1  [[cha:stepper-quickstart]]
  2  
  3  = Stepper Quickstart
  4  
  5  This section assumes you have done a standard install from the Live
  6  CD. After installation it is recommended that you connect the computer
  7  to the Internet and wait for the update manager to pop up and get the
  8  latest updates for LinuxCNC and Ubuntu before continuing.
  9  
 10  == Latency Test
 11  
 12  The Latency Test determines how late your computer processor is in
 13  responding to a request. Some hardware can interrupt the processing
 14  which could cause missed steps when running a CNC machine. This is the
 15  first thing you need to do. Follow the instructions  
 16  <<latency-test,here>> to run the latency test.
 17  
 18  [[sec:sherline]](((Sherline)))
 19  
 20  == Sherline
 21  
 22  If you have a Sherline several predefined configurations are provided.
 23  This is on the main menu CNC/EMC then pick the Sherline configuration
 24  that matches yours and save a copy.
 25  
 26  [[sec:xylotex]](((Xylotex)))
 27  
 28  == Xylotex
 29  
 30  If you have a Xylotex you can skip the following sections and go
 31  straight to the <<cha:stepconf-wizard,Stepper Config Wizard>>.
 32  LinuxCNC has provided quick setup for the Xylotex machines.
 33  
 34  == Machine Information
 35  
 36  Gather the information about each axis of your machine.
 37  
 38  Drive timing is in nano seconds. If you're unsure about the timing
 39  many popular drives are included in the stepper configuration wizard.
 40  Note some newer Gecko drives have different timing than the original
 41  one. A http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/[list] is also on the user maintained LinuxCNC
 42  wiki site of more drives.
 43  
 44  [width="100%", options="header"]
 45  |====================================================================
 46  |Axis | Drive Type | Step Time ns | Step Space ns | Dir. Hold ns | Dir. Setup ns
 47  |X    |            |              |               |              | 
 48  |Y    |            |              |               |              | 
 49  |Z    |            |              |               |              | 
 50  |     |            |              |               |              | 
 51  |====================================================================
 52  
 53  == Pinout Information
 54  
 55  Gather the information about the connections from your machine to the
 56  PC parallel port.
 57  
 58  [width="100%", options="header"]
 59  |==============================================================================
 60  |Output Pin | Typ. Function    | If Different | Input Pin | Typ. Function | If Different
 61  |1          | E-Stop Out       |              | 10        | X Limit/Home  | 
 62  |2          | X Step           |              | 11        | Y Limit/Home  | 
 63  |3          | X Direction      |              | 12        | Z Limit/Home  | 
 64  |4          | Y Step           |              | 13        | A Limit/Home  | 
 65  |5          | Y Direction      |              | 15        | Probe In      | 
 66  |6          | Z Step           |              |           |               | 
 67  |7          | Z Direction      |              |           |               | 
 68  |8          | A Step           |              |           |               | 
 69  |9          | A Direction      |              |           |               | 
 70  |14         | Spindle CW       |              |           |               | 
 71  |16         | Spindle PWM      |              |           |               | 
 72  |17         | Amplifier Enable |              |           |               | 
 73  |==============================================================================
 74  
 75  Note any pins not used should be set to Unused in the drop down box.
 76  These can always be changed later by running Stepconf again.
 77  
 78  == Mechanical Information
 79  
 80  Gather information on steps and gearing. The result of this is steps
 81  per user unit which is used for SCALE in the .ini file.
 82  
 83  [width="100%", options="header"]
 84  |==============================================================================
 85  |Axis | Steps/Rev. | Micro Steps | Motor Teeth | Leadscrew Teeth | Leadscrew Pitch
 86  |X    |            |             |             |                 | 
 87  |Y    |            |             |             |                 | 
 88  |Z    |            |             |             |                 | 
 89  |     |            |             |             |                 | 
 90  |==============================================================================
 91  
 92  * 'Steps per revolution' - is how many stepper-motor-steps it takes to turn 
 93  the stepper motor one revolution. 
 94  Typical is 200.
 95  
 96  * 'Micro Steps' - is how many steps the drive needs 
 97  to move the stepper motor one full step. 
 98  If microstepping is not used, this number will be 1. 
 99  If microstepping is used the value will depend on the 
100  stepper drive hardware. 
101  
102  * 'Motor Teeth and Leadscrew Teeth' - is if you have some reduction 
103  (gears, chain, timing belt, etc.) between the motor and the leadscrew. 
104  If not, then set these both to 1. 
105  
106  * 'Leadscrew Pitch' - is how much movement occurs 
107  (in user units) in one leadscrew turn. 
108  If you're setting up in inches then it is inches per turn. 
109  If you're setting up in millimeters then it is millimeters per turn. 
110  
111  The net result you're looking for is how many CNC-output-steps it takes 
112  to move one user unit (inches or mm).
113  
114  .Units inches
115  ============================================
116  ............................................
117  Stepper         = 200 steps per revolution
118  Drive           =  10 micro steps per step
119  Motor Teeth     =  20
120  Leadscrew Teeth =  40
121  Leadscrew Pitch =   0.2000 inches per turn
122  ............................................
123  ============================================
124  
125  From the above information, the leadscrew moves 0.200 inches per turn. 
126   - The motor turns 2.000 times per 1 leadscrew turn. 
127   - The drive takes 10 microstep inputs to make the stepper step once. 
128   - The drive needs 2000 steps to turn the stepper one revolution. 
129  So the scale needed is: 
130  
131  image::images/step-calc-inch-math.png[align="center"]
132  
133  ////////////////////////////////////////////
134  latexmath:[ 
135  \frac{200 motor steps}{1 motor rev} \times 
136  \frac{10 microsteps}{1 motor step} \times
137  \frac{2 motor revs}{1 leadscrew rev} \times 
138  \frac{1 leadscrew revs}{0.2000 inch} 
139  = \frac{20,000 microsteps}{inch} ]
140  ///////////////////////////////////////////
141  
142  .Units mm
143  ============================================
144  ............................................
145      Stepper         = 200 steps per revolution
146      Drive           =   8 micro steps per step
147      Motor Teeth     =  30 
148      Leadscrew Teeth =  90
149      Leadscrew Pitch =   5.00 mm per turn
150  ............................................
151  ============================================
152  
153  From the above information: 
154   - The leadscrew moves 5.00 mm per turn. 
155   - The motor turns 3.000 times per 1 leadscrew turn. 
156   - The drive takes 8 microstep inputs to make the stepper step once. 
157   - The drive needs 1600 steps to turn the stepper one revolution. 
158  So the scale needed is: 
159  
160  image::images/step-calc-mm-math.png[align="center"]
161  
162  //////////////////////////////////////////////
163  latexmath:[ 
164  \frac{200 motor steps}{1 motor rev} \times 
165  \frac{8 microsteps}{1 motor step} \times
166  \frac{3 motor revs}{1 leadscrew rev} \times 
167  \frac{1 leadscrew revs}{5.000 mm} 
168  = \frac{960 microsteps}{mm} ]
169  /////////////////////////////////////////////
170  
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173