Premier plasma tables help !!

[Josh706]

Hello my name is Joshua Miller I just purchased a 5 x 10 premier plasma CNC table I am having a problem with my Z z axis not working It shows on the computer screen that it is working while it does nothing at the table it is a water table with a floating head I’ve reached out to the company several times with several questions and can’t seem to get a straightforward answer into why my machine is not working correctly they just keep sending out new parts to try so far I’ve replaced the motherboard and micro board and he’s sending me something else out today as well to try anybody else had this problem any insight would be greatly appreciated I also have the hypo therm 85 plasma cutter I will upload some pictures of my control box if anyone sees anything out of place could you please let me know I have had the table more than six months now and haven’t even got to make my first cut it’s beginning to look like a $15,000 paperweight please help
thanks
Josh miller

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[adbuch]

Are you saying that your Z-axis motor does not work (or move when commanded to under power)?
David

[acourtjester]

If you look at the second image the Z axis plug is not connected also shown in the 5th image. If the pins are selected for that in the software it will not work. If you are using Mach 3 software the attached image shows the pins for the 3 axis, now your numbers may be different but if they have Z with pins shown then the plug should be in the Z location not the A. It also looks like they are paralleling 2 drivers from one output of the BOB, it should be 2 separate outputs and then slaving the drivers in the software.

[Josh706]

Are you saying that your Z-axis motor does not work (or move when commanded to under power)?
David

The z axis at the table
Doesn’t work doesn’t move up or down but on the computer screen it shows it moving up and down when I run the test file ... also I am a newbie to the business thanks for the reply
Josh

[adbuch]

I would recommend swapping the wiring harness between the Z stepper motor drive and either the x or y drives. Do this at the drives where the cables plug in. If after doing this you can jog the z motor with either the x or y jog buttons, then you know your Z motor and wiring harness are ok. If the Z motor still will not move, then test your z motor wiring harness for continuity (end to end) and test your z motor windings to see if you have a bad winding.
David

[adbuch]

Also, as was just pointed out, it looks like the Z axis plug for the wires connecting your controller to your drives is not plugged in to the Z socket on the board. But perhaps they have it programmed to use the other socket that the Z wires are plugged in to.
David

[acourtjester]

Josh so you understand the movement on the monitor screen may move but it does not represent an actual movement of the axis. Steppers do not have feedback, you can run Mach on a computer with no table connected and still see movement on the DROs when keys are pressed or G-code being run. Plasma spider is not like the Manufacturer the members here will help you get things going, it may take a little time as remote troubleshooting has its drawbacks. Remember you are the eyes on the table and the hands to do the work so do supply good info with your questions to help get clear answers.

[Josh706]

If you look at the second image the Z axis plug is not connected also shown in the 5th image. If the pins are selected for that in the software it will not work. If you are using Mach 3 software the attached image shows the pins for the 3 axis, now your numbers may be different but if they have Z with pins shown then the plug should be in the Z location not the A. It also looks like they are paralleling 2 drivers from one output of the BOB, it should be 2 separate outputs and then slaving the drivers in the software.

Hello thanks for the help I got a few pics of my settings today maybe you can see something I can’t ?
Josh

[Josh706]

Thank everyone for the feed back and excuse the uneducated questions as I’ve stated I’m new to the scene and haven’t learned all the lingo the company has been little help so this forum is all I have again thanks everyone I will continue to try everyone thoughts on the problem and maybe something will work out thanks again
Josh miller

[Josh706]

The premier plasma tech guy finally wrote back today and send a photo and said these to wires run my z axis could the problem be something involving the z axis turned off somewhere in my software programs ??

[adbuch]

I would have assumed that if you purchased this table as a "turn key" system, they would have tested the controller, motors, software, etc. before shipping your product. I know that when I purchased one of my cnc tables from Avid CNC several years ago, they had a configuration file already written. All I had to do was copy it into Mach3 and everything worked great.
David

[adbuch]

The premier plasma tech guy finally wrote back today and send a photo and said these to wires run my z axis could the problem be something involving the z axis turned off somewhere in my software programs ??

Those 2 red wires were not in your original photo. Are these actual wires, or did someone just draw on the photo with a red marker?
David

[acourtjester]

Ok Josh I do see a problem Image 2 with the motor outputs you have pin 14 being used as B dir pin and also as the output #1 on image 4. And you have 5 axis enabled X, Y, Z, A, and B but only 3 drivers. As I said before you are having a problem with Z but nothing plugged into Z motor output plug. See the attached image and return a image showing this chart as it has the info about the pins for the BOB pins. Maybe we can then help you make changes to the setup of Mach3 so it will work. The chart shows pin 14 as the relay and that is why pin 14 is setup for the output #1 on image 4.

