Yeah, they changed that with Mach4, apparently. None of the configuration panels are available until you have a valid license. They will let you look at things and all the menus are available, you just can't do much with it. I'm not able to install any of the plug-ins, or anything. They call it Demo mode.

 

I didn't try Mach3. I probably can use it with the ESS. My only thing with mach3 is they're putting all their development and support behind Mach4. I am an IT professional and I like to hitch my horse onto a product that is under active development and support.

 

My freshly machined plates came this week. Dan did a perfect job, Thank you Dan. Thank you Sonny for hooking me up with Dan to machine them for me. They're perfect! I already inserted the bearings for the 8MM Lead screws. They fit perfectly! Nice job Dan! I'm quite excited to start putting this thing together. My life right now is quite busy, so it will be a while, unfortunately. More to come.

 

Correction: I mis-read the documentation. They encourage you to configure and test Mach4 in demo mode before buying a license. So, I must not have disabled the system before trying to configure the system. Once disabled, the configure menus are enabled. Sorry for the misinformation.

 

Making progress, somewhat. I've finished wiring up the ESS board to the drivers, and cabled up the steppers to the controller. I have my Mach4 licensed software installed and configured, sort of. I hear the stepper motors thump to their locked positions when I fire up the CNC controller and Mach4. However, there is no stepping going on. I can't seem to get the stepper motors to jog using the jogging buttons in Mach4. I have triple checked the wiring, and the ESS plugin to Mach4 and the Mach4 motor configuration, but nothing seems to work. These 570oz/in motors sure do hold, though. When they are in their held position, there is no moving them by hand. I can rotate the motors by hand when the cnc controller is powered off. I don't have the CNC machine completely assembled, yet, nor do I have the limit switches installed and wired up, yet. I still have to decide on a spindle and VFD purchase. I just want to make certain I have this controller software somewhat working before I assemble this thing.

I suspect someone else has had this problem with Mach4 and the ESS controller. Can someone share with me how you got it to work. I have the latest Mach4 version and ESS plugin that is available. Running Win7 32bit. I'm stumped.

 

Hi Florian, Thank you for the reply. I did more reading, and I discovered the wiring diagram Automation Technologies provided in the attached pdf shows the BOB pins wired backwards to what I need for my setup with the ESS. What I mean is, the output pins from the BOB, pins 2 thru 9 show all being wired to the Pul- and Dir- on all the drivers, and common/ground wired to Pul+ and Dir+ which I just discovered is totally the opposite of how it should be wired for my configuration. Their written docs for the KL5056 drivers say these + connections on the Stepper Motor drivers should have a +5Volts applied and the - connectors should have 0 to .25 Volts which is needed for the drivers to function. I wired up the steppers as described in their written documents and ignored the PDF diagram and now they are turning as expected. After reading more about the C10 BOB, you can jumper the output pins 2-9 to either ground or +5V. So the wiring would be correct if you set the output pins 2-9 to Ground. So, it became clear to me that I must wire my ESS up to the driver connections with +5V to Pul+ and Dir+ and ground to the - connections. I can now move onto focusing on truing up my build and putting things together. Lots to learn. That's why I am finding this build fascinating.

 

My Build is progressing. It's taking shape. Here's after I installed the base frame with the legs. I'm getting it square at this point.

 

This next picture I'm showing how I modified my bench by shortening the legs, and adding a second leg on each corner for rigidity and added locking casters. Works perfectly.

 

This last image shows the gantry after squaring things up and it's rolling silky smooth. More to come soon.

 

A bit more progress on my build. Added the Z axis and installing home and limit switches.

 

Limit Switches Are Installed. Here's the X-Axis limit switch. I have almost finished the wiring, so I'm getting there.

 

Here's the Z-Axis with the limit switches installed. Boy, I'm thinking I may have to go to a 500MM Z-Axis. The mounting plate I chose is large for a reason, but really limits my linear movement. This 250mm allows me maybe 3" either way. Once I decide on a spindle and mount it, it will help me decide. My spindle and VFD are the 2 large investments I have left to make.

 

I have a question about VFDs. I'm really looking at the Teco Westinghouse N3 VFDs, and also the GE Industrial VFD. The Teco Westinghouse N3 VFD looks to be the more current model, however, it appears to be less flexible. I would like to buy a 3HP model, and use it for a lower rated spindle. I've also looked at the GE Industrial models located here: AC Drive, 3hp, 230V, Single Phase which is a single Phase 230vac 3HP VFD. This one looks to be able to handle various motor HP options. Does anyone have any opinions on these VFDs? Your experienced opinions would be greatly appreciated. I'm considering an 800 Watt water cooled spindle to start with, and maybe move up from there as I gain more experience, and I want my VFD to be able to support them all, one at a time of course. It looks like the GE Industrial will support my need for flexibility.

