New Acorn User with questions

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bmiller618
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2022 2:24 pm
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
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New Acorn User with questions

Post by bmiller618 »

Hello, I'm new to Acorn and CNCs in general. I have a background in building automation systems, HVAC and electrical. My grandfather purchased a DIY CNC router kit from amazon and I helped him assemble and wire it. Long story short, the CNC breakout board wasn't usable and he ended up purchasing an Acorn controller.

Here's what he has for stepper drivers:
https://kenswu.zzvps.com/Function/Manua ... 40C_EN.pdf

The drivers are wired to Nema 23 stepper motors and powered by a separate power source (not the Acorn power supply). The closest wiring configuration to the stepper drivers we have are the leadshine D508. I have the stepper drivers wired up according to that schematic but I have the step and direction wired to the H2 and H3 terminal blocks. When I run the Acorn wizard and configure it for the leadshine steppers I am not able to use the manual jog arrows on CNC12. I assume this is because that configuration is preset for the DB25 connector.

Questions:
1. I read that the DB25 breakout board may be necessary. I was reluctant to just buy more parts without asking some questions first. Is there a way to use the H2 and H3 terminal blocks or is the DB25 necessary with my setup?

2. Based on the stepper drivers I'm using, how do I setup all the parameters in the Acorn wizard to make the steppers work?

Thanks for any help you can provide. It's been a tough process and it's made harder by the CNC and laptop being at his house with me trying to troubleshoot/ask questions from 40 minutes away with no access to the equipment.

-Brian
ShawnM
Posts: 2190
Joined: Fri May 24, 2019 8:34 am
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CNC Control System Serial Number: 7804734C6498-0401191832
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Clearwater, FL

Re: New Acorn User with questions

Post by ShawnM »

Hi Brian and welcome. Those drives are 5v logic and will only wire to the DB25. The headers are for servo drives and a very select few hybrid stepper drives. You can order the breakout board on Amazon for about $8. Follow schematic S14976 found here:

https://www.centroidcnc.com/dealersuppo ... 976.r4.pdf

Wire up ONE drive and get it moving before you hook up the second or third one. ONE drive at a time and then you can copy over the same procedure for the next drive and so on.

In the Wizard, you are going to select "bench test db25" as your drive type. As you should be wiring this up on the bench and not the machine. You need to confirm it works BEFORE you bolt everything to the machine. This will set the steps/rev to 1600 in Acorn and then set your drive via the dip switches to 1600, the settings are in the manual. Set the overall turns ratio to 1 to start with. Set the step rate in Acorn to 100,000.

Do not wire up the enable lines as the drive is more than likely enabled by default. Try without the enable wiring first.

Report back when you get this far and let us know if you have movement.
bmiller618
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2022 2:24 pm
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: No
CNC Control System Serial Number: none
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No

Re: New Acorn User with questions

Post by bmiller618 »

Thanks for the info. This will be a solid start. I'll be sure to come back with my results.
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