Light Machines Company Mill

I think it would be best to test the output you have now first and make sure you have everything configured correctly.

Rick G

ok I have just tested the cable and I have found that the port is indeed putting out 5v.

While the X axis was on the test run thingo that is opened from the stepconf wizard the x,y and z axies were all at 5v. However pin 17 on the controler box end was not showing any signal with a digital multimeter...is that right?

ok it seems that the emc is putting out the right signals so i'm not sure what the problem is... maby if I switch control boxes?

It does the same thing with all of the boxes I have here and it does the same thing... could it be the jumper configuration inside the boxes?

Shannon here,

Sorry but for some reason I didn't see the traffic being generated on this forum. I would have taken an active role here.

Here is what I recommend for the wiring. Purchase a pair of these (one male, one female) cgi.ebay.com/DB25-Male-Signals-Breakout-...&hash=item58888889fc. Then, using suitable wire, follow my instructions ( build.spaceopera.org/site/spectralight02...rtadapter/index.html ). There are a couple of signals that must be active low (spindle enable and mill enable) these are included in the adapter cable design. I really like the breakout boards because they provide solid electrical connections and are easy to reconfigure.

Then, take the 25 pin cable that came with the controller box, and plug it into the adapter harness. Plug the other end into your parallel port.

Now, you can tell if the active low lines are working, because when you press F2 (to activate the amps) from within EMC you will hear the amps "buzz". If they are not pulled low properly, then nothing will work at all. Nada, zip, nothing. That is the other sure-fire way to verify they are working. If the steppers are working at all, in my experience, the active low lines are correct.

I've heard back from several people that the cable "just works". When I was pulling my hair out trying to reverse engineer the signals I likely got the hardware configured correctly LONG before I realized it. I spent days with EMC mis-configured. My configuration is based on english units (I know, I know, during the '70s we were PROMISED by the government that we would convert to metric. Didn't happen.). It is a shame I have to live with. Is this a metric / imperial issue?

I am working on a safety circuit to detect the EMC charge-pump. Of course I will share when this is complete.

Shannon

Ok I have made another cable, however I cannot get my hands on one of those connectors. The only wires that need connecting are those mentioned right? because unless there is a problem with the PC I cannot think of any other problems... it is just an old one that we had here with a 450mhz p3 I think and around 150mb of ram I think... could it be too slow?

maby i have a different board revision in the control box??? I have revision "A" ... Can someone who has theirs working please tell me which of the jumpers inside the box are connected and which are not connected...thanks

Is there a difference between the Intelletek and the Light Machines Corporation mils?