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MachMotion Apollo I User Manual

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Apollo I User Manual - Mach3
1. Introduction
The Apollo I Breakout Board provides a flexible, plug-in-play interface for the Mach3 CNC software using standard
computer parallel ports. Its key features include the following:
6 Axis Control
Spindle Control (Clockwise, Counterclockwise, and 0-10VDC Analog)
9 Inputs & 8 Outputs
Emergency Stop Circuit
Hardware and Drive Enable Circuit
1.1 Overview
Use the diagram below as a reference throughout the manual.
Figure 1 Apollo I Overview
The purpose of this manual is to give you all the information you need to use the Apollo I Breakout Board. Written in
simple step by step instructions, this manual can be used by anyone who has a basic understanding of your machine
and basic computer skills.
Do NOT connect 115VAC to any part of the Apollo I Breakout Board. It could cause serious damage to your
WARNING
board.

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Summary of Contents for MachMotion Apollo I

  • Page 1 Figure 1 Apollo I Overview The purpose of this manual is to give you all the information you need to use the Apollo I Breakout Board. Written in simple step by step instructions, this manual can be used by anyone who has a basic understanding of your machine and basic computer skills.

  • Page 2: Tools Required

    Table 1 Apollo I Specifications *Only 24V is provided on the breakout board. Any other voltage must be supplied. **Commons must be supplied externally. If the commons are using the Apollo I power supply, each output can only source 125mA.

  • Page 3: Installation

    You can mount the breakout board on any solid surface that will be protected from dust and dirt. Make sure to use 3/8 to 1/2 inch standoffs so the bottom of the board will not short out. Place the Apollo I as close to the control as possible.

  • Page 4: Apollo I Overview

    3.1 Setting up Your Parallel Ports To connect to the Apollo I, you must have two parallel ports on your computer. Port 1 is on the left and port 2 is on the right as shown below. Connect them both to the parallel ports on your computer.
  • Page 5 2. Near the top select the Device Manager. (For Windows XP click on the Hardware tab first.) 3. Expand the Ports (COM & LPT) to see all the parallel ports on your control. For all MachMotion controls PCI ECP Parallel Ports (LPT2) and PCI ECP Parallel Ports (LPT3) are used for the Apollo I.

  • Page 6: Setting Up Your Enable Circuit

    4. Setting up Your Enable Circuit The Apollo I has a hardware and drive enable circuit which turns on when Mach3 turns on the Charge Pump signal. However, before anything on the Apollo I will work, you must connect the two Emergency Stop terminals. Use the table below as a quick reference for the different signals.

  • Page 7: Hardware Enable

    Table 1 Enable Circuits Note: If you are using a MachMotion XML or if you purchased a control from MachMotion, both the E-Stop and the Enable circuits will be set up inside the software. WARNING Do NOT connect 115VAC to any part of the Apollo I Breakout Board. It could cause serious damage to your board.
  • Page 8 The hardware enable is the main enable circuit. It enables all the components on the Apollo I, turns on the 5V enable (5EN) and the 24V enable signals (24EN), and activates the hardware enable relay (HEN). When the hardware enable is set up correctly, it will only activate when there are no emergency conditions.
  • Page 9 Figure 14 Hardware Enable LEDs Hardware enable is set up inside Mach3 by setting the Charge Pump signal to port 2 pin 17 as shown below. Set the Active Low column to a red X. Figure 15 Mach3 Charge Pump Setup Note: For more information see Configuring Your Outputs section.

  • Page 10: Setting Up Your Axes

    Drive enable uses the same output as the hardware enable. See Figure 15 for the Charge Pump setup. Now all the LEDs on the Apollo I (besides the inputs and outputs) should be on. If not, go back and make sure that you set up everything correctly.
  • Page 11 (D for direction and S for step). See the picture below. Table 3 Singled-Ended Step and Direction Terminals 5.2 Enabling Your Axes After your drives are connected to the Apollo I, open up Mach3 and enable your axes in the following way:...
  • Page 12 Figure 21 X, Y, and Z Axes Enabled 1. Press Apply and then OK. Your axes should now be enabled. Note: The Dir LowActive and Step Low Ac… columns are not used for the Apollo I Breakout Board. Now you should be able to jog your axes! WARNING Your machine has not be calibrated so it could jog at extremely high speeds and move erroneous distances.
  • Page 13 5.3.1 Manual Calibration You need to calculate how many steps there are per inch and the maximum velocity of your system. If you purchased motors from MachMotion, use the table below as a reference. Motor Type Encoder Counts TECO...
  • Page 14 Figure 22 Motor Tuning and Setup On the right column titled Axis Selection, press the button corresponding to the axis you want to set up. The selected axis’s parameters will be loaded. Now enter in your new value for Steps per as shown below. Figure 23 Steps per in Motor Tuning Next enter your velocity as shown below.
  • Page 15 No limits have been set up. You could cause DEATH, INJURY or serious PROPERTY DAMAGE if you are not careful. 5.4 Calculating Backlash The Apollo I has backlash compensation. Use the MDI line to enter g-code to move your axes. To calculate your machine’s backlash, follow the steps below.

