# Newbie Help



## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Hello, 

I am a complete newbie at CNC Routing. I have just completed my first build, a Routakit SDX. The problem now is I can't seem to get it to work. Unfortunately Routakit does not answer my emails, and I have yet to be activated on their forums after 4 weeks. So I find myself here. So when I power up, there are no sounds, no movement whats so ever. I have gone over the wiring diagram in the instructions many times and feel that it is correct. Below is a list of my set up.

Motors: Nema 23 2.8A 1.8 deg
Controller: PlanetCNC USB Controller Mk3/4
Motor Drivers: PlanetCNC 2.5A
24V 6A Power Supply. Plugged into 110V

PlanetCNC USB Controller software

According to PlanetCNC's direction I have downloaded Current USB Drivers, and firmware update.
I switched out the power supply and nothing changed. I am going to swap out the female pigtail once I get a new one but have a feeling that's not it.

I have thrown in a few pictures.

Thanks


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Woody67 said:


> So when I power up, there are no sounds, no movement whats so ever. the female pigtail once I get a new one but have a feeling that's not it.


You do have it plugged in, with the plug all the way in, don't you? Never hurts to check.


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the router forum.
Unfortunately I’m not one of the experts on CNC router oh we have a lot of them on the forum Be patient They will be along to help you.


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

To help you need to define your problem better. "It does not work" is not very descriptive. Define what is not working. Does the thing initialize and pass self test. Can you move the x y z axis manually. Besides what does not work, what is working if anything.

Do you have description of the theory of operations. In other words what is supposed to happen and what is not happening. 

So you see to fix a problem you need to define what is wrong and work step by step to fix. 

Always start with basics. Check power supply voltages. Check the connections. Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS). Make sure you have done the basics and do not skip any thing. Many times you think you know what is wrong so you will not always check obvious stuff. So start from the beginning and move through to the end. 

All prayers have answers, sometimes the answer is no.

Good luck.


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

I went through the assembly instructions and cut this out. Give this a try.

Wire up the spindle power supply as shown. You may connect the power supply to the controller in order to use software controlled ON/OFF, or you may connect the supplied knob for optional speed control. Connect one or the other, but not both. Connecting both will not harm the hardware, but it will not have the desired effect either, requiring both knob and software to activate the spindle, however not utilizing any speed control.

Note that your supply may have a switch for 110V or 220V, ensure that it is set to the voltage you intend to use. If a switch is not present, then it must be supplied with 220V AC power.


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## marecat3 (Nov 30, 2010)

Welcome


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Welcome to the forum! When you get a minute complete your profile with first name so it clears the N/a in the side panel.

I would also suggest you go over all the connections, double check your wiring, etc.

David


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Answering some of the questions.

First: When I say nothing happens, nothing happens. No sounds from the motors, no movement from the motors. No response from the USB Controller software. I can move the axis by hand the same when it is powered up or turned off. Which I would assume means the motors are not engaged when powered up.

Second: I opted to use my Dewalt router to start with so I do not have a hard wired spindle. I did not receive a power control board with knobs for 110V and 220V. When I asked about the this they said without a hard wired spindle I did not need this. The instructions only show the wiring with a spindle. I assumed that I run my power wires directly from the driver boards to the dc pigtail, plugged into my 24V power supply, then plugged into the 110V wall outlet.

When it comes to home repair I have done many things but electrical wiring is one that I do not have any experience in. So not sure when it comes to correct voltage and amps, and so on.

Thanks so much to everybody for helping me out.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Welcome to the Router Forums.

I do notice that you don't have power connected to the board you show in your first picture. Your power supply should be connected to the power block. If you did have it connected to power then check your connections like others have suggested starting with your power supply.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Here is a picture from the instructions. Could you explain how to wire it without the component in the first picture. 

Thanks


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

The first thing I see is that you have wires connected for a spindle but you're using your router. Where do the black and red wires go in your system?

David


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

As Mike said, there doesn't appear to be any power wires connected to the controller. See pic.
Also found this manual on line, it may help. Not familiar with this controller, but you need to get power to controller board before anything is going to work.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Okay this is probably it. I will wire the power. The instructions never mention this, but I see in the picture there is a black wire under the metal board where the controller power is located.

Thanks a bunch guys, I'm confident this is it. I will let you know soon.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Look on page 19 of the pdf file that I attached. Good luck.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Here is a couple more pics from pdf file.


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## tacomamacxtech (Mar 31, 2009)

I'd also insulate the black wires and red wires you have just twisted together!


