MAXNC10CL Nightmare continues

[originator]

Hopefully this thread will deter others from buying from MAXNC.

This machine has been down more than it has run. I have sent the controller to the factory once to look at it, still it has cost me more time, frustration and wasted money than any product I have ever owned. Unfortunately, I am stuck with it until I can get my product off the ground.

The basic problem is that the motors stop running all the time for some reason. I have speen hundreds of hours trying to solve it, the company says that I must be doing something wrong. I will not ever in a million years use their dos like software, which they claim is the only way to run it suposedly. I use MACH3, and I have verified that there are signals hitting the controller, even though various axis' just stop all the time. Now the machine will not even run for a minute without stopping. I have swapped out micros, mosfets with known working ones. There are other parts I have not replaced yet, but after 6 hours tonight just trying to cut one simple part, I have finally had enough and now am in serach of a controller that may retrofit right onto this machine. Sending the controller back to MAX will take over a week, plus lots in fast shipping, not too mention, I have tried that route before. They simply do not care to solve this machines problems. They will not return calls, or emails. When you call them you are like a great imposition on them.

Is there a Gecko or other controller that will interface easily? This machine has encoders and is closed loop, but at this point I just need it to run, period, encoders or not. The machine is quadreature, has lin engineering nema23 motors. I need something as fast as possible to get up and running. Thanks in advance if you have a controller to suggest that I can connect up.

Thanks

[HillBilly]

You could use three Gecko's to drive the motors. You will need a power supply also. Your machine will be open loop and step and direction at this point.

If you are having these problems while running their software then something is definitly wrong with the controller. You have to be careful when setting Mach up on one of these machines. If you turn on the wrong pins you will corrupt the parameters in the controller. The parameters can be restored by opening their software up again. That is how their software knows whether the controller is connected or not.

I have run my MaxNC CL on both their software and Mach countless hours. I got mine when they first came out with closed-loop. I dealt mostly with Otto ( Mitch's dad, Mr. MaxNC himself.) whos health was bad at the time.

Darek

[InspirationTool]

I have no expereince in this department, but I've heard about alot of "mystery" problems that were solved by getting a dedicated parallel port card that put out the true 5v instead of the 3.3v on newer machines.

-Jeff

[originator]

On the MAX software, X runs at about half speed when jogging. When running MACH, when you ref home, usually it is at 35% speed when reffing home, X stops working at once after ref home, you must do it 5-20 times to get it to ref home and then actually continue working, This has ALWAYS been the case since 10 months. Up till lately the machine would work after some amount of false starts, but now, it will not run X at all more than a few seconds. I looked at the cable pma scope and the pins for X are always getting signals even thought the machine doesn't run. I have tried robbing the PIC off the unused A axis, I also swapped out the TIP 120's as well just to be sure. There is definitely a controller problem now since X is noisier than the others, but it is not a mechanical sound. When I run the x motor from the Y outputs it runs fine.

I have talked to Mitch and Otto, I even sent this back to them, they claim that it is fine, "just don't use MACH3". Well, I can't use MAXWIN the way I like to work. I create as I make, I go back and update the part, and want to add new or modified cuts, MAXWIN is a headache to read my filenames. I also have a tons of files for different projects in their own folders, and shuttling around to various folders when you want to grab stuff is a headache. I just want a controller that will actually run 50% of the time and I'd be estatic.

I have spent time with Art and others on MACH forums and tried every combinatioin of settings possible.

[pminmo]

what part of the US are you located?

[originator]

Hey Phil I am in Los Angeles

[nicad]

I have been through the ringer with a Maxnc15CL as well..
First question- I understand you do not WANT to run it, but does it work any better/different with the DOS MaxNC program?

[motomitch1]

If you swich over to three Gecko's you wiill have a controller that will actually run 100% of the time.

[samco]

interesting read. He isn't using the drive that came with it.
http://timeguy.com/cradek/cnc

[nicad]

Originally Posted by motomitch1 If you swich over to three Gecko's you wiill have a controller that will actually run 100% of the time.

Which is exactly what I have done. 4x G320s, G100, Camtronics control box + PS, 4x servos, Mach3.

bam! Whole new mill.

[pminmo]

Originally Posted by samco interesting read. He isn't using the drive that came with it. http://timeguy.com/cradek/cnc

He's using one of mine, I didn't connect the dots.....i.e. MaxNC and Chris (timeguy)...Chris made an excellent suggestion to the original L297-8 board which I updated right away. thus the HV version........

[samco]

I think I figured out the other day who you where.

Chis is one of the smartest persons I have ever met.

sam

Originally Posted by pminmo He's using one of mine, I didn't connect the dots.....i.e. MaxNC and Chris (timeguy)...Chris made an excellent suggestion to the original L297-8 board which I updated right away. thus the HV version........