  • Page 16: Reversing Direction

    Figure 27 Backlash Make sure to check the box Backlash Enabled and set the Backlash Speed to 100 as shown above. You can also change the speed that the backlash is applied. Click on Config then select General Config. The value Shuttle Accel in seconds is how fast your backlash will be applied.
  • Page 17 Figure 29 Homing & Limits You will see the following window come up: Figure 30 Reversing Direction 1. Under the Reversed column click on the red “ X” if the axis needs to be reversed. 2. After making all your changes, press OK. Your axis will now move the opposite direction than it did before.

  • Page 18: Setting Up Your Spindle

    6. Setting up Your Spindle The Apollo I spindle control consists of a 0-10V analog signal for spindle speed and two relays (CW and CCW) for spindle direction. Below the spindle terminals on TB2 there are two LEDs for spindle forward (FWD) and reverse (REV).
  • Page 19 Note: For more information on the Drive Enable signal, see Drive Enable section. If you purchased a VFD from MachMotion, then you can plug it directly into the spindle control mod jack. You can also connect your spindle into the terminals on TB2 as shown below.
  • Page 20 Figure 36 Spindle Setup 1. Now click on the Output Signals tab. Enable outputs 1 and 2 and set them up to port 2 pin 14 and port 2 pin 16 respectively. Set the Active Low column to a red X. See the figure below. Figure 37 Spindle Outputs 1.
  • Page 21 Figure 38 Spindle Setup 1. Press Apply to save your changes and then OK. Your spindle is now enabled. 6.3 Setting up Pulleys For Mach3 to know how to scale the analog voltage output, you must enter in your maximum RPM for the spindle motor.
  • Page 22 Figure 41 Setting up Spindle Speed Note: If you don’t have the MachMotion screen set, spindle speed can be changed right on the main screen of the Mill profile. Click on the user input, enter a new number, and then press enter.

  • Page 23: Setting Up Your Inputs

    Figure 43 Spindle Buttons Note: If you don’t have the MachMotion screen set, turn on the spindle by pressing the button Spindle CW F5. When the button is flashing, the spindle should be on. Figure 44 Spindle Speed You can also control the spindle by using M-codes. Use the table below as a reference.
  • Page 24 Apollo I. The jumpers start counting from the left at X0 and increment up to X15. (X9-X15 are not used for the Apollo I.) Each jumper corresponds to an input.
  • Page 25 Figure 49. Then connect your signal into the corresponding input. For example, the Apollo I shown below is set up for 30V. Notice that input X4 is connected to a switch.

  • Page 26: Low Voltage Sourcing Inputs (Pnp)

    Figure 52 High Voltage Sourcing Inputs Note: All the inputs use the same common. Below is another example with a 12V PNP proxy sensor. Figure 53 12V Proxy Example 7.1.3 Low Voltage Sourcing Inputs (PNP) For 2.5-10V inputs, connect your positive voltage to the C0+ terminal and your ground to C0-. Completely remove the jumper corresponding to the input and connect XNL (where N represents the input number) to GND.
  • Page 27 X5, connect a resistor between any of the C0+ terminals and the X5L terminal (located on the bottom row of the TB2 connector). Below is an example of a 24V NPN proxy with an internal pullup resistor. The jumper on the Apollo I must be completely removed for this to work.
  • Page 28 To isolate your inputs, supply your own power supply to C0- (GND) and C0+ (positive voltage supply). Do not power the C0+ with more than 48V. All the other wiring configurations (PNP, NPN, etc) are the same whether or not the inputs are isolated.

  • Page 29: Setting Up Your Outputs

    8. Setting up Your Outputs The Apollo I has 8 logic outputs that can be used for any low current application. They are located on the small green terminal block, TB2, as shown below.
  • Page 30 To use an output, connect the corresponding common to your voltage source. For standard operation you can jumper the commons to 24V on the Apollo I. Then connect your signal to the output. See the figure below. Figure 60 Standard 24V 125mA Outputs For custom circuits you can provide your own voltages for the commons.
  • Page 31 Figure 62 Output Configuration 1. Enable the output by clicking on the red X. If the output has a green check mark, it is already enabled. 2. Set the Port Number and the Pin Number to the desired output. Use the table below as a reference. Output Number Port Number Pin Number...

  • Page 32: Advanced Options

    Output 12 off Table 10 Custom M-Codes You can also access them inside Brains and inside the MachMotion plugin to set up an oiler. Read Advanced Options section for more information on how to use outputs inside the plugin. 9. Advanced Options A number of advanced features can be accessed and configured in the MachMotion plugin such as periodic oiler control and custom user messages.
  • Page 33 Figure 65 Cycle Start Now whenever Input4 is active, E-Stop will be flagged. Figure 66 - MachMotion Plugin, User Defined Messages The User Messages can be configured to have custom messages displayed. Each input will do a specific function (E- Stop, feed hold, stop) and write to the status bar except the No Action option.

  • Page 34: Warranty Information

    Figure 67 User Messages Warranty Information MachMotion warranty policy is subject to change. Updated information is available at our website: https://machmotion.com/warranty The MachMotion Team http://www.machmotion.com 14518 County Road 7240, Newburg, MO 65550 (573) 368-7399 • Fax (573) 341-2672 Revision #6...

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