[kinghong1970]

Hello again...

i've received my electronics package,
set up an old PC and installed Mach3

and been reading this forum for hours to figure out/plan the wiring for G540 and pretty much came up with this.



questions:

1) by wiring Home and Limit in series as illustrated, the machine will travel for longer period of time?
2) Mach3 setup, i guess i'll have to watch their vid again... but still not sure how to set up in M3.
3) what gauge wires to use for the switches and probes? 18ga?
4) does everything look ok?

quite anxious to get things moving...

your suggestions/comments/critiques much appreciated.

thanks in advance.

Al

[effimos]

i think you misunderstood the limit/home switch connection diagram.

you don't need to seperate per type of switch like 'home' and 'limit' but you need to seperate per axes 'x' , 'y' and 'z' (and on my router the tooltip = my z-limit).

personaly i don't know if you can use 2 types of switches for the Z-home?
i always thought you could only use one, either a switch or a tooltip 'touch' plate as switch.
ps: with this i could use some help to because on my own router the home switches make the router go to the 'home 'position but my tooltip just acts as a reset button, i still need to fix that myself too ....

isn't this more correct for you then?

[port_huon]

Check out the wiring diagram from Homann Designs. It contains everything you need.

[BanduraMaker]

you don't need to seperate per type of switch like 'home' and 'limit' but you need to seperate per axes 'x' , 'y' and 'z' (and on my router the tooltip = my z-limit).

Actually, both methods will work. There's not really too much benefit in having limit switches separate from your homing switches unless you're not homing to a limit. So, you can wire all 6 switches in series to a single pin for homing and limiting.

Once you have a homing arrangement though, you'll find that soft limits in Mach 3 work pretty well.

Finally, your tool touch thing might not work if your tool has proper grounding. Better to wire the touch plate to an input and have the tool grounded. If your router is insulated such that the bit isn't grounded, your arrangement will work.

[BanduraMaker]

1) by wiring Home and Limit in series as illustrated, the machine will travel for longer period of time?

When wired in series to a single input, Mach homes one axis at a time. I think I've read that if you have them on separate pins, it's possible to home everything simultaneously which would be faster.

[vtx1029]

for setting up mach 3 install the XML file from this link Support

You'll still need to set up some stuff but its much quicker this way.

[kinghong1970]

**snip**

nice photochop job!
i've read that both ways works... just trying to find out if there's a "better" way

Check out the wiring diagramfrom Homann Designs. It contains everything you need.

i've checked his wiring diagram... took a while interpreting his image at 3:00am... lol... but finally, i understand it.

but it does seem that there's not much difference except that he uses a DE-9 connector to connect... which makes sense and must implement soon as i graduate from "newbie" status.

what i don't get is, why does he have 8 limit switches in addition to 4 home switches?

Actually, both methods will work. There's not really too much benefit in having limit switches separate from your homing switches unless you're not homing to a limit. So, you can wire all 6 switches in series to a single pin for homing and limiting.

noted, thanks!

Once you have a homing arrangement though, you'll find that soft limits in Mach 3 work pretty well.

aaah, next lesson... but i recall Mach3 vids covered this...

Finally, your tool touch thing might not work if your tool has proper grounding. Better to wire the touch plate to an input and have the tool grounded. If your router is insulated such that the bit isn't grounded, your arrangement will work.

so if this does not work, then ground it to the PSU ground (green)?

When wired in series to a single input, Mach homes one axis at a time. I think I've read that if you have them on separate pins, it's possible to home everything simultaneously which would be faster.

so if i wire it as effimos's image, will this allow for mach3 to move all 3 axis at same time?

and can i just use some Cat5e cables i have lying around for the home/limit/estop switches?

[kinghong1970]

for setting up mach 3 install the XML file from this link Support

You'll still need to set up some stuff but its much quicker this way.

thank you... i did get the XML for the G540 from the gecko website... same?

[BanduraMaker]

so if this does not work, then ground it to the PSU ground (green)?

Wire the touch plate into an input on the gecko and your "tool clip" to ground.

so if i wire it as effimos's image, will this allow for mach3 to move all 3 axis at same time?

I believe so but I've never actually tried it. I have my switches wired into one input.

and can i just use some Cat5e cables i have lying around for the home/limit/estop switches?

It will work but I have no idea how Cat5e will handle noise. Try it, if you get limit trips when turning stuff on and off, switch to something shielded.

