Denford digiplan 300 drivers, i cant get them to run on mach 3

Hi All,

I have an Isel cnc machine with digiplan 300 cnc drivers but i cant get them to run on mach 3. the control box is a bit of a rats nest. I know very little about electronics and cnc machines for that matter. i have so far connected my cnc to the control box to a computer via serial. the compouter has mach 3 and i went to ports and pins and tried to input details but couldnt get the motors to move. can any one help?? i have provided as many pics as i could.

Do you have the manual ?

Legacy manuals and drawings

I've seen this machine and pics before have you asked before.?

Going to be blunt here and say that if you have no experience then your going to struggle with getting this machine going with Mach.
Not saying it won't work with mach it most likely will but not unless you know the machine internals and what pins are what.

It's not as easy as just installing Mach and cable then it works. You need to tell Mach where to send out going signals for motors etc and where to watch for incoming signals E-stop switches etc.
If Mach is sending or looking in the wrong place nothing will work. Even if it is looking in the right place it only takes one wrong setting and it won't work or start.
So first you need to determine what pins on the Machine control what on the machine. Then the cable going to the PC port MUST match this same pin layout. IE: if pin 3 on the machine controls X axis Direction on the drives then pin 3 at the PC port of the cable must match, then in Mach you set X axis dir to pin 3 in motor outputs.
Also in Mach you must provide the PC address of the Port your using and if this is wrong nothing will happen.? So for instance if you are using the Serial port like you mentioned and not the parallel port then chances are Mach by default is looking and sending signals to the wrong place. Thou I suspect you have just called parallel port by wrong name.? But It still highlights how it doesn't take anything more than one little thing and nothing works.!!

Problem you will have with this machine which if your the original person who posted ages ago you where told before is the fact it's an Isel machine and they often used Bespoke hardware and Software combo's so you'll most likely need some modifications to use Mach3 or any PC based control software.?
This is why I say you don't have the experience because if you did then you wouldn't be asking this question again.!! . . . . . . If your not that person then I appologise and just say it's not simple and you'll need to do a lot more research and dig into the machine for the info we will need to be able to help.

Again sorry to be blunt but I'm only trying to stop you going around in circles.!

Hi Jazz,

Yes absolutely and I completely agree with you. I know nothing about electronics. i'm a signmaker. I just would like the machine to run so i can cut letters. I just want some advice on how to get it up and running or if anyone could help me set it up which should be straightforward for whoever knows how to. if i need to buy a new control box i will but just want it up and running. i was thinking of buying a control box off ebay but i wouldn't know if it would work with my machine or not. are all motors old and new compatible or are there some which are not with certain controllers? what would be the best thing to do? i tried running on an xp machine. If anyone can help i can pm my number and would be grateful for the help.

hi

Get the manual and electronics plan if possible off the makers. You will need them to see what parts are usable. and what setting they need. Them electronics look badly put together in the first place. Mach3 itself has a bit of a leaning curve, trying to set it up to that macjhine without the settings manual would be extremely hard, doable, but you will need a few weeks to sort it, if possible.

whereas, get the parts identified properly and get the manuals on them, then the others will be in best place to advise you what parts might be usable, whats needs replacing and how to set it up. With the manuals, you will be able to see if the motors and drivers are usable, or what yo uneed to replce them, power them.

So, go dig out the details/manuals, sometimes, you have to ring the makers, send them £ 20 for tea and biscuit money, and promise them you wont publish it anyware ( in case they do service contracts. ), sometimes they are available online

I will PM you my number and explain better why it's going to be difficult for somone with little experience. DONT buy any thing yet else you'll just end up wasting money.!!