pwm schematic help required please?

[Doddy]

The issue here is that the OP's spindle speed control looks to be a digital PWM input drive, not an analogue input voltage. I accept this is somewhat different to the standard option on many speed-controllers on a standard spindle inverter driver.

In using the BOB the OP has inadvertently adapted the PWM output from the PC to an analogue voltage.

The Speed Controller looks to use only a PWM input.

The easiest test now would be to try to source the PWM output from the PC (looks to be available on pin 'P1' output on most BOBs), and feed this to the pin-3 of the speed controller. Connect BOB ground to pin 4. If this works at all - if the speed range is inverted (low = high speed, high = low speed) then write to confirm.

Or, if the PWM output from the PC (into the PWM input on the BOB) then look to remap via Pins/Ports from Mach to a different output than '1', and try again.

The original Pot set-up looks (a) to be mis-wired, and (b) likely intended to be a potential divider to scale input - whether this was PWM or analogue to a lower voltage/current. If the value of R5 is 4k7 then this just isn't needed for the opto-isolated input for any supply up to 10V (If ~= 4mA on the opto-isolator LED at 10V input). BUT, unless you get a PWM signal into it I doubt from the quick look at the board that this will give anything other than On/Off. The OP needs a PWM source.

EDIT:

OP: On the image of your BOB - what's the label on the fourth pin from the left on the top edge of the board (after the Red/Red/Yellow cables)? - Is that P1?

[john swift]

looking at the second photo in post 8
the BOB looks like this BOB



John

[Doddy]

looking at the second photo in post 8
the BOB looks like this BOB
John

Thanks John, that's very clear and I think supports my advice above.

[Tel 27]

Thanks John, that's very clear and I think supports my advice above.

Thanks for the replies gents - good to have people at least trying to help me despite my limited electrical understanding!

Havent had much time to look at it for a couple of days, but having read the reply about measuring the output voltage with the meter set on ac, it does indeed read 0.2v ac when programmed s1000 via mach 3 (assume that means its a result of pwm "wave"?)



As you can see pwm is activated to output on p1

[Doddy]

Be bold :) Just wire it up. There's not much that you can do via ribbon #3(+) / #4(-) to cock it up. #3 to P1, #4 to gnd.

[Tel 27]

Be bold :) Just wire it up. There's not much that you can do via ribbon #3(+) / #4(-) to cock it up. #3 to P1, #4 to gnd.

Well, tried that, (pwm to wire 3) the spindle fires up and goes to 3500rpm (when s250 m4 is mdi input on mach3)

Altering the s value makes no difference to the spindle rpm, (i.e. s25 gives the same 3500rpm!) although the pwm output voltage does alter accordingly...

any more ideas?

[Doddy]

Well, tried that, (pwm to wire 3) the spindle fires up and goes to 3500rpm (when s250 m4 is mdi input on mach3)

Altering the s value makes no difference to the spindle rpm, (i.e. s25 gives the same 3500rpm!) although the pwm output voltage does alter accordingly...

any more ideas?

You say:-

"PWM to wire 3", and separately, "although the PWM output voltage does alter accordingly".

What have you wired to the speed controller pin 3?, the PWM ("...output voltage does alter...") or the P1 pin?


EDIT: Sorry, I appreciate I seem to be repeating myself, without explanation:-

The PWM ("Pulse Width Modulation") output from the PC is typically Pin1 of the parallel port - and you've confirmed this is how it's assigned in Mach. Okay so far. This pin/signal is a digital signal, alternative between On ("Mark") and Off ("Space"). The ratio of Mark/Space defines the PWM value, essentially a per-unit measure from 0 to 1 for Off to Full-speed. Increase the Mark ratio vs Space and you denote a speed increase.

Pin 1 of the BOB is connected (using the schematic from John), to two inputs on one of the octal transceivers (74x245) - inputs B2 & B3. The "DIR" direction pin on that chip is set to transfer from port B to port A. So the PWM input appears on A2 & A3. A3 is connected to the connector P1 on the BOB, and as such presents a buffered copy of the digital PWM (Mark/Space signalling) from the PC. It is this that needs to be connected to the speed controller. The other port, A2 is connected to an opto-isolator, through to the op-amp (half of LM358) which is configured as an integrator - it converts the Mark/Space ratio to an analogue voltage. This would be used for an analogue input to a speed controller (but NOT a digital PWM input).

It's for this reason that I'm asking you to confirm which PWM signal you have connected to the speed controller - because you refer to the PWM signal in an analogue sense.