Hi Fellow CNC Enthusiasts,

I am in need of assistance.

I am using UCCNC Software to communicate to a AXBB-E Ethernet Motion Controller / Breakout Board.

My CNC Machine runs fine both motion and spindle, however, from time to time the machine stops and I get the following message:

Communication error:
The application lost the connection with the motion controller device. Check the connection. The application is closing now! Save Offsets?

On exiting from this message the CNC software shuts down. Sometimes I can restart the software right away. Sometime I need to power off and on the AXBB-E to get the software to start again (as it will want to start in Demo Mode). In some cases I've had to reboot the computer before it would start again.

The Controller and Software were loaded recently so should have latest versions. I connect the controller directly to my laptop ethernet port with a cross-over cable (CAT6). I set a static IP address 10.10.10.10 with a submask of 255.255.255.0. I can ping the AXBB-E without issue.

My notebook is as follows:

Toshiba Notebook running Windows 7 Home Premium with Service Pack 1, Intel Core5 2430M CPU @ 2.4 GHz, 6 GB RAM
The Graphics card shows Intel HD Graphics Family

I've tried the following (one at a time) but the issue did not resolve

1. changed the cross over cable
2. added a ferrite to the cable (to attenuate possible EM noise)
3. de-energized the VFD and ran motion commands only
4. played with the Ethernet port properties. Disabled Energy Efficient Mode and Enabled "Wake on Magic Packet"
5. checked that DC power supply V0 is distinct from AC GRND.
6. on loss of communication I checked the voltage on the AXBB-E and all is as expected at 24V and 5V.

Any suggestions would be appreciated as I've consumed a lot of hours in trying to resolve this myself.