4th axis is running but nothing else

This is a Taig 3000 4 axis that I am attempting to run on linuxcnc. Microproto control box with parallel port. I have finally gained function of 4th axis in 'test this axis' (some fine tuning needed). The 3 other axes will move a few steps in either direction but that is it. so I plugged X into the A port and it does the same. Moves a few steps and stops. I cant change timing setting for the other 3. Same stepper motor for all 4 axes.

Just to be clear...can you confirm:

• All four motors are the same?
• One motor works when plugged in to A-axis port?
• Another motor doesn't work when plugged in to the same port?
• Other three ports don't work?

This isn't going to fix anything, but have you tried plugging the known-good motor in a non-working port yet?

And you 'know' all four motors are the same how?  Same part numbers on them? Or they're all the same size with same color wires?

Trying not to assume too much here.

same part numbers. When I place the know good motor on x axis is acts the same. All motors were working on Mach 3. When I plug x motor into A port it moves.

I find these differences in the .ini

[AXIS_Z]
MAX_VELOCITY = 0.824652777778
MAX_ACCELERATION = 30.0
MIN_LIMIT = -4.0
MAX_LIMIT = 0.01

[JOINT_2]
TYPE = LINEAR
HOME = 0.0
MIN_LIMIT = -4.0
MAX_LIMIT = 0.01
MAX_VELOCITY = 0.824652777778
MAX_ACCELERATION = 30.0
STEPGEN_MAXACCEL = 37.5
SCALE = 8000.0
FERROR = 0.05
MIN_FERROR = 0.01
HOME_OFFSET = 0.0

[AXIS_A]
MAX_VELOCITY = 360.0
MAX_ACCELERATION = 1200.0
MIN_LIMIT = -9999.0
MAX_LIMIT = 9999.0

[JOINT_3]
TYPE = ANGULAR
HOME = 0.0
MIN_LIMIT = -9999.0
MAX_LIMIT = 9999.0
MAX_VELOCITY = 360.0
MAX_ACCELERATION = 1200.0
STEPGEN_MAXACCEL = 1500.0
SCALE = 1.11111111111
FERROR = 1
MIN_FERROR = .25
HOME_OFFSET = 0.0

performax wrote:

same part numbers. When I place the know good motor on x axis is acts the same. All motors were working on Mach 3. When I plug x motor into A port it moves.

Now we're getting somewhere.

So A-port works for both motors. And other ports don't work for any motor.

Either the port pinouts are different, or your configuration has issues.

Can you attach your INI and HAL files please?  You'll have to rename them from myconfig.hal and myconfig.ini to myconfighal.txt and myconfigini.txt to attach them in a response here.

Note for super-new users: 'myconfig' is just a file name I made up.  Yours will be whatever the config wizard named the files, and they'll be located somewhere like linuxcnc/configs/'myconfig' (or similar).

Just make backups and rename them then post them here and we'll have a look.  Once you do that, while you're waiting for someone/us to have a look, see if you can open/review your Mach3 configuration and see what the port/pin assignments were for all four axes.

here are the files .txt like you said. Thanks for the instructions. Helps me a lot.

Your hal file has the following stepper port/pin connections:

net xenable => parport.0.pin-01-out
setp parport.0.pin-02-out-invert 1
net xdir => parport.0.pin-02-out
net xstep => parport.0.pin-03-out
setp parport.0.pin-04-out-invert 1
net ydir => parport.0.pin-04-out
net ystep => parport.0.pin-05-out
setp parport.0.pin-06-out-invert 1
net zdir => parport.0.pin-06-out
net zstep => parport.0.pin-07-out
setp parport.0.pin-08-out-invert 1
net adir => parport.0.pin-08-out
net astep => parport.0.pin-09-out
net xenable => parport.0.pin-14-out
net spindle-pwm => parport.0.pin-16-out
net xenable => parport.0.pin-17-out
net estop-ext <= parport.0.pin-13-in

I've highlighted the three "xenable" signals I'm curious about.  All three are 'connected' to the x-axis stepgen function a little later in the file:

net xenable joint.0.amp-enable-out => stepgen.0.enable

So when joint 0 is enabled, stepgen.0 is enabled. (stepgen is what generates the step pulses, which are routed through the parallel port to your drives).

What I'm seeing is that you have an enable/disable signal connected to three outputs (4 if you include the stepgen.0.enable).  Do you know what the parallel port pins #1, #14, and #17 are actually connected to?

If your drives have enable/disable inputs you may be inadvertently turning them off with those signals.

I was adding amplify enable to pins to see if it would run. It did when I added amplify enable to pin 1. I didnt remove from the other pins i tried. I can change and see what happens.

All motors are responding now. When I open AXIS, they take just a few steps in each direction. They I got an error. 'unexpected real time delay on task 0 with period 72000' This popped up while I was trying to jog the Z