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Hello all,

So wiring the controller did give me a little life, the limit switches now light up in the software.

Still no life in the motors. 

Regarding the 24V power supply that came with kit: the led blue light on the power supply is on when plugged in by itself, but when wired to the motors that blue indicator light goes away. I even bypassed the pigtail and wired it directly and the blue light on the power supply still goes out. Could it be that this power supply is not right. I bought a similar power supply from Amazon thinking the first one was bad, but the light went off when it was wired to the motor drive boards as well. I wired this one to the controller and the light remained on.

The pictures are of the power supply, and the current setup.

Thanks


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Is there a label on the power supply that you are using? If so, take a picture of it and post. It appears that something is drawing the power supply down. Are you sure you have the polarity correct?

Do you have a schematic that you are working from? Can you post it?

I will make a comment on your wiring methods. You need to be careful with leaving exposed wires just laying freely, not only is it dangerous, but you also don't have a very good connection which can cause all kinds of problems. Also where you insert the wires into the screw terminals, do not leave extra exposed wire sticking out of the terminal blocks.

Is there a Estop circuit or enable circuit on your controller? Any documentation that you can post will help us figure this out as I am not sure that any of us use the PlanetCNC system, so we (I) am not familiar with it. But that is not to say we can't help as they all use similar components.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

David asked what you have connected to the terminals for the spindle and I was also questioning that because you said you are using a router.

Like Dave said try to post some pictures of close-ups of the labels if possible. Try to get a picture that shows where all the wires go when they leave the control board so we know if they go to the right place.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Looks like you have a spot for a external Estop and nothing connected. Not sure if you need this as maybe it is not enabled in the software, but if you do, it could keep the stepper drivers from becoming enabled.

I still think you have a issue drawing down the power supply too, though.

EDIT: Attached software dialog for external estop enable.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Woody67 It might help if we know a little more about you. Please fill out a little more of your profile so we know what country you are from and state if you are in the USA. There might be someone close by that could come look and see what you have done so far.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

The first two pictures are the power supply. The Minger was the one that was sent with the Router kit. The other was the identical one I bought on Amazon, thinking maybe the first was defective. Sorry the images rotated when they were uploaded.


Below is the Instructions and pictures from Routakit. The Pictures did not load in order, but they are numbered. 

The instructions are for wiring a spindle, I opted to use my own Dewalt router with a mounting bracket. I figured I could upgrade to a spindle when I learned more about the process. 


Wiring and Electronics

You may find it easier to mount the electronics to the mounting plate before wiring, but we found it easier to connect the wiring prior to mounting which made some of the tight fits easier.

Begin the wiring process by connecting the motor cables to the motor drivers. Note that the color code shown in the image is of the wires coming from the motors directly, not of the cables! Your cable connections will depend on which cable wires you have previously connected to the motor wires.

Using the supplied wire, connect the power leads from the driver boards to the barrel jack as shown. Also note the position of the jumper and DIP switch on the driver; jumper at 2.5A, with ONLY the 3rd DIP switch on (1/16 step).

Using the supplied ribbon cables, connect the driver boards to the main controller, noting which motors connect to which “Axis” on the controller for software configuration purposes.

Wire up the spindle power supply as shown. You may connect the power supply to the controller in order to use software controlled ON/OFF, or you may connect the supplied knob for optional speed control. Connect one or the other, but not both. Connecting both will not harm the hardware, but it will not have the desired effect either, requiring both knob and software to activate the spindle, however not utilizing any speed control.

Note that your supply may have a switch for 110V or 220V, ensure that it is set to the voltage you intend to use. If a switch is not present, then it must be supplied with 220V AC power.

Connect the limit switches to the controller board as shown, with the X switch to LIM1, the Y switch to LIM2, and the Z switch to LIM3. The switches are wired to the “No” (“Normally Open”) pin in the image, though if you or your software require a normally closed switch, you may connect to the “Nc” pin instead.

Mount the controller, drivers, and spindle power supply to the electronic mounting plate as shown. Hardware is provided in the packet labeled “Elec. Mount”. Use 2 rubber spacers to seat each board above the surface to avoid contact with the plate and potential shorting. Drivers will be mounted using the smaller M3 screws. The controller is mounted with 10mm M4 screws. The spindle power supply is mounted with the longer M4 screws.

Finally, attach the electronics mounting plate to the base frame using the hardware supplied in the “Elec. Mount” packet and using the extrusion nuts installed during the base frame assembly.
[Show slideshow] 

Hope I covered it all, thanks again.

