G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

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Dave_C
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by Dave_C »

Well Marty,

I just posted that I made a test setup and tried running one of the Nema 34 motors on my Mach 3 lathe setup that uses the same motors, steps and everything. The new motor acted the same way on Mach 3 and Mach 3 runs these same motors on the lathe just fine. It turns a small amount and then goes into alarm. The error log in the drive says "Follow Error".

One of the drivers is bad for sure as it does not pit out voltage on one of the winding's.

I'm wishing I had gone the Clearpath route now!

Dave C.
Grizzly G0678 Mill ,CNC conversion with Acorn. G4004G Lathe, Mach 3 conversion to Acorn.
martyscncgarage
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by martyscncgarage »

Dave_C wrote: Wed Dec 27, 2017 10:40 pm Well Marty,

I just posted that I made a test setup and tried running one of the Nema 34 motors on my Mach 3 lathe setup that uses the same motors, steps and everything. The new motor acted the same way on Mach 3 and Mach 3 runs these same motors on the lathe just fine. It turns a small amount and then goes into alarm. The error log in the drive says "Follow Error".

One of the drivers is bad for sure as it does not pit out voltage on one of the winding's.

I'm wishing I had gone the Clearpath route now!

Dave C.

Following error is an encoder issue. Probably misconfigured.
Talk to John see if he can help you out. Let us know how it goes.
Make sure you let him know you are working with Acorn and have posted here for advice.

Marty
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
Mesa, AZ
Dave_C
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by Dave_C »

Marty,

I have written John, he has responded and I have done some testing.

1. I used my Mach 3 Lathe setup, moved wires for one new motor over and tried to make just the motor run using a good known driver. One motor ran fine, the other caused the drive to go into fault. So one bad motor or encoder. I did a pin to pin on the encoder cable, they are all good and wired the same.
2. Then I tried running a step and direction cable to the good controller and good motor (new ones) and the one motor and controller moved as it should. I then tried the same good motor with the other controller, and no go! So it looks like I had one bad motor and at least one bad controller.
3. The little NEMA 23, I can not do the same test as I have no other 3 phase controller.

Then the last test I did, and this just blows me away, I hooked up the good motor and good controller (NEMA 34) and just step and direction signals from Acorn and 5VDC from my dual PS to the Pul+ and Dir + (per the drawings) Common is common to Acorn and the 5VDC Common.

NOTHING, no movement, no alarms! My dro's scroll numbers just fine but no movement.

So John said to pack it all up, send it to him and he will test it with his Acorn board.

Dave C.
Grizzly G0678 Mill ,CNC conversion with Acorn. G4004G Lathe, Mach 3 conversion to Acorn.
martyscncgarage
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by martyscncgarage »

Dave_C wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2017 1:52 pm Marty,

I have written John, he has responded and I have done some testing.

1. I used my Mach 3 Lathe setup, moved wires for one new motor over and tried to make just the motor run using a good known driver. One motor ran fine, the other caused the drive to go into fault. So one bad motor or encoder. I did a pin to pin on the encoder cable, they are all good and wired the same.
2. Then I tried running a step and direction cable to the good controller and good motor (new ones) and the one motor and controller moved as it should. I then tried the same good motor with the other controller, and no go! So it looks like I had one bad motor and at least one bad controller.
3. The little NEMA 23, I can not do the same test as I have no other 3 phase controller.

Then the last test I did, and this just blows me away, I hooked up the good motor and good controller (NEMA 34) and just step and direction signals from Acorn and 5VDC from my dual PS to the Pul+ and Dir + (per the drawings) Common is common to Acorn and the 5VDC Common.

NOTHING, no movement, no alarms! My dro's scroll numbers just fine but no movement.

So John said to pack it all up, send it to him and he will test it with his Acorn board.

Dave C.
Well, not sure what to say other than I think John will take care of you and I HOPE when he figures it out he tells you what was found.
Marty
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
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Dave_C
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by Dave_C »

So while I am waiting on John at AT to get these motors returned and checked out I am proceeding with some other small task. I have my high/low spindle speed all worked out and I thought you might like to see how I re-purposed the front control panel of the G0678.