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[Josh706]

The premier plasma tech guy finally wrote back today and send a photo and said these to wires run my z axis could the problem be something involving the z axis turned off somewhere in my software programs ??

Those 2 red wires were not in your original photo. Are these actual wires, or did someone just draw on the photo with a red marker?
David

There not wires the tech guy just drew lines to show me what the black and green wires were running he said those two bulk/grn wires ran my z

[Josh706]

I would have assumed that if you purchased this table as a "turn key" system, they would have tested the controller, motors, software, etc. before shipping your product. I know that when I purchased one of my cnc tables from Avid CNC several years ago, they had a configuration file already written. All I had to do was copy it into Mach3 and everything worked great.
David

Yea it was turn key table what did the configuration file look like maybe I need to do that ??

[Josh706]

This is how mine came setup like so already

[acourtjester]

I would be surprised if you can run a stepper motor with 2 wires, Look at where those 2 wires go. If they are for the Z then they will be going to a driver that is hooked to your Z motor.

[djreiswig]

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It looks like the drivers are powered from a power supply instead of from the bob. Then the blue & brown wires come from the driver power terminals to power what I assume is a thc. The step & direction (green & black) from the bob go to the thc input step & direction and then the outputs (red & white) go to the driver. Looks like it should work that way.
I would try moving the green & black directly to the driver & see if the motor moves as expected. You could probably just jumper the step & direction terminals at the thc. If it does, then the thc must be interrupting the signal. Maybe a better picture of the thc so we can look up specs on it.

[djreiswig]

Ok, I looked closer at the pictures of the z driver. It's wired differently than the others. I can't make out the labels, but going off the bob it looks like the terminals going left to right should be 5v, Step, 5v, Dir, empty, enable. I think yours is connected step, 5v, dir, 5v, empty, empty.
I think your wires should go blk, wht, blk, red. The first and third terminals jumpered together.
Then you need a wire to the 6th terminal. I'm not sure what type of signal it should be, so I would just run a wire from the bob terminal next to the green wire for the Z. That should mimic the other drivers.

[adbuch]

I would recommend testing the Z stepper motor first to make sure it is functional.
David

[Josh706]

I’ll try and get some better pics of inside the box this weekend so you’ll be able to see what they are listed thank you all for the help I feel like this is a uphill battle but with everyone’s help I’ll figure it out seems to be wires not in correct spot or I’m my setup in the programs

[Josh706]

Ok Josh I do see a problem Image 2 with the motor outputs you have pin 14 being used as B dir pin and also as the output #1 on image 4. And you have 5 axis enabled X, Y, Z, A, and B but only 3 drivers. As I said before you are having a problem with Z but nothing plugged into Z motor output plug. See the attached image and return a image showing this chart as it has the info about the pins for the BOB pins. Maybe we can then help you make changes to the setup of Mach3 so it will work. The chart shows pin 14 as the relay and that is why pin 14 is setup for the output #1 on image 4.
josh.JPG

Hope this helps the tech guy for premier is sending out a new computer and control box

[acourtjester]

Yes that does I shows the pins for the motor drive, it seems that you have the Proma SD model THC which does redirect the Z motor drive signals. As David said it may be better to leave that out of the system until the Z axis gets working and then add it back in. It is good the manufacturer is supplying you with some help, remote troubleshooting can be a pain. Hang it there having a working table will be a plus.

[djreiswig]

Can you post a pic of the z driver? This would confirm if my wiring suggestions are correct.

[adbuch]

Ok Josh I do see a problem Image 2 with the motor outputs you have pin 14 being used as B dir pin and also as the output #1 on image 4. And you have 5 axis enabled X, Y, Z, A, and B but only 3 drivers. As I said before you are having a problem with Z but nothing plugged into Z motor output plug. See the attached image and return a image showing this chart as it has the info about the pins for the BOB pins. Maybe we can then help you make changes to the setup of Mach3 so it will work. The chart shows pin 14 as the relay and that is why pin 14 is setup for the output #1 on image 4.
josh.JPG

Hope this helps the tech guy for premier is sending out a new computer and control box

Yes - this helps very much! Hopefully the new computer and control box have been tested before shipping and will be "Plug & Play". I wouldn't waste any more time on it until you have these replacement items. Then if it still doesn't work, we could pursue checking out your Z stepper motor and wiring harness for same.
David