how turn stepper motors off when not in use in Mach 3?

[uplb]

Hi
To keep motors from overheating, I need them to "enable" only when in use. My driver has this "enable" wiring but I do not know how to set them up in Mach3.

Thanks

[MechanoMan]

The motors should not overheat simply from being held unless there is something wrong with the motor current level given by the driver.

If I understand correctly (have not been using Mach3 long), the Enable line does NOT enable drive current at all. Rather, it enabled the driver to respond to Mach3 signals. This is because when you need to cycle power on the computer, the parallel port will "glitch" and make the driver move steps. This will make mach3 lose its understanding of the exact absolute position of the machine, and if the machine is in a critical position such as on the surface of the work it may damage the tool.

IIRC the Enable is a recognizable pulsed signal, since the Enable signal may also go to an "active" level when power is cycled.

[dertsap]

you can use a relay board to run your supply power through , then you can use an optional M code to turn the supply on and off http://cgi.ebay.com/CNC-PLASMA-ROUTE...713.m153.l1262
i bought his relays breakout board and it worked great

[ger21]

Originally Posted by uplb Hi My driver has this "enable" wiring but I do not know how to set them up in Mach3. Thanks

Wire your enable wires to the parallel port, and configure the enable pins in "Ports and Pins" sceen.