Is my Dani THC7SDP Fried?

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

I have a stand alone dani THC7SDP that can also be ran through Mach 3. It was running fine and going up and down by using the manual up/down controls on the box itself. But then now it only goes up if I press up or down. I completely isolated it and got a reading from the pul out and dir out on the dani box. The dir out is at 5vts until I press the up button, then it drops to 0. If I press down nothing changes on Dir out. Now... the pul out is at 5vts until I press up or down in wich it only drops to 4.5vts if I press up or down. Is it supposed to drop as well?

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[acourtjester]

Ok I found that THC manual and attached the wiring diagram below. I think you may have a wire in the wrong place. this is wired similar to the older Proma SD THC and there has be people with problems with this type, not saying it totally bad but.
The Pul signal is a pulse or step signal as to the number of steps the motor turns. The dir is for the direction signal the output (of the driver) to the motor is 0 volts for one direct and +5 volts the other direction. I cannot say for sure but would think the input dir signal would be the same, you can check that. Now with it wire as shown in the diagram you should be able to used the keyboard keys to move the Z, page up for up and page down for down movement and signal checking.
it seems correct that you are using the power input negative as your reference for the checking

THC.JPG

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

Ok I found that THC manual and attached the wiring diagram below. I think you may have a wire in the wrong place. this is wired similar to the older Proma SD THC and there has be people with problems with this type, not saying it totally bad but.
The Pul signal is a pulse or step signal as to the number of steps the motor turns. The dir is for the direction signal the output (of the driver) to the motor is 0 volts for one direct and +5 volts the other direction. I cannot say for sure but would think the input dir signal would be the same, you can check that. Now with it wire as shown in the diagram you should be able to used the keyboard keys to move the Z, page up for up and page down for down movement and signal checking.
it seems correct that you are using the power input negative as your reference for the checking


THC.JPG

I only have 2 wires going in. Just the voltage supply positive in and ground. Lol there isnt any room for wrong wires.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

These are the only wires on it when I'm getting these numbers

20240122_172757.jpg

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

Ok I found that THC manual and attached the wiring diagram below. I think you may have a wire in the wrong place. this is wired similar to the older Proma SD THC and there has be people with problems with this type, not saying it totally bad but.
The Pul signal is a pulse or step signal as to the number of steps the motor turns. The dir is for the direction signal the output (of the driver) to the motor is 0 volts for one direct and +5 volts the other direction. I cannot say for sure but would think the input dir signal would be the same, you can check that. Now with it wire as shown in the diagram you should be able to used the keyboard keys to move the Z, page up for up and page down for down movement and signal checking.
it seems correct that you are using the power input negative as your reference for the checking


THC.JPG

OK. I got what you mean. Thank you sir.

[acourtjester]

We should get it going for you

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

Ok I found that THC manual and attached the wiring diagram below. I think you may have a wire in the wrong place. this is wired similar to the older Proma SD THC and there has be people with problems with this type, not saying it totally bad but.
The Pul signal is a pulse or step signal as to the number of steps the motor turns. The dir is for the direction signal the output (of the driver) to the motor is 0 volts for one direct and +5 volts the other direction. I cannot say for sure but would think the input dir signal would be the same, you can check that. Now with it wire as shown in the diagram you should be able to used the keyboard keys to move the Z, page up for up and page down for down movement and signal checking.
it seems correct that you are using the power input negative as your reference for the checking


THC.JPG

So here's how I'm running it as a stand alone. I ran it last time as a stand alone and it worked great. Also I have the grbl BOB not that style. Here's what my board looks like

THC.JPG.jpg

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[Ezalyconfuzd1]

I guess here is my main confusion. I have the THC set up with 12V power supply. Then from there I have the stepper motor fed with 12V power supply. And both grounded. My Pul and dir outs are both showing positive output. BUT the wiring diagram shows I'm supposed to put those into the negative side of the stepper motor driver. And then put another 5 volt positive source into the dir/pul positive power supply side. I've done exactly what this graph shows multiple times. But it keeps activating the magnet in the motor everytime I turn it on. Almost as if the motor has a wire shorting out in it.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

I had Dani send me the proper PDFs for my exact stand alone unit.

