So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

All things related to the Centroid Acorn CNC Controller

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metalman2
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Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by metalman2 »

Where do I find info on how to get started on the wizard with the cw230? I'm pretty overwhelmed with all this at this point. Sorry!
drdennis
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Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by drdennis »

Go to "Axis Configuration" all you need is there and is pretty self-explanatory given the stepper pulses and a lead screw pitch that you can make up when testing the motor alone (5mm/rev).
metalman2
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Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by metalman2 »

How do I know where to wire the X Y & Z axis wires to the Acorn if I don't have a schematic to follow?
drdennis
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Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by drdennis »

https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... manual.pdf
Should have all you need. Wire one standalone motor to the H2 connector Step1 and Direction1. Ignore the REST input on the CW230. (Speaking of which the DM542 manual calls the corresponding input "Enable" even though it functionally disables the motor, so keep that in mind if you switch to the 542).
Last edited by drdennis on Tue Nov 23, 2021 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
drdennis
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:22 pm
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Location: Newton, MA

Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by drdennis »

I realized the above may not have enough detail.

On the CW230 motor driver: CP+ and CW+ both go to +5V; CP- goes to Step1; CW- goes to Direction1 on Acorn
Wire the motor windings to A+/A- and B+/B- The +/- doesn't matter for your experiment just reverses the direction. You can confirm the A and B winding wire pairs by shorting two motor wires together and turning the shaft. If you short the wires from the same winding (A or B) the motor will exhibit distinctly more resistance to turn. The GND and +VDC go to the stepper motor power supply (18-40V)
That plus the Axis Configuration in the Wizard should be all you need to get the motor turning.
Cheers
metalman2
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Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by metalman2 »

I've got the motor wired parallel, 8 wires down to 3. The only documentation I have states to set the driver to 1/16 microstep, 2.7A with the motor turning 1422.22 steps/in. and it gives me dipswitch settings. Does this tell me anything?

You talk about the wiring going to 5V, does that mean I need to use the DB25 adapter? I'm pretty lost on when that needs to be used also...
drdennis
Posts: 37
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Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by drdennis »

8-wire stepper has basically 2 pairs of A and B. You can connect the two As and two Bs in parallel or in series as if you were connecting batteries, that is for parallel you connect A1+ to A2+ and A1- to A2- and for a serial wiring you connect A1- to A2+ and use A1+ and A2- as the two terminals. Either way you need some diagram to show you the polarity of the windings (+ and -). Also, note that you will end up with 4 wires not 3.
Here is an example:
https://www.botnroll.com/en/stepper-mot ... gh800.html

Microstepping refers to the motor controller breaking the 200 steps natural to the stepper magnetic design to smaller steps. 16 * 200 = 3200 steps per revolution. But remember that the microstepping is something you can control. 1400s steps/in makes no sense with 16x microstep. You can do the math, that sounds more like the non-microstepped motor. Make sure you understand the math here.
The current determines your torque and the heat the motor will produce. Set the dipswitches to the nominal motor rating (likely written on the motor) that is a good starting point.

You need 5V to power the CW230 inputs, you can get that from the power supply that comes with the Acorn kit. You could use the DB25 signals, but without a DB25 connector or expander your option is clearly to use the Acorn wire terminals (and forget about the DB25 for now).
metalman2
Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2021 3:25 pm
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Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by metalman2 »

I think this is starting to make sense. What I meant was that I have 3 signal wires coming from the driver and the 8 motor wires down to 4 following what documentation I have. I do have a db25 connector and finally found the schematic for the pin configuration. Pins 18-25 give me the 5V needed for the signals, correct? As for the 1422.22 steps per in. the machine I have is sprocket & chain driven, is it telling me that it takes less than 1 motor revolution to travel 1"?
metalman2
Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2021 3:25 pm
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CNC Control System Serial Number: 1442FC0CB1C3-0813215081
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CNC12: Yes
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Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by metalman2 »

Not sure if my attachment will open or not but these are the motors I'm using. I wired everything up and set the axis wizard to what I believed to be correct and have no movement. I can hear the motor energize when the power supply is powered but nothing seems to happen when I try to jog it. I've got CP+ running to pin 18 with a jump wire going to CW+ , CP- going to pin2 step1, CW- going to pin3 Dir. Any thoughts?


drdennis
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:22 pm
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: No
CNC Control System Serial Number: 0927215221
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Newton, MA

Re: So I bought a unused/used "buildyourcnc"

Post by drdennis »

Yeah, that's wrong. The Acorn doc is a bit skimpy on defining the DB25 outputs but it is suggesting 5V positive logic, so you have it wired backwards. No worries the LEDs on the CW230 input just won't work like this -- no damage.
You need to feed the DB25 signals to the positive inputs and tie the two negative inputs to the ground (e.g., pin 18)
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