It comes from the factory with the remote control panel for the drive tucked up inside this front panel and all you can see is the readout. You aren't able to access any of the buttons to make changes and you knows us, that just isn't going to get it!

So I moved the control panel out and mounted it flush on the front of the CNC cabinet so I can get to it.

Then I started re-working the panel to get the items I needed installed.

First was the 0-10vdc gauge which is the spindle load meter. Cost, $10.00 on Amazon! This is very easy to do, all it requires is a 0-10vdc output from the drive, which most drives have, and set the parameter for that output to current. It will output a percent of whatever the current is set to match your motor. In my case it is 5 amps. So 4 on the meter would be 40% load. 10 would be 100% load and so on. Basically I needed something to cover the hole where I removed the VFD control panel. ;)

Then I reused the direction switch and made it into a manual flood coolant switch. I also took out the knob that adjusted the drive speed and put a SPST switch there to select low or high speed for the spindle.

E-Stop stayed the same, I changed out the white power light for a green LED light. (personal choice) and the push to start button was removed and a master toggle switch was added which controls the incoming power to the entire Mill Control Panel.

So one switch to turn it all on and one switch to turn it all off.

I've tested the high/low RPM against the commanded RPM and I'm pretty close, within about 15-20 RPM over the entire range. That's probably close enough for now.

Later,

Dave C.
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Grizzly G0678 Mill ,CNC conversion with Acorn. G4004G Lathe, Mach 3 conversion to Acorn.
frijoli
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by frijoli »

Well done!

Clay
Clay
near Winston-Salem, NC
unofficial ACORN fb group https://www.facebook.com/groups/897054597120437/
Dave_C
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by Dave_C »

Question:

Is acorn super sensitive to input voltage? The reason I ask is that I have been trying to determine why all three of the closed loop steppers I bought failed to work when wired exactly per the drawings and Marty's video.

I checked my dual voltage power supply that I purchased from Jameco per Marty's' recommendation. The 5 vdc output is right at 5vdc but the 24 volt output reads 23.45 vdc. (using my fluke 77)

Is that low enough to cause a problem with step and direction? All the other inputs and outputs are working fine including spindle speed and direction. [The Spindle tracks very close to the software commands for speed!]

With my meter on DC, I read from 24 VDC in to DIR on all four of the DIR outputs. I expected to see the voltage rise or fall on change of direction but it stays at 23.35 VDC.

Can anyone offer some advice here? (see edit below)

Dave C.

I need to correct this test result:

I had the wife come down and do the jog keys for me, + to - and back and forth while I put the meter on the DIR outputs. What I was doing wrong was putting the test lead on the screw head with no wire in the socket and I was not getting a good circuit.

By putting the test lead into the wire hole and having the wife do the direction + to - and back and forth I get 4.99 and 23.45 so all four axis on the Acorn are looking like they work fine. (relief) So it looks like the issue is as I stated, it is with the new drives and not Acorn. I can't test step without a scope but everything else works as it should so I'm stopping testing until I hear something else from someone about the power level of 23.45 VDC.

Thanks for the support and the patience!
Grizzly G0678 Mill ,CNC conversion with Acorn. G4004G Lathe, Mach 3 conversion to Acorn.
Dave_C
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by Dave_C »

Can someone give me some feedback on the above post regarding Acorn voltage sensitivity.

Dave C.
Grizzly G0678 Mill ,CNC conversion with Acorn. G4004G Lathe, Mach 3 conversion to Acorn.
ScotY
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by ScotY »

I’m no expert but I would imagine ~23v should be just fine. I can’t imagine it would be that sensitive to input voltage, provided it’s stable voltage. I have one of those dual voltage power supplys and I think there’s only one adjustment pot on it. Not home at the moment. I’d guess it adjusts both voltages simultaneously.
Dave_C
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Re: G0678 CNC Conversion Thread

Post by Dave_C »

ScotY,

I agree, There is only one adjustment pot on mine and I don't want to take the voltage any higher as the 5 VDC is about 5.1 now.

I'm waiting on a phone call from John at AT right now to decide what to do with the closed loop steppers.

Dave C.
Grizzly G0678 Mill ,CNC conversion with Acorn. G4004G Lathe, Mach 3 conversion to Acorn.
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