Installing the Acorn with Adtech CNC drives

[dmbgo]

Thanks again Marty,
Muddle is a very apt term
I have now removed one of the drives and motors from the lathe. I will try to get it working on the bench. I always find that I try the quick and easy way 1st, then resort to the proper way of doing things anyway. You'd think I'd learn.

[martyscncgarage]

Thanks again Marty,
Muddle is a very apt term
I have now removed one of the drives and motors from the lathe. I will try to get it working on the bench. I always find that I try the quick and easy way 1st, then resort to the proper way of doing things anyway. You'd think I'd learn.

Well, its easier to wire a drive on the bench and sort things out, understand what is needed, then wire the cabinet accordingly.
SO many people wire the cabinet and never test a subsystem as they go. They end up with multiple issues.

Get motor and drive running, then wire a limit switch and get it working.
Then VFD and Spindle motor....test each along the way.

[dmbgo]

I've spent the afternoon setting the Z servo up on the bench. Sadly I can't get it to turn. The servo enables and disables when I reset the acorn and hit start (I can hear it start to hiss quietly) but it won't turn, although it does lock it's spindle. I have also put a meter on the direction output and checked that it toggles on and off when I click on the CNC12 manual jog controls. The direction is only changing by 0.8v but it might be pulled which would explain that.

[Muzzer]

What pulse frequency have you set in the wizard? IIRC, there are 100kHz, 200kHz and 400kHz settings available. Try the lowest to see if there is a max pulse frequency limitation on your drives. If your drives have slow optos on the step/dir inputs, they may not be seeing the pulses. Worth trying and easy to change....

[dmbgo]

I'll check in a minute. I'll have to go out to the shed (is dark)

[dmbgo]

OK, you have previous experience so you should be able to muddle through.
You say the Adtech drives are "on the lathe" does that mean they are currently running under something like Mach?

All you need to know really is that
-Pul
-Dir
-Ena
get connected to the Acorn header
You need to provide voltage (12-24VDC? If 24VDC you can use the 24VDC from the Acorn power supply)
TO the drives:
+Pul
+Dir
+Ena terminals

ALM- to COM
ALM+ to Acorn input

In the Wizard, go to the DB25 and make sure it is set to HEADER not DB25

You will need to configure the drive to be DISABLED on power up and require the ENA signal to operate. Acorn will ground (Enable) it when you try and jog the axis, home or go into MDI.

You really should have at least one motor and one drive on the bench for testing. Once you have things sorted and running, then build/wire your cabinet.

Suggest you use a shielded cable from Acorn Header terminals to your drive. Ground the shield drain wire on the Acorn side.

These are just suggestions. Read up on your drive manual. You may need to set some parameters in that drive too.

Marty

I have done or checked the following:

All you need to know really is that
√ -Pul
√ -Dir
√ -Ena
√ get connected to the Acorn header
√ You need to provide voltage (12-24VDC? If 24VDC you can use the 24VDC from the Acorn power supply)
TO the drives:
√ +Pul
√ +Dir
√ +Ena terminals

ALM- to COM
ALM+ to Acorn input

√ In the Wizard, go to the DB25 and make sure it is set to HEADER not DB25

[Muzzer]

I notice it also has forward and reverse inhibit inputs, pins 12 & 13. These need to be grounded.

Page 38 suggests max frequency for step and dir is 200kHz.

Page 79 shows how to jog the motor from the servo front panel. If you can't do this, it won't work in your system.
http://www.robosan.com.tr/pdfs/QS5%20SE ... MANUAL.pdf

[dmbgo]

What pulse frequency have you set in the wizard? IIRC, there are 100kHz, 200kHz and 400kHz settings available. Try the lowest to see if there is a max pulse frequency limitation on your drives. If your drives have slow optos on the step/dir inputs, they may not be seeing the pulses. Worth trying and easy to change....

I didn't have a field called "pulse frequency" but I did have "Step Rate" in the wizard. This was already set at 100KHZ. There were options for the other frequencies you mention as well.

[dmbgo]

I notice it also has forward and reverse inhibit inputs, pins 12 & 13. These need to be grounded.

Page 38 suggests max frequency for step and dir is 200kHz.

Page 79 shows how to jog the motor from the servo front panel. If you can't do this, it won't work in your system.
http://www.robosan.com.tr/pdfs/QS5%20SE ... MANUAL.pdf

So the frequency it's on (100khz) is ok. I'll look at the other items you mentioned shortly - but the servo and drive were working for 8 years or so in my lathe prior to me updating to Acorn.

Thanks
Dave

[dmbgo]

I notice it also has forward and reverse inhibit inputs, pins 12 & 13. These need to be grounded.

Page 38 suggests max frequency for step and dir is 200kHz.

Page 79 shows how to jog the motor from the servo front panel. If you can't do this, it won't work in your system.
http://www.robosan.com.tr/pdfs/QS5%20SE ... MANUAL.pdf

So the frequency it's on (100khz) is ok. I'll look at the other items you mentioned shortly - but the servo and drive were working for 8 years or so in my lathe prior to me updating to Acorn.

Thanks
Dave

That was using an Ethernet smooth stepper, which is a bit different, but still step and direction.