Troubleshooting non responsive machine- Mach3/Syil x4

[Doddy]

OP: Thanks, that helps a lot. Random googling of the board name/model suggests that these were boards installed by Syil as part of their standard build. There's easy reference to Syil 3's and 4's having the same board. I wouldn't necessarily trust the info from blind but there looks to be some level of consistency. The following was taken off another thread referencing a '3':-

This might be close!!!
Signal name pin I/O of the Signal
7. X pulse
17.X dir
6. Y pulse
8. Y dir
5. Z pulse
16. Z dir
4. A pulse
14. A dir
2. Spindle pulse
1. Spindle dir
3. Signal 1 relay1?
9. Signal 2 relay2?
12. X home input
13. Y home input
10. Z home input
15. A home input
11. E-stop input


and gives us some confidence with the content presented in the images from the OP's post and the XML file he's using.

I'd still recommend the test that I suggested earlier. Part of the logic there (I have to admit my interest petered out towards the end of the wine glass last night whilst typing away) is to understand the basic operational status of the BOB, the wiring and the PC. I know I've only identified the direction pins - that's deliberate and because these are easily measured with a meter, which from your original post I believe you have. I'd like at some point to understand that behaviour on the step pins - but let's address the easy stuff first. There's another thread of thought - actually my first - which was to trace the behaviour of the e-stop but we only now know the pin mapping of the inputs. For now, concentrate on the earlier tests that I described.

The board looks a bit grungy - but photos / lighting can be very deceptive. Again, the tests above will help understand if the board is working.

The statement that you believed you might have been losing steps earlier - that's interesting - it shouldn't result in the absolute freezing of the machine, nor that the e-stop isn't recognised, but might yet be another problem to be resolved. Let's concentrated first on just getting an axis to move.

Mike