Most likely, the driver is not receiving the high or low signal for the direction terminals. The way direction works for an axis is the controller will output a high signal (5V) for one direction and low signal (0V) for the opposite direction. If the signal is always at one signal, say 5V, whether it is commanded in one direction or the other, then the axis will only move in that direction.

To solve this problem, make sure that the wiring is secure at both ends (from the controller to the driver). Also, make sure the Dir+ and DIR- are both wired correctly (i.e. the Dir- is connected to the signal gnd on the controller and the ZD is connected to Dir+ on the driver.

You can use a multimeter to determine the voltage at the ZD terminal by:
- setting the multimeter to DC voltage (the V with a straight line, or dashed line above the V)
- place the black lead on the gnd terminal
- place the red lead on the ZD terminal
- press the page up button and check the voltage
- press the page down button and check the voltage.

You should see the voltage change from 0V to 5V or vice versa.

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Hi I have just set up my machine using a mach 3 USB board I can only get the Z to go in one direction Y and X are Ok I have check wiring and looked at video over and over what have I missed??

Try slowing your feedrate down and increasing spindle RPMs. End-mills will leave a poor finish if you go too fast. Make sure your cutting depth isn't too much. Maybe the endmill or cutter is blunt? Could it be the feed direction of the cutter? Some materials need to be fed in a certain direction.

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MOTOR GOING TWO DIRECTION WHEN JUST PUSH UP. IT WILL GO DOWN AND THEN GOES AGAIN UP WITH THE SAME BUTTON.

You can change the direction of a stepper motor's rotation by swapping the A and B coils where the stepper motor is connected to the stepper driver. This may not work with every stepper motor and driver combination.

To do this:
- Turn off all power to the stepper drivers. If this is not done, you will damage the stepper driver.
- Wait at least 1 minute for the power to dissipate from the drivers and power supply.
- Once power is off, remove the wires from the A+ and A- and insert these wires into the B+ and B- respectively. Then insert the wires that were in the B+ and B- into the A+ and A- respectively.

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Is there a way to change the direction of a motor with the motor to driver wiring?

Do both motors, the main and slave work correctly when using the arrow keys?

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How do you slave an axis with mach3 and pokeys57cnc? My slave axis is only going one direction as a slave and goes correctly in both directions when I direct it with an xbox controller.

Did you install the Mach3 USB plug-in?

Make sure that you followed all of the steps and diagrams on the following page:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

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ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WORKS. I HAVE ALL STRUCTURE AND MECHICAL PARTS OF THE BLACKTOOTH CUTTER DONE. HOWEVER WHEN WIRE UP STEPPER MOTOR TO DRIVER. THAT MACH 3 USB CONTROLLER BOARD, TRY JOG MOTOR, WORKS! PREVIOSULY HAD PLANET CNC BREAKOUT HOWRVER, ONLY MOVED MOTORS IN ONE DIRECTION COULDNT CHANGE IT. ANY HELP WOULD BE APRECIATED

What is the actual error that you are seeing in Mach3 and what CAM program are you using? Did you try installing a later version of Mach3 if your's is an earlier version? What post-processing setting are you using in your CAM program?

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I am getting that radus error in Mach3 and changing my IJ setting is not working. Any suggestions?

An unhandled exception generally means that, in the program code, the program is not checking against every possible exception that could occur. Most likely, this exception is caused by some limit that is being exceeded (or the other way around). I would remove any files that could be associated with the program, like setting files, or even register configurations associated with that software. Also, make sure that you completely update your version of windows.

Check to make sure all of the drivers are current for your graphics hardware. Make sure that your graphics hardware works in other programs as well.

If you upgraded the Windows version, check to make sure your graphics hardware is compatible with the new version of Windows. Unhandled exception issue may be associated with graphics hardware and compatibility.

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I've given up on the wiped laptop and loaded the program on a different computer using windows 8. At first it won't operate my CNC until I read on Planet-CNC forum about loading the drivers on windows 8. All working now. Will run through the calibrations again today. Thanks

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I had to wipe my computer due to virus and now can not download the USB software again. I get a "unhandled exception" error message. Any suggestions?

We have ran across this issue on occasion, and usually results is there is something along your wiring that is causing a fault or is not getting good contact.
We would recommend going through the wiring thoroughly and checking continuity with the y-axis wires, going from your USB or Parallel BoB to the driver.

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My CNC machine has suddenly started going in only one direction in the Y axis. It was working fine for several days and then started going in a single direction when I would do a manual job.

