[pugsly]

Hey everyone - first post here. I own a garage in Durham, NC so have some larger/coarser toys at my disposal there - this is going into my home workshop.

I just picked up apriorius's Sieg KX3 that was discussed here several years ago - http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...68939-cnc.html. A local unit is so much easier than messing around with shipping, and the size/single phase power requirements of this mill were just what I was looking for.



After he finally got the mill, his business him busy with his laser and the KX3 just sat.

The controls seem to be fine (X, Y, Z, spindle) but the sensors are a bit of a mess.

I'm going through the machine, and have found several wiring problems so far. The y and z axis home position sensors were reversed, and all of the (normally closed) limit switches are wired in parallel. Rather than go into the mill and chain the switches in series I think it will be easier to build a 6-way AND gate out of relays in the control box, so that's the plan unless anyone has any other recommendations.

I'm trying to figure out the machine, and could use some help figuring out the pinouts for some of the board, particularly the parallel interface board and the spindle motor control board. Because of the way they are mounted I can't even make out a brand or part number. Anyone recognize either of these boards? They look to be +5VDC powered.





Thanks!

[pugsly]

No feedback...maybe I posted to the wrong board, but figured I would update the thread. After several days of staring at the boards and probing with DMMs and scopes I think I have a much better idea of what is going on.

My hi/low limit switches were not being detected because they normally open and in parallel. So I built a daughterboard using relays to effect a 6 way AND gate which worked one day but then failed the next (I could hear the relays working, but Mach3 was not seeing them). Upon further investigation, I found that the resistor array developing the current for the opto-isolator had partially failed (open circuit), presumably because it was designed for 5V/12V and the 24V was flowing too much power. 2 of the 5 resistors in the array had gone open circuit. I replaced the array with higher resistance individual 1/2 Watt resistors and everything seems to be working now - but I'll check again in the morning.

I also added in 2 24VDC fans, in a push-pull configuration below and above the stepper control circuits. Even with the massive heat sinks they run hot. I'll check out it runs - I may need to add some baffles to ensure that airflow goes through not just over the heat sinks.
Also on the list is to get a 5VDC relay to drive the 12VDCcoolant motor, but I had enough to keep me occupied.

I have yet to cut metal, for me it is more important to know and understand the CNC controls of the mill before I ask it to do anything for me.