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[acourtjester]

from this statement "But it keeps activating the magnet in the motor every time I turn it on" do you mean the motor will not turn manually??
That is normal as it is a holding position, so the axis will not move without a command (step and Direction).
On your image with the yellow question mark that should go to +5 volts, your GRBL board does not have a 5 volt output showing. I cannot say if the driver will tolerate higher then 5 volts as an input signal. You may want to find another BOB board to use that would be better for Plasma use. The red board only has 4 inputs, also may not be good for plasma either.
Side note you do know the stand along THC needs a separate motor for moving the torch up and down under THC control, not the Z axis

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

from this statement "But it keeps activating the magnet in the motor every time I turn it on" do you mean the motor will not turn manually??
That is normal as it is a holding position, so the axis will not move without a command (step and Direction).
On your image with the yellow question mark that should go to +5 volts, your GRBL board does not have a 5 volt output showing. I cannot say if the driver will tolerate higher then 5 volts as an input signal. You may want to find another BOB board to use that would be better for Plasma use. The red board only has 4 inputs, also may not be good for plasma either.
Side note you do know the stand along THC needs a separate motor for moving the torch up and down under THC control, not the Z axis

Thank you for the info. Yep I knew about the stepper motor driver. I have 2 of them I keep swapping between to see if it's just a bad driver.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

OK SO. Here's were I'm at this morning. I made any entirely new stand alone setup with a brand new motor exactly like the motor on my z axis. And here is my setup and it works perfectly. And has been working correctly for the last 30 minutes.

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[Ezalyconfuzd1]

It doesn't look like it but the yellow is going into the main ground with the black wire

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

OK. So it's working perfectly here's a schematics of my setup.

THC.JPG.jpg

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

SOOOOOO... I either have a bad Z axis MOTOR orrr my wiring between the motor and driver going through my chain is arching out somewhere.

[acourtjester]

You may ohm the wire in the chain for a short to ground
Something else you may look into is it looks like you do not need any connections for the BOB to the THC for signals as it is stand alone,
But you may need a arc OK signal for the G-code to continue to the cutting operation. Some controllers will work with out the plasma being on it will run the G-code fine with no plasma working (not powered on) some require to have the arc OK signal to move past the M3 (fire torch command).
What controller software are you using?? It lease you are making progress, each step getting toward the finish line.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

You may ohm the wire in the chain for a short to ground
Something else you may look into is it looks like you do not need any connections for the BOB to the THC for signals as it is stand alone,
But you may need a arc OK signal for the G-code to continue to the cutting operation. Some controllers will work with out the plasma being on it will run the G-code fine with no plasma working (not powered on) some require to have the arc OK signal to move past the M3 (fire torch command).
What controller software are you using?? It lease you are making progress, each step getting toward the finish line.

Thanks again. Yeah moving forward is great.
Haha well here's where this gets interesting. I'm using lightburn software with a Grbl 3axis. And I'm using laser mode to activate the torch with my own 5v to 12v booster and relay to finish the 12v arch activation circuit. I've been able to run everything on the X and Y axis. The Z and THC stand alone is my only issue at the moment.

[acourtjester]

Well since Lightburn is for laser operations it does not have Z operations for moving from pierce height to cut height. The THC will only move the torch it it see a change in the arc voltage. Sorry to poke holes in the setup. You may look into MPCNC as I think there are guys there using GRBL controllers for plasma cutting.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

Well since Lightburn is for laser operations it does not have Z operations for moving from pierce height to cut height. The THC will only move the torch it it see a change in the arc voltage. Sorry to poke holes in the setup. You may look into MPCNC as I think there are guys there using GRBL controllers for plasma cutting.

No worries at all. I appreciate the info like always. Haha I know it's a less than perfect setup. It's just for personal use for the farm. I'm tired of building flatbeds, impliments, trailers etc free hand. I'm still only 1500 into a 4.5x10 table. So I can't really complain. There's lots of ways to get lightburn to adjust to new things. For instance I have my lead ins a little longer with a little longer pause time to allow the THC to get its voltages correct. I'll have to figure out a stand alone IHS system as well (I already 3d printed) the floating head. I'll just add some seconds to the start pause for the IHS and pierce. This thing will be a journey and will require some thought. But it's the only way I learn.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

OK so to further troubleshoot. I hooked my x axis connector to my z axis and the motor worked perfectly. Soooo I definitely have a wiring issue in my cable track.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

Lightburn actually does have a z axis for the router setup on it.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

Well guys... make sure your wire looms are one piece without splices inside your tracks. Here's my issue. Replaced it with a 1 piece run of wires.

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[acourtjester]

Keep plugging, when finished you will have a great tool for you shed, sure beats free hand cutting.

[Ezalyconfuzd1]

Got a couple cuts into it and seems to work great. Thanks again everyone.

[weldguy]

Ah ya, that will do it. Good find! Glad you got it figured out.