Motion Control drivers and motors

[Smiler]

The only problem I'm really facing now is this hesitation once about every 8-9 seconds. At slower velocity the motors do not stall. I've even disconnected the Direction Pulse to see if that helps but nothing helps. I don't have access to a Desktop machine and so am keen to get this laptop working.

Bruce, I see you've asked the question in the Mach3 Yahoo group and they are giving the same answer I gave you earlier. Laptops have serious issues with MACH3. I got reasonable results by doing the optimization dance and running RMClock and demoting my laptop to Win2000 but you are running on a knife edge all the time.

I had the exact same problem as you. After all my tweaking, I still had this annoying little twitch every few seconds, like a little "tick" and I had to run my machine at a crazy 500mm/min to avoid missed steps and stalls. IMO, the problem lies solely in the laptop. If it is an Intel CPU, disable SmartStep or whatever it is called in the BIOS, put Win2000 on it set up as a Standard PC, No desktop backgrounds etc, turn off all power management and install RMClock, set it to "MAXIMAL PERFORMANCE" (keep an eye on your temp levels!) and make sure the "Run HLT" box in management is ticked. You might be lucky and have a usable sytem at that point, I did but it was touch and go and my CPU temps were getting to meltdown point. You could also install a free program called SpeedFan to automatically control your laptops fans to keep things cool, not perfect but it works.

Seriously Bruce, in my honest opinion you have two options, desktop or something to take the strain off the laptops parallel port, i.e. a SmoothStepper.

My Dell C640 laptop before the SmoothStepper had to be stripped to the bones to run Mach3 with any smoothness and then only slowly. Now it is back to XP Pro, my CAD/CAM software can run at the same time as Mach3 and my CPU doesn't get above 47 degrees.

I'll probably get shot down for this but that's my opinion, having had almost identical problems to you and having to solve them myself. Take it for what it's worth. Good luck anyway.

[bruce_miranda]

I can now confirm that this is definately a problem with the laptop (i know i know - you've been saying this all along).
How have I confirmed this? You know the regular 'tick' that happens every 8-9 seconds is so regular that if I jog for about 4 secs then don't jog for 2 seconds and then jog again I get the tick at the 3rd sec i.e. similar timing to jogging continuously.
This tick does not vanish even with different microstep values.

[Smiler]

I can now confirm that this is definately a problem with the laptop (i know i know - you've been saying this all along).
How have I confirmed this? You know the regular 'tick' that happens every 8-9 seconds is so regular that if I jog for about 4 secs then don't jog for 2 seconds and then jog again I get the tick at the 3rd sec i.e. similar timing to jogging continuously.
This tick does not vanish even with different microstep values.

Have a look in your BIOS for SpeedStep if it is an Intel CPU, that is what is causing the interupt most likely. If you can disable it then do so but be aware that your CPU might default to the lowest speed (mine dropped to 1.2Ghz from 2.4) once you boot back into windows.

Can you go with a desktop Bruce or are you stuck with the laptop like me?

I have to use one because a desktop would be dead in a week or so in the damp atmosphere we live in, at least I can bring the laptop and control enclosure indoors after using my machine.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

[bruce_miranda]

Even with SpeedStep Disabled and the the Computer configured as a Standard PC I get this annoying tick once every 8-9 seconds.

A laptop is also what I can only use because the mill is installed in the garage.

[Robin Hewitt]

I know very little about commercial CNC software, but is this running under Windows? Windows will occasionally go off and do something else for a while suspending all other programs.

Under XP you can latch on to a regular interrupt set at 1000 per second but you can't mess with the timer settings.

[bruce_miranda]

Went and installed a clean version to Windows 2000. But the darn 8-9 sec hesitation is still there. This is with the Intel SpeedStep disabled in the BIOS. So there is something in the laptop that is doing something every 8-9 secs. I've tried all the 3 parallel port modes too, no difference. I've forced the parallel port to use IRQ7 and still nothing.

Now the key thing for me is to decide if I should invest in the SmoothStepper or a mini-ITX computer.

[Smiler]

If you look at the CNCZone site and do a search on ITX, you will see it is just as much a minefield as the situation with laptops. Some have no problems, some just don't work. MAybe it's being unfair to say it is as bad a the laptop situation but it is not all plain sailing if you go that route. The thing to do is to ask for recommended boards, ones in actual daily use and go for that.

If you were local to me, i'd bring my smoothstepper over for you to try, it would confirm once and for all where the problem lies and a fix for it.

[bruce_miranda]

I've now gone and done it. Bought myself a SmoothStepper!

[bruce_miranda]

You guys are not going to believe this. I managed to get the machine working. Now wait for the fun part.

1. Its a laptop.
2. It doesn't have a parallel port on it.
3. I'm using a docking station.
4. I've loaded Windows XP on it.
5. I've not made ANY changes to the set-up, its still working on ACPI mode.
6. All services and start-ups are running etc.
7. Not loaded the RM Clock utility
8. Not done any optimization at all.

AND IT STILL WORKS FINE. Motors are running smoothly and faster than the machine can handle and there is no hesitation at all.

Sod's law that I got my SmoothStepper today too. Infact I rebuilt this laptop to use with the SmoothStepper and previously I'd tried this same laptop with all the 'recommended' changes and my motors didn't even move!

The only difference is that I'm now using the Development version of Mach3 instead of the lock-down version because that is what SmoothStepper needs.

I'll try this set-up for a few days and if things work then I may have a Brand New SmoothStepper for sale in the UK :-)

[Lee Roberts]

:), maybe worth asking the guys over at Artsoft what the diffrences could be with both software versions so we can pin point what the problem was ?