Also, sorry about my shabby wiring skills. Once it was correct I hoped to make it a little bit better.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Thanks for all the pics and explanations. I wasn't so much criticizing your wiring techniques as I was looking for a reason for the power supply issue thinking that maybe the wires were touching each other.

Don't really have anything else to add at this point other than what I said earlier, sorry. Looks like you have some diagnostics in the software, but I think the best thing you can do is get a voltage meter so you can see what is going on.. Start by checking your power supply output with nothing connected and then maybe connect one driver at a time until it drops out.


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## Lappa (Feb 5, 2015)

On the last photo, top LH corner, there is a green two pin screw connector. Do you have a supply of 8v to 24v connected to that? I can see a black cable to the right of that connector but can’t see it if it’s connected to that green connector.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Hello, These pictures are from the instructions from Routakit's website. With the help from everyone on this forum I do have a power supply now connected to the controller power terminal, which has in turn given me power to my limit switches. I still do not have power from my motors, I have decided to wire the motor drives again, hoping that somewhere was a bad connection that will be fixed.

If that does not work I will be soliciting advice on how to set up an entire new electronics set up. Maybe an electronics kit that is very reliable. 

Thanks


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## Christian von Delius (Jan 1, 2011)

Basic concepts:
Stepper motors receive Step + Direction pulses from
Stepper motor driver boards: (each axis=1 stepper) (with capacitors on them)
^stepper drivers must have 24VDC power in.
stepper driver gets step/direction pulse info from BOB via grey ribbon cables.
stepper driver controls stepper motor coils via A/A+ B/B+ wires (R/G/Y/B)

Computer sends signals (from software) via USB wire to Breakout Board (BOB)
BOB must have power from PowerSupply.
When BOB is powered up, stepper motors should 'lock up' and be rigid/not turn by hand.
Troubleshoot by no USB cable hooked.
Troubleshoot only one axis until it locks up.
So: Software>Computer>USB>BOB>StepperDriverBoard(1/axis)>StepperMotor
Make one axis lock up and get rigid: This means stepper driver is controlling.

[do not worry about DIP switches/limit switches/spindle at this point]
-Christian


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Hello,

So each motor driver wired separately works, the motor locks up, the blue LED lights on the motor drive works. When all four are wired to the power supply I get nothing. Any suggestions on a power supply that will handle all four motors? They are Nema 23 2.8A

Thanks


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Going back over the pictures I don't see a power supply for your stepper motors. The small plugin power supply is for the controller board. Where are you connecting the power wires for your stepper motors?

I think part of the problem is the overlap of your pictures and the instructional pictures.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

All four motor drives are wired to a 24V power supply. The picture shows the power supply and how it's connected through a pigtail and plugged into the supply. When just one motor at a time is wired it works, but not all together.

Thanks


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

How many drivers can you successfully power with your current power supply at once?

Here is where I bought my power supplies. I have (2) 48V/12A power supplies for my Nema 34's.

https://www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/products-page/switching-power-supply/

Can you give us more info on the stepper drivers that you have?


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Here are the details of my Motor Drivers

MotorDriver 2.5A – 32

High performance, cost effective stepping motor driver.
Current: selectable 0.5A to 2.5A
Voltage: +9 VDC to +30 VDC
Microstepping: selectable 1/1 to 1/32
Recommended power supply: PowerSupply 24V/100W

Thanks


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

I figure they would not provide that power supply if it is not big enough. One thing you might check if you haven't already is the settings of the dip switches on the controllers of each stepper.

Looking at the pictures on their site they don't show the power block used or wired to the power supply and reading about a few issues I found that power for the board itself could be supplied through the USB port connection. So if the power supply is just used for the steppers you might disconnect the power lead to the power block on the board and connect the board to the computer and power on the computer to see if that will work. It's worth a try at this point.

If you haven't downloaded the configuration files you need to download them and get them installed on the computer.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Mike,

Where have you seen that you can power the controller through the USB? Everything I have read in their manual states that it needs an external power source. As far as I know, you can only get 5V from a USB connection.

I do agree that it would seem strange that they would not include the proper power supply for the drivers.

I did not find one power supply rated for 24V that was large enough for 4 motors. From what I can see, you would need (2) of these:
https://www.automationtechnologiesi...-power-supply/kl-600-48-48v12-5a-duplicate-2/


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Here is a screenshot from their forum about power


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

This is the page on the forum CNC USB Controller: Settings - Routakit - Forum


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

beltramidave said:


> Mike,
> 
> Where have you seen that you can power the controller through the USB? Everything I have read in their manual states that it needs an external power source. As far as I know, you can only get 5V from a USB connection.
> 
> ...


