Denford Software & Machines

the x axis is not working- tried changing the axis control card- no diffferent. when checking the x datum switches notice 2 blue wires appear to have been cut by the previous owner(note pic) could this be the problem? also i have had to remove the battery from the eurostep controller card as it was starting to leak- what is the battery used for can the machine be run without it? where can i get a replacement?

sorry for the many questions thanks for any help.

The blue wires are terminated during manufacture but are from the X+ & X_ limit switch. The X axis datum is the proximity switch on the right.( thread showing). You should be able to test it by activating it with a piece of metal while performing a X axis datum request. It may be that the axis is moving the wrong way. What software are you driving the machine from?

i can activate and datum it manualy but get no movement at all from the x axis. i am using Vr milling 2.3

I don`t understand "i can activate and datum it manualy but get no movement at all from the x axis".

Does that mean that the X axis Datums correctly or that the software can be tricked into thinking it has reached its datum position but that the motor does not turn?

Is the X axis motor energised?

Does the display in the control window on the software change?

Have you checked the 3 fuses on the board that the drives push in to?

i just fool the machine into thinkin its datumed it does not actually move.

the motor does not turn- checked the fuses- on card and main board. no problem- even swapped the axis card with one i know works- still nothing.

vr milling shows it moving in x axis but it does not.

dont know how to check the motor is energised???

Without the steeper motor powered up you will be able to move the lead screw by hand but with it energised it should be solid.

Have you checked that all the cards are seated in the rack fully & that the ribbon cable from the euro card to the custom card is fully pushed in.

i have checked the cards are seated and ribbon cables are attached properly. i have swapped over the wires to the y axis with the x. the x then works fine. so its not the card as i have swapped the Y axis card with the x and it still does not work, its not the motor, its not the pcb board as i have swapped that too, all fuses have been checked ok. so its something in between- any ideas.

please have a look at pics below to see if you can see anything unusual with the wiring. thanks again.

So... (bear with me - it is Monday morning after all)

X Motor is OK
Wiring to X motor must be OK (Y axis can drive it when motor wires swapped)
X drive board must be OK (it runs the Y axis when swapped ?)
The control board thinks its outputting steps (you say the X counts up/down in VRMilling)
So, that really only leaves the signals from the Baldor to the X drive card...
I'll try and find the details of the rack connections, but you could have a good look at the connectors and tracks to find where the enable, step and direction signals are.

Found these drawings which should help you in general, but don't have details of the rack connections unfortunately.
viewtopic.php?t=636

This post with photos of the rack, should give you a good idea of where the step/direction tracks are:
viewtopic.php?t=1763

PS - if anyone has the link or info on the Triac euro card pinout, it would be nice to post it somewhere easily found.