No movement?

Hello, This might sound dumb,, but I need help.
Installed Linux cnc 10.04 on my P4 3.2Ghz, 2GB memory, 80HD. 2-425oz. motors and 2-KL4030 dip switches set to 1/16th and 3amp, 36 volt power supply and PCS C10 6 axis breakout board. All wired and checked. When I start the set up and check the jog on the axis the motors kinda just jitter, Do I need to change something in the settings?

did you use stepconf to produce your first configuration , i'll presume yes ..
their are a number of settings you can adjust , look at your ini file and you will probably find entry's such as

DEFAULT_VELOCITY
MAX_LINEAR_VELOCITY

etc
these are deliberately kept low , so that if you have miss configured your machine does not fly into a million peices

also 3A power supply does not sound large enough , so can you give us more on the machine you have , i'll presume they are nema17's
and perhaps a 3d printer ..

post your hal and ini files if you have problems ,

for example a 8 - 10A or more power supply is normal ,
all these factors add up to the problem you may be having

When I start the set up and check the jog on the axis the motors kinda just jitter

Is this in Stepconfig or running Linuxcnc?

It sounds like the speed and or acceleration are set too high, try dramatically lowering them, also check your step and direction time, and that you entered the correct latency test numbers.

I assume you mean that each driver dip is set for 3 amp.

Rick G

Sorry I should have mentioned that. I have it in the prototype set-up so I don't go smashing things up, the motors are sitting on a board waiting to turn air. However: It will be connected to my Sherline 4000 CNC ready standard lathe once I see it working. They're NEMA 23 425oz motors , and the power supply is 36V 9.7 amp. Yes I did the stepconf and the jitter is all I get in LinuxCNC and Stepconf.

O.K.
If the latency was good and you entered it in Stepconfig try reducing the velocity and acceleration in Stepconfig, make it a big change. If it is set to 1 try .1 for velocity.

Also check your step and direction timing.

Rick G

We'll had some movement, BUT now it's saying RTAPI: ERROR: Unexpected realtime delay on task 1. I set velocity to 4.2 and acceleration for 100.0..... How do I determine leadscrew pitch, there's a 20 in the box, would this be correct?

BUT now it's saying RTAPI: ERROR: Unexpected realtime delay on task 1

You need to fix this, you may be asking the computer to generate more steps than it can for it's given latency.
You might want to look here...
wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?TroubleShooting

Run the latency test again for a long period of time and use the results in Stepconfig.

I set velocity to 4.2 and acceleration for 100.0

Try velocity 1 acceleration 4

How do I determine leadscrew pitch, there's a 20 in the box, would this be correct?

All those numbers are there for Stepconfig to calculate how many steps per unit of travel.
If you are using a thread rod drive with 20 threads per inch that would be correct.
You also need to enter micro stepping, pulley ratio , etc.

Also look at the FAQ section of the forum PC computer

Glad you are making progress.

Rick G

Now the motors are making a loud whining noise. I stumped.. Don't know if I got bad stuff all wiring looks correct, I have continuity on all 25 pins, proper voltage at the breakout . Maybe I should try windows XP with mach3 . I hate windows. Anyone one here possibly using the same stuff I have in a successful operation? 36volt 9.7amp power supply, KL4030 micro stepping driver's, NEMA23 425oz motor's, PCS C10 6 axis break-out board.

You might want to attach your configuration files.

What is the latency?

What have you input for direction and step time?
What velocity?

Actually If you could tell us what all the figures you filled in for stepconfig and the results it would help.
With linuxcnc or mach you will still need to enter the proper information.

Rick G

attach your hal and ini files as an attachment ,this would be a great help. it tells us much more than trying to guess with a crystal ball .
also we need to know what you are going to attach the steppers to ..pulleys ... threaded rod .. ballscrews etc , and their pitch ..