Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
I have this BOB in a machine i purchased a couple of months back, so far ive had no problems with it. Although im not doing anythign greatly extravagant with it. I would like to add home switches to it though and maybe a touch off plate but so far ive not found where to connect the wires.
Any help would be appreciated
Sean
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jester
I have this BOB in a machine i purchased a couple of months back, so far ive had no problems with it. Although im not doing anythign greatly extravagant with it. I would like to add home switches to it though and maybe a touch off plate but so far ive not found where to connect the wires.
Any help would be appreciated
Sean
Here's a a pic with the parallel pin locations...
Attachment 11182
Don't forget that none of these are opto-isolated. I will be posting on my blog in the near future on how to make an opto-isolated addon board for this controller.
Regards,
Les
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
Ok this is going to sound dumb but what does optoisolation do? lol sorry but im very new to this. I will probably be connecting microswitches as home switches, although i have some prox sensors i think in the garage which need 8v according to the packing .
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jester
Ok this is going to sound dumb but what does optoisolation do? lol sorry but im very new to this. I will probably be connecting microswitches as home switches, although i have some prox sensors i think in the garage which need 8v according to the packing .
An opto-isolator use light to transfers electrical signals between two circuits, preventing high voltage from affecting the system receiving the signal.
.Me
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lee Roberts
An opto-isolator use light to transfers electrical signals between two circuits, preventing high voltage from affecting the system receiving the signal.
.Me
It's called Galvanic Isolation
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jester
Ok this is going to sound dumb but what does optoisolation do? lol sorry but im very new to this. I will probably be connecting microswitches as home switches, although i have some prox sensors i think in the garage which need 8v according to the packing .
Just think of it like this...
If you have a major malfunction and 240v gets sent to your parallel port, it will probably fry the port and motherboard. Opto-isolation helps to prevent that.
Having said that, I have been running my home/limit switches without isolation on the Tonsen BOB for the last 6 months without issues. I have however just built the opto-isolated addon board to hook up to the Tonsen BOB, I just haven't had time to test it properly. Now that the Christmas malarkey is out of the way, perhaps I can get to test it.
Regards,
Les
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pointy
Having said that, I have been running my home/limit switches without isolation on the Tonsen BOB for the last 6 months without issues. I have however just built the opto-isolated addon board to hook up to the Tonsen BOB, I just haven't had time to test it properly. Now that the Christmas malarkey is out of the way, perhaps I can get to test it.
Regards,
Les
Ive been looking for add on boards for this bob did you design this yourself or are there shcems on the net for it .
Cheers Sean
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jester
Ive been looking for add on boards for this bob did you design this yourself or are there shcems on the net for it .
Cheers Sean
It's something I am designing myself, but be warned that I am no expert and this is just a hobby for me. I started a thread here to discuss the board, but the schematic shown there is the 1st attempt and contains errors. Once the board is tested I will post the final schematic.
Regards,
Les
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
I have a 3040T CNC Chinese and also I want to connect limit switches to Tonsen ....
how the fuck ..... I can not man ..... : (
Re: Tonsen 4 Axis Controller/Bob
Hi all, I also have one of these Chinese Wonders (It's a Wonder that it works!) with the Chinglish Manual and misspelled PCB designates. For my efforts I decided to fit Home/Limits to the X, Y, & Z planes which went quite smoothly until I inspected the I/O Board.
So I set about to bring this into line with half decent components. I upgraded both the 5v and 15v Regulators. Changed the polarity protection diodes for 3A shottkies which have a much lower forward voltage drop than the !N4007’s.
I also changed all the electrolytic’s for 108° low ESR, replacing the 407µF with a 1,000µF The PCB has all the locations needed to fit 5 Opti-Couples and the pull-up resistor network needed for the home/limit switches.
I thought I was doing ever so great and about to do a bit of ‘Yankee Back Patting’ as I connected everything up and switched on..
This time the Spindle Motor didn’t Rev it’s nuts of as usual and the System Fan did not work.... Yep, you guessed right I miss-connected the Fan and Spindle Motor Controller. No big deal as I didn’t see any ‘Smoke Escape’ 1 However, putting 15V directly across the Anode and Cathode of the Motor Controller Opti-couple ensured its demise.
Whilst I was investigating the possibilities of any further damage I rung out to continuity the return line from the connector to the Parallel Port Pin 1.
The Drawing Les, (Pointy) has painstakingly provided is a great help apart from the Motor Line from Pin 1 is connected to the 5v Line via one of the 330R pull-ups, and the second connection to ground. This is incorrect. Pin 1 from the parallel port connects directly to the Opti-Couple on the Motor Controller Sub Board. Be very careful when tackling any problems with the Motor Controller Board It is connected directly across the Mains with enough current to blow your hat off !! :distrust:
Scoping the Signal, DC Lines, and I/O lines shows that my efforts in upgrading the components has paid off with reduced electrical noise.
1As the Mach3 Manual says, ’Contrary to belief Electronic Components work with Smoke. There is no documented evidence that and device has ever worked once the smoke has escaped’