Microrouter Pro V5 x64 woes

[jsadigh]

Good evening all,

Within my D&T workshop at my current school (D&T teacher here) we have a denford microrouter pro V5, which connects via USB. The seven segment display on the board inside the machine is a green colour.

I've been at the school for 8 weeks or so now, and during that time the machine has not been able to be used as it was beyond everyones experience. I was told that it has been used in the past and that it was working fine.

The machine used to be connected via usb to a 32 bit machine running win xp. This laptop is now dead in the water due to a corrupted .mbr file, as some clever sod decided to turn off the power when windows updates were being installed that night

I have since installed the latest version of VR milling (VR CNC milling V5) on a x64 win 7 laptop using the system.tff licence file from the original floppy disc. This is running fine, and is setup to work with the microrouter pro.

The issue is that the machine is 'not recognised' by windows when connecting via USB. I've tried to install both the baldor USB drivers and the drivers found on the disc of VR milling (64 bit) with no success with either. Also, the machine itself since turning it on for the first time displays the letter S on startup, with a flashing dot. It will display this constantly on its USB board inside the machine.

I would very much like to get this machine working, at the moment I cannot get the machine to communicate with the laptop I'm using at all. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

[jsadigh]

Something else I forgot to mention, I've checked all the fuses and they are all fine.

In addition since I first tried to run the machine and connect it to the laptop it had a problem with the solenoid that locks the door in place, basically it never allowed me to open the door despite depressing or releasing the emergency stop button (twisting and hearing it disengage fully).

Interestingly the relay for the door does indeed work and engage/disengage when the emergency stop is pushed and released.

As a result I have disengaged the door lock altogether by unscrewing the Philips head screw and twisting the black plastic cap into the unlocked position, had to remove the front plastic/polycarbonate window to do this.

If anyone has any solutions/hints please let me know, especially if you have a microrouter pro connected successfully to a computer running win 7 x64!

[Martin]

Have you tried installing the 64-bit USB driver from the VRMilling software install page with the USB device disconected?

You may need to alter the power saving options in Windows 7 when you get it working.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3365

[jsadigh]

I havnt, didn't relise that was an option - man I feel stupid now! I'm probably going about it the wrong way?

Currently I'm trying to install the microrouter pro by 'adding a new device' under the printers control panel, then selecting 'have disc' and browsing to the location of the USB driver, only to have an error window stating that the driver is uncompatiable.

I'll try the way you suggested tomorrow and go from there, from the looks of it and the more I think about it I've no doubt that your right and its me going about it completely wrong, thanks a lot for your help! Much appreciated

[Martin]

It will not show up as a printer but you should see the USB device in device manager if it is plugged in & powered up.

Let me know how you get on.

[jsadigh]

Ok, just installed the drivers using the VR CNC milling v5 setup page and they installed successfully.

Opened up VR milling V5, and there is still no communication with the micro router pro when I connect it via USB. I've tried the machine easy upgrader which cannot find it either.

The machine is displaying 'S' on its USB board from the minute it is switched on, with a flashing dot next to it. Could this error be causing the issue?

[jsadigh]

Found the issue - the 3 pin black power cable connecting to the carriage and router itself was not connected fully, resulting in the communication issue.

Since connecting this cable properly the machine is now up and running, thank you again for your help Martin!

[richg]

Found the issue - the 3 pin black power cable connecting to the carriage and router itself was not connected fully, resulting in the communication issue.

Since connecting this cable properly the machine is now up and running, thank you again for your help Martin!

Hi. I have the same problem with a Microrouter compact - board powers up with 5 and flashing dot & no usb communication and the door is locked. Could you please explain how you fixed the issue ? - what do you mean by 3 pin power cable connecting carriage.