TechZone Stepper Boards

hi
i have been having problems with at least 1 of my boards(dont know which though)
when i power up with everything attached
1 board comes on with 2 green leds and 1 red
another comes on with 2 green leds
and another has no leds on at all
if i jog any of the axis's lights come on on all 3 boards, though the 1 with no lights still doesnt light any of the green leds
the same boards show the same lights when switched places/axis.
does anyone know what this could be?
thanks
ryan

Ryan,

the z-axis will not high-light "all" green LEDs. Although, you should see the power LED come on.
I suspect that you do, since you mention that you can jog all three axes.
Can you confirm that the board that does not display all LEDs, is your z-axis board?

If this is not the case, then you need to possibly inter-change stepper boards, and see if the fault follows.

Regards
Marius Botha
Pretoria, South Africa
[mariushermanbotha.wordpress.com]

it doesnt matter where the boards are(which axis) the same lights are all that come on.
i have tryed mixing em up ect to see if it was just me with a dodgy connection but same deal.
anyone got a set of these boards(techzone) that can tell me what im looking for/ how to get there.
also while im on, sangrino isnt sending any responses. im told this is cause of my arduino version. which versions are more stable?
thnx
evo

evo/ryan,

I have had the techzone electronics for a while, and it functions, perfectly.
With regards to your problem: you might also want to connect your opto switches, if they are not connected already.
Without the opto-switch boards connected, your stepper boards will send the briefest of signals to your motors, and all you will hear is a brief 'clicking' sound. This will be the case, since the software thinks that the carriage has reached the end of the axis travel.

Good luck!
Marius Botha
Pretoria, South Africa
[mariushermanbotha.wordpress.com]

hey
thank you for the quick reply BalanceSeeker
i have the optoswitch's connected to the boards
when i manually jog the axis's 2 of the boards fully light up, one only shows the red LED
im begining to think something might be wrong with the one not displaying power LED
the other 2 im pretty sure 1 is right and the other im not wiring correctly or the connections are damaged. will buy all new ribbon cable and try again.
can you confirm all your boards display a green LED on either side of the power block, this is where im worried most.
thanks again for your help
ryan

evo/ryan,

The power LED must light up on all boards. If you swapped out boards, and the fault follows the board i.e. power LED remains unlit, then you most likely have a faulty board on your hands.
Depending on your tenacity, and availability of equipment, you might want to test the power net, on the offending board, with a multi-meter, to see if you have an electrical connection all the way to the power LED. The TZ boards follow the same design as the V2.3. Gen3 steppers, so you can use the same schematics.
Alternatively, you might want to contact TZ, and let them know that there is a faulty board on the way.

Let me know how things go, and good luck.
Marius Botha
Pretoria, South Africa
[mariushermanbotha.wordpress.com]