Post by romaxxcnc on Sept 3, 2009 15:30:40 GMT -5
Romaxx Troubleshooting Guide 9-03-09
This is a compilation of common support issues.
**IMPORTANT** Never disconnect a G201 Yellow label Geckodrive while the machine is powered up or there is power still in the capacitor on the power supply. It will destroy the drive. The G203 Vampire red label drives can be disconnected, they are the type we use for 4th axis applications.
**IMPORTANT** Some of solutions involve inspection using a voltmeter to check circuits. These tests should only be performed by a qualified technician. If you do not have one available, contact us for support or consult the Romaxx forum community.
Problem: Machine will not power up, no yellow status LED on front of machine.
Possible causes:
Are all cables connected? i.e. power cable, parallel port cable for your machine configuration? Namely port 1 only without closed loop and port 2 also for machines with the closed system.
Are the cables pushed fully into the plugs on the PC and the machine?
Is the receptacle the machine is plugged into live?
Is the Estop on the front of the machine out?
Is the yellow status LED lit on the front of the machine?
If there is no yellow status LED on the front of the machine, there is no power to the interface. Possible causes are Machine has no power going to it, or there is a blown fuse inside the machine, down in the front. There are two AGC (3AG) fuses right in front of the interface, one is the main fuse which is a 10 ampere and an 1 ampere that is to protect the interface(s). With the machine powered down check each of those with an ohmeter. Or simply swap them out with known good fuses. Also there is an onboard fuse right on the interface in the upper left hand corner above it's power supply. Looks like a silver resistor. It is a fuse, power down and check it as well. If all fuses check out and still no yellow LED, is there a RED LED in the lower left hand corner of the interface lit? That means the interface is powered up and the yellow LED is not operating for some reason.
If yes to all the above and still no go, proceed.
Problem: We have a yellow LED with Estop out and the machine will still not start. Drives will not power up. Reset in Mach3 will not clear. We don't hear a "thump" sound from the motors on Reset clear.
First, an explanation of how the Romaxx Estop system works in relation between the Machine and the Mach3 software.
The machine will only start when the "Reset" is cleared(not flashing) in Mach3. It cannot simply be turned on. This is accomplished through the charge pump circuitry designed into the interface. When the Estop is cleared, Relay number 4 towards the front of the machine and all the way to the left should energize, this powers up the machine's power supply. The machines power supply and drives will not power up any other way. This relay is controlled off pin 17 of the parallel port number 1. It is energized when the LED right behind it is lit, and a click sound can be heard.
Most common cause of this condition is the XML file for the machine is not loaded in Mach3 or it is in the wrong folder. Sometimes folks will download Mach3 multiple times and have more than one folder, i.e. put the XML in one folder while running the actual program from another. It goes in the C:/Mach3 main folder, just copy and paste the correct one in for your machine. Please refer to the "quick-start setup guide" for instructions on how to load the XML.
Other common causes are:
DB25 cable: Parallel port cable for port 1 is the wrong type (use the one we provide, some reverse the pins on the other end), or it is not pushed fully onto the connectors at each end.
EPO Jumper: In some cases where we have sent out a warranty replacement interface to be changed, the installer overlooked the EPO terminal block and it's jumper that must be installed between the two screw terminals in that block. It is labled "EPO" and is on the upper right corner of the board.
Port card Driver: (This applies to the second port for closed loop operation as well)In the event that you had to add an PCI card to your computer, many such as the one we sell(Netmos 9805 chipset), must use the driver from the included disc. Windows will load it's own generic driver automatically and it will not work. During install select "Have Disk" and point to the CD where the driver is at and go to the folder ex: "Netmos9805_xp"
Wrong or no port address entered in Mach3(this applies to the second port as well): In Mach3 under Config/Ports and pins, there are two fields to enter the parallel port for each respective port 1 & 2. The OEM port address for port 1 on most PC's is 0378. Mach3 will add a hexadecimal "x" to the address on restart and will appear as "0x378". Port addresses for aftermarket PCI cards such as the Netmos, will typically be letters and numbers, example: ECF8. "0007" is not a port address and is conclusive typically that the wrong driver is loaded for the card installed. The port address is obtained by going to Start/Control Panel/System/Hardware tab/Device manager/ Ports, Select the port after driver install from the list and go to "Resources". In the field after "I/O Range", the upper left 4 characters will be the port address. If they are something like 0007, the driver is not loaded and the port is not ready for communication, even though Windows will say "This device is working properly". Reload the driver.
Loose ribbon cable in the interface: It is the ribbon cable that goes from the machine console to the interface. Sometimes they are jarred out during shipment.
Problem: Ok, we have the yellow status light and when we clear the "Reset" in Mach3 we can hear a thump sound of the motors energizing. When we try to jog using the arrow keys, the machine will not move.
Solution: Press the TAB key on the keyboard, this opens a "fly-out" window from the right that is the jog control screen. Make sure the jog mode selected is "Cont" which stands for continuous jog. Hit TAB key again to hide menu.
Problem: How do we jog with the MPG?:
Solution: Press TAB key on the keyboard which opens the jog menu and select "MPG" jog mode. Then below that select which axis you'd like to control. Remember to switch back to "CONT" jog mode for arrow key jogging again. To step jog either select "STEP" on the jog screen which will move .001" per arrow key tap, or simply hold CTRL and tap the arrow key.
