Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

The first draft of H-1 Electronics Manual for 3-Axis Parallel Board with EasyDriver is about ready to release to the wild. If you would like a draft version and would be willing to provide feedback and corrections, please contact me.

This attachment is the official user manual for the TB6560 parallel port driver board:
It should be in every H-1 user's document collection!

cheers,
Michael

Ok, here is the most current draft of the electronics manual. It still needs some work and edits. Missing are the Mach Configuration and the Powering Up and Testing chapters. Those will be added in the next couple of days.
Cheers,
Michael

Michael,

Good stuff!!!

Question, do you know the reasoning behind grounding the EasyDriver to the parallel port? I didn't do this with mine and it works fine.

Based on the question above, the manual may cause confusion as the wiring diagram on page 26 shows the easydriver ground going to the ground pins between pins 16 and 17 on the 3 axis board.

No I don't. the guys claim it gives a better ground. I tried it both ways and saw no difference.

The drawing on page 26 is being revised for exactly that reason! I drew a quick and dirty jumper (the grey line) but have asked Steve for an updated version. Good eye to catch that!

cheers,
Michael

Hi Chris & Michael,
I might be able to answer the question as to why you would connect the Easydriver ground to the parallel port ground.
The parallel port is used to send 2 states to the Easydriver, either logic high or logic low. March sends these states to determin step and direction ie: for example if it sends logic high to the step pin of the Easydriver it may cause it to turn clockwise or logic low to turn anticlockwise. Generally in a parallel port logic high is represented by approx 2.4 to 5 volts when referenced to ground, conversely, logic low is represented by approx 0 to 0.8 volts. The magic word in the preceding statement is "referenced to ground", unfortunately in some electronic circuits ground is not always exactly zero volts all the time and this problem can cause false triggering.

By tying the ground connections of both the parallel port and the Easydriver together we are simply causing both to be at the same reference. In most cases you would find no difference between connected & non connected earths especially if both power sources are plugged in to the same power point but as the correct voltage swing is critical for proper operation it is good accepted practice.

I hope this helps to answer your question.
Regards,
Peter.

Thanks Peter. I just assumed the ground trace running to that 4 pin connector was tied to the parallel port's ground. But maybe it isn't or can pick up a stray signal.

cheers,
Michael

I noted that in the Draft 1-1 version, page 16 indicates that Pin 17 is the STEP and Pin 16 is the DIRECTION pin (and I wired mine up this way) however the upper left hand corner of the H1 Basic Electrical Schematic (drawing number 25925, Rev 1.2) included on page 26 shows the opposite configuration in which pin 16 is STEP and pin 17 is DIRECTION. I suppose it doesn't really matter which is which, just so long as the pin functions are set in the software the same way they are wired on your board, but a consistent standard could help people out who might exchange configuration files. Thanks!

Ahh, good catch zaphod. Yes, you can change the pins in mach easily, but it's good to have that noted here on the forums, it's searchable now for others who might be having the same problem. BTW, did you come to the CR maker faire and meet us?

I attended the CR Maker Faire and saw the SeeMeCNC H1 in action... Now I own one! Mission Accomplished!

I wonder if anyone knows why they switched the stepper driver from the ramsey driver to the easydriver board. I received one of the first kits and they were still shipping the ramsey stepper driver, which is what I have now. There is a whole lot less info available for the ramsey board, just one schematic instead of the entire manual they made. Is there a reason why they switched from the ramsey board? Is it because it uses 5V DC instead of 12V? do you know of any other sources I can go to for more information on electronics with the ramsey stepper driver?

Thanks,

-Brian

Hi, I just received my H1 and RAMPS1.4 kit. Is there a wiring diagram or instructions for this version?
Sorry, for the dumb question, but I have not been able to find much data yet.
Thanks in advance, Lance.

wiring:
http://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS_1.4

firmware settings:
http://reprap.org/wiki/SeeMeCNC#Repetie ... are.2Fhost

I'm using marlin firmware on the arduino w/ the settings above. Using pronterface to control it all.

I've switched to ramps setup, using marlin firmware and pronterface to print with... if you got some questions after yer all built just ask

Guanu

Thanks I found the wiring diagram shortly after asking the question. I should have asked my wife to look before posting!
I have not got as far as thinking about firmware yet. Thanks for the heads up.

Lance.

Hi,

I just finished the mechanical assembly and started the electronics...the kit I received has the 4 axis controller and not the 3 axis. Do I have to remove diodes and jumper the optical isolators? I guess the diodes are not there anymore....but I coulnd figure out how to do the jumper s for the optoisolators. Please, help!

any updates on the firmware?