is an optional feature. I recently purchased a 728VT and it came with the EL403-M v5 DRO.

As others have noted, this device is made by Electronica Mechatronic Systems and the USB vendor ID "1D32" aligns with that. The product page for this device shows several variants. There's the "EL403-M 3 Axes Mill" which is what PM appears to be sending out, and there's the "EL413-M 3 Axes Mill with Options" model which I suspect is what we need in order to enable the serial output. The manual labels that port as "15-Pin D-Type Female For Auxiliary Output (Optional)". As noted, there is no guidance in the manual as to where one might be able to connect via serial, but I think it's likely intended to be accessed from the DSub15 option port, and also suggests that option port is only available on models listed as "with options".

According to the manual, the option output might have a couple different pinouts depending on the specific model in use. The EDM variant should have the following pinout:

View attachment 361562
While models "with options" have the following pinout:
View attachment 361564
Pins 5,7,8,13, and 14 are unused in both, which might be likely candidates for the serial capability.

Inside the device we can take a look at the IO PCB which has the various connectors and supporting components that face the back of the device.

Rear:
View attachment 361565

Front:
View attachment 361566

This board has two ribbon cables (one disconnected in the photo above) which both connect to the main controller board. Going back to our list of unaccounted for pins, visually I find the following:

PinConnection
5Ribbon J2 to main PCB
7NC
8Power (connects to red/black cable and fuse F1)
13Ribbon J2 to main PCB
14Bridged to pin 15 (SW- for EDM variants)

There are also several unpopulated footprints near this port, which might mean that the necessary components for serial output are not present. However, based on the table above, I think pins 5 and 13 might be good starting points for investigation.

I have some PCB mount DSub 15 connectors on order and will solder those in place which will make this hunt a little easier.
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WOW!

Talk about above and beyond!

I don't remember exactly where the rabbit trail took me, but I remember that I eventually got real with myself that the practical avenue for a digitally tied dividing head would be by means of a second encoder - hack one of the iGaging linear scales through a 'duino to make what would essentially be a Division Master with an extra option.

Too bad Division Master is effectively a dead product - I know I could hunt one down if I were nuts about it, but best I can see, the guy who made it won't make them anymore, and the guys who are selling them aren't really all that interested in actually selling them.

I may eventually get to this project, but it's WAY down on the budget now - things like the Methane digester and natural gas regulator for the generator are taking precedence (effectively, I want to have the option to run the house or shop on dog doo and kitchen waste - among other smelly stuff - on account of "less-than-faith-inspiring" recent domestic supply news issues....)

In any case - thank you for having verified that the ELM won't really do. I imagine I could tap into the encoders directly at the solder-joints behind the connector, and add in a breakout to the DRO box itself - there is a knockout for that optional serial connector. I recall that the included encoders are TTL 5v (was it 40mHz? can't remember off hand)....

But, you my friend... YOU are an awesome investigator!

Or, you're just like the rest of us and having unanswered questions about the capabilities of our own machines irritates you too... :laughing:

Thanks again brother!
 
^^^Methane digester huh? That is interesting. I know a guy from here that used to build digesters for the mega dairies around here.
 
7milesup said:
^^^Methane digester huh? That is interesting. I know a guy from here that used to build digesters for the mega dairies around here.
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Excellent! I may have to begin another thread for this particular gizmo. Between the "Pyrolic Reactor" (aka 'Wood Gasifier' but Pyrolic Reactor sounds so much cooler) and a decent enough methane digester, I'll produce copious amounts of gas from garbage; in both systems cleaning the gas is actually the more intense part in both design and execution.

Actually, in the digester it is the storage of the gas that is the issue - I don't like large balloons (pop - with a bit of doom in this case) so I'd like to have the "floating barrel accumulator" design, but finding a large barrel to fit within another barrel is proving to be troublesome in my region...

Anyways - you inspire me to actually make the thread :)

Keep an eye out for the super-secret awesome device soon... just have to make a heat-exchanger and I'll be posting it (God willing and the creek don't rise and all of that....)
 
@MERLIncMan I've been monkeying around with some alternatives on the DRO front and I think I might have found something you would like. I ordered the TouchDRO DIY kit for $49 and designed and printed an enclosure for it:

IqCQ4Bq.png

nVaOXjE.jpg

fIoJVBn.jpg

Then I picked up a refurb Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet for $80 and designed and printed an enclosure for the tablet with a VESA screw pattern on the back, plus a VESA mount for the DRO arm that PM ships:
z0jNnJe.png

XmSCJTz.jpg


And the result looks like this:
Gxsk23r.jpg


The TouchDRO project supports a variety of scales, the one linked above works with the 5V scales sold by PM. That project reads the scales and provides a serial dump of the readings via bluetooth. So, if one were so inclined, you could take that stream and do whatever with it. The project also includes a mobile app which will take that bluetooth data stream and function as a DRO, but with a bunch of extra features.

The next step will be to get a tachometer sorted out and I should be able to have chip load calculated on the fly.

I am still working out some changes to the design here, I'd like the VESA mount "nod" hinge to be a little more skookum than it currently is, but it's finally usable in the current state. I'll get the source files cleaned up and posted on my github + thingiverse sometime here soon once I have the hinge improved a bit.
 
Well then, Look at what you've done here!

It is most certainly a very clean install. As I've already got the DRO, perhaps I can mess with your set to make it a pass-through... hmmm... a simple pass through to the stock DRO, but giving a bunch of breakouts that I can then use as I wish.... send the DRO to my phone, use it to control slave axes, someday use it to talk to a maybe CNC addon....

Too many thinks! You're going to have me bankrupt! :laughing:

I very much like your setup - made me half envious for a minute. I also appreciate your having made so much available for people.

Again - well done, and thank you!
 
7milesup said:
^^^Methane digester huh? That is interesting. I know a guy from here that used to build digesters for the mega dairies around here.
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I used to work on the machines that dewatered the solids in those digesters, but I liked the dairy ones better than the wastewater ones, and so did the guy cleaning my rental car afterwards lol.
 
Finally got all my designs published for the setup shown above:

 
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