Complete newby needing help.

I know very little about machining, and nothing about CAD/CAM or CNC.

Recently bought a 3HP Enco turret mill in the middle of a cnc conversion. (The ballscrews are partially installed, some bearings are MIA, and possibly other parts.)

The controller, boards, steppers, etc, are all part of a CNCmasters Supra Retro Kit. Any idea if they are EMC compatible or not? Will it hurt anything to "test" them without knowing?

Today I pulled everything out of the garage, hooked up the controller and X,Y,Z steppers to the computer, booted the computer with the 10.04 disc. I was hoping to drive the steppers to check everythng out, but from everything I've read the sim's are not for driving equipment.

Is there a "test" program somewhere on the disc that I can use to check out the drivers, steppers? I haven't figured out how to hook that computer back to the network/internet.

I've started reading the "Getting started" section, but haven't found anything yet that tells me what I need to do next?

Do I need to install before I can "test" the system, or will I have to write some code? If so how/where do I start? Got a steep learning curve, but trying to catch up.

thanks,
Ken

stepconf is a good way to start. It allows setting the parallel port pinout,
step/dir parameters, and testing each axis

Not sure if you can run it without installing but its worth a try

Running the latency test is a good idea at this point as well,
to see if your CPU is suitable for LinuxCNC

PCW:

Thanks, I already ran the latency test a few weeks ago, when I first made a live disc. It seemed OK, don't remember the numbers, but much better than the laptop test.

I'll check out the stepconf section. Not sure how to test the parallel port pinout. A little worried about that now that you mention it. I remember in the documentation with the controller and steppers, it mentioned that the connectors for the steppers had to be hooked up properly. Apparently if the connectors were plugged in upside down it would burn up the steppers or boards???

thanks,
Ken

OK, I just looked at the pinout/in config and it's listing a total of 17 pins IIRC.

My cable is a 9 pin cable. Do I need to change the control board?

thanks,
Ken

Hello,

Is that kit designed for a usb or a parallel or serial port?

Rick G

Rick G:

It is a 9 pin RS232 serial port on the controller.

thanks,
Ken

Good morning John:

It is a black box with everything enclosed. Would you like photos of the black box and connectors on the rear?

Would you like pics of the internals with the cover removed?

If so how do I post?

Ken

Found this thread last night. I just pulled the cover off of my control box. It looks exactly like the one in this thread, except that he has pulled one of the "controllers" off of the board for the "z" axis.

www.cnczone.com/forums/controller_comput...a_jr_controller.html

Do you still need pics of mine?

Ken