That's why I started looking for a larger power supply and found this https://www.amazon.com/AVAWO-Switch...&sr=1-3-spons&keywords=24v+power+supply&psc=1

But then started wondering why they supplied what they did. That's when I found the issue on their forum.

I'm with you 2.8x4=11.2 and if all of them are operating at the same time they could at max draw not have enough pwoer from the supplied power supply.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

MEBCWD said:


> That's why I started looking for a larger power supply and found this https://www.amazon.com/AVAWO-Switch...&sr=1-3-spons&keywords=24v+power+supply&psc=1
> 
> But then started wondering why they supplied what they did. That's when I found the issue on their forum.
> 
> I'm with you 2.8x4=11.2 and if all of them are operating at the same time they could at max draw not have enough pwoer from the supplied power supply.


I stand corrected, looks like they need to update their own directions right from their website.

Good find on the power supply too. I had only looked on Automation Technologies site.

Have a Merry Christmas!


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

So good news guys is that the new power supply is working better. After wiring it up all four of the driver boards green led's are lit up. The motors also seem to be locked, but still can't get them to move. I tried using the jog control on the software, move to zero, nothing seems to work. I really do not know anything about stepper motors, but I am learning. Should the motors be humming and locked before a command is given? Even though the motors are locked, I do not hear any sounds coming from them.

Any ideas of what I'm still doing wrong?

Thanks


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Sounds like you are making progress. Yes, the motors should be "locked" up when the drivers are powered.
Did you say that you could see your limit switches in the software change state? Just want to make sure that you do indeed have communication between the PC and controller.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Your one step closer.

Did you download and install the configuration files? You might also check and see if there is any firmware for your control board.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Yes, the limit switches are showing up in the software. Firmware has been updated, and I have configured with the information Routakit supplied in the instructions.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Can you verify that the status indicators are correct on the controller? Does any of them change when trying to jog?

Is the Estop indicator (red X) greyed out?

Do the X,Y, & Z DRO's (digital readouts) change when trying to jog?


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

The Estop does work, it is red and you can toggle it on and off. As far as the the jogging buttons nothing at all happens when you push on the arrows. Same with any of the Move to buttons. Not sure if they are supposed to be lit up, but they are all grey. Also can not input any numbers in the X,Y,Z,A. I do have the Enable Pin checked.

Thanks


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Is this a possibility? Saw on a forum..


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Check the limit switches to make sure they are all reset. I would probably set off each one to make sure they are working.

Can you provide pictures of the Mach 3 screen?


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

MEBCWD said:


> Check the limit switches to make sure they are all reset. I would probably set off each one to make sure they are working.
> 
> Can you provide pictures of the Mach 3 screen?


Mike,
I don't think he is using Mach.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Hello, I am using PlanetCNC TNG. In the spindle section I did make sure it was disabled but that did not change anything. One thing that is interesting is that I am not able to change the motor stepping units or the amps in the settings. Right now now they are at 1/8 and .5, but the software is greyed out and I can not change it.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

I think I am going to bow out of this one. There is too much that I don't know about this system.
I think you would be much better off contacting Planetcnc, either by phone, email or forum. It is probably a very simple fix for them.
Please post the fix though as I am very interested.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

If everything is grayed out it almost sounds like the software might not be activated for use yet. Have you entered the correct license key for the PlanetCNC TNG software you are using?


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

I actually now have function on the software. When I press a jog button the motors lurch and stop. If you keep it pressed it keeps moving in the software. All drivers start out with green led light, but once I jog in a direction that axis driver's red led light comes on, and the motors are not engaged anymore from that point. So if I turn everything off it will start all over again, green led lights, jog a direction then the red leds come on again and motors are not locked anymore.

Thanks


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Woody67 said:


> I actually now have function on the software. When I press a jog button the motors lurch and stop. If you keep it pressed it keeps moving in the software. All drivers start out with green led light, but once I jog in a direction that axis driver's red led light comes on, and the motors are not engaged anymore from that point. So if I turn everything off it will start all over again, green led lights, jog a direction then the red leds come on again and motors are not locked anymore.
> 
> Thanks


First off, it would be extremely helpful if you would tell us what you did to get to this stage!

Make sure that the jumpers and dip switch settings are all set per instructions.

