Ordered the UC400ETH

[wjbzone]

Finally switching from using the parallel port and going with a motion controller. My cnc router has been running fine until my old computer died (w7 32 bit). I've been using Mach3 to control 3 axis and I also turn the router on and off with the software and a relay switch.. I use a Mach3 breakout board and M542T Microstep Drivers from steppersonline.

I looked at the UC300ETH and UC400ETH motion controllers. Looks like the main difference is the number of ports and the 300 has an analog port. Is this correct?.

I ordered the UC400ETH (bundle package that includes a UCCNC license key), plus a parallel cable from cncdrive.com.

It looks like the parallel cable will go from the UC400ETH to my breakout board.

I also ordered a crossover ethernet cable to go directly from the computer to the UC400ETH.

And also ordered a used computer from ebay. Windows 7 64 bit with a new SSD.

Will this do the job for me? Is there anything else I might need?

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[wjbzone]

Forgot to add: I also tried to order the UCR200 wireless jog pendant from cncdrive.com, but they said it was discontinued and could not be ordered. Said they are going to offer a new version soon. Does anyone know about this?

[ger21]

You could have ordered from CNC4PC and probably gotten is faster.

With newer PC's, you usually don't need a crossover cable, as modern network cards can autodetect the connection. I use a standard cable with my UC300ETH.

You'll also need a 12V-24V power supply for the UC400ETH.

Until CNC Drive releases their new pendant, they probably won't release too much info on it.
Vista CNC makes a variety of pendants that work with Mach3 and UCCNC.
vistaCNC

[wjbzone]

Thanks Gerry.
I probably should posted my question before I ordered, but it will be here soon enough. Didn't know that about the new network cards.

I have a 12Volt, 5amp power supply for my BOB. Hope it's adequate for both the BOB and the UC400ETH.

[ger21]

It should be. The UC400ETH only needs about 1/2 amp.

[arturod]

We have a couple of UCR200 left:

https://cnc4pc.com/ucr200-wireless-cnc-jog-pendant.html

We got plenty of breakout boards for almost any application:

https://cnc4pc.com/motion-control/breakout-boards.html

Arturo Duncan
Welcome to CNC4PC

[ger21]

The new pendant was released today. But it doesn't look like they have it in their store yet.
CNCdrive - motion controls

[wjbzone]

Having problems getting the UC400ETH to work. I went through the hardware and software manuals. Got the wiring done and software installed.
I setup the network (direct with crossover cable, no router) and am able to ping the card with no packet loss. I imported my mach3 settings.into the UCCNC software

Not able to get my stepper motors to move. When the software is running my steppers do not hold.

When I exit the software, the motors hold. Seems I have something reversed. Any suggestions?
I did not do the reset on the UC400ETH board. Is this necessary?


Going to look more into the pendent when I get this running.

[ger21]

Sounds like the enable signals are backwards. Try changing the active low setting for each motors enable pin.

Since UCCNC is not exactly the same as Mach3, importing the .xml does not always set up everything 100% correctly.

[OlfCNC]

Is the blue LED on the UC400ETH on when you running the UCCNC?
If that LED is on then the controller is connected and is working properly and then it is issue with settings for your machine.

If the motors enable when you turn the UCCNC off then something like an enable signal active low is setup in reverse.

[wjbzone]

Thanks for the replies.

I said above that the steppers motors hold when I turn off the software. That is not quite true.

The motors hold when I exit Windows.but not when I exit the software. I checked the enable settings on the UCCNC software (changed active high to low) and could not get it to work. The UC400ETH card has the blue LED light on when the software is running.


I also noticed the manual says to use a separate ethernet card, not the integrated one the computer. That might be my problem. Going to try a pci ethernet card.

[arturod]

What breakout boards are you using? Does it have LEDs to show the status of the pins? Does it have an enable or watchdog? You can check action for step and direction signals with a multimeter to confirm they are getting to the terminals.

Check inputs, just to verify you do have communications.

Arturo Duncan
https://cnc4pc.com

[OlfCNC]

Thanks for the replies.

I said above that the steppers motors hold when I turn off the software. That is not quite true.

The motors hold when I exit Windows.but not when I exit the software. I checked the enable settings on the UCCNC software (changed active high to low) and could not get it to work. The UC400ETH card has the blue LED light on when the software is running.

I also noticed the manual says to use a separate ethernet card, not the integrated one the computer. That might be my problem. Going to try a pci ethernet card.

If the blue LED is on then all is OK with your UC400ETH. It is running fine.
The issue is not with the pci ethernet card. It is with your settings.
Try to figure out why your motors are not holding? What signal is needed for the drives to turn on and hold? That signal is missing is why they are not holding.

[wjbzone]

I got my stepper motors, driver and breakout board from from omc-stepperonline.com.
I am using what they called the "Mach3 break out board" (BOB)


The drivers have two enable inputs:
ENA+(5v) - wired to the 5v output on the BOB (PC5V) (all three xyz drivers are to same wire)
ENA- - wired to the pin 14 output on the BOB (all three xyz drivers are to same wire)

(The ENA- is on all 3 drives is wired to the same Pin 14 output on the BOB)

In UCCNC software configuration-Axis Setup:

Each axis has is a check box for Axis Enabled and a Enable pin/port setting and a check box for active low/high.

I set the X, Y and Z axis the same:
Axis enabled check box is checked
Enable pin is set to pin 14 and port 1, (tried active low with checked and unchecked.)

When does the software send a signal to pin 14?


On the BOB shown below the red wire (top left) goes to XY and Z drivers ENA+(5v)
The yellow wire (7th screw from left) goes to XY and Z drivers ENA- (from pin 14 according to the BOB wiring diagram)


On Driver below shows the red and yellow wires hooked to the ENA+ and ENA- . (same yellow and red wire goes to all three drives)

[OlfCNC]

If the enable output is configured on the correct pin with correct active low setting then your stepper drives should enable.
Do not forget to press apply settings button when you change settings.
If you have one enable pin on the BOB then only configure it to one axis and leave the others unconfigured otherwise if you set them to the same pin and setting them with different active low then they will likely override eachother. (probably)

If it still does not work then pick a multimeter and measure.

[ger21]

Most drives are enabled by default. Try removing the enable lines from the breakout board, and see if they then work. Imo, you don't really need the enable.

[wjbzone]

Just getting back to work on my cnc machine.

I disconnected the enable wires and got it to work. (some of the pin outs for UCCNC did not match my mach3 settings that I imported)

I re-connected the enable wire and configured each axis pin 14. Everything seems to work.

Without using the enable wire, hitting the reset button in the UCCNC software does not disable the motors. (best to use it)