More to come, Ron
This is a compilation of common support issues.
**IMPORTANT** Never disconnect a G201 Yellow label Geckodrive while the machine is powered up or there is power still in the capacitor on the power supply. It will destroy the drive. The G203 Vampire red label drives can be disconnected, they are the type we use for 4th axis applications.
**IMPORTANT** Some of solutions involve inspection using a voltmeter to check circuits. These tests should only be performed by a qualified technician. If you do not have one available, contact us for support or consult the Romaxx forum community.
Problem: Machine will not power up, no yellow status LED on front of machine.
Possible causes:
Are all cables connected? i.e. power cable, parallel port cable for your machine configuration? Namely port 1 only without closed loop and port 2 also for machines with the closed system.
Are the cables pushed fully into the plugs on the PC and the machine?
Is the receptacle the machine is plugged into live?
Is the Estop on the front of the machine out?
Is the yellow status LED lit on the front of the machine?
If there is no yellow status LED on the front of the machine, there is no power to the interface. Possible causes are Machine has no power going to it, or there is a blown fuse inside the machine, down in the front. There are two AGC (3AG) fuses right in front of the interface, one is the main fuse which is a 10 ampere and an 1 ampere that is to protect the interface(s). With the machine powered down check each of those with an ohmeter. Or simply swap them out with known good fuses. Also there is an onboard fuse right on the interface in the upper left hand corner above it's power supply. Looks like a silver resistor. It is a fuse, power down and check it as well. If all fuses check out and still no yellow LED, is there a RED LED in the lower left hand corner of the interface lit? That means the interface is powered up and the yellow LED is not operating for some reason.
If yes to all the above and still no go, proceed.
Problem: We have a yellow LED with Estop out and the machine will still not start. Drives will not power up. Reset in Mach3 will not clear. We don't hear a "thump" sound from the motors on Reset clear.
First, an explanation of how the Romaxx Estop system works in relation between the Machine and the Mach3 software.
The machine will only start when the "Reset" is cleared(not flashing) in Mach3. It cannot simply be turned on. This is accomplished through the charge pump circuitry designed into the interface. When the Estop is cleared, Relay number 4 towards the front of the machine and all the way to the left should energize, this powers up the machine's power supply. The machines power supply and drives will not power up any other way. This relay is controlled off pin 17 of the parallel port number 1. It is energized when the LED right behind it is lit, and a click sound can be heard.
Most common cause of this condition is the XML file for the machine is not loaded in Mach3 or it is in the wrong folder. Sometimes folks will download Mach3 multiple times and have more than one folder, i.e. put the XML in one folder while running the actual program from another. It goes in the C:/Mach3 main folder, just copy and paste the correct one in for your machine. Please refer to the "quick-start setup guide" for instructions on how to load the XML.
Other common causes are:
DB25 cable: Parallel port cable for port 1 is the wrong type (use the one we provide, some reverse the pins on the other end), or it is not pushed fully onto the connectors at each end.
EPO Jumper: In some cases where we have sent out a warranty replacement interface to be changed, the installer overlooked the EPO terminal block and it's jumper that must be installed between the two screw terminals in that block. It is labled "EPO" and is on the upper right corner of the board.
Port card Driver: (This applies to the second port for closed loop operation as well)In the event that you had to add an PCI card to your computer, many such as the one we sell(Netmos 9805 chipset), must use the driver from the included disc. Windows will load it's own generic driver automatically and it will not work. During install select "Have Disk" and point to the CD where the driver is at and go to the folder ex: "Netmos9805_xp"
Wrong or no port address entered in Mach3(this applies to the second port as well): In Mach3 under Config/Ports and pins, there are two fields to enter the parallel port for each respective port 1 & 2. The OEM port address for port 1 on most PC's is 0378. Mach3 will add a hexadecimal "x" to the address on restart and will appear as "0x378". Port addresses for aftermarket PCI cards such as the Netmos, will typically be letters and numbers, example: ECF8. "0007" is not a port address and is conclusive typically that the wrong driver is loaded for the card installed. The port address is obtained by going to Start/Control Panel/System/Hardware tab/Device manager/ Ports, Select the port after driver install from the list and go to "Resources". In the field after "I/O Range", the upper left 4 characters will be the port address. If they are something like 0007, the driver is not loaded and the port is not ready for communication, even though Windows will say "This device is working properly". Reload the driver.
Loose ribbon cable in the interface: It is the ribbon cable that goes from the machine console to the interface. Sometimes they are jarred out during shipment.
Problem: Ok, we have the yellow status light and when we clear the "Reset" in Mach3 we can hear a thump sound of the motors energizing. When we try to jog using the arrow keys, the machine will not move.
Solution: Press the TAB key on the keyboard, this opens a "fly-out" window from the right that is the jog control screen. Make sure the jog mode selected is "Cont" which stands for continuous jog. Hit TAB key again to hide menu.
Problem: How do we jog with the MPG?:
Solution: Press TAB key on the keyboard which opens the jog menu and select "MPG" jog mode. Then below that select which axis you'd like to control. Remember to switch back to "CONT" jog mode for arrow key jogging again. To step jog either select "STEP" on the jog screen which will move .001" per arrow key tap, or simply hold CTRL and tap the arrow key.
More to come, Ron