[kinghong1970]

thank you Andy for your replies.

as for cable, what do you recommend?

[vtx1029]

Yes that is the one.

I could be wrong but i think Mach 3 will only home one axis at a time so there is no need to have separate inputs really. Direction doesn't matter either.

[BanduraMaker]

thank you Andy for your replies.

as for cable, what do you recommend?

Probably some sort of coax cable with signal and shield/ground would be best. I just used something I had laying around and it works ok but I do sometimes get limit trips when I turn on my dust collector or vacuum pump. Haven't had any problems when actually running a job though. It hasn't been annoying enough to get me to actually do something about it

[Fastest1]

If using different pins for each axis on the homing switches (to allow simultaneous axis homing) requires a few changes. You will need to modify the VB script to command the 3 axis homing as the default is only single axis (not difficult necessarily it just wont happen automatically because you used 3 pins etc). If you happen to be running another machine from the same computer and that machine shares switches, it wont work. IIRC, Something about Mach only having access to 1 homing script per pc. I run many different profiles on a few different machine types (lathes, mills and soon a 3D printer) and had a few issues when trying multi axis homing. I could have one way or the other but each profile could not have its own homing script. In reality each machine really needs its own PC and Mach install.

[ger21]

You can home as many axis together as you want, if they are on separate pins.
Also be aware that if you have a slaved axis, you'll want a separate home switch so that homing will auto-square the gantry.
On my machine, I have the A axis slaved to the X axis, each on their own pins. The Y and Z share a pin. So I home the Z first, then the Y and X (+ the slaved A) all at the same time.
I don't use any limit switches, but the Z home switch is set up as a limit in Mach3.

what i don't get is, why does he have 8 limit switches in addition to 4 home switches?

You may not want your home switch at the end of the machines travel. Some people like to home in the center of travel. This allows you to have some room to move beyond where the home switch is.

Also, a Z- limit switch can cause issues. If you use different length bits, you have to choose whether to allow long bits to cut through your table, or prevent short bits from reaching the workpiece. Realistically the only thing you can prevent is the collet hitting the table, or the Z axis sliding off the bottom of the rails.

[kinghong1970]

You can home as many axis together as you want, if they are on separate pins.

noted, thanks!

Also be aware that if you have a slaved axis, you'll want a separate home switch so that homing will auto-square the gantry.
On my machine, I have the A axis slaved to the X axis, each on their own pins. The Y and Z share a pin. So I home the Z first, then the Y and X (+ the slaved A) all at the same time.
I don't use any limit switches, but the Z home switch is set up as a limit in Mach3.

aaah... then does the A also need a limit switch as well?
and squaring the gantry, wouldn't it also depend on the square positioning of the home switches for X and A?

You may not want your home switch at the end of the machines travel. Some people like to home in the center of travel. This allows you to have some room to move beyond where the home switch is.

aaah...

Also, a Z- limit switch can cause issues. If you use different length bits, you have to choose whether to allow long bits to cut through your table, or prevent short bits from reaching the workpiece. Realistically the only thing you can prevent is the collet hitting the table, or the Z axis sliding off the bottom of the rails.

can't you also somewhat control this issue by position of the routermount and limit switches on the Z riser in comparison to the gantry?

[ger21]

aaah... then does the A also need a limit switch as well?

No, it'll stop when you hit the X limit switch.

and squaring the gantry, wouldn't it also depend on the square positioning of the home switches for X and A?

Yes, ideally the switch position should be adjustable.

can't you also somewhat control this issue by position of the routermount and limit switches on the Z riser in comparison to the gantry?

I guess it depends on what you want the switch to prevent from happening?


You may fine that once you have your machine up and running, you may have a different idea of how to set up home and limit switches, based on the way you want the machine setup and how you work with it.

[kinghong1970]

thanks!

just picked up some 22AWG shielded wires from Lowes... i guess i'll see if i can get my motors turning tonight.

[kinghong1970]

hmm...

the PSU unit turns on, output works, but cooling fan does not turn.

and a silent clicking... every 10 secs or so...

RMA?

[ger21]

Is it connected to anything?

[kinghong1970]

oh, nvm Gerry, i'm a retard...

the mounting screw was a bit too long and it pushed against the fan housing.
i guess i'll resort to 3 hole mounting... till i get a smaller screw.