SmoothStepper USB Manual
Any machine tool is potentially dangerous. Computer controlled machines are potentially more dangerous than manual ones.
Warp 9 Tech Design, Inc. accepts no responsibility for the performance of any machine or any damage or injury caused by its use. It is your responsibility to insure that you understand the implications of what you design and build and to comply with any legislation and codes of practice applicable to your country or state.
If you are in any doubt you must seek guidance from a professionally qualified expert rather than risk injury to yourself or to others.
This document is intended to give details about how to set-up the Warp9TD SmoothStepper for the Mach3 system. It assumes that you are familiar with the contents of Using Mach2Mill or Using Mach2Turn (still in preparation) as appropriate.
You are urged to join the online discussion forum on the Warp9TD website and the Mach3 forum on the Artsoft website. In addition, there is a valuable forum for all things Mach related on the Mach Yahoo group.
http://machsupport.com/forum/index.php
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mach1mach2cnc/
Overview
This manual provides the information necessary to install the SmoothStepper in a CNC system controlled by Mach3. It is assumed that Mach3 is installed on your computer and that its version is compatible with the SmoothStepper PlugIn. It is outside the scope of this document to explain the operation or configuration of CNC systems and Mach3 except for that information that is specific to the SmoothStepper. For information pertaining to the operation of Mach3 and CNC systems in general, there is a wealth of sources already available. See the links in section 2.1 for sources.
Installation of the SmoothStepper is meant to follow the order of the chapters in this manual. Please follow this sequence and you should have a successful installation.
The following chapters are contained in this manual:
Contents
Useful Links
The Warp9 Tech Design web site is the main source for all files for the SmoothStepper. The latest version of this manual is only available on the Warp9TD site, but the MachSupport website is a mirror for the latest driver and PlugIn. Please note that there might be a lag from the time a new PlugIn is posted on the Warp9TD website and when it appears on the mirror. You will need the windows drivers for the SmoothStepper as well as the current version of the Mach3 PlugIn for the SmoothStepper.
http://warptd.com/downloads.htm
http://machsupport.com/artsoft/plugin.htm
SmoothStepper Description
The SmoothStepper is a 6 axis motion control device that connects to the USB port of a computer. It accepts commands from a trajectory planner (i.e. Mach3) and produces a very high quality pulse train to stepper and servo motors. At this time the SmoothStepper only works with Mach3, but a Software Development Kit (SDK) is planned, which will allow developers to integrate the SmoothStepper with other motion planning software.
When used with Mach3, the SmoothStepper can act as a replacement for two printer ports, both in terms of function and connections. It can be viewed as a super printer port. If your system is currently using Mach3 with one or two printer ports, changing to the SmoothStepper should be very easy. The SmoothStepper allows computers with no printer ports, such as laptops, to control motion with Mach3.
Great care was taken to make the SmoothStepper an easy replacement for the parallel ports. Initial wiring in most existing systems will be as simple as unplugging the printer port cables from the back of the computer and plugging them into the two 26 pin headers on the Smooth Stepper using an adapter. An advantage here is that the ports & pins setup under Mach3 for the printer port, should work without change with the SmoothStepper.
The only connection required between the SmoothStepper and the host computer is through a USB port. This connection provides power and allows communication between the computer and the SmoothStepper. The SmoothStepper may also be powered from an external regulated source of 5VDC.
The SmoothStepper receives movement instructions from the motion planner in Mach3 and produces step and direction pulses for motor controllers that accept that form of control, either servo or stepper. In addition, the SmoothStepper provides spindle control and can handle all the other Input/Output (I/O) functions that are normally handled by the two printer ports under Mach3. By taking over the task of producing step and direction signals, the SmoothStepper relieves the host computer of most of the CPU load normally involved in running Mach3. The dedicated hardware in the SmoothStepper produces pulse streams up to 80 times faster, and with more precise timing than Mach3 using the printer port.
