Jim, > with these motors im not looking for step direction, i want to use > stepgen to switch the 4 coils, thats why I'll use a higher step mode, > like 5 or 6. I was thinkin about just usin NPN transistors from the > parport to switch the coils. if i end up killin the parport by not > usin optoisolators, big whoop ill use a different computer to play with. I'm not exactly sure what you mean with the step mode, but using opto isolators is simple. My motor controllers have built-in opto isolators, the LED is connected with a resistor to the +5 V (I used an old USB cable to get the 5V out of my PC) and the output of the opto isolator is a simple NPN transistor that can be used to pull the input of the 'real' electronics to ground or the (logic) supply voltage of your motor drivers.
You do have motor drivers? There is no way you can control them directly from the parport. > I run machines this size all day at work, Good, I noticed that some guys may forget that a computer controlled mill may suddenly change direction and/or speed while moving. Breaking a cutter now and then is only econimical pain, but I keep reminding myself that I should never try to remove any chips from the workpiece while the machine is in operation. > and it might even make some smoke and get rid of some of these old > computers i couldnt turn down. Remember: smoke is what makes electricity work and if you let the smoke out of the circuits, they stop working :-D > BTW, what kinda cutters you usin / breakin? 3/4 inch end mills can > plow through quite a bit. :-D The motor has a ER25 collet that holds max. 16mm (~0.6 inch) but the motor runs from 1500 - 18000 rpm only so I'm not using more than 10mm rough mills and 6mm end mills in aluminium. Broken up to now: 2 and 3 mm solid carbide and 6mm HSS. Regards, Rob ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
