PoKeys Pulse engine v2 documentation
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Frequently asked questions
Whenever Mach “reset” is blinking the stepper motor power is engaged, and you cannot turn the
motor shaft with your fingers.
When “reset” is released, the motors loose power.
There is an option 'Invert enabled signal' in the 'Pulse engine' tab of the PoKeys Mach3 plugin. There
are two types of stepper drivers - ones expect active low signal for enabling the outputs, the others
expect active high signal. Since PoKeys is not a LPT port extension, the Mach3's Ports & Pins is not
functional and all configuration is done via PoKeys plugin configuration dialogs.
I really do not know how to set up the spindle control. Normally I would use for example the S60
(for spindle speed of 60 to produce an analog output to control the spindle). I do not know how to
tell the pokeys CNC addon board how to pick up this S command.
This is achieved using the PWM output of the PoKeys board, connected to the pin 3 of the
PoKeysCNCaddon board connection. Go to PoKeys Mach3 plugin configuration, tab 'PWM', select
'Map to DRO in %' and select DRO202. Then set the appropriate multiplier that the DRO value is
multiplied with before sending it to the output (the output goes from 0 to 100 %, so in case you have
values between 0 and 500 in this DRO, set the multiplier to 0.2). If you want to lower the output
range, lower the multiplier value (digitally scale the output voltage instead of using the pot).
Similarly, spindle relay outputs can be configured in the 'PoKeys mapping' tab for one of the pins (for
example, configuring one pin as Digital output and mapping it to LED 11 (Spindle ON LED).