Tuning motors in Mach3

[tybrenis]

Hey guys,

I know that there have been a thousand threads about this, but I've searched and searched and tried everything I can but I just can't seem to get my motors tuned properly in Mach3.

I have Keling 425 oz. 8 wire motors, and they are being wired unipolar at 305 oz on a HobbyCNC controller at 24v and 2.0 amps. The motors themselves at rated at 6v and 2.0 amps. And before you ask, yes, I have asked Dave at HobbyCNC about it and he isn't sure either, and yes, I am awaiting a response from Keling.

Anyways - I need to get my motors tuned in Mach3. They spin beautifully in EMC, so I know my controller is set up properly. I've tried all I can, but I just can't get the settings right in the motor tuning section. My motors are slow, jerky, and make horrible noises.

Thanks a ton for your help guys!

EDIT: Sorry for posting this in the other section too, I forgot about this forum!

[kiwiavi]

No help on the drive but what is the reason for changing from EMC to mach 3 ? I have been looking at both.
kiwiavi@xtra.co.nz

[LeeWay]

I have the same motors and was getting some of the same issues initially, but with Gecko's. I have mine wired up for Bipolar Parallel though.
You may want to try the active high low settings in the motor outputs window.
Mine would run much like you describe when these settings were one way, but ran better with the other setting. I don't recall which, but Gecko's are probably different anyway.
Just something to check.

I have now narrowed down my problem to noise issues.
My Z motor runs as it should. The X and Y would run nicely, but in both directions of its own will when jogged one way. I swapped everything around with the same results. I finally put my Y drive in the location where the Z was installed. That drive then started doing right.
I found some braided shielding that I will be using to wrap the wires in my control box. I have shielded wire on my motors, but its now shielded inside the box.

To sum up, if you can't get the motors to tune easily in Mach 3 using very low settings and moving up to higher settings, its not a fault of Mach, but another switch or outside influence that is the cause.
Motor tuning is pretty easy in Mach.
Good luck with it and let us know how it goes.

[Svelte]

I just went through the motor reversal problem with my Xylotex drives and motors. It drove me nuts!!! I finally got in touch with Xylotex Tech Support and they informed me that this problem is indicative of a loose connection in the motor wiring. In my case, my wiring was fine (I am using shielded cable). There seems to be a problem with the Z-axis controller on the board. Xylotex also said that this was a definite possibility.
I had the same problem as you. When I switched cabling, my Z-axis problem moved to the X-axis.

Good Luck!!

[tybrenis]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I will try out the active high and low settins, and see if I can't get them working.

As for my switch from EMC to Mach, it's simply because I don't know anything about EMC and I have found it a bit tricky for me to operate. I'm sure with some time I could learn it, however. From screenshots etc. it looks like a great program, but all I've seen is a very basic interface. I'm sure I'm missing the big picture here.