The top of the large capacitor shown in the foreground is domed slightly. Would this be normal on my 1996 Micromill Smartstep/3 control? Most caps I've seen are usually flat on the top and I'm worried this may be due to swelling and imminent failure. It works great right now and I'd like to keep it ...

Thanks! I hope to get Mach at some point but my funds are extremely limited. I know I can get a free demo version but the other problem is my selection of PC's is pretty limited as well. My shop computer is a PIII 800 mhz running W2000, well below Mach's minimum spec. I have a homemade CNC router th...

Yes, I had to remove the Denford top board from the controller and switched over to parallel port contol with TurboCNC software. I never got anywhere with serial/Fanuc. It was driving me nuts.

OK thanks, that makes sense. I'm not sure if TurboCNC has a limits function...I'll have to do a bit'o readin'.

My 1996 Micromill with Smartstep/3 controller has 1 limit switch per axis. How can that be of any use other than in the one direction that the switch is operated? I'm sure there must be something I'm missing.

Allright!:D Finally got the thing running. It turned out to be the silly little rocker switch on the front panel. I kept studying the diagram and eventually decided there had to be a voltage drop across the switch contacts. I popped the switch out and took it apart and found an oxidized spot on one ...

Well, how 'bout that! I hooked up mains power to the L1 and L2 connectors on the controller and the spindle runs great! Amazing how it adds current to keep the rpm up when I grip the spindle to try to slow it down. Powerful little sucker.:) Now if I can just figure out what's keeping it from switchi...

Here's some info on the controller.

How's the best way to do that? I'm OK with DC circuits but no so much with AC.

Is this a brushed "universal" motor that one could just hook up to mains power for a quick test or should I try a 12v car battery?

No, there's only the on/off rocker switch and the speed pot for the spindle.

Mine is a 1996 model. I don't see any lights or led's on the control board. Yes, I think the right one is the spindle power relay. The white wire on the terminal that's hot when the relay is pulled in goes to the spindle motor. It reads 110v. There's 4 more wires going to the motor. Green, goes to c...

Both relays click off when the E-stop is pressed.

They both click on; the one on the right clicks on/off as the front door is opened/closed

It has 2 relays, I can't see SGR marked on either. Here's a pic:

I've removed the top board from my SmartStep/3 controller and hooked up direct to the step/dir pins via parallel port & TurboCNC DOS software. All that's working OK now and the steppers are under control. My spindle will not run now though. I downloaded the Micromill schematic but am not good enough...

it's a great feeling when the motors respond isn't it?. You could have pm'd me and i would have guided you through this. Yup, great feeling indeed! Thanks for the offer...I figured your post was so old (2006 I think it was) you'd long ago traded the M/M for a Haas or something. :wink: Did you ever ...

SUCCESS AT LAST!

Look here viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3022 for the story if you're interested.

I've finally achieved my goal of getting my Micromill running. I bought it very cheap but it came with no software, cable or dongle. I struggled for days trying to get it to work with the free DOS software download and making my own serial cable with no success. Thank you very much to Denford Admin ...

That's awesome; thank you so much! Yes I will definitely research it with some of my more CNC/computer-savvy friends. The item you linked to is within my budgetary constraints. Mach 3 is out of my comfort zone so I will try one of the other free/inexpensive programs or Mach's tryout version. I have ...

OK, now that sounds doable. I thought I was stuck with serial communications using the SmartStep board but you do think it will respond to the signals that come from a "normal" control program via the parallel port if I connect directly to the proper pins on the header? I'm getting excited now! Don'...