 

It's been a while since my last update. Sorry. I'm taking my time on this build. Santa was good to me this Christmas. Below is the VFD my wife got me for Christmas with a little prodding from me. I'm upgrading the power in my shop from an old 60amp glass fuse box to a 100amp breaker box. This is a 220V Single Phase 3HP drive from Allen Bradley. I'm looking forward to getting this thing wired up and running.

 

Well I decided to double the size of the Z-Axis to 500mm. Much more room to move now. Santa brought me this 1.5KW water cooled spindle for Christmas also. My sons got this for me with a little help. I have all the cooling components except for the proper size tubing. That's coming in the mail and should be here soon with the shielded power cable for the spindle.

I'm able to Reference All Home and Mach4 knows where home is for all axes. I'm getting the motors tuned for maximum Velocity. I'm hoping to be making chips fly very soon.

 

So, I've added a pedestal on wheels for my ControlPanel that's in progress. I have everything but the PoKeys 48button Keyboard. That's the last thing I need to order before building the control Panel Box that will house my computer components. I have an 80mm Signal Generator jogging Wheel ordered and on its way. I will be ordering a keyboard with a touch pad that is considerable smaller than the one pictured below, so I don't have to worry about a mouse getting dirty.

 

I also assembled a spindle water cooler. Behind these 2 120mm fans is a radiator. The acrylic tank connects to the radiator, and to the 12volt water pump that will push water through a flow sensor and temperature meter and then flows out to the spindle.

 

I mounted the spindle cooler to the right of the table right under where the water lines will be coming down the Y axis cable chain.
The water pump has a port that will work with a 12volt wall transformer I have. The fans and sensor I will tap off the 12Volt power supply I'm using for the computer. I continue to make progress. I found a ventilated enclosure on EBay and ordered it that will house the Allen Bradley VFD and the contactor perfectly that I plan to mount off the underside left front corner of the table just to the left of the Control Box. I can hardly wait before I start to make ships fly with this. More to come.

 

Wow, it's been a while since my last update.
Here's a look at a very nice box I bought on e-Bay to house my VFD, and contactor. I also have a luminated push button mounted on the side that lights when the contactor is on.

 

Nice picture of the deck I chose to put on it. This is 3/4" HDPE plastic. It's not very true as you can see in the reflection. It appears wavy because it is. So, I will have to true up the surface before my first real project. I chose this because it's fairly resistant to cutting oils, and it is fairly scratch resistant. This was lesser expensive than a full aluminum slotted table. I will also have to adjust my z-axis up slightly to improve the clearance between the table top and the z-axis.

 

Here, you can see the 20x20mm slats that I will be attaching to the bottom of the deck. The next picture you will see the T-Slot I bought from Orange Aluminum, 36" long. I will be using 12mm m5 low-profile screws to attach the T-Slot to the slats below. I will be cutting 1/2" slots into the table top for each of 9 T-Slot rails. This will imbed the T-Slot into the table so they are flush with the table top leaving 1/4" of material between the bottom of the T-Slot rail and the 20x20mm slats below. The next picture you can see how I intend to layout the T-Slot rails on the table top.

 

Here you can see the T-Slot rails I bought from Orange Aluminum. Once the 1/2" deep slots are routed in the table top, I will be able to attach them to the 20x20mm slats below the table and hopefully pull the table top flat as this entire slab of plastic has a slight bow to it. All kinds of fun challenges. I bought a 1.5" fly cutter from Tools-Today that has a 1/4" shank to fit the ER11 Collett in my 1500W spindle that should be just the thing to true up this table-top surface. I'm getting anxious to start making chips fly. This has been a long journey. I'll try to post some videos when I start cutting into stuff.

 

Thanks jonnycnc. It's taken me quite a while to get to this point, sheesh. I get the parts as I acquire the funds to pay for them. I have a little part-time job aside from my full-time job whose proceeds I use to fund this. I'm hopeful that this CNC machine will fund itself once I become productive with it. I made some choices in this build that may turn out to be less than optimal, but I'll see as I start cutting to see just how rigid and durable my design is.