The Software for the SmoothStepper consists of two parts. The first consists of the SmoothStepper USB drivers that allow your computer to recognize and communicate with the SmoothStepper hardware. The installation of the drivers is the same as it is for any new hardware in Windows and need only be done once. The second part is the Mach3 PlugIn, which allows Mach3 to send motion and I/O information to the SmoothStepper. The Mach3 PlugIn for SmoothStepper is installed once on initial setup, and whenever you choose to upgrade to a new version. For reference, the communication hierarchy is as follows: Mach3 ↔ SmoothStepper PlugIn ↔ SmoothStepper USB driver ↔ SmoothStepper device.
When Mach3 loads and runs the SmoothStepper PlugIn, the first thing the PlugIn does is download the computer program (called firmware) into the SmoothStepper hardware. This happens automatically and invisibly. The firmware contains the instruction set for all the SmoothStepper functions. All of the digital hardware, including the pulse generators, is included in the firmware. The firmware is actually a component of the PlugIn file, so no action is required on the part of the user. With the firmware being a component of the PlugIn, it insures that the firmware and the Mach3 PlugIn software are of the same versions. This eliminates the costly headache of mismatched firmware and software. Upgrades are also trivial with this arrangement.
System Requirements
| Processor: | TBD |
| Memory: | Mostly a requirement of Mach3. The additional memory required by the
SmoothStepper is minimal. |
| USB: | 1.1 or 2.0 |
| Operating System: | [Because the SmoothStepper is a plug-in that runs within Mach3, only Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Vista are supported with the SmoothStepper.] |
| Breakout Board: | Warp9 Tech Design assumes no responsibility for damage to you, your computer or the SmoothStepper device if a damaging voltage is applied to the I/O of the
SmoothStepper. The use of a breakout board is recommended to protect you, the computer, and the SmoothStepper. A breakout board is a device that connects to the SmoothStepper’s I/O connectors, and connects each I/O line to buffer ICs or terminal blocks. The terminal blocks provide a convenient method of connecting Page 4 of 26 motor drivers, limit switches, etc. to the SmoothStepper. These buffer ICs may be “optical isolators”, which are ICs that transfer a signal by way of light rather than electricity. By converting electricity to light and back again, an electrical path for damaging voltages and currents is eliminated. See the Warp9TD website for boards that are compatible with the SmoothStepper’s speed (website page TBD). |
| Mach3: | Mach3 must be installed on the computer. When upgrading Mach3, please make
sure that the current rev of Mach3 is compatible with the current rev of the SmoothStepper PlugIn. The SmoothStepper downloads website will document this. You will be exploring new territory if you use the very latest version of Mach3. Hopefully, if a new version of Mach3 requires a change to the PlugIn, it will be known beforehand and the following link will provide that information: http://warptd.com/downloads.htm |
Unpacking your SmoothStepper
Your SmoothStepper will be packaged in an anti-static bag. Please be careful to handle it in a static-free environment.
Package Contents
Depending upon what you ordered, the package should include the following:
- SmoothStepper board
- USB Cable
- Ribbon Cables
- 4 small shorting jumpers. These jumpers are plugged onto the board already, though the power jumper is the only one of them doing any shorting. The other three are only attached to one of the two posts. You should note where they came from and store them for safe-keeping if you do not use them (see section 3.2 for a picture of the SmoothStepper and further description of what the jumpers are used for).
- 3 Resistors, used for termination at the differential receivers. These resistors are provided for your convenience if you choose to terminate a differential encoder. The resistors may be attached to the wires on the screw terminals. They may also be soldered to the circuit board if you are qualified to do so. The resistors have a value of 121 ohms. This may or may not match the impedance of your cable. That is one reason they are not pre-installed.
Getting Acquainted With The Circuit Board
Please look at the following page, which is a picture of the SmoothStepper board. This drawing points out the major points of interest on the circuit board.
Initial Setup and Testing
The SmoothStepper does not need to be connected to motors and breakout boards in order to test its operation with Mach3. Place the SmoothStepper on a static-free surface near your computer. You may mount it in your chassis/control box, but do not connect anything to it yet. Please use USB power for the initial test. The SmoothStepper is shipped in this configuration, so you will not need to do anything to select it. Later on you may use an external 5V source for power, but please read the section on that before doing so.