Is there a test button on the laser tube power supply? You can test the laser output by using the test button. This will help you determine if the laser tube is bad, or if you have wiring issues. Sometimes, wiring to he TL may not work as some controllers are set to active low, so you may need to wire the controller to TH instead.

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Additionally, the mA on the high tension line does not have any relationship to the digital trigger signal from the controller to the power supply.

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I am building my own laser and have watch your trocen videos.....but laser wont fire...double checked wiring and all seems correct to diagram....but the kit i bought was for a 40 watt and i amd using a 60 watt power supply and tube.....What size does the power switching unit need to be ....I think mine is too small for the trigger mA

You may need to add the m7 or m8 code to turn on the coolant or mist and m9 to turn it off. I will look further into this to see if mach3 can turn on the coolant when the spindle is turned off. I believe the coolant is a separate function from the spindle control since you may not need coolant for every material that you will be milling.

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I have tried typing M7 and M8 into the MDI with no success. I can toggle the coolant on and off using the flood control button. Water flows and the LED lights on the diagnostic page. I followed the setup instructions in the video on the Pokeys57CNC page, which includes the spindle setup page. Those videos are very helpful.

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To close this question - The M7 M8 commands did start working. I never figured out why they would not work before. I still cannot get the coolant to turn on with the spindle from the Mach3 set up. I have given up and just make sure the M command is in the g code.

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I can turn the flood coolant on using the toogle in Mach3 so Mach3 is talking to the PokeysCNC board (using output3). In spindle setup, Output3 is assigned to flood and the disable box is not checked. Output 3 is enabled and assigned to the correct relay. However, coolant does not come on when the spindle is turned on. Any suggestions about what I am doing wrong would be appreciated.

We attempt to provide as many services as possible to fit the needs of the CNC community. For a quote on a custom job, please email customerservice@buildyourcnc.com and we will be happy to assist you.

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I bought longs motor nema 34 stepper motor with 4 powers supply and dm860 from ebay, would you be interested in doing all the wiring for me? I pay you for you time

Drivers will have terminals with labels that represent a pulse, clock or step, and for direction. Look at the following to determine which terminal is used for what purpose.

Step- = CP- = P-
Step+ = CP+ = P+
Dir - = CW- = D-
Dir+ = CW+ = D+

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Hi, I have one of your mach3 controller boards and have followed the tutorial videos but my motor drivers do not have p+ p- d+ d- I only have sted, dir, en and +5v

I looked at a YouTube video and figured out the configuration for the motor mounts.

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Still working on GreenBull 5x10 assembly. Putting together the Z axis my motor mounts don't like the video, so I don't know which one goes where and in what orientation?

To move two stepper motors simultaneously with the same signal, simply wire the two stepper motor drivers to the same interface board signal terminals (CP and CW).

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using a ardino uno controller and a cnc sheild on top of that how to wirer 2 motors to 1 axis its the x axis ?

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I have my motors wired like the wiring diagram I have two motors on Y axis how do I wire the second motor

Using pin 13 should be fine as long as it is enabled in Mach3 for the Estop. Go to Mach3, Config> Ports and Pins> Input Signals and make sure EStop is enabled and pin number is set to 13.

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I am wiring my estop to the redleaf NC closed using pin 13 and ground to red side of the button is that all that needs to be done

Did you install the Mach3 USB plug-in?

Make sure that you followed all of the steps and diagrams on the following page:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/electronicsAndMotors-electronic-component-breakout-Mach3-USB-Board

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Absolutely nothing works. I have all structure and mechical parts of the blacktooth cutter done. However when i wire up the stepper motor to the motor driver. and that to the mach 3 usb controller board, and try to jog the motor, nothing works! I previosuly had the planet cnc breakout board, howrver, that only moved the motors in one direction and i couldnt change it. any help would be apreciated

This sounds like a problem with the step (pulse) signal. The driver motors receive two signals from the computer via the board -- one is high or low and tells the motors which direction to turn, one is a square wave pulsed signal(quick that tells the motor to turn or a constant high signal that tells the motor to maintain its position. With an oscilliscope you can check for proper signal at the board. If you bought the board from us, please contact us to arrange a return authorization.

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Y axis on usb controller not working. The motor gets power and holds but will not turn. I tried switching the same wires, driver, and motor over to the A axis on the controller and it works fine like that. I have double, and triple checked the wiring

This will depend on the VFD you have to identify the correct terminal. The terminal on the VFD will be labeled AI1 typically (Analog Input #1). You will also need to make sure to complete the PWM circuit using the GND terminal on the VFD.

