Hey look! His garage door is still white! :D

Nice. I see you used the spoilboard as a buffer between the MM and the garage door :D

Actually, the car dollys are still under the rear legs, I used a floor jack to move it to the center of my shop and put 25'x30' of plastic on the floor under the table, and sprayed it there, then moved it back after it dried.
Cleanup consisted of rolling up the plastic and throwing it away.
Its next move will be into a dedicated room in the back of my shop...

And in the spirit of the founder......someone really needs to empty that dust collector. :)

another couple bites of the elephant....

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...351320x990.jpg

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...361320x990.jpg

I have (4) NPN NO proximity sensors, and in reading through the threads related to them, it seems I need to supply them with 12 volts to use them to switch a relay that will then provide 5 volts to pin 15 of the PMDX.
Over simplified, I know, but i'm looking for a shopping list.

Sooo, 4 DIN mounted relays with 12 volt coils, and a power supply with a 12v and 5v tap should be on my want list.


Correct?

Mostly correct.

You can see what has been earlier on this post:

http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showt...4&postcount=59

Your switching a "dry contact" to the pin on your break out board that just happens to be wired in series for the homing sequence in Mach. My drawing shows a couple things that have been changed.
I am supplying only 12VDC to the prox circuit and the DIN mounted relays. The proximity sensor(s) are always active and "sense" the hole in the rail or a de-rail situation to shut down the system.

If you have any really needy questions, send me a PM.

Sean

I read that entire thread, And I'm pretty sure I understand whats going on.
I'm putting together an order to Factorymation, and the DIN relay you spec'd is of course obsolete now.
Any special 12volt coil relay requirements I should be aware of?

Good to know that 12v to the BOB isn't a problem.

Hey Darren;

If you plan to put lights on the door that show the status of the prox I would recommend the DPTP Relay (Double Pole, Double Throw) http://www.factorymation.com/s.nl/it.A/id.105404/.f

if not, you can just go with the SPDT (Single Pole, Double Throw) http://www.factorymation.com/s.nl/it.A/id.105420/.f

Those are what I have on my built and they work great. If you need any help with the wiring let me know.

Miguel

Thanks Miguel.
What are the 5 red and 5 green lights on your door for?
I'm assuming for the proxys, but can you enlighten me a little on how they are set up?
Green when all is OK, red when they are sensing a hole or derail?
And why 5?

Thanks.

@Darren: I use 4 Green when Each of the proxys is "OK", 4 Red when not "OK", 1 Green when Spindle is running and 1 Red when E-Stop is engaged.

Still have the relays at Factorymation:

http://www.factorymation.com/s.nl/sc...gory.259183/.f

I know I'm not the first, but here is my Central Machinery dust collector modded with a Thein baffle and a Wynn filter.

If I'm the first with a MechMate branded collector, I'd like to apply for serial #1.
I have the blue paint and the logo, and i'd be happy to post a video of it sucking up dust, if necessary......:D

See what happens when i'm given too much free time in the evenings?

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...39990x1320.jpg

That is a first :cool:

Hmmmm - may need to add that to the catalog offerings :D !!!

Must be a PROUD MechMate owner....nice

Hah! Love it!

So cool ! :cool:

OK,
Not much posting but a lot of behind the scenes research.
Control box and wiring stuff arrived from Metalhead today. (Thanks Mike.)

For motors, I'll be using KL34H280-45-8A
For power supply i'll be using a 5N48R12
I have 4:1 belt reductions

I believe I'd be best suited with 25 tooth pinion gears, but any advice would be appreciated.

Well, motors and power supply are here.
Still researching the 25 tooth pinion question.
About to order the 4 G203v, pmdx-126, pmdx-134, and an Ethernet Smoothstepper.
I'm hoping to be able to lay out the control box so 6 inch ribbon cables will work.

I've strung the 4 core cables to the motors, and I have a question on the 8 core to the pushbutton boxes.
Are these wired in series IE: Y car box to far gantry box to near gantry box to control box?
Seems logical to do it this way, but...
I'm confusing myself the more I research.

Darren,
The E-STOP are wired in series, the Momentary push buttons (start and feed hold) are parallel.

Control box is coming along.
Here is a pic taken before the final connnections to the machine itself.
I've had it moving under its own power using the test mode built into the BOB.
A few more hours and it will be fully functional.
I'll probably have some Ethernet Smoothstepper questions to ask.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ox1320x990.jpg

Hi Darren,
Neat job.
From this angle it looks as though it will be hard to plug the parallel cable into the BOB?

Hi,
Maybe the breakout board may has been lifted up ?

He will be using the Smooth Stepper so no parallel cable will be used.

Neat!

Thanks everyone.
Wiring is definitely not my strong point, and its been a challenge to make it neat and tidy.
I will say this to anyone contemplating a build:

Don't let fear of a portion of the project keep you away. It will get figured out as you progress.
Also, documenting your build and posting pictures along the way will force you to build to a higher level of quality, knowing its going to be seen by some very accomplished builders.

Mike is right, the Smoothstepper eliminates the parallel cable and its connection.
Now if I could only find the few hours needed to finish it up.

12 hour days at work for the next few weeks trying to catch up on a backlog of work.

Hi Darren

It is some time ago but you mentioned using NPN proximity sensors.
As you are using the PMDX 126 breakout board you can connect them directly to the board itself. Nothing other than the wiring of the 4 sensors together to run back to the PMDX 126 is required.

Page 22 of the latest manual has the wiring diagram you require.

Also I see the Ethernet Smoothstepper in place in the control box, mine runs very well indeed. Keep up the good work you will soon have your machine moving.

Regards
Ross

Thank you, Ross.
I'm getting very excited now that I'm getting closer.
Can I power the ESS from pin 26 of the ribbon cable connecting to the BOB?
Documentation on the ESS is VERY lacking.
I'm assuming one ribbon cable connecting port 1 of the BOB to port one of the ESS as well.

Hi Darren

I power everything inside the control box from 5V and 12V taps in the torriod power supply so have have no experience with using pin 26 as the power supply.
The ESS uses 5V as you say, it might also be beneficial if the ESS is always powered up when the PC is on as Mach3 expects the ESS to be powered up before it starts.

Regards
Ross