Have you tried jogging at a slow speed vs fast? 

Sounds like a configuration problem to me.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

To be honest, I think the original error of the jog and the "Home to" controls being greyed out was not realizing the Estop was turned on. Since then the motors doing what I described above. I have tried reversing and inverting motors but nothing changed. One of the problems is that some settings were provided, the others are the default settings that was in the software. When it comes to knowing speeds and other settings that might need to be changed for my specific equipment I'm in the dark. 

The screen shot shows that when I Jog, or push Home To Zero, the axis numbers actually move within the software. The motors drive boards green led lights are on when powered up. As soon as you jog in a direction, the motor for that axis clunks, then a red led light on that driver board comes on, the motor is then not engaged anymore. 

By the way I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I now have the controller and boards powered to a Meanwell 24volt power supply.

Here are some screenshots of some of the settings. 

Thanks


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Thanks for the pics. The first thing I notice is that it appears that everything is configured in metric units. Is it possible to convert those to inches?

Did you try slowing your jog speed way down and try to jog? I am guessing that your accel settings may too fast. I downloaded a config file from PlanetCnc and those settings are quite a bit different than what you have, but I haven't been able to decipher if they are metric or inches.

I have attached that file, BUT keep in mind that I don't know if it is correct.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Have you tried homing to set limits and have you checked your soft limits to make sure you actually have room to move before you exceed the limits.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

First off, I want to thank everyone for helping, I'm very appreciative for the effort. So I've been hoping PlanetCNC would be more helpful, but maybe because of the holidays they have not gotten back to to me for several days. I will study the software manual and see if I can find information on changing metric to inches. 
I will also look into jogging speed, as well as homing and my limits.
I was also looking at the motor driver manual online and it said this:

ERR (Red) 
Error. It is iluminated on these errors: 
Overtemperature, Overcurrent. 

I hope its not the power supply again.
Here is the specs of the Meanwell LRS 350. I have the 24volt model.

Will not be able to experiment on the machine until later this evening, but I will keep you updated.

Thanks


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Here is the checkbox to use inches.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Doubt that there is anything wrong with power supply. I will bet that the problem is in the configuration.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

So my microstepping in the software is set at 1/8 and current to .5 and it is greyed out and can't be changed.

I was told a few days back by PlanetCNC that with the Mark3/4 controller this is automatically set in the software. In the Routakit instructions it says to turn on the 3rd dip switch, which is 1/16 microstepping. I do not know a lot how microstepping works but if the controller and the software are 1/8 would the drivers need to be set at 1/8?

Thanks again for the help, you guys are my lifeline since PlanetCNC's support still hasn't gotten back to me.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Woody67 said:


> So my microstepping in the software is set at 1/8 and current to .5 and it is greyed out and can't be changed.
> 
> I was told a few days back by PlanetCNC that with the Mark3/4 controller this is automatically set in the software. In the Routakit instructions it says to turn on the 3rd dip switch, which is 1/16 microstepping. I do not know a lot how microstepping works but if the controller and the software are 1/8 would the drivers need to be set at 1/8?
> 
> Thanks again for the help, you guys are my lifeline since PlanetCNC's support still hasn't gotten back to me.


I don't think the microstepping setting will fault out the driver, but not positive. The wrong microstepping setting will make your motors not move the correct distance. It could be possible that if driver and software don't match, that it might fault.
Is it possible that you are not allowed to make changes to the settings unless it (the software) is in Emergency state? The current setting definitely does not look correct.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Woody,

What is the latest with your issues? I see from another post that you have had some contact with PlanetCnc. What have they told you to try and what was the outcome?


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## HDVideo (Mar 8, 2018)

There is a dedicated PlanetCNC board on CNCZone that may be helpful.

https://www.cnczone.com/forums/planetcnc/

Maybe you are already on there as Gdog as his posts seem almost identical to yours here. 

Good Luck getting it working!

Ed


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Thanks, I did post there, it wasn't much help. Someone from the company that responds on that board told me to go through online support.


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## Woody67 (Dec 17, 2018)

Good news, I'm up and running. I decided to pull the motor wires off and check phasing. Even though my wires are colored the same as in Routakit's instructions the wiring was different then what they said to follow. So now I will try get my settings right, and go from there. Thanks for all the help.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Great news


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## Pro4824 (Oct 17, 2015)

That's great I know you're happy. Good luck with the fine tuning and make us a video of your first cut!!!


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Widescreen, please, if you do a video. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

David


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