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I have wired my 0-10V signal to the AI1 and GND terminals as suggested. I have also set the PD-01 and PD-02 settings to 1. Still nothing. Is there something else that I am missing?

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Thanks for the information. Can you let me know the model of the VFD that you have?

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VFD Model # YL600-2S-2K20

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Thanks. I will check our resources and documentation to see if there is another programming setting that needs to be changed.

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Does your VFD have a VI terminal?

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No, it does not. The terminals for this VFD are as follows (seperated by dashes "-").

10V-AI1-AO2-PLC-DI5-DI3-DI1-COM
AI2-GND-AO1-DI6-DI4-DI2-FM-24V

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Do you have a PD070 parameter?

PD070 is the main Analog Input parameter.

The options for that parameter is:
0: 0-10V
1: 0-5V
2: 0-20mA
3: 4-20mA
4: 0-10V (4-20mA Stacked)
5: XIA
6: (VI+XIA)/2
7: (3VA+XIA)/4
8: (XIA_XIB)/2
9: Max (XIA, XIB)
10: Min (XIA, XIB)


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There is a PD-00 thru PD-09. PD-07 is currently set to 0.

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It appears that the manual I’m using “Titled YL600” is not the same as your unit. I will check our manuals and find the one that has only PD-00 to PD-09.

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For that VFD, the parameters are P0. The 0 may look like a D on the display.

The parameters that need to be changed for the AI1 to work (Brackets [] around the correct selection):

P0-01: First Motor Control Mode
- 0: Sensorless Vector Control
- 1: Flux Vector Control (FVC)
- [2]: V/F Control

P0-02: Options of Command Source
- 0: Operation Panel Command Channel (LED will be off)
- [1]: Terminal Command Channel (LED will be on)
- 2: Communication Command Channel (LED will flicker)

P0-03: Options of Principle Frequency Source X
- 0: Digital Setting (Preset Frequency P0-08, UP/DOWN modifiable, no power-down memory)
- 1: Digital Setting (Preset Frequency P0-08, UP/DOWN modifiable, with power-down memory)
- [2]: AI1
- 3: AI2
- 4: AI3
- 5: Pulse Setting (DI5)
- 6: Multi Speed Instruction
- 7: Simple PLC
- 8: PID (Proportional Integral Derivative Control)
- 9: Communication Given

P0-11: Upper Limit Frequency Source
- 0: P0-12 (Make sure the P0-12 parameter has the correct max frequency if used)
- [1]: AI1
- 2: AI2
- 3: AI3
- 4: Pulse Setting
- 5: Communication Given

P0-27: Command Source Bundle with Frequency Sources
Single Digit: Options of Operation Panel Command Bundle with Frequency Sources
- 0: No Bundling
- 1: Digital Setting Frequency
- [2]: AI1
- 3: AI2
- 4: AI3
- 5: Pulse Setting (DI5)
- 6: Multi Speed Instruction
- 7: Simple PLC
- 8: PID
- 9: Communication Given
Double Digit: Options of Terminal Command Bundle with Frequency Sources
Hundred Place: Options of Communication Command Bundle with Frequency Sources
Kilobit: Options of Automatic Operation Bundle with Frequency Sources

P2-09: Upper Limit Source of Lower Torque Under Speed Control Mode
- 0: Function Code P2-10 Setting
- [1]: AI1
- 2: AI2
- 3: AI3
- 4: Pulse Setting
- 5: Communication Given
- 6: MIN (Al1, Al2)
- 7: MAX (Al1, Al2)
- Maximum range for options 1-7, accords with P2-10

If you elect to use a different AI#, then configure the parameters (P0-03, P0-11, P0-27 and P2-09) accordingly.

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I'VE BUFFERED A PWM SIGNAL TO 0-10V ANALOG AND I WOULD LIKE USE THAT RUN YOUR 110V 2.2KW SPINDLE VFD. COULD YOU PLEASE DETAIL THE CORRECT WIRING VFD SETTINGS GET WORKING?

The frame size difference of the NEMA 23 and 24 is very slight and, depending on the motor mount both will most likely fit. The bigger difference between these stepping motors is the torque. Make sure that the motor that you purchase has the appropriate torque for the axis that it will move.

Is is safe to go with the higher torque? Or if the torque is too high for what i need is that bad?

You can use a motor with higher torque. Just make sure to select the correct driver for that motor.

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The frame size has nothing to do with torque. Nema 23 means a 2.3" frame. Nema 24 means a 2.4" frame. That's all. Either could have more or less torque depending on speed and power.

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What is the difference between a NEMA 23 and NEMA 24 motor? can I use either one on a machine?