pm940 CNC no power to x,y and z axis

FYI, there are a few 940 CNC guys that lurk in the PM specific board (including myself). You may get quicker responses there.

The loose wire makes sense, if I were you I would check every wire you can. I had a few problems that were due to loose wires, I finally broke down and tightened every connection I could find. Totally worth it.

As for the controller, I would assume its a nMotion? I never had trouble getting the nMotion to connect to XP or Win2k, I have a bunch of other gripes about it, but connecting was never a problem. What OS are you running on the computer? I'm guessing it's windows 7 or newer?

PZ
 
FYI, there are a few 940 CNC guys that lurk in the PM specific board (including myself). You may get quicker responses there.

The loose wire makes sense, if I were you I would check every wire you can. I had a few problems that were due to loose wires, I finally broke down and tightened every connection I could find. Totally worth it.

As for the controller, I would assume its a nMotion? I never had trouble getting the nMotion to connect to XP or Win2k, I have a bunch of other gripes about it, but connecting was never a problem. What OS are you running on the computer? I'm guessing it's windows 7 or newer?

PZ
I checked every single wire after finding the one loose. I am running Windows 10. After talking to new fangled solutions(Mach 3/4) they told me that the controller will not work with windows 10 and recommended a newer controller and running Mach 4
 
No surprise that they are pushing Mach4 :). I know on my PM-45CNC I had some issues with the controller (not sure if it is the same or different from the 940CNC) I replaced it with a smooth stepper and a break out board. It was a very easy swap and no longer have any issues. I am running Windows 10 and Mach3. look at this thread https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/pm-45m-cnc-setup-and-configuration-with-mach3.21179/page-5 starting around page 5 and you can see GaryL helping me to to convert my PM-45CNC to a smoothstepper. He went first and I and other have benefited greatly from that. I have to believe that the PM940-CNC would not be too much of a different experience.
 
There are many good options for controllers out there theses days. There are a few other guys on the PM board, along with myself, that have swapped to an Acorn board. It's made a world of difference with how smooth the machine runs, and I highly suggest it.

PZ
 
There are many good options for controllers out there theses days. There are a few other guys on the PM board, along with myself, that have swapped to an Acorn board. It's made a world of difference with how smooth the machine runs, and I highly suggest it.

PZ
Would you prefer it over the pmdx boards that Mach is pushing?
 
No surprise that they are pushing Mach4 :). I know on my PM-45CNC I had some issues with the controller (not sure if it is the same or different from the 940CNC) I replaced it with a smooth stepper and a break out board. It was a very easy swap and no longer have any issues. I am running Windows 10 and Mach3. look at this thread https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/pm-45m-cnc-setup-and-configuration-with-mach3.21179/page-5 starting around page 5 and you can see GaryL helping me to to convert my PM-45CNC to a smoothstepper. He went first and I and other have benefited greatly from that. I have to believe that the PM940-CNC would not be too much of a different experience.
Thank you for the help and support. It is much appreciated.
 
Would you prefer it over the pmdx boards that Mach is pushing?

I don't know anything about the pmdx boards, this is actually the first I have heard of them. I went with Acorn for a few reasons, first and foremost was because the manufacture of the board was supplying the software as well. They are tested extensively together, and when there is a problem there is no back and forth between software issues vs board issue. Second reason was for real time processing. The Acon actually has a Beagle Bone computer on board that handles motion control, which means windows or what ever programs may be on your computer cannot interrupt. Last is that Centroid is not new to the industry, they have been retrofitting old CNCs for ever, and now days they even have there own line of equipment. Simply put, retrofit CNC controllers is what they do, it's relatively common to find a machine that has been retrofit to run Centroid in industry. Also, they are in the good ol' USA, which is a huge plus for me.

For all I know the pmdx has most of the above... but I'll go for an industrial supplier every time. Also remember there are others out there, if cost is a concern, I'd look into a Masso controller. No computer needed, just plug a monitor and keyboard right into the controller and go. People seem to be having good success with it.

Acon setup will set you back ~$350-$500 depending which software you get and if you need to buy/build a new computer.

PZ
 
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