In over my head - New CNC Router rebuild.

[Nigelo]

Your sequence is correct BUT the last report you uploaded is timestamped as Jan 5 circa 16:00. A current Report.zip is therefore needed to include changes you have made since that date

[tblough]

Generating the report is not enough. You have to attach the report and your Wizard screens EVERY time you post a problem. It's not fair to have us scroll through 5 pages of posts looking for the most recent report (Friday 5th, by the way), craft our response, and then find out that a multitude of changes had been made to the configuration between now and then.

[TDWIsland]

I'm very sorry to anyone that I annoyed. I must have uploaded on an old file, I'm sorry.

I just posted my last report. It's from the previous night however I haven't touched the machine since so it's the freshest. The screenshots are from the same time frame.
As a post recommended, how do I attach the report and Wizard screens in one post? I tried to combine the report and screenshots as one attachment. Is this possible?

[cnckeith]

click add files

[TDWIsland]

Your showing me how to add the screenshots from my PDF viewer correct? I can do that.
I was asking if there was a way to "include" the PDF screenshots, as a file of multiple pictures, with the report in CNC12.

[tblough]

It's fine to just add the multiple attachments to your post.

[martinbatts]

One of my favorite physicists is Richard Feynman because he explained complex things simply. His goal was to convey knowledge so that whoever was listening would understand both the problem and the solution. With Feynman's approach in mind, connecting a stepper motor driver to the acorn is simple.

1. What is the goal? You need to turn one internal LED On/Off in the DM860 to control the speed of the motor (step) and another internal LED On or Off to control the direction of the motor. Because a lathe, mill or router has multiple axes of movement, you need to have those step and direction signals available for each axis.

2. How do you turn an LED On? You send DC current through the LED. How much current? The DM860 manual tells us that 10mA is typical. What DC voltage do we use? The DM860 manual tells us that 5VDC is normal. (Manual Section 2. Electrical specifications). So, if you connect PUL(-) to GND and PUL(+) to +5VDC, the DM860's LED pulse circuit will be ON. The DM860 has a built in resistor to limit the current to 10mA. If you turn off the voltage to the DM860's Pulse(+) terminal, the LED pulse circuit will be OFF.

3. Now that we know how to control the DM860's internal LED, how do we connect the DM860 to the Acorn? The diagram on page 3 of the Acorn User Guide gives the answer. The DB25 has four step signals, four direction signals, and eight COM lines. (My copy of the manual lists the COM lines as 24V COM. That's just another way of saying that they're connected to DC ground (GND)). Connect the Acorn's DB-25 pin 2 to the DB860's PUL(+) terminal. Connect one of the DB-25's COM pins to the DB860's PUL(-) terminal. Connect Acorn DB-25 pin 3 to the DB860's DIR(+) terminal and one of the DB-25's COM pins to the DB860's DIR(-) terminal. With those connections, the Acorn can control the speed and the direction of one motor. Note that the DB860 manual states that the drive can handle step signals only up to 200kHz. The Acorn Wizard has a setting to limit the step rate. Ask if you need help with that setting.

You now have control of the step/direction side of the stepper driver. Wiring diagrams for connecting the stepper power supply and the stepper motors to the DB680 are found in section 9 of the DM860 manual (Typical Connection), with additional information found in section 5 (Connecting the Motor). Section 7 tells you how to set the switches to match the current from the DB860 to the current needed by the stepper motor. That section also shows how to set switches so that the stepper motor's shaft needs 1,600 steps per revolution (or to another value if you prefer).

The point is that the Acorn is a simple device and that using the Acorn is very simple - once to use if you understand exactly what you want to do.

Going back to the physicist, Richard Feynman: He once served on a committee to rate math text books for the California school system. He personally read every book on the list, made detailed notes about each book and then rated each book. As a scientist who had received a Nobel Prize for Physics, Feynman was qualified to help select books. He methodically read each book. We need to do the same. CentroidCNC has produced excellent schematics and documents, but every person starts the journey towards CNC conversion with different training and background. As soon as you read something that doesn't make sense to you, STOP, carefully note what document you don't understand, what page or section, and what item you don't understand; then ask a question on the forum about that one item, citing the manual or schematic or document, the page or section, and a detailed question (saying something vague like "I don't get electronics" is too vague; asking something like "how thick should the wire be between the Acorn's DB25 connector and the stepper driver" gives enough detailed information to get useful advice). It may take a little time, but there are a lot of forum members who can help and are willing to help.

You had me at "Richard Feynman".
This post is exactly